[2] 
57 
General Gaines to the Secretary of War. 
Head Quarters, Western Department, 
LoiiisvUle, Ky. July 28, 1823. 
Sir: By the last mail I reported to the General in Chief, the in- 
formation which I had received since the date of General Atkinson's 
communications upon the subject of the late hostilities of the Ricaras 
and other Indian nations of the Missouri river,- together with the 
measures which I had taken to support the sixth infantry, and to 
restore peace. 
Deeming it very important to the service, that the subject should 
be submitted to you without delay, I take this occasion, (to guard 
against a failure, such as appears to Imve attended two of my letters 
to the General in Chief, one of March 13, and the other of May 15,) 
to enclose, herewith, copies of my letters and instructions upon the 
subject of these hostilities, viz : 
No. 1. Letter to Major General Brown, with two enclosures from 
Major O'Fallon and Major Foster, marked A No. 2, and B No. 1. 
No, 2. Letter of instructions to General Atkinson. 
No. 3. Letter of instructions to Colonel Chambers. 
Should many of the Upper Missouri Indians unite with the Rica- 
ras, and there is reason to apprehend that their old friends and allies, 
the Pawnees, and other nations, or at least the disorderly warriors 
of other nations, will unite against us in tiie event of their being able 
to compel Colonel Leavenworth to retrace his steps, without inflict- 
ing on them the chastisement which they merits it may, in that case, 
be necessai'y to order up tlie fourth infanti-y, and to unite with it 
two or three battalions of volunteer mounted riflemen, whicli I have 
no doubt could be promptly obtained in this state, or in Tennessee, 
or perhaps in Missouri. Upon this subject, I have to request provi- 
sional instructions, in time to enable me to profit by the mild season 
of October and November, to move the 4th intantry to Council 
Bluffs, or at least to Fort Osage, for the winter^ and to assemble 
the remaining part of the proposed force, in time to commence active 
operations against the Indians as soon in the sj)ring as the weather 
will permit. In this case, I shall take the immediate charge of the 
expedition. 
I feel persuaded, however, that, should the Ricaras venture to re- 
main within their fortified village until the arrival of Colonel Lea- 
venworth, he will, with liis artiJIery, dislodge tlicm ; and lie may, in 
this case, occasion a panic which may tend to dispei'se their allies, 
and to reduce them to submission. The supposed strength and fide- 
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