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Show [ 39 ] 6 efficient in the service. VVhen it might not ?e n_ecessary for this command to ,vj ,1ter elsewhere, they mi~ht take up thetr wtnler qu~rt ers on our w~st.ern frontier, w!1ere they could be su~sisted c~1eap, and, tf nec~ssary, ~fiord pro 1cctton to our frontier. In co:nphan~e with your request 111 r~latwn to mr manner of equipping and movmg pa~t1es of men throu~h the In~h..tn CPU~tr\ 7 in the course of my ~ene1·al excursiOn~ to the Rocky mountams. I •Vtll observe, that, as mules are much the best an1malf; for packwg heavy burth~ns, e;H·.h man has charge oft wo of them for 1 hat purpose, and one h.orse to nde. The equipage of each h?rse or mul~ consists oft wo halters~ one saddle,_ ~-~e saddle blanket, one hem·skm for eovenng the pack_ or saddle, an? ~ne pack:-;tr ap for the purpose of binding on the ~ack, and a hndle for the rt dwg l!urse. ~.ne of !he halters should be made ltght for common use, of beef hH.le, dres~ed soft; the other should be made of hide dressed in the ~ame way, or tarred rope, sufficiently strong to hold th.e horse uuder any c1rcu~stanccs, and ~o constructPd as to ~ive pain to the Jaws when drawn very t1ght. The rem of each halter should not be less than sixteen feet long A stake made of tough hard wood, about two inches in diameter, and two feet long, with an iron socket, pointc<.l at one end to penetrate the earth, and }t the other end a hand ot iron to prevent its splitting, sh~uld be provided, to bP. used wh:n in the prairies, wtth the halter last descnbed; this stake, when well set 1n the ground, will hold any horse. In the organization of a pat·ty of, say from 60 to 80 men, four of the most confidential aud experienced of the number are selected to a ~d in the command · the rest are divided in messes of eight or ten. A suitable man is <llso ' - appointed at the head of each mess, whose duty it is to make known t.he wants of his mess, receive supplies for them, make distributions, watch over their conduct, enforce order, &c. &c. The party thus organised, each man receives the horse and mules allotted to him, their equipage. and the packs which his mules are to carry; every article so disposed of is entered in a book kept for that. purpose. When the party reaches the Indian country, great order and vtgdance in the discharge of their duty are required of every man. A variety of circumstances confines onr march very often to the borders of large water courses; when that is the case, it is found convenient and safe, when the ground will admit, to locate our camps (which are generally laid off in a square) so as to make the river form one line, ~nd include as much ground in it as may be sufficieut for the whole number of horses, allowing for each a range of thirty feet in diameter. Ou the arrival of the party at their camping ground, the position of each mess is pointed out, where their packs, saddles, &c. are taken off, and with them a breastwork immediately put up, to cover them from a night attack by Indians: the horses are then watered and delivered to the horse guard, who keep them on the best grass outsicte and near the encampment, where they graze until sunset; then each man brings his horses within the limits of the camp, exchanges the I ight haiter for the other more substantia], sets his stakes, which are p1aced at the distance of thirty feet from each other, and secures his horses to them. This range of thirty feet, in addition to the grass the h?rse has collected outside the camp, will be all sufficient for him during the mght. After these regulations, the proceedings of t.he night are pretty much the same as are practised in military camps. At day Jjght (when in dangerous parts of the country) two or more men are mounted on horsc? ack,. asd sent to examine ravines, woods, hills, and other places within str.ikw_ g d1stance of the camp, where Indians might secrete themselves, before the 7 [ 39 J men are allowed to leave their breastworks to make the necessary mornin o· arran~ements before man·~1ing. vVhen the~e sp1es report favorably, th~ hor~es are then take~ outside the camp, delivered to the hor5e guard. and allowed. to graze until the party ha~ bteakfasted, and are ready for saddling. I n the hne of march, each me~s march together, and take their choice of positi0ns in the line according to their acti\·ity in making themselves readv to move, viz: the mess ftrst ready to march moves up in the rear of an officer who marches in the front of the party, and takes choice of a position in the I r ne, and so they all proceed until the li ne is formed; and in that way they ~areh the whole of that day. Spif•s are sent several miles ahead, to e~amJt t t' t!1e count~y in the vjcinity of the route; ~md others are kept at the chstance ot a ~ alf ~1Ile or more from the party, as the situation of the ground seems to require, 1n front, rear, and on the flanks. In maki r,u discoveries of Inrlia11s, they communicate the same by a sirrnal or otherwi~e to the command_ ing; officer with the party, ~vho makes 0 his arrangemen1s acr ordingly. In th1s way I have marched parties of men the whole way from St. Louis to the vir.inity of the Grand lake, '•hich is situated about one hundred and fift.y miles down the waters of the P acific ocean, in 78 days. In the month of March, 1827, I fitted ou_t a part~ of GO men, mounted a piece of artillery (a four pounder) on a carrwg . wh1ch was drawn by two mules; the party marched to or near the Grand Salt lake heyond the Rocky mountains, remain~ d t~ere one month, stopped on the way back fifteen days, and returned to Lexw~ton~ in the wes.tern part of lVIissouri, in September, where the party was met wtlh every thmg necessary for another outfit, and did return (using the same horses and mules) to the mountains by the last of November, in the same year. With great respect1 I have the honor to be Your obedient servant, 6en. A. MAcOl\IB, W. H. ASHLEY. Comrnander in Chief of the .ll'rn1y of the U. States, Washington city. • To the Honorable J. H. EATON, Secretary of T¥ar: SIR: Having heen en~a~ed in the fur trade for several years past, and lately extended ?lY exc.urswns beyond the Rocky mountains, and become. personally acquamted wtth the state of things on the Columbia river I deem it a duty to make a report of what I saw to my Government, an'd flatter ~yself th~t ~he informa~ion I ~ay be able to give will not be without its use, In determ1nmg the pohcy which the United States may adopt in regard to that country. I engaged in the. Indian trade of the Upper Missouri eleven years ago, say 1819; and having encountered a full share of the accidents and miscarriages which attend that perilous busineEis, I determined, in 1827 on more extensive op~rations. With this view, I left Council Bluffs in Se~tember of that year, With a par-ty of men, forty-five in the whole, and an outfit of merc1landise suited to the object. My rot-tte Jay up the river Platte te its forks, |
