In 1866 Col. Henry B. Carrington was ordered into the Powder River and Big Horn countries to build and garrison forts along the Bozeman Trail for the protection of white travelers. His wife Margaret, a dozen officer s wives and eleven children traveled with the troops. Margaret maintained a detailed journal of the day-to-day operations of the men and families of the 2nd Battalion. Encompassing not only the daily life on the plains, it ventures into the conflicts between the Indians (Red Cloud, Chief Spotted Tail) and the white intruders into the Indians hunting grounds. The Indian s defense of their lands in the face of the rush to the Black Hills gold fields escalated until it erupted in the Fetterman Massacre of 1866. It is from Margaret s journals that this book was written as an eyewitness account of incidents that plagued this troubled time. Revised and enlarged to include new information and notes gathered from 10 years after the first edition was printed, this edition is illustrated with maps, woodcuts and Indian portraits. Readers can follow other operations in the valleys of Powder, Tongue, Big Horn and Yellowstone rivers. It includes an Introduction by Colonel Henry B. Carrington, written after his wife s death. This edition retains the look and feel of the original book As Published in 1879 . DSI reprint editions are fully corrected and the type is reset for a clean crisp look to the reprinted pages, Enjoy.