soldiers, etc., or until the prospect of a fight was over for nothing, save food for ourselves and horse. The General said he could not receive us for a less term than during the war as there was no law allowing him to receive us for a shorter period. We held on, knowing the old General was in a tight place and the services very hazardous in as much as all the reconnoitering detachments sent out had been captured by the enemy. In a day or two, Maj. Bliss rode into town and gave us the welcome intelligence that we be mustered in for six months.

We were permitted to remain in town with unlimited orders for forage, so as to recruit our horses as soon as possible. In the meantime our army was marched by Aquaneava. We remained in town until about the 15th, when an order arrived for us to repair immediately to headquarters, and reporting to the general, we were ordered to make a reconnoissance of Incarnassion. We left on the evening of the 16th so as to reach our destination about midnight. Twelve of our company with Maj. Howard of Texas and Thomas Crittenden of Kentucky (who was aide to Gen. Taylor and Lint Clark of the 2nd Kentucky Infantry) was our strength. About five miles before reaching the Rancho, myself and Major Howard riding in advance, succeeded in capturing one of the enemy's spies. He was well secured, a man ordered to lead his horse, and on each side with orders to shoot him in the event we fell into an ambuscade, as he stated there were no troops at the Rancho. He was told distinctly what the orders of the men were but still persisted "as a brave man would in saying there were no troops there". This I was led to doubt from the statement he made as to the time of day he had left the Rancho, he stating 12 o'clock, when I knew by his gourd being quite full of water he must have left late in the evening, it not being at all probable that he would take a single drink in that dry country, so we acted cautious accordingly.