_August 9._--To-day we passed a freshly made grave which marked a spot which had recently been the scene of a battle between a party of soldiers and the Indians. I gathered the following particulars: The soldiers, under a sergeant, were escorting a mail which, previously to the letting of our contract, had been once a month transported by the quartermaster’s department to and from Fort Davis and Fort Clarke. While the soldiers were at dinner, a few Indians came into their camp, under the protection of a white flag, asking for something to eat. As it turned out from their subsequent attack, this visit was a ruse to ascertain the strength of the party, as well as to form an idea of their vigilance. The soldiers treated them well, gave them some trifles, and the Indians partook of their hospitality. At parting they shook hands and went off on the road ahead, leaving the soldiers without the slightest suspicion of any danger. A few hundred yards from their camping place, as the wagon was descending a short steep hill into a gully which runs from the mountains to the Pecos, the soldiers were attacked by the Indians, and the sergeant was mortally wounded at the first fire. They retreated, fighting as well as they were able, while four of them carried the wounded sergeant; but an overwhelming number of the Indians pressed upon them so closely that, at his earnest request to save themselves and drop him, as he would only embarrass their efforts, they left the sergeant the prey of the Indians and gathered around the wagon. They were finally compelled to abandon the property, with the result, usual in such cases, of not being followed by the Indians, who only wanted the plunder. The soldiers came into Fort Lancaster, distant about forty miles. The policy which requires government officers to respect a white flag in the hands of Indians has led to a number of massacres on the road. The policy of the mail men is, never, under any circumstances, to allow them near us, and much less to risk the danger of having them actually in camp. They have repeatedly tried the ruse of endeavoring to approach under the protection of a piece of dirty cotton cloth tied to a spear, but we send a ball over their heads so soon as they come within rifle range, after which warning they keep aloof. Made 44 miles to-day. _August 10._--Made 45 miles to-day, without anything having happened of particular interest.