We started at
once, but before overtaking them they had pitched camp on the
shore of Lake Klamath.
After it was quite dark, George Jones and I crawled around near
the camp and counted twenty Indians.
Our intention had been to stampede the horses in stead of making
an attack on the Indians, as we thought the number too great to
tackle, but an investigation developed the fact that they had
turned their horses into a little peninsula that ran out into the
lake, and had pitched their tents so as to hold their horses in
there. Riley said there was only one of two things to do, and that
was to make the attack or crawfish. We were all well armed, the
other four having each a six-shooter and a sabre, and I had my big
knife, which was almost as good as a sabre, and two six-shooters.
We laid and watched their movements until all turned in for the
night.
They were badly scattered, making it worse for us than if they had
been in a bunch. We waited until about eleven o'clock, when we
thought they were all asleep, and having laid our plans of attack,
we all crawled up abreast to within a rod or so of where some of
them were lying, and each drew his pistol and sabre.
Taking our pistols in our left hands and sabres in the right, we
made a rush for them, intending to cut the first ones down with
our sabres, and if we got into close quarters we could use both at
the same time.
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