The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-06-03
THE INDIAN EXPEDITION.
Interesting Particulars Concerning
the Starting. &C.
CAMP OF THE INDIAN ExPEDrTIoN,(
Paynesville, Mimi, May "a, 1864. :

CAMP OF THE INDIAN EXPEDITION,
Paynesville, Mimi, May "a, 1864.
Correspondence O the Pioneer. r9. -.
Undoubtedly your readers are already &C.
quainted with the fact that the Eighth Regi-
ment was to concentrate at Sank Center, be
mounted and take up the line of march for
Camp Pope, on or about the 18th inst. but
they may not know that the extreme drought,
as well as other things, have caused such un-
avoidable delays that up to this writing the
regiment is not together, though we expect
the balance of the companies here to-day, and
it is rumored in camp that we march to-mor-
row.
The low stage of water in the Red River of
the North rendered it impossible for Major
Hatch to get down from Pembina and relieve
the garrisons of Fort Abercrombie, Pomme de
Terre and Alexandria at the time specified, and
when Col Thomas came up to Sank Center on
regiment as expected, he found only company
G, Captain Atkinson, and company B, Captain
Petit, the latter having been stationed at Sank
Center for the last fourteen months. Captain
Atkinson came over from Ripley on the 18th,
accompanied by company B of the Second cav
airy. However, between the 10th and 21st,
companies E, f, II and I arrived with horses
and equipments sufficient for the Eighth Regi.
ment, and through the indefatigable labors of
COL Thomas and his officers, six companies
were mounted, equipped and ready to march
on the 21st, at / p. M. of which day we moved
and marched five miles, camping on Sank river
near what is known as Stewards Bridge. Here
Lieut. COL Rogers, who was in command,
turned it over to Capt. Atkinson, and returned
to Sank Center to assist in fitting out the other
companies, which were expected to- arrive
soon.
We marched out of camp on the morning of
the 22d, at 6 A. NJ, and if it had not been for
the dust which arose in dense clouds, almost
suffocating both man and horse, we should
have called our march from Sank Centre to
Paynesville pleasant excursion rather than
dents on the way worthy of note except now
and then a contest between a soldier and q
little Frenchman, as the boys call their ponies.
For instance, one of them took q notion to de-
sert the Eighth and join the Second Cavalry.
He charged into the ranks of Co. B, and per-
sisted in remaining there, despite the efforts of
his rider to the contrary. At last one of the
cavalry boys came up with kicking horse,
which virtually kicked the pony out of their
company and brought him to a sense Of the
wickedness ofthe crime of desertiOn.
While on the subject of ponies, we give it
as our opinion that they will prove good in
vestment for the government and endure the
service for which they were intended far better
than our large horses. They are only al
lowed half raiions of grain, and are doing
finely At least some of them ran and played
the other night after having been ridden over
twenty miles. The boys are delighted with
them, and seem greatly pleased at the idea of
riding to hunt Indians instead of trudging
along on foot over the dry and dusty plains.
By the by, we had some splendid showers day
before yesterday afternoon and night and mill
ions of dollars will not express the benefit it
will be to this country, for the crops were
looking very unpromising on account of the
dry weather. 1t will also help the expedition
by laying the dust and making the grass
grow.
Speaking of the rain brings another subject
to my mind; some of the companies have
been and the Others are to be furnished with
shelter tents As military necessity we
highly approve of this, but our Minnesota SOL
diers, who had been used to the spacious wall
and Sibley, seem to have supreme contempt
contempt for the two sheet arrangement open
at both ends and buttoned together on top,
called shelter tent. Our corporal was greatly
astOnished few days ago when he first saw an
encampment of company which used the
shelter tent, and declared that Uncle Sam
had issued gopher holes and the only way a
man could keep out of the weather was to
crawl in and pull the hole in after him.
Since writing the above Lieut.. Col. Rogers
has arrived with companies A, and D. K
came over yesterday, and now for the first time
in its history the Eighth Regiment is together
with the exception of about one hundred in
valids who are left at Fort Ripley in charge of
Second Lieut. Harris, of Co. D. First Lieut..
Salter, Co. X, remains at Sank Center as A. A.
@. NJ. and G. s. for the post, First Lieut..
Miles Hollister was ordered some time since to
relieve Capt. Kimball at St. Cloud, and he will
remain there as A. A. @. M.
Lieut.. Col. Rogers is in command of the
Eighth; First Lieut.. John G. McGregor, Co.
l. acting as Adjutant, Col Thomas having Sc
lected Geo. W. Butterfeld, the proper Adju-
tant, as his A. A. A. General.
The health and spirits of all the troops of
the expedition, as far as we can learn, are good.
You shall hear from US again. A. B.
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