y
Indian camp near by, but, fearing he might give an alarm, he had not
gone near enough to the camp to see it.

Lieutenant Jacobs asked Bradley to let him take Drummond, return to the
spot and verify such important information. Bradley replied that they
would both go, and, leaving Sergeant Wilson in charge of the camp, both
officers started with Drummond on foot.

[Illustration: SERGT. MILDON H. WILSON.]

They proceeded with the greatest caution a distance of about a mile and
a half, when the Corporal whispered to Lieutenant Bradley that they
were near the place where he had heard the voices. They were surrounded
by a thick growth of small pine trees, through which it was impossible
to see to any distance. Moving slowly forward, they soon heard the
sound of axes, and inferred that the squaws were cutting lodge-poles in
the very body of woods they were then in.

Creeping along with bated breath; on the alert for every sound or sign;
fearful lest they should make known their presence to the Indians,
bring on a skirmish, and thus avert the purpose of the General, they
scarcely dared breathe.

They finally caught the sound of voices and stopped. Here the officers
held a whispered consultation which resulted in their crawling ahead to
a larger tree that stood about eighty paces in front of them. Still
they could see nothing of the camp, although the sounds came plainer,
and all were impressed with the knowledge that they were treading on
the very crest of a volcano, as it were. Jacobs suggested that they
climb the tree, arguing that as it was taller than those about it, they
might be able to see something interesting from its top.

To this Bradley readily assented, and leaving their rifles with the
Corporal and cautioning him to keep a sharp lookout for any possible
intruders, both officers climbed cautiously and stealthily into the
topmost branches of the pine tree. When they had gained this position,
they halted for a moment in a crouching posture, and then, cautiously
straightening themselves up, found that they were well above the
surrounding foliage, and were thrilled at seeing hundreds of Indian
horses quietly grazing in a prairie almost beneath them, for the tree
stood on top of a high hill. Several herders sat on their ponies in and
about the herd, while others lounged lazily on the ground under the
shade of neighboring trees. A few hundred yards beyond, they saw the
Indian camp where hundreds of warriors were