page_162 < previous page page_162 next page > Page 162 destitute of justification.437 One has only to read his general reports to appreciate how heavy was the responsibility that rested upon him. It was no wonder that he resorted to questionable expedients to accomplish his purposes, no wonder that he instituted martial law438 in a seemingly refractory country, no wonder that he took desperate measures to force Pike to activity. Pike's leisurely way of attending to business was in itself an annoyance and his leisurely way of moving over the country was a positive offence. He had been ordered to proceed with dispatch to Fort Gibson. The expiration of a month and a half found him still at Fort McCulloch. He really did not move from thence until, having sent in his resignation, he made preparations for handing over his command to Colonel Cooper. That he intended to do at some point on the Canadian and thither he wended his way.439 By the twenty-first of July, "he had succeeded in getting as far as Boggy Depot, a distance of 25 miles;440 but then he had not left Fort McCulloch until that very morning.441 Pike's definite break with Hindman was, perhaps, more truly a consummation of Hindman's wishes than of Pike's own. On the third of July, as if regretting his previous show of temper, he wrote to Hindman a long letter,442 conciliatory in tone throughout. He discussed the issues between them in a calm and temperate spirit, 437 In September, Hindman declared he had never had any knowledge of the order creating Pike's department [Official Records, vol. xiii, 978]. 438 He instituted martial law, June 30, 1862 and, although he believed he had precedent in Pike's own procedure, Pike criticized him severely. See Pike to J. S. Murrow, Seminole Agent, October 25, 1862, ibid., 900-902. Hindman had authorized Pearce, June 17, 1862, to exercise martial law in the cities of Fort Smith and Van Buren and their environs [ibid., 835]. 439 Pike to Hindman, July 15, 1862. 440 Hindman's Report [Official Records, vol. xiii, 40]. 441 Pike to the Secretary of War, July 20, 1862 [ibid., 859]. 442Ibid., 954-962. Â < previous page page_162 next page >