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Show 372 UTAH SUPERINTENDENCY. several females. When I leave for the States, under your authority, I will take with me the two boys, who, at the time of the massacre, were, respectively, six and seven years old, and who were detained here by the United States attorney general in the hope that important facts for testimony might be elicited from them. It is proper, in connection with the foregoing, to state that this emigrant party, previous to the massacre, was in possession of a large quantity of property, consisting of horses, mules, oxen, wagons, and other valuables, as well as money, clothing, &c., not one particle of which has been satisfactorily accounted for, and which, in my opinion, %, was distributed among the white inhabitants who participated in this affair. I i O R T r n N DIFRIOULTP. On the 3d of August last, I received a letter from a reliable person in Box Elder, in the extreme northern part of the Territory, advising me that an emigrant train had been attacked by Indians on Sublet's Cut-off, in Oregon; that the Indians had brought into the settlements horses, mules, cattle, and other property, which tbey attempted to sell to the inhabitants, but without success. Upon the receipt of this information, I addressed a note to his excel-lency, Governor Cumming, requesting that a military force be dispatched without delay to that point, and proceeded myself imme-diately to Box Elder. Upon my arrival, I learned that the Indians had fled with their stolen property, and had gone north, through Cache Valley, towards Bear River lake. I was subsequently advised by his excellency, the governor, that General Johnston, commander of this department, had ordered a company of dragoons to repair to the northern settlements. I have no information relative to the character of the orders issued by General Johnston to the officer in command of this detachment. I was further advised by his excellency that the general in command of this denartment had notified him that the military force had been ordered dorth, not in consequence of his official reqiisition, but as a matter of public service, based upon what seemed to be reliable informa-tion. I therefore inferred that the general in command had assumed the exclnsive control of all matters connected with these Indian out-breaks, and acted in virtue of his command of the army in this Ter-ritory. Under the circnmstances, I deemed it proper to return to this city, where my presence seemed more likely to promote the public interest, than by remaining where my official authority, to say the least, was considered questionable. Soon after my return, I met Lieutenant Gay, who was in command of the company of dragoons above alluded to, who was then elz route to the north. Our interview was entirely unofficial, he malting no report to me in relation to his orders. Under the circumstances, however, I deemed it my duty to furnish him with every item of information that might facilitate him in operat-ing successfully against the hostile Indians. I have been informed |