“It appears that Col.  Walker was recommended to fill the vacancy made by the promotion of Col.  Cooper, the right being given by the treaty to appoint to the office of Col., the other offices being filled by election, and that at the time, the enemy were at Van Buren.  Col.  Walker being at the convenient point was put upon duty by Col.  Cooper and has since been recognized by several acts of my own, not however with a full knowledge of the circumstances.  That under instructions from Gen’l Hindman a Regt was being organized which it was expected would be commanded by Col.  Folsom, the whole of which appears to be a very good arrangement.  The necessity that exists of feeding nearly all the Indians would seem to present an (cont.)]

Furloughs and desertions were the bane of Steele’s existence.[753] In these respects Alexander’s brigade,

[Footnote 752:  (cont.) additional reason for having them in service.  Companies are also being organized from the Reserve Indians, with the view to replace white troops with them who are now engaged protecting the frontier from the incursions of the wild tribes.  Moreover the enemy’s forces being composed partially of Indians, the troops would be effective against them, when they might not be against other troops...” [Ibid., pp. 186-187].  Appointments, as well as promotions, within the Indian service caused Steele much perplexity.  See Steele to Anderson, April 13, 1863, Ibid., pp. 190-191.]

[Footnote 753:  Steele thought it desirable to arrest all men, at large, who were subject to military duty under the conscript act, unless they could produce evidence “of a right to remain off duty” [Crosby to Colonel Newton, January 12, 1863, Ibid., p. 32].  Presumably whole companies were deserting their posts [Crosby to Cooper, February 1, 1863, Ibid., pp. 66-67].  It was suggested that some deserters should be permitted to organize against jayhawkers as, under sanction from Holmes, had been the case with deserters in the Magazine Mountains [Steele to Anderson, February 1, 1863, Ibid., p. 67].  When word came that the Federals were about to organize militia in northwestern Arkansas, Steele ordered that all persons, subject to military duty, who should fail to enroll themselves before February 6, should be treated as bushwhackers [same to same, February 3, 1863, Ibid., pp. 69-70].  Colonel Charles DeMorse, whose Texas regiment had been ordered, February 15, to report to Cooper [Crosby to DeMorse, February 15, 1863, Ibid.,], asked to be allowed to make an expedition against the wild tribes.  Some two hundred fifty citizens would be more than glad to accompany it.  Steele was indignant and Duval, at his direction, wrote thus to Cooper, April 19:  “...  Now if these men were so anxious to march three or four hundred miles to find the enemy, they could certainly be induced to take up arms temporarily in defence of their immediate homes” [Ibid., p. 203].  It was not that Steele objected to expeditions against