NECESSITY OF A NEW POST. S7 



the borders of the streams, upon the bark of which they fatten their 

 favorite horses in the winter season. 



Should the government authorities ever have occasion to communicate 

 with these Indians, I have no doubt that many of them can always be 

 found during the autumn, winter, and spring months along this branch 

 of Red river ; during the summer they leave and travel north in pursuit 

 of the buffalo, generally ranging between the north fork of the Cana- 

 dian and the Arkansas river. 



We observed but few places upon the main branch of the river 

 where the Indians had made their encampments. We, however, saw 

 trails where they are accustomed to travel, crossing this branch and 

 leading south towards the Brazos ; indeed, a party with about fifty 

 horses and mules had travelled along the bed of the Ke-che-a-qui- 

 ho-no, through the gorge to the head of the river, but a short time pre- 

 vious to our passing. 



The military posts already established upon the southwestern borders 

 of Texas, with the two occupied by the fifth infantry in the direction of 

 the headwaters of the Brazos, undoubtedly exercise a good influence 

 over the southern Comanches who frequent that section ; but there is a 

 vast tract of country to the north of this, extending across Red river and 

 the Canadian to the Arkansas, where there is no military post until 

 reaching Fort Atkinson, upon the Santa Fe trace. Fort Arbuckle aud 

 Fort Scott are near the settlements, and they are now entirely out of the 

 range of the prairie tribes. The northern and middle Comanches and 

 the Kioways occupy this country, and go and come when and where 

 they choose without the knowledge of any of our military authorities. 

 These Indians probably commit more depredations upon the northern 

 provinces of Mexico than any others. In passing back and forth upon 

 these forays, they were formerly in the habit of taking a route crossing 

 the Brazos and Colorado rivers, in the vicinity of some of the military 

 posts in Western Texas ; but since they have become acquainted with 

 the localities of these posts, I have been informed by the Indians that 

 they were so much harrassed by the troops as to cause them to change 

 their route ; and now they generally pass to the north and west, entirely 

 around this chain of posts. 



It is a well known fact, that whenever depredations have been com- 

 mitted by the Indians along the western borders of Texas, the perpe- 

 trators have almost invariably come from the north and returned in that 

 direction ; and when pursued, their trace has generally been found to 

 lead towards Red river, in the direction of the western extremity of the 

 Witchita chain of mountains. Such was the fact in the recent instances 



