“And how with you, Riley?” I asked.  He replied:  “I will go if I can get permission.”

At seven o’clock, sharp, all hands met at my tent.  The Colonel opened the conversation by saying:  “Gentlemen, our chief scout, Mr. Drannan, has concluded to leave us and go to San Francisco to spend the winter, and under the circumstances I don’t want to see him go alone.  Do you men feel like accompanying him and bringing our mail back on your return?”

George Jones said:  “I can only speak for myself.  I will accompany him alone and bring the mail back if no one else feels like going.”  At this Riley said he was willing to accompany George on the trip if necessary.

Col.  Elliott straightened up and said:  “Boys, I don’t believe you realize the danger you will necessarily have to encounter in making this trip.  Think the matter over thoroughly until to-morrow evening, by which time you will be able to give me a decided answer;” and then the Colonel departed, requesting us all to meet him in his quarters the following evening at seven o’clock, sharp.  After he had gone George Jones asked me how long I thought it would take us to go to Sacramento.  About fifteen days was my estimate, and I was of the opinion that we would best go an entirely different route to what we came.  Before leaving my tent they had made up their minds to tackle the trip anyway, let it go as it might, and the time set to start was ten days from that.

The following evening we all went to the Colonel’s tent at the hour agreed upon.  He asked the boys as soon as they entered if they had made up their minds to tackle the trip, and they both told him they had.  He then asked me when I would be ready to start, and I told him in ten days.

George Jones then asked the Colonel what length of time he would give him and Riley to make the trip in.  “I will give you a month and a half,” was the reply.

Five of us had fifty-two horses that we had captured from the Indians.  I called the other four together and told them if they would let me pick six horses from the band they might have the remainder.  This being agreeable, the day following the horses were driven into the corral and I selected my six.  Jones and Riley put in a good portion of the day in saddling and riding them to see whether they were broke or not, and we found them all to be fairly well broken to ride.

The next day I told the Colonel that I was ready to resign my position as chief of scouts, for you will have to appoint another man, and you had just as well do it first as last.

“No,” said the Colonel, “when you are ready to start, I will give you a voucher for your pay up to that time, and when you get to San Francisco you can get your money.”

We commenced making preparations to start, but did not let it be generally known until the day before starting, and then everybody wanted to write a letter to send out, and by the time we were ready to start we had a pack-horse loaded with mail.