About midnight the column reached the valley, very tired and hungry, but much elated over its escape.

We had spent a day of the most intense anxiety, especially those who had had the responsibility of keeping to the right trail, and been charged with the hard work of breaking the road for the infantry and artillery through such a depth of snow.
Our main difficulties were now over, and in due time we reached the Dalles, where almost everyone connected with the expedition voted it a wretched failure; indeed, General Rains himself could not think otherwise, but he scattered far and wide blame for the failure of his combinations.

This, of course, led to criminations and recriminations, which eventuated in charges of incompetency preferred against him by Captain Edward O.C.Ord, of the Third Artillery.
Rains met the charges with counter-charges against Ord, whom he accused of purloining Father Pandoza's shoes, when the soldiers in their fury about the ammunition destroyed the Mission.

At the time of its destruction a rumor of this nature was circulated through camp, started by some wag, no doubt in jest; for Ord, who was somewhat eccentric in his habits, and had started on the expedition rather indifferently shod in carpet-slippers, here came out in a brand-new pair of shoes.

Of course there was no real foundation for such a report, but Rains was not above small things, as the bringing of this petty accusation attests.