ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ASHANTEE. 



39 



The first part of the " Medical and Surgical 

 History of the War," prepared under the su- 

 pervision of the War Department, has been 

 printed and the second part ia in press. 



The system of money-deposits for soldiers, 

 established under an act of Congress of May 

 15, 1872, has proved of great benefit to the 

 men. The average amount of deposits per 

 company made by enlisted men for the fiscal 

 year was $482.26, the largest deposits being 

 made in the Departments of the Columbia and 

 of Arizona, where there was the most active 

 service. 



The corps of cadets of the Military Academy 

 at West Point has been increased from 298 to 

 342 under the operation of the law increasing 

 congressional representation at the examina- 

 tions the first year. Of the candidates exam- 

 ined 110 were admitted and 87 rejected; only 

 13 being rejected on account of physical in- 

 capacity. 



Except in the Departments of Arizona and 

 the Columbia, the operations of the Army have 

 been of a peaceful nature. The Engineer Corps 

 hag been busily engaged on the const defenses, 

 and river and harbor improvements. Much 

 has been done in this way, though no work 

 calling for special mention has been begun or 

 completed during the year. The survey of 

 the lakes has been continued. That of Luke 

 Michigan has been nearly completed, and tliitt 

 of the St. Lawrence River has been extended 

 to Lake Ontario. Geological and geographi- 

 cal surveys and explorations have been prose- 

 cuted with vigor and success in Nevada, Utah, 

 Colorado. New Mexico, and Arizona. There 

 have also been important special surveys by the 

 officers of the Engineer Corps on detached 

 duty at the headquarters of general officers, 

 especially in the Lava Beds and on the Yel- 

 lowstone River in the Department of the Co- 

 lumbia and about the head-waters of the Rio 

 Grande in the Department of Arizona. A 

 complete set of maps and reports of the Engi- 

 neer Department, with sets of photographs of 

 remarkable features of the Western country 

 and models of important engineering work, 

 was prepared and sent to the Vienna Exposi- 

 tion, to be presented at. the close of the exhibi- 

 tion to the Engineer Department of the Aus- 

 trian Army. 



The Springfield breech-loading system of 

 fire-arms has been adopted for the military ser- 

 vice, and the calibre of all small-arms has been 

 fixed at .45 of an inch. Heavy rifled guns are 

 in course of manufacture for the purpose of 

 being tested under the act of June fi, 1872. 



Systematic and continuous instruction in 

 signaling and telegraphy is carried on at Fort 

 Whipple, Virginia. The operations of the Sig- 

 nal Corps in making weather reports have 

 been attended with success. The whole num- 

 ber of stations from which reports tire received 

 is 02. of which 78 are in the United States, 

 11 in Canada, and 3 in the West Indies. Regu- 

 lar telegraphic reports from Havana began on 



August 6th, from Kingston, Jamaica, Septem- 

 ber 18th, and from Santiago d"e Cuba September 

 29th. Three other points, in Porto Rico, Guada- 

 loupe, and Barbadoes, are to be equipped at once. 

 Steps have been taken for the establishment of 

 signal-stations at light-houses and life-saving- 

 stations on the Atlantic coast, to give warning 

 of approaching storms. Arrangements have 

 been made with the meteorological officers of 

 Russia, England, and Turkey, to commence on 

 the 1st of January, 1874, an exchange ot daily 

 reports taken simultaneously at the different 

 stations in the Russian and Turkish Empires, 

 the British Isles, and the United States. 



The operations of the troops in Arizona have 

 been confined mainly to protecting the lives 

 and property of the settlers from the depreda- 

 tions of Indians. They have been chiefly of a 

 desultory character, marked by no event of 

 special importance. 



In the Department of the Columbia the only 

 noteworthy operations were the continuation 

 of the war upon the Modoc Indians in the 

 Lava Beds near Fort Klnmath, which had be- 

 gun in the latter part of 1872. The savages, 

 under their chief, Captain Jack, kept concealed 

 in the caverns of the Lava Beds, and it was 

 with great difficulty that they could be forced 

 into action. They were finally drawn from 

 their stronghold and several small fights oc- 

 curred, in which a few persons were killtd. 

 Finally General E. R. S. Canny, at that time 

 commander of the departmcrt, together with 

 peace commissioners Thomas and A. B. Mea- 

 cham, attempted to carry on negotiations look- 

 ing to a peaceful settlement of the difficulty, 

 and the removal of the Modoes to a reserva- 

 tion. On the llth of April, Captain Jack 

 with several of his warriors met General Can- 

 by and the commissioners under a flag of truce, 

 on the pretense of peaceful negotiations, and 

 treacherously fired upon them, killing General 

 Canby, and Commissioner Thomas, and seri- 

 ously wounding Mr. Meacham. They then 

 fled, and placed themselves in a hostile attitude. 

 Colonel Jefferson C. Davis was immediately as- 

 signed to the command of the department and 

 entered upon a vigorous campaign against the 

 Indians, which resulted in the capture of the 

 remnant of the tribe, including Captain Jack 

 and his asssociates in the assassination, about 

 the 1st of June. In accordance with the 

 recommendation of*tlie Attorney-General of the 

 United States, Captain Jack, Sconchin, Hooker 

 Jim, Black Jim, Bogus Charley, Boston Char- 

 ley, and Steamboat Frank, were tried by mili- 

 tary commission under the direction of Gen- 

 eral Davis at Fort Klamath, and found guilty 

 of participating in the murder. On the 3d of 

 October, Captain Jack, Sconchin, and Black 

 Jim, were hanged for the crime. The others 

 were respited, and, with the rest of the tribe, 

 were transported to a reservation in Dakota. 



ASHANTEE, the most notable among the 

 negro kingdoms on the western coast of Africa, 

 which in 1873 was again involved in a bloody 



