about one o'clock
They found there the sick and two wounded of the regiment , a doctor and some scouts who had backed out of going , and they also found a letter to Truscott from the colonel commanding , telling him that Wayne ought to be somewhere west of him up the next valley , to push on and join him , and then together they would be strong enough to ride through the Cheyenne trails and find the regiment . Fearing that Wayne would get too far up the valley , Truscott decided to make a night march due north and strike it some distance up-stream . From four P.M. until eleven they had rested , then had coffee , fed the horses , and started . Somewhere about one o'clock through the dim light of the waning moon they caught sight of a mounted man rapidly nearing them from the east , and heard the whinny of a horse . That was enough to prove 't was no Indian . Who could it be ? One or two flankers galloped to meet him , and the next thing a sergeant came rushing to Truscott at the head of column .