190 would require a longer time for it to reach Corpus Christi. I could come to no other conclusion from this state of facts, but, that the reason why I had no directions in regard to mustering these companies, was because you was not aware of the instruc- tions from the War Department of the 9th of Oct when you sent me your request of that date, and because the Asst. Adjt. General at Corpus Christi was not informed of your request of the 9th of Oct when he issued Special orders No 124. I therefore concluded that I would muster the five companies that had assembled here, into the service of the state to meet your requisition of the 9th of Oct and send two of them to the neighborhood of Fort Worth and the other three to the neighbor- hood of Fredericksburg and Fort Mason, where they will be on the route to the points at which you proposed to employ the com- panies you first called for, so that they can reach these points in a few days if you decide to continue them in service. I have adopted this course and made arrangements for sup- plying them until I can hear from you. The sixth company when it arrived will also be sent to the neighborhood of Fredericksburg. You will please advise me, as early as convenient whether you intend to receive these companies under your requisition of the 9th of Oct, as my present arrangements for supplying them are limited to forty days, before the expiration of which I hope to learn your determination. Should you decide to receive them, you can avail yourself of my arrangements for supplying them until you can perfect others of your own. The companies are full, well mounted, armed and equipped, and as well prepared, in every way, for frontier service as any volunteers I ever saw. I cannot believe that you will refuse to receive these com- panies, which have been called out by me in accordance with your request-a request issued by you strictly in conformity with law, and the discretion given to you by the Secretary of War in his order of the 19th day of June 1854, particularly where you assign as the cause of that request, that you need them to aid in protecting the frontier from Indian invasion, and when too, it is notorious to every one conversant with the situation of our fron- tier posts, that neither of them has a garrison more than suffi- cient for its own protection, and that neither of them can spare for field service, a force large enough to encounter the Indians with any purport of success. While writing this, my attention has been called to the recent murder of Mr. Williams on the Medina, by a small party of In- dians, who carried off one of h.i.s children into a captivity worse
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