[3][4] Drake and several other cavalry officers led lengthy explorations through eastern Oregon, northern Nevada, and southwestern Idaho searching for Indian raiders.

Before dawn the next morning a small group of soldiers and Warm Springs Indian scouts led by Lieutenant Stephen Watson attacked Paulina's camp from three sides.

[6][7] During an expedition to resupply Army posts in eastern Oregon, Drake discovered fossilized bones in the hills southwest of Sheep Rock in the upper John Day basin.

Based on Drake's directions, Condon explored the area that is now the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.

[2][8][9] In late 1864, Drake was promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to the newly established 1st Oregon Infantry as the regiment's second highest-ranking officer.

Two companies escorted survey parties; and another, led by Captain Franklin B. Sprague, constructed a road in southwestern Oregon.

As a result, most of the volunteer officers and men of the 1st Oregon Infantry regiment were released from service in November, so the planned winter campaign never got started.

[1][15] Drake's records from his military service along with his journal describing the Army's 1864 campaign against the Snake Indians are held by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

The library also has Drake's personal letters, legal papers, private account books, business correspondence for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, and receipts for the Portland Board of Trade.