company of strangers will be troubled to find the houses; indeed, my squads often could not get neighbors to direct them to the houses, and were put to trouble to find them. If you can get power to send squads to the houses, and press meat and provisions for themselves and their horses, and to announce that it will cease whenever the men come in, and that pay will be made when they do come in, it will be a very effectual way to secure the game. I also most respectfully suggest the propriety of leaving th squads to take all the arms from the houses of the deserters proper, and ammunition also. If they will not use them for us, they should not have them. My squads were anxious to be allowed to use dogs to trail them up, but this I forbade on account of its impolicy. The list sent you also includes the delinquents from the draft of December, 1862, who should be punished by making them at least serve their three months now. That you will let the deserters proper have escape, would be to say that our laws are powerless. Some of the are ready to join our enemies, and will do so whenever they have an opportunity, and may become robbers and bushwhackers.

It is likely that some of the delinquents will be found to have been detailed by cotton agents, but they had no control over militiamen whatever, and details could not be made till after the men reported and were mustered into service.

Ine N. Stork presented himself to me to- day, with a paper from you suggesting his being detailed to take care of soldiers' families. He sent in July to the Governor a petition of the same kind he presented to you, and the Governor rejected it, and I then gave him personal notice to go to camp. He not only never came, but I sent a squad of men several times after him, and they could never find him at his house. He was drafted in July, and has been a long time reporting, and if the date of your note had not shown that he presented himself to you during the Governor's amnesty, I should have arrested him. I swore him in, and gave him an order to report in seven days to Captain Martindale's company at Houston, and also to report to you as he goes down. No time to correct before mailing.

Yours, very truly,

WILLIAM G. WEBB,

Brigadier- General, Texas State Troops.

SPECIAL ORDERS,
HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF TEXAS, &c., Numbers 325.
Houston, November 29, 1863.

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XIX. Luckett's brigade, consisting of the Second and Third Texas Infantry, Waul's Legion, and Likens' regiment of cavalry, will proceed without delay to Sandy Point, under the direction of the senior officer present with the brigade.

Colonel Luckett will join the brigade without delay at Sandy Pint, and place it in the highest state of efficiency, holding himself in readiness to move with his brigade at a moment's warning.

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By command of Major- General Magruder:

EDMUND P. TURNER,
Assistant Adjutant- General.