The Arkansas advocate., 1834-10-31
THE DRAGONS.
The Camanches- hiouoys--and Wacos.
 FoRT GIBsoN, Aug. l9, 1884.

IOhI ulhoONs alir,' lO,, lOcfs
 My DEAR SIR~ Itis with great pleas ure that embrace the earliest opportunity of giving you few of the particulars of the dangerous, honorable, and successful campaign from whish we have just return ed: but am sorry to have to relate to you the melancholy intelhgs nee of the death of General LEAvENwoRTH, who died like a man, in the servlce of his country, on the 10th uiiimo, at his own encampment, about eighty miles in our rear, on the very day we reached the Pawnee Pick village, three days after we had left that of the Ga manches. He had with him provisions for Col. Dodge's command, one Of two com panies of infantry, and one field piece.
 On our arrival at a new post, which lad been established by order of Gen.. Leavenr worth, near the confluence of the False Washita with the Red rIver, at which we expected 10 have found sufficient supply of provisions to enable the whole regiment to march in pursuit of the Pawnees and Camanches, we learn that the Pawnee Picks had lately visited that neighborhood and murdered Judge Martin of Arkan- sas, and his servant, whose bodies had been found, and carried off his son, lad seven years of age. Here Gen. Leaven worth issued an order to Col. Dodge to select 250 of his most efficient men and horses, and take with him ten days rations to last twenty days, about which time he promised to meet us with further supply;
 
 ed his promise had he not have been called upon to pay the great debt of nature.- His complaint was raging fever. and 1t is said that he was so sensible of his ap- preaching dissolution that he made ar engagements about his funeral and settled the affairs of his estate before his death his body is, understand, still near the Cross Timbers, from which it cannot be removed until change of the weath- CT.
 We had with us two young squaws, one of which was Kioway, and the other was q Pawnee Pick, whom Gen. Leavenworth had purchased from the 0sages, by whom they had been taken prisoners, the former about one year ago, and the latter about five years ago, and whom we expected to make interpreters to thelr respective tribes. Not long after our departure from Camp Washita, we were so fortunate as to en- counter considerable party of Canaan s1-~es utavy urtvi lIIteH IIup,EuvCIlIIg, were induced to come up to us, and as neither of OUT captive girls could speak their lan- guague, we were at some loss; but one of them understood Spanish, and through him and one of our Deawares who under stood the same language, Colonel Dodge was able to soothe the whole party, and procure among them pilot to their vil- lage, which we found rich in horses, with which the plains were literally covered, but in most defence!ess condition, as the warriors were mostly absent upon buffa- To hunt. This village contains 340 lodges, made by stretching buffalo skins upon light polis in bell fashion, which are moved by tying them to the saddles of their horses, wherever 1t suits the convenience of the tribe. The Camanches do not cultivate the earth, but procure their corn, beans, pumpkins, and melons, from their neigh bors, the Pawnee Picks, so called on ac- count of their picking themselves with pow der or some uesubstance ontheir arms and breasts, but who call themselves Iaaceash flor which they pay their jerked buffalo meat. The Camanche children are less in the way of their Amazonian mothers, who arm themselves with bows and arrows, and ride and dress after the same fashion of the warriors. In infancy they are tied to board and handled with great rough ness-at three years old they manage a horse themselves. and at four and five en- gage in driving about five thousand hor- ses. They were, when we reached then village, located east of cluster of tower ing rocky mountains, ofprodigious height and grandeur, which are supposed by some of our most intelligent officers to be spurs of the great Rocky Mountains. Col. Dodge laid two days at this village with the expectation of meeting their principal chiefs, for whom a messenger had been despatched; but as we were now scarce of provisions and greatly encountered witt sick, pilot was procured and we common ced our march for the village of the Paw nee Picks. On the evening of the frs day that we left the Camanche village W. made fortifcafion, where we left our sick with detachment to defend them, ans with our reduced force marehedupwards o two days to the Pawnee Pick, or Toweasl village, over and through the passes Q those mountains; upon our march We reached lofty cleft which overlooked a valley of considerable extent, where oul Kioway girl raised herself in her saddle and addressed the 0sages in the most ani- mated manner. She told them that she