Some three weeks later than this, it being about the first of June, 1873, George and I had been out all night and were coming into quarters, being a little later this morning than common, and when we were within about one and a half miles from quarters we crossed the trail of three Indians.  I got down and examined the tracks closely; there was one track quite large and long, another not quite so large and the third was quite small.  I told George I was not afraid to bet twenty dollars that they were the tracks of Captain Jack, his wife and little girl.  We pushed on to headquarters with all possible speed and reported to Gen. Wheaton.  He asked my reason for thinking that it was Captain Jack.  I told him from the fact that it suited for his family.  I was well acquainted with both him and his squaw, and I told the General that Jack himself had an unusually long foot.  He asked how much of an escort I wanted and if I would go at once.  I told him I would, and I wanted two platoons.  He directed his orderlies to report as soon as possible with two platoons of cavalry, and I gave my horse to George, telling him to change our saddles to fresh horses at once.  As soon as it was noised around that we had got track of Captain Jack, the scouts all wanted to accompany me, but I told them that their services could not be dispensed with at camp for one hour, for it was getting now where the thing must be watched very closely.  George rode up on a fresh horse and was leading Black Bess with my saddle on her.  I mounted and we were off again in pursuit of Captain Jack, but as we rode away Gen. Wheaton expressed himself as being doubtful as to its being Captain Jack.

When we struck the trail of the three Indians, I had one platoon to ride on each side of the trail, keeping about fifty yards away from it, and in case we should miss it or get off, we would have a chance to go back and pick it up again before it would become obliterated.

This was one of the prettiest mornings that we could have had for the occasion.  The fog disappeared with the rising of the sun, and in many places we could look ahead and see the trail in the grass for fifty yards.  In those places we put our horses down to their utmost.  George and I were both very hungry, having had nothing to eat since the evening before, and we had been in the saddle all night, but an old scout forgets all this when he gets on a fresh Indian trail and becomes somewhat excited.  After we had gone about six miles we came to a gravel country for a mile and a half, and it was slow and tedious tracking across this, for many times we had nothing to go by only as they might turn a little pebble over with their feet or step on a little spear of grass and mash it down, and this was very thin and scattering on the ridge.  However, as soon as we were across the gravelly ridge, we again struck grass and we let our horses out almost at full speed, knowing very well that as soon as the dew dried off it would be