234- Expedition to the 



Supposing that they had strayed to a distance, inquiry was 

 made of the corporal respecting them; who answered that 

 three of the men were absent, probably in pursuit of them, 

 and added, that one of those men who chanced to be last on 

 guard, had neglected to awaken him to perform his duty on 

 the morning watch. Forster, a faithful, industrious soldier, 

 and who, in performing the culinary services for the party, 

 had not lately been laboriously occupied, now exclaimed that 

 his knapsack had been robbed; and upon examining our bag- 

 gage, we were mortified to perceive that it had been over- 

 hauled and plundered during the night. But we were utter- 

 ly astounded to find that our saddlebags, which contained 

 our clothing, Indian presents, and manuscripts, had alsc 

 been carried off. 



This greatest of all privations that could have occurred 

 within the range of possibility, suspended for a time every 

 exertion, and seemed to fill the measure of our trials, diffi- 

 culties, and dangers. 



It was too obvious that the infamous absentees, Nowland, 

 Myers, and Bernard, had deserted during the night, robbing 

 us of our best horses, and of our most important treasures. 



We endeavoured in vain to trace them, as a heavy dew 

 had fallen since their departure, and rested upon every spear 

 of grass alike, and we returned from the fruitless search to 

 number over our losses, with a feeling of disconsolateness, 

 verging on despair. 



Our entire wardrobe, with the sole exception of the rude 

 clothing on our persons, and our entire private stock of In- 

 dian presents, were included in the saddlebags. But their 

 most important contents were all the manuscripts of Mr. 

 Say and Lieutenant Swift completed during the extensive 

 journey from Engineer Cantonment to this place. Those of 

 the former consisted of five books, viz., one book of obser- 

 vations on the manners and habits of the mountain Indians, 

 and their history, so far as it could be obtained from the in- 



