or five miles, went into camp. At this point we found extensive fields of grain, which will require several days to destroy. June 26, camp same as yesterday. Continued the destruction of crops, which consist principally of corn and beans, but a small proportion of wheat. Watermelons, muskmelons, squashes, &c., in large quantities. A Mexican woman, who has for many years been a captive among the Apaches, succeed in making good her escape some days since and came into camp this day, claimiing protection and requesting to be allowed to remain and to travel with the command to the settlements. She stated that she was captured by the Indians many years ago in the State of Sonora. She also stated that the Indians had at this time all gone over onto the Gila; that they had constantly watched my movements since the 8th of june, and when they found that I was returning they had with their families continued to dodge me and finally to get around me, and had escaped, and did not intend to return to their old haunts whilst my command had remained in the mountains. The destruction of their crops she says will certainly cause many of them to perish from starvation, and that the whole nation come to these farms to purchase grain, these Indians of the Sierra Blancas being the most extensive planters in the nation. June 27, without raising camp, continued the destruction of the Indians' crops. June 28, finished our labors of destruction on the tributary. June 29, returned to the San Carlos this morning and proceeded up the stream twelve or fifteen miles, destroying some small fields on the road. June 30, this morning early commenced destroying crops, in which occupation we continued all day without being able to finish.

July 1, finished the work of destruction this day and proceeded up the river several miles and camped. Since our return to the San Carlos I have had small parties traveling in everi direction searching for Indiians, 7c the small streams, on most of which they found corn and other crops, which was destroyed. Less than 375 or 400 acres would not cover the amount of corn and other crops destroyed by my command since our return to this vicinity. I now purposed changing my direction and going to the extreme western point of the Sierra Blanca, but my guide informed me that the country was so rough and broken and my pack animals in so poor condition, most of them having long before lost their shoes since leaving Fort Wingate. This was owing to the rugged nature of a great portion of the country over which we had to march. From these circumstances I found I could do but little more, and selecting the men who had the best shoes, I took them and commenced scouting the mountains in a northeastern direction passed success fully the 2d, 3d, and 4th days of July, when, meeting with no Indians and finding no crops in this section of the Sierras, and having several men sick, one of whom was unable to even ride on a mule, a pack animal having been given to him, and the condition of my men generally, many of whose feet being perfectly bare were actually bleeding, and besides these men who had undergone great hardshirs for forty-two ddays, living on poor diet, having no meat with us except bacon, many of them were evidently gratly enfeebled, having no surgeon along, I thought it best to return to my station and recruit up, preferring to make another