MILWAUKEE, September 23, 1864.

Brigadier General H. H. SIBLEY,

Saint Paul, Minn.:

Late dispatches from General Sully received yesterday. He was at Fort Rice, to which point he had returned from Yellowstone. No truth whatever in the stories of your note 19th.

JNO. POPE,

Major-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS SECOND SUB-DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA,
Fort Ridgely, September 23, 1864.

Captain R. C. OLIN,

Asst. Adjt. General, Dist. of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minn.:

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to inform you that Companies A and I, First U. S. Volunteers, reported at this post on the 19th and 20th instant, and, according to your communication of the 13th instant, I have been awaiting further instructions about the disposition to be made of these troops. It is very necessary to send a few infantry to the posts north of here, and if the expected instruction should not be received by next mail I shall dispatch some thirty men of one of the companies to the posts, which should be somewhat re-enforced. Last Monday morning a man on his way to Redwood, who had stopped at the foot of the hill on the other side of the river, reported to me that at about 10 o'clock the preceding night (Sunday) he had seen three Indians approaching in the road and fired at them twice, when they disappeared in the timber. It being very bright moonlight at the time he was very positive about it, and I went over immediately with a sufficient number of men, scouring the woods all day for miles without discovering any signs or tracks. On Tuesday a settler living on the south side of the Minnesota River reported seeing three Indians going into the woods. I again dispatched a considerable force, and about sunset, just as the last soldiers had left the timber, two boys hunting cattle saw them, and since then I have scouting parties all over the timber and along the prairie. The report that on Friday and Saturday last the same number had been seen near the Coal Mines renders it probable that this is a horse-thieving party, but I am afraid we will not be able to catch them, as Scout Kennedy has been sick for some time, and I have no one here to conduct the men, who are all strangers in this country. This afternoon a man coming up on the Henderson road last evening comes in and reports that he saw two mounted Indians about fifteen miles below here, and that some teamsters going down from here fired at them. I have another detachment of cavalry out in that direction, and shall spare no effort to have some of the marauders destroyed before they can do any damage. Scouting parties are constantly out in front of our lines, and the general can rest assured that everything is done that can reasonably be expected, and with the dispositions on our frontier. As soon as I can conveniently leave the post I intend to spend a few days in inspecting all the outposts, and will submit a full report of the condition and wants of our frontier defenses.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM PFAENDER,

Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding.