.MTAxOA.Njc0NDQ

                  34

an escort of fifty men all volunteers, the Comanche Indians being at war. I reached the Pawnee Rock without any difficulty, I pitched my camp there about 300 yards from another company? of volunteers who were en route for New Mexico and who had a very long train of wagons with them. at day light the next day the men of the company lead out their horses to picket? them in the new grass when they were attacked by a party of Comanches and had 26 horses and all their cattle driven off. As the cattle took a turn towards our camp I was enabled to recapture them from the Indians. Our party lost two horses through the fault of two of my men. It appears they were holding the rope bridles in their hand at the time we noticed the cattle running towards us and wishing to fire at the Indians they dropped the bridles and allowed the horses to escape. The neighboring company lost 26 horses and would have lost all their cattle if I and my party had not been there to assist them. They also had men wounded. The volunteers were under the command of Lieut. Muloney. We then continued our march and arrived at Santa Fe without any further adventure. There I left my escort hired sixteen men and continued my journey to California at Muddy Creek a tributary of the Virgin river we came upon about 300 Indians who wanted to come into my camp but I would not permit them to do so. I told them that the fall before they had killed seven Americans, that they were of treacherous character and could not be trusted and though I would