The troops ordered hither to take the place of troops taken by General Connor, after having been transported from Washington and elsewhere at great distance, and then marched to Fort Kearny, Julesburg, Fort Laramie, &c., were ordered mustered out of the service without any benefit whatever being received from them, and also after we had been at the expense of equipping them fully, and also transporting supplies to the plains for their us. By this means the number of men for use on the north were reduced from the number calculated upon, say 12,000 men, to less than 6,000 and many of them were mutinous, dissatisfied, and inefficient. It must be borne in mind that I had about 2,600 miles of overland mail and telegraph line to protect in addition to carrying on the campaign. I think that under all the circumstances General Connor accomplished all that could possibly be expected, as will be seen by his report of operations. Despite all obstacles he succeeded in chastising one tribe of Indians in a manner seldom before equaled and never excelled. He also punished two other tribes quite severely, and has, I think, thoroughly exploded the idea so commonly advanced, viz, that the Plains Indians on the warpath cannot be overtaken and whipped in battle. Could General Connor have moved in June, or even by July 1, I have no doubt he would have succeeded in inflicting thorough and effectual chastisement upon all the tribes in hostility on the north, and have carried out my instructions in the matter fully and completely. Copies of telegrams in relations to his campaign received and sent by me after he had moved I append hereto, marked C. For a full report of General Connor's operations, fights, &c., I respectfully refer you to his report and to the reports of his column commanders, Colonel Cole and Lieutenant-Colonel Walker, which are forwarded herewith. * Colonel Cole is entitled to great credit for the manner in which he met and overcame the many obstacles he had to contend with. Having been misled by his guides, who seem to have been entirely ignorant of the country he was in, and by the report of his scouting party sent to find General Connor, he concluded that there was a misunderstanding as to the point of junction designated, although he was then, in fact, within sixty miles of General Connor's column, and therefore moved on down Powder River, intending to go to the Yellowstone; thence up that stream, and from thence up Tongue River until he found the place of junction or struck General Connor's trail; but the severe snow-storm that killed so many of his animals and the appearance of Indians induced him to move south, take the trail of the Indians, and pursue them as far as possible, by doing which he succeeded in getting three fights, in which he chastised the Indians very severely, killing large numbers of them. An officer attached to my headquarters, who accompanied Colonel Cole as engineer, states he saw over 200 dead Indians that were killed in these fights.

The failure on the part of General Connor's column commanders to join him at the point designated no doubt prevented him from carrying out his plans fully and successfully. Lieutenant-Colonel Walker, it seems, made no effort whatever to communicate with General Connor, intending to reorganize an expedition from Colonels Cole's and Walker's commands and complete his campaign; but for reasons that appear in his report this was not done, and he (Connor) proceeded to Utah, in compliance with orders from Major-General Pope. Aside from the

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*Connor's and Walker's reports not found. For Cole's report, see p. 380.

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22 R R-VOL XLVIII, PT I