"I directed the bales to be wet in the river to protect them against the casualties of fire of our troops and the enemy's, and soon discovered that the wetting was so materially increasing the weight as to prevent our men in their exhausted condition from rolling them to the crest of the hill. I then adopted the idea of wetting the hemp after it had been transported to this position." The credit has also been stoutly claimed for Col. Thomas Hinkle, of Wellington County, Mo., who two years later was killed in command of a guerrilla organization. No matter whose, the idea was singularly effective, and despite the most gallant efforts of the garrison, the hemp bales were steadily rolled nearer, until by 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the 20th they were in places as close as from 50 to 75 yards of the Union works. At this distance it would be easy to mass an overpowering force behind their cover to rush upon and instantly overwhelm the garrison. The garrison, which had now been fighting for eight long days; which was so short of ammunition that most of the cartridge boxes were empty, and there was no supply from which to refill them; which was tortured with thirst, surrounded with hundreds of animals dying from lack of water, at last raised the white flag. After eight days of waiting there was no more sign of rescue than there was on the first, and everywhere they could look their enemies swarmed in apparently limitless numbers. Gen. Price granted the garrison honorable terms. The officers were to remain as prisoners of war, the men to lay down their arms, take the oath not to fight any more against Missouri, and to be sent across the river and allowed to go whither they would. 215 With shrewd policy he allowed Col. Mulligan to retain his sword and showed him a great many civilities. Mulligan was a representative Irishman, and this would bear fruit in the attitude of the Irish toward the war. In his report to Gov. Jackson Gen. Price sums up the fruits of his victory as follows: Our entire loss in this series of engagements amounts to 25 killed and 72 wounded. The enemy's loss was much greater. The visible fruits of this almost bloodless victory are very great--about 3.500 prisoners, among whom are Cols. Mulligan, Marshall, Peabody, White, and Grover, Maj. Van Horn and 118 other commissioned officers, five pieces of artillery and two mortars, over 8,000 stands of Infantry arms, a large number of sabers, about 750 horses, many sets of cavalry equipments, wagons, teams and ammunition, more than 8100,-000 worth of commissary stores, and a large amount of other property. In addition to all this, I obtained the restoration of the great seal of the State and the public records, which had been stolen from their proper custodian, and about $900,-000 in money, of which the bank at this place had been robbed, and which I have caused to be returned to it.