men without any visible means of support; members of secret societies hostile to the Government. All these have gathered into this city as a place of refuge or to find opportunities for disloyal practices. While I have no definite knowledge, I believe that the aggregate of such characters now in this city number several thousand, and if they have, as is altogether probable, an understanding in common, they constitute a power for evil not lightly to be considered. The brigadier-general commanding I trust will see that while I fully believe the above condition of things to exist, that it is quite impossible for me to furnish correct estimates of the number of objects of such persons. I can only make these general statements, which seem to me to be fully warranted by facts and rumors which is various ways reach me. I have no other information at present of parties hostile to the Government within the limits of my command.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. H. BAKER,

Colonel, Commanding First Sub-District.

SAINT LOUIS, MO., August 26, 1864.

General FISK,

Saint Joseph, Mo.:

The following just received:

MEXICO, MO., August 25, 1864.

Major-General ROSECRANS,

Commanding Department of the Missouri:

Captain Carey, commanding post at Columbia, reports to me that one of his spies just in reports the rebels crossing the Missouri River, about Claysville, into Boone County all day on the 23rd instant; says they were not mounted but well armed; that they used two flat-boats for crossing.

J. B. DOUGLASS,

Brigadier-General.

EDWARD McK. HUDSON,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

FAYETTE, MO., August 26, 1864.

General FISK:

SIR: Your dispatch is just received. I have the honor to inform you that the report of A. K. Miller is a base falsehood, and respectfully request that the matter be investigated, if there is any doubts in the minds of the authorities. In Rocheport I started a detachment of the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry in one direction, with about ninety men, under Captain Hebard, and started myself with 120 in a different one. A short distance from Rocheport the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry was fired upon by about 150 men, under Holtzclaw, Anderson, Stewart, &c. I immediately moved my men in the same direction, when I found that they had scattered and concentrated on the road to ambush me. I immediately marched to that place, fell upon a camp and scattered the rebels. I pursued them in different directions all day, but could not bring them to an engagement. I shot two guerrillas near Franklin next morning. The next morning I looked for the guerrillas in vain; returned to camp and sent my men out in the night to ambush the rebels, and have not been out of the