He was accommodated; and as there was not room for more than three on the bed, he spread his blankets on the floor at its foot, in front of the fire, and soon all were asleep once more. However, they were not destined to enjoy this peace very long, for shortly after they had all dropped asleep, there came still another commotion at the door. Yager arose, armed himself once more, and going to the door demanded to know what was wanted. It proved to be Leonard A. Gridley and George M. Brown, from Bannack. They inquired for Colonel Sanders, and being informed that he was there, and invited in, they declined, and asked that he come out.
The colonel went out and joined the two men, when he was told that they had been sent by his wife to ascertain his whereabouts and bring him home; and they related to him the events now to follow.
On the morning of the preceding day, a young man named Henry Tilden, who had accompanied Chief Justice Edgerton and Colonel Sanders from their homes in Ohio to Bannack City, had been sent to Horse Prairie, ten miles south of Bannack, to gather together a herd of cattle owned by them and to drive the same into town.
It was rather late when he left Bannack, and as the cattle were somewhat scattered, night came upon him before he had got them all together. He therefore put those he had found in a corral, and having decided to go to the town and spend the night, and return the next day to find the rest, he started in the darkness for Bannack.
He was a young man used to quiet and peace, and wholly untrained in the experiences he was about to undergo. Midway between Horse Prairie Creek and Bannack, as he was riding along at a gallop, he saw in front of him several horsemen. He was somewhat startled, as he was not prepared to meet men under such conditions and in such a country. He gathered courage as he rode, and proceeded along the highway until he came up with the horsemen, who produced their revolvers and told him to throw up his hands and dismount, a request with which he quickly complied, notwithstanding the impolite manner in which it was conveyed. They “went through” his pockets, he meanwhile maintaining a very awkward position with his hands in the air above his head. Finding nothing, they told him to mount his horse and proceed on his way, telling him further that if he ever dared to open his mouth about the circumstance, he would be murdered, or, in their expressive language, they would “blow the top of his head off.”