“The General did not know at what moment he might be relieved from the command of the Army, and was therefore anxious that the Secretary of War might in some way be prepared for the emergency, should it arise; but said that he could not personally be a party to any preparations for such an event while he was subject to the orders of the President. So he said that he would retire, but would leave his Chief of Staff, who, he said, seemed to be belligerent enough for any purpose. When the General withdrew the Secretary said:
“'Now, Mr. Lyon, what can you do to aid us, or what do you suggest?'
“I said: 'Give me until this evening to reflect upon the matter and I will meet you gentlemen here at any hour that may be agreed upon.' So eight o'clock was designated, and we separated.
“During the day I made inquiry of Gen. Anderson about the disbanded soldiers; how they, or some of them, could be organized in an emergency, and supposed the case of the rebels trying their rebellion over again. He laughed at the idea, but said there was but one condition of things that could possibly bring about such a result, and that was if the President should undertake the restoration of all the rebel States without the action of Congress, as he had heard hinted by some leading rebels who had recently been in Washington.
“I asked him if it would not be well for some men of influence to be on the alert.
“'Yes,' he replied; 'there ought to be a secret force in Washington and elsewhere, until the reconstruction of the rebel States is complete.'
“I said no more to him at this time on the subject. Gen. Anderson said he would call and see the General of the Army in a day or so, as he had only visited him occasionally since in Washington, but that his calls were always made very pleasant.
“At eight o'clock sharp I went to the War Office and found the Secretary and the Chief of Staff to the General waiting for me. We at once entered into conversation on the subject of the conspiracy. I made the same suggestion that Gen. Anderson had intimated to me, which was at once discussed and thought to be a good proposition. But how could it be done without the whole matter being made public in some way? The Secretary thought this was a matter that should be kept within the knowledge of a very few discreet men.
“'True,' said I; 'but you must have a nucleus here in Washington if you can find the man to organize it. I know a man who would be perfectly safe, but I have a suggestion in connection with him that I think better. It is this: My son Henry is very anxious to go to the Black Hills, but that country being unsafe, on account of the Indians, I have been thinking that a large number of discharged soldiers would jump at an enterprise of this kind. They could be organized and have it so arranged that they could be got together quickly for any emergency; and if the emergency should not arise, when the danger should be passed the General of the Army could properly issue an order preventing any organization or combination of men from entering the Black Hills country, and instruct the army in that part of the West to carry out the order. This would let the men at the head of the organization out of the scrape, and would afford them an ample excuse for abandoning the enterprise.'
“The Secretary said: 'This seems feasible; who could you trust with this management?'