We did but little in the way of scouting for the next few days.  Lieut.  Jackson said that we had made a good beginning and we did not want to do much before Gen. Crook came.  “For,” said he, “we will have all the fighting we want when the General gets here.”

The morning of the third day after the fight we started out with the entire scout force in squads of four, there being three squads, with the understanding that we were to keep in from one to three miles of each other, and all to camp together at night.

We took along with us four days’ rations, but a scout is expected to live on four days’ rations for eight days if it becomes necessary, for when ha starts he never knows just where he is going or when he will return.

It was in the afternoon of the third day that I ran on to an Indian trail that appeared from the number of horse-tracks to be about twenty in the band.  We could tell that they had passed there that day, so we followed the trail; and it was not long until the other two pulled in towards me, and we were soon near enough that I could signal to them, or they to me, and shortly we all met on the trail.

We had not followed long before we came in sight of the Indians riding leisurely along, and we then set it down that they were a band of Apaches on their way to the Oscuro Mountains for a hunt.  They went into camp early that night on account of water, and after supper they amused themselves by running foot-races.  I was tempted several times before dark to make a charge on them, but knowing that we could accomplish our end better by waiting until after dark, we held back until they had all turned in for the night.  They did not lie down until about nine o’clock, and by this time the boys were all getting anxious for a fight.  We waited about an hour after they had all lain down and then we started to crawl down to their camp.  We agreed to use our knives and sabres, George Jones and I each having a big knife, all the rest having sabres.

Our idea for this was to prevent any of our own party from being shot accidently; but each man had his pistol in his left had with instructions not to use it except in case of emergency.  We crawled into the camp undiscovered as the Indians had no dogs along to give the alarm.

Previous to this I had told the boys that I could crawl all over an Indian and not wake him up, and I came near demonstrating it that night.  They were apparently asleep and badly scattered, two in a place.

I had told the boys not to strike until they saw that I was just in the act of striking; that when they saw me raise up for each man to spring to his feet and get his Indian the first lick if possible, and not to let up as long as they could see one kick.