twenty miles above; had given them battle and got badly whipped; that the Indians, numbering some 400 or 500, a great many of them with good fire-arms, had come out of the canons and mountain ravines and charged them, attempting to surround them, and had driven the whites back some two miles to a stich, which they took possession of, and with the advantage of which they had managed to keep the Indians off until night, when under cover of the darkness they made good their retreat to where I met them, losing 3 men, 18 horses and mules, and all their provisions. After hearing this staement of facts I told Colonel Mayfield, who was in charge or command of the citizen soldiers, that I intended going on the morning, and that if there were as many Indians as represented my force of thirty-threemen would be a very small one to contend against them and would therefore like to have his men go with me. On the 7th, when I got ready to march, Colonel Mayfield reported to me with about forty men, the rest having declined returning. With this force I moved on, and when within eight miles of the battle-ground I saw moving objects some three miles off to my right. I immediately halted the command and sent Lieutenant French out with five men to reconnoiter and report the result. He soon returned and reported it to be Lieutenant Noble, of Company A, Second Cavalry California Volunteers, with fifty men from Fort Churchil on his way down to Putnma's Store to the relief of the citizens. After halting until Lieutenant Noble's command came up, I moved on to the battle-ground, which I reached about 3 p. m. Found no Indians. Moved on three miles to Bishop's Pine Creek and camped for the night. I then sent down and had the bodies of the killed brought up and buried on the south bank of the creek.

April 8, I sent out scouts in three different parties of five each to look for the Indian trail. At about 1 p. m. I met one of the scouts, sent back by Lieutenant Oliver, who reported the Indians to be in force about twelve miles from there. I moved the command on briskly, and arrived on the ground where the Indians were supposed to be at 3 p. m., but found no Indians, they having scattered at our approach and took to the hills like partridges, and after riding two hours over the hills in a pitiless hail-storm, was compelled to go back into the valley to camp for the night without catching an Indian. April 9, left camp at sunup, and had traveled some three miles when I saw my scous off to my left about entering a canon. I immediately halted the command toa wait the result of their investigation, but had halted but a few moments when I heard the report of fire-arms. I immediately ordered Lieutenant French with twenty men to move up on a gallop, the rest of the command moving up at the same time at a more moderate gait until we met the scouts, who reported that they had been fired upon by the Indians; that Private Gillespie, of Company A, Second Cavalry California Volunteers, was killed, and Corporal Harris, of the same company and regiment, wounded. I then moved the men up to within 400 yards of the mouth of the canon, dismounted, and prepared to fight on foot. Upon an examination of the ground or stronghold selected by the Indians, I was fearful that it would be an impossiblity to dislodge them without the aid of a mountain howitzer, but still could not know the fact without making the attempt. In order to recover the body of Private Gillespie that had been left in the canon where killed, and at the same time to determined by actual experiment the possibility or impossibility of ascending the mountain and getting at the Indians, it was necessary to get possession of the points covering the mouth of the canon, so I ordered Lieutenant Noble and Lieutenant Oliver with forty men to ascend the point on the left, while I took Lieutenant French and forty men to the right,