How near the troops came to the Indian band is disclosed in the testimony of both Mrs. Sharp and Mrs. Marble who were with the Indians as captives. They both state that at three o’clock in the afternoon Lieutenant Murry’s men reached the same place that the Indians had left at about nine in the morning. Furthermore, the Indians were even then within reach, being encamped on a low stretch of ground bordering a small stream just over a slight rise of ground west of the lake. They were so located that while the Indian lookout was able from the treetops to see for miles around, the camp itself could not easily be seen. Mrs. Sharp relates that as soon as the lookout reported the approach of the soldiers of Lieutenant Murry, “the squaws at once extinguished the fires by pouring on water, that the smoke might not be seen; tore down the tents; packed their plunder; and ... one Indian was detailed to stand guard over us, and to kill us if there was an attack. The rest of the warriors prepared for battle.... The excitement manifested by the Indians was for a little while intense; and although less manifested ours was fully as great, as we were well aware that the Indians meant all they said when they told us we were to be shot, in case of an attack. We therefore knew that an attack would be certain _death to us_, whatever the results might be in other respects. After an hour and a half of this exciting suspense ... a sudden change came to us. The soldiers, it seems, just here decided to turn back.”[212] Upon Lieutenant Murry’s return, it was decided to give up the pursuit. This decision was based in part upon the report made by Lieutenant Murry and Coursalle and also on the fact that the supplies were nearly exhausted. From this point Captain Bee’s command went to Springfield. Here Smith and Henderson were found in the Wheeler cabin where they had been left two days previously. They were in good spirits despite their desolation. They had been visited by Mr. Shiegley who was in search of his boy. These men related to Captain Bee the story of events so far as they knew it, telling of the flight of their companions in the direction of Granger’s. Captain Bee at once sent a man in search of the fugitives who were to be invited to return. They were to be assured that the Indians were gone and that a guard of soldiers would be stationed at Springfield for their protection. The messenger, however, failed to overtake the refugees and in a few days returned. Meanwhile, Captain Bee sent a detail of twenty men under Lieutenant Murry to Spirit Lake to bury the dead. Murry went no farther than the Marble cabin where he found and buried Marble’s body and then returned to Springfield.