He told me that he had but very little detective business to do, and that he did not wish to have me engaged in business that was not agreeable to my feelings. He told me to return to General Granger's head-quarters, and that if he found occasion to need my services he would send for me.
I have since had reason to suspect that setting me to work as a detective was simply a show of something for me to do, on the part of commanding officers, that I might be retained in the service longer, lest, in the future, something might turn up that would give them occasion to need me. At that time there was great clamoring among the soldiers to be mustered out, and orders had been issued to muster out all detached men who were not actively engaged.
We remained in New Orleans until the latter part of July, when we embarked on board the transports and went to Galveston, Texas. At that place there was as little for me to do as there had been in New Orleans. Having no use for me, General Granger sent me to Columbus, Texas, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles inland, to report to General Grierson.
I made the journey alone and on horseback, dressed as a citizen. For the last year and a half of my service, I very rarely wore any thing but a citizen's dress. I occupied five days in making the journey, and got through to General Grierson's head-quarters without having experienced a single incident of interest. That kind of scouting was dry business to me. It is excitement that makes the life of a scout interesting.
I made several trips of from twenty to sixty miles inland for General Grierson, but none of them was attended with any incident. The fact was, the war was over, and there was nothing for a scout to do. General Kirby Smith had before this surrendered his command, and there was no regularly organized Confederate force to contend with. The only disturbance was from lawless, evil-disposed persons, who roamed over the country, robbing both loyal and disloyal alike, their sole object being plunder.
In September General Grierson sent me alone to the Upper Colorado, a distance of four hundred miles, with instructions to see whether the rebs were concentrating a force or fortifying at any point along the river. I made the trip on horseback, in my usual citizen's dress. Very much of the distance was sparsely settled, which rendered my journey at least a lonesome one. A naturalist, no doubt, would have found in that route enough to have made a volume interesting, but to me nothing was of so much interest as the end of my journey. During the entire route it was the same dull monotony day after day.