I made several trips of from twenty to sixty miles inland for General Grierson, but none of them was attended with any incident. The fact was, the war was over, and there was nothing for a scout to do. General Kirby Smith had before this surrendered his command, and there was no regularly organized Confederate force to contend with. The only disturbance was from lawless, evil-disposed persons, who roamed over the country, robbing both loyal and disloyal alike, their sole object being plunder. In September General Grierson sent me alone to the Upper Colorado, a distance of four hundred miles, with instructions to see whether the rebs were concentrating a force or fortifying at any point along the river. I made the trip on horseback, in my usual citizen's dress. Very much of the distance was sparsely settled, which rendered my journey at least a lonesome one. A naturalist, no doubt, would have found in that route enough to have made a volume interesting, but to me nothing was of so much interest as the end of my journey. During the entire route it was the same dull monotony day after day. On my return, and when within four days' ride of Columbus, I fell in with a party of outlaws numbering forty men. They wore uniforms exactly like General Grierson's cavalry, and had United States saddles and carbines. At first I supposed that they were a detachment of his command, but fortunately I discovered my mistake before having told who I was. They plundered indiscriminately, but left the impression, wherever they went, that they were a detachment of United States troops, acting under General Grierson's orders. I traveled with them three days. As soon as I found out what they were I proposed to join their organization. This I did for my own safety. I represented myself as having been a planter in Mississippi, and that I had lost all my property by the war--a part of it by the Confederate army and a part of it by the Lincoln army; and I also told them that I was determined to get my property back in some way, and did not care a d--m how nor who I got it from. My proposition was accepted, and it was arranged that I should go on to Columbus and transact some business that I had there, and, if possible, secure by some means, fair or foul, a uniform, saddle, and carbine, and then return to a certain plantation that they would show me in our route.