The notable Carleton family -- A young man's literary aspirations -- Participation in the Maine Boundary controversy -- Cavalry training and first mission -- Brief syspension and reassignment -- Log books on the prairies -- The Battle of Buena Vista-another Thermopylae -- Escort duty and Army discipline -- The defense of New Mexican acquisitions -- A railroad route and Gran Quivira Mission -- Mail order business -- Tactics of the Russian Cossacks -- Mountain Meadows Massacre -- National disunity results in preferential appointment -- The California column advances -- Reestablishment of order in the Southwest -- Arizona secession and property confiscation -- Unsolved Indian problems -- Skullduggery -- An unpaid debt and white crosses marked "Unknown" -- The Carleton meteorite-other services and experiences -- Father and son: One career ends as another begins.