Jim said, “No, I do not.  In the first place, we do not know where to look.  In the second place, the Indians may have carried them fifty or seventy-five miles from where they killed them.  In the third place, we do not know where the Indian village is or in what direction to look for it, and if we should find the Indian camp, they may be so strong that we would not dare to attack them, so you will see at once how useless it would be for us to attempt to do anything in regard to finding their bodies.”

One of the committee said, “Well, so you propose to pull out and go on?”

Jim said, “Yes, that is what I propose doing.  For the next four hundred miles we shall be in the worst Indian country in the West, and I want to get this train through it as quickly as I possibly can.”

The man answered, “It seems cruel to do it, but I suppose we must give orders to get ready to move.”

Jim replied, “Yes, we must be moving at once, for I cannot risk the lives of the living to hunt for those who are dead.”

We were on the road in less than an hour, the committee having told the friends of the lost men what the consequences would be if they resisted the idea of moving, and also the utter uselessness of trying to find their friends dead or alive.

When the train was already to move, Jim rode down the whole length of the wagons and told each man that he wanted every one of them to have their guns and pistols loaded and ready for immediate action, for, he told them, “We cannot tell at what minute we may be attacked by the Indians, and if your guns were not ready for use, you would have a slim chance of saving your own lives or the lives of those dependent on you.”

Everyone seemed to understand the situation better than they ever had before and promised to do as we had asked them to do.  Everything moved on satisfactory until about two o’clock in the afternoon, when one of the scouts from the north side reported that a big band of Indians was coming directly towards us.  I spurred my horse to a run, and when we reached a little ridge about a half a mile from the trail, I could see them myself, and I could see that they were all warriors, for there were no squaws or children with them, and I thought they would number a thousand strong.

I sent my companion back to tell Jim what was in prospect for a fight, and to be sure and have the Indian scalps hung up in the most conspicuous places.  I watched the Indians until they had got within a half a mile of the trail, where they all stopped and huddled together for several minutes.  I decided they were planning the attack, for when they started, they went directly for the train, which fact convinced me that the Indians had had a scout out as well as I had, and that he had been a little sharper than I was.

I now signaled for all the scouts to get to the train at once, and the reader can rest assured that not one of them including myself was long in getting there.