General Sibley and staff accompanied this brigade of 2,100 men as far as Fort Ridgely, where he gave them their final orders.
Colonel Thomas, who considered General Sibley a man of ability, thought him too cautious, and, in response to his final orders, said: “General, I am going to hunt for Indians; if they will hunt for and find me it will save a heap of trouble.”
It was a beautiful morning on June 5th, and as the first rays of the morning sun flashed the full light of day, “boots and saddles” sounded in the clear tones of the bugles, and the column, headed by a magnificent band, mounted on milk white horses, marched out to the tune of “The Girl I Left Behind Me.”
The General reviewed the column as it passed, and after complimenting the appearance of the soldiers and bidding good-bye to Colonel Thomas and his staff, who were starting on a five months’ campaign beyond the bounds of civilization, rode back to the fort.
The column was now under way, and day after day the march went on, in solid square, so organized that all the Indians in North America could not disturb it. At night the square closed up, so as to ensure greater safety and reduce guard duty.
The column moved up the valley of the Minnesota river to its source, and then took a westerly course, making daily from sixteen to twenty miles, resting on Sunday.
The scouts, failing to find even signs of Indians, the march became monotonous until the valley of the Missouri was reached. Here was found General Sully’s trail of the year previous, and soon some of his scouts came into camp and reported General Sully only one day’s march away, where he was waiting for the fleet of boats on which were supplies for the troops.
The monotony of the daily march was enlivened by the report that Indians were hovering around,—they came to reconnoiter, but not to fight yet. This of itself was encouraging, because the boys began to think they would not even see an Indian; but there was fun ahead, as we shall see in the next chapter.