an efficient officer and one well qualified for the proper discharged of this duty. Might not this officer be instructed to keep his men well in hand to prohibit the entrance of Indians into his camps, excepting the chefs; to avoid camping in the immediate vicinity of Indians lodges, in order to prevent any intercourse between them and the men of his command; to prohibit all trading between the Indians and ranchmen living the road, and to enforce his orders, if necessary, by the destruction of those ranches in the Indian country whose owners are trading without license; to establish his main camp at or near the ranch on Walnut Creek, ordering the Indians away from the there and keeping the place especially under his personal surveillance as a resort of desperate characters and bad subject; to be especially vigilant in guarding against the introduction of liquors this side of the Little Arkansas; to the road between Walnut Creek and Cow Creek to be constantly patrolled by detachments from his camp; not to permit the Indians to go below Cow Creek; t drive off the Kaw Indians should they come up from their reservation, and to escort trains going out as far as Cow Creek, 13 miles this side of Pawnee Fort, and trains going in as far as the Little Arkansas, and prohibit the Indians from approaching them. Such a course it is thought would soon free the road from Indians, who would be compelled to move in search of food, their supply from the trains being cut off, and no longer being able to obtain whisky their vagrant habits would resume their sway. In carrying out these directions the officer commanding would need to be especially cautioned to avoid everything likely to bring hostilities; but, without calling in question their right to occupy the country, firmly to maintain that they must not trade at the ranches, because it was not lawful, and that they must not interfere with the travel of the road, because it would be a violation of their treaty stipulations. The Government interpreter attached to this post could, when necessary, be directed to report himself to the officer commanding the cavalry company.

The troops at-could march via Clark's Creek and the Santa Fe road to Pawnee Fork in eight days and return to Fort Riley by the route across the Smoky Hill Valley and thence via Riley in xix days, and, allowing seven days to be spent camped along between Cow Creek and Pawnee Fork and Pawnee Fort and Fork and Smoky Hill, the time occupied in the whole march need not exceed there weeks. Eight days' forage would be all that would be necessary to haul from Fort Riley, as there is in store at this post more than 300,000 pounds of corn, while the monthly consumption of the post does not exceed 10,000 pounds. Corn stores for three weeks should be taken from Fort Riley, as the supplies at this post are not in quantity sufficient to be ordered upon for issue to the troops composing the expedition. I have suggested the return march to Fort Riley to be via Smoky Hill route, because I think that the Cheyenne and Sioux are probably hunting in the valley of that river. The bands of the former tribe who live along the South Fork of the Platte were inclined to be troublesome when her last spring, and it is known that the Sioux were advocates for an expedition against the settlers along the upper waters of the Republican and Solomon's Fork of the Kansas.

I beg to apologize for my many suggestions, and to say, in explanation of my prolixity, that I am just in the receipt of my protection to a majority in the Tenth Infantry, which will take me out of the Department of Kansas, leaving as the commandant of this post a second lieutenant, with no other line officer present. Under these circumstances