THE GEOEGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 489 



THE KESULTS OF THE DRAGOON EXPEDITION. 



This acquaintance lias cost the United States a vast sum of money, as well as the 

 lives of several valuable and esteemed officers and more than one hundred of the 

 dragoons, and for the honor of the American name I think -we ought, in forming an 

 acquaintance "with these numerous tribes, to adopt and enforce some different system 

 from that which has been generally practiced on and beyond our frontiers heretofore. 



What the regiment of dragoons has suffered from sickness since they started on their 

 summer's campaign is unexampled in this country and almost incredible. When we 

 started from this place, ten or fifteen were sent back the first day, too sick to proceed, 

 and so afterwards our numbers were daily diminished, and at the distance of two hun- 

 dred miles from this place we could muster out of the whole regiment but two hun- 

 dred and fifty men who were able to i)roceed, with which little band, and that again 

 reduced some sixty or seventy by sickness, we pushed on and accomplished all that 

 was done. The beautiful and j)ictured scenes which we passed over had an alluring 

 charm on their surface, but, as it would seem, a lurking poison within that spread a 

 gloom about our encampment whenever we pitched it. 



We sometimes rode day after day, without a tree to shade us from the burning rays 

 of a tropical sun, or a breath of wind to regale us or cheer our hearts ; and with 

 mouths continually parched with thirst, we dipped our drink from stagnant pools 

 that were heated by the sun and kept in fermentation by the wallowing herds of 

 bufialoes that resort' to them. In this way we dragged on, sometimes passing pict- 

 uresque and broken country, with fine springs and streams, affording us the luxury 

 of a refreshing shade and a cool draught of water. 



Thus was dragged through and completed this most disastrous campaign ; and to 

 Colonel Dodge and Colonel Kearny, who so indefatigably led and encouraged their 

 men through it, too much praise cannot be awarded. 



During my illness, while I have been at this post, my friend Joe has been almost 

 constantly by my bedside, evincing (as he did when we were creeping over the vast 

 prairies) the most sincere and intense anxiety for my recovery, whilst he has ad- 

 ministered, like a brother, every aid and every comfort that lay in his power to bring. 

 Such tried friendship as this, I shall ever recollect ; and it will, long hence and often, 

 lead my mind back to retrace at least the first part of our campaign, which was 

 full pleasant, and many of its incidents have formed pleasing impressions on my 

 memory which I would preserve to the end of my life. 



"When we started we were fresh and ardent for the incidents that were before us ; 

 our little pack-horse carried our bedding and culinary articles, amongst which we 

 had a coffee-pot and a frying-pay, coffee in good store, and sugar, and wherever we 

 spread our bear-skin and kindled our fire in the grass we were sure to take by our- 

 selves a delightful rej^ast and a refreshing sleep. During the march, as we were 

 subject to no military subordination, we galloped about wherever we were disposed, 

 popping away at whatever we chose to spend ammunition upon, and running our 

 noses into every wild nook and crevice we saw fit. In this way we traveled hap- 

 pily, until our coffee was gone and our bread ; and even then we were happy upon 

 ifieat alone, until at last each one in his turn, like every other moving thing about 

 us, both man and beast, were vomiting and fainting under the poisonous influence 

 of some latent enemy that was floating in the air and threatening our destruction. 

 Then came the "tug of war," and instead of catering for our amusements, every one 

 seemed desperately studying the means that were to support him on his feet and 

 bring him safe home again to the bosoms of his friends. lu our start our feelings 

 were buoyant and light, and we had the luxuries of life; the green prairies, spotted 

 with wild flowers, and the clear blue sky were an earthly paradise to us, until fatigue 

 and disease, and at last despair, made them tiresome and painful to our jaundiced eyes. 

 On our way, and while we were in good heart, my friend Joe and I had picked up 

 many minerals and fossils of an interesting nature, which we put in our portmanteau 



