The highest temperature of the day was 95 degrees. Our distance this afternoon was ten miles.
Thursday, 31st. We arose early, and on looking at the horses that were staked around the camp, three of the best were missing. 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 baggage, we were mortified to perceive that it also had been overhauled and plundered during the night. But we were utterly astounded to find that our saddle bags, which contained our clothing, Indian presents, and manuscripts, had also 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, difficulties, and dangers.
It was too obvious that the infamous absentees, Nolan, Myers, and Bernard, had deserted during the night, robbing us of our best horses, and of our most important treasures. We endeavoured in vain { 99} 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 Indian presents, were included in the saddle bags. But their most important contents were all the manuscripts of Mr. Say and Lieut. Swift, completed during the extensive journey from Engineer Cantonment to this place. Those of the former consisted of five books, viz. one book of observations on the manners and habits of the Mountain Indians, and their history, so far as it could be obtained from the interpreters; one book of notes on the manners and habits of animals, and descriptions of species; one book containing a journal; two books containing vocabularies of the languages of the Mountain Indians; and those of the latter consisted of a topographical journal of the same portion of our expedition. All these, being utterly useless to the wretches who now possessed them, were probably thrown away upon the ocean of prairie, and consequently the labour of months was consigned to oblivion by these uneducated vandals.