me that I might meet and co-operate with them. On the 24th I was furnished with guides, and on the same day, with eighteen men and twenty days' supplies, commenced the march. Passing directly up the South Fork about fifteen miles, we moved farther to the left across the mountains to the headwaters of the steam, which empties into Harney Lake; thence on the trail of the stolen animals to Harney Valley. This valley is about seventy miles southeast of Canyon City, and about ninety miles from Camp Lincoln by our route. We found the road up the South Fork very rough and over the mountains almost impassable on account of snow and ice.

On the 27th we encountered a severe snow-storm which prevented our traveling on the following day. Reaching Harney Valley on the 30th, I found a body of citizens fifty-fourth strong under command of Captain C. H. Miller, with Messrs. Davis and Bernon as lieutenants, throwing up fortifications with a view to establishing a depot preparatory to searching the valley. I was assured by Captain Miller that his men were well organized and ready for any kind of service they might be called upon to render. On the 31st Captain Miller with twenty of his men marched toward the upper portion of the valley with a view to crossing the river and examining the country on the opposite side. With the remainder of the command I followed the trail of the stolen animals, which led in a direct course for the southeastern terminus of the valley, which is here about fifty miles wide. By a forced march I reached the eastern and of the valley, where I found a small stream, with grass and wood. With the night came a snow-storm, causing the loss of another day. While encamped here on the 1st day of April Captain Miller rejoined the command, having found the river impassable and but little sign of Indians. Harney Valley is a very broad plain, apparently extending east and west and about fifty miles wide by seventy long. In the southwestern portion the lake is situated, and is probably about one-third of the surface of the valley in extent. Our route led to the northeast of the lake over a desert plain thickly studded with a thirty growth of sage brush. At the border of the plain along the spurs of the mountains there are several small brooks running into the valley, near which there is plenty of grass and wood.

Resuming the march on the 2d, following directly on the Indian trial, we reached the southeastern border of the valley and encamped two days, during which time snow fell almost without cessation. Meantime scouts were sent forward and returned on the evening of April 4, reporting a large valley ahead about fifteen miles. On the day following we moved forward in an easterly direction about fifteen miles, emerging from the mountains into a valley running north and south, formed by the small streams which issue from the Snow Mountains east of Harney Lake. This valley has three small lakes in it. A low range of rocky hills covered with sage brush borders on the valley to the east. The lakes are each about a mile long by half [a mile] wide, and between the and the mountains there is good pasturage. On a small streamemptying into the first lake we encamped. This is about twenty miles from Harney Valley. We found that there had been about 100 Indians encamped at that place a few weeks before. They seem to subsist principally upon horse and mule flesh, as the great number of bones from which they had taken the meat plainly testified. This, however, had only been a temporary and not a winter encampment. Moving about twenty miles directly south, on the 6th we passed through another small valley and came into a larger one. Soon after encamping the scouts reported signal fires in various portions of the