for guard duty throughout the trip have been arranged.  Hedges is to be my comrade-in-arms in this service.  He has expressed to me his great satisfaction that he is to be associated with me throughout the trip in this night guard duty, and I am especially pleased at being assigned to duty with so reliable a coadjutor as Hedges, a man who can be depended upon to neglect no duty.  We two are to stand guard the first half of this first night—­that is, until 1 o’clock to-morrow morning; then Washburn and Hauser take our places.  Fresh Indian signs indicate that the red-skins are lurking near us, and justify the apprehensions expressed in the letter which Hauser and I received from James Stuart, that we will be attacked by the Crow Indians.[A] I am not entirely free from anxiety.  Our safety will depend upon our vigilance.  We are all well armed with long range repeating rifles and needle guns, though there are but few of our party who are experts at off-hand shooting with a revolver.

[Illustration:  Taking A shot at Jake smith’s hat.]

In the course of our discussion Jake Smith expressed his doubt whether any member of our party except Hauser (who is an expert pistol shot) is sufficiently skilled in the use of the revolver to hit an Indian at even a close range, and he offered to put the matter to a test by setting up his hat at a distance of twenty yards for the boys to shoot at with their revolvers, without a rest, at twenty-five cents a shot.  While several members of our party were blazing away with indifferent success, with the result that Jake was adding to his exchequer without damage to his hat, I could not resist the inclination to quietly drop out of sight behind a clump of bushes, where from my place of concealment I sent from my breech-loading Ballard repeating rifle four bullets in rapid succession, through the hat, badly riddling it.  Jake inquired, “Whose revolver is it that makes that loud report?” He did not discover the true state of the case, but removed the target with the ready acknowledgment that there were members of our party whose aim with a revolver was more accurate than he had thought.  I think that I will make confession to him in a few days.  I now wish that I had brought with me an extra hat.  My own is not large enough for Jake’s head.  Notwithstanding the serious problems which we must deal with in making this journey, it is well to have a little amusement while we may.

Tuesday, August 23.—­Last night was the first that we were on guard.  The first relief was Hedges and Langford, the second Washburn and Hauser.  Everything went well.  At 8 a.m. to-day we broke camp.  Some delay occurring in packing our horses, Lieutenant Doane and the escort went ahead, and we did not again see them until we reached our night camp.