by me, enabled him to pay the two oldest regiments up to January 18 and manage to partly pay off his outstanding debts. In February, as I learn, money for us were sent to Majors Clark and Cabell, but not a dollar of these reached us until late in May. I sent an agent to Major Clark and procured from him $521,000. Late in June $830,000 more was brought us from Richmond; and these sums, with $110,000 received prior to February 24, are all that ever have come into this department.

I was in hope of being able still to hold the Indian country, and that what little force I had would be left me and further depredations refrained from; but on May 31 Major-General Hindman was placed by General Beauregard in command of the Trans-Mississippi District, including the Indian country, and almost his first act was to order me to send him a six-gun battery, under Captain Woodruff, with 150 rounds of ammunition for each gun, and all my white infantry; and immediately after he orders me to make my headquarters at Fort Gibson, in order to display my weakness, I suppose, to the enemy and invite an attack and utter demolition, followed by the loss of the whole country. I hesitated to obey the order, but I did so, and have regretted it ever since. It left me no infantry but two small regiments of mounted Texans, with four unattached companies and two half companies of artillery, strong enough together to man six guns, and for which I was then buying horses one at a time-sometimes one, two, or three a day, sometimes one in three days-and one of the half companies, composed of Texans, was entirely raw and unused to the guns. Woodruff's company was well disciplined and well taught and worth more to me than a regiment. I sent it away and remained discouraged. With it went every round of fixed ammunition I had, except some made up by Captain West with rifle powder our of my little stock that had fortunately been rescued when already on a steamboat, about to be taken to Little Rock, under General Van Dorn's order. On sending Woodruff's battery and the infantry to General Hindman I wrote him, detailing at full length the condition of my command, the spoliation I had undergone, and the embarrassments I labored under. Copies of that letter* and of his reply+ have been forwarded to the Secretary of War, and if you have not read them I earnestly request that you will do so; not on my account, but on account of the public Indians and our pledges to them, surely the depredations committed at their expense are utterly inexcusable and deserve even harsher terms.

Upon the receipt of General Hindman's reply I was satisfied. To be sure I was left with no force but the Indians, a handful of mounted men, and six available guns, notwithstanding all my exertions, and the excellent and ample outfit I had secured was gone to equip a part of the army at Corinth, whose general had made no exertion to obtain anything for himself. But still I was willing to try to hold the Indian country if I could be left alone. General Hindman wished to add Northwestern Arkansas to my command, but I declined for the reasons to be hereinafter stated and which I made known to him, and I hoped his letter mean all it said. But I soon learned that a little powder, procured for me by an officer sent to Corinth and conveyed by him to Fort Smith, had been seized by General Hindman's order, and conveyed, without notice to me, to Little Rock. Colonel Charles A. Car-

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* See Inclosure Numbers 3 to Pike's letter of July 20, p. 857.

+ Not found.

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