August 6: Two ambulances were sent to the hotel for our party and Adjutant General Ruggles, who is here on a tour of inspection. Mark rose early and said he would walk to the fort slowly, he thought it would do him good. General Ruggles and the ladies went in one ambulance, the old four mule army officers ambulance, and the other waited some little time before starting that I might complete arrangements for all the party to go direct from the fort to the depot. I was the only passenger riding with the driver and enjoying the memory of like experiences on the plains when in the army. We were about half way to the fort when I discovered a man walking hurriedly toward us quite a distance to the left. I was sure it was Mark and asked the driver to slow up. In a minute I saw him signal us and I asked the driver to turn and drive toward him. We were on a level plain and through that clear mountain atmosphere one can see a great distance. We were not long in reaching our man much to his relief. He had walked out alone and taken the wrong road and after walking five or six miles on it discovered his mistake and was countermarching when he saw our ambulance and ran across lots to meet us. He was tired too tired to express disgust and sat quietly inside the ambulance until we drove up to headquarters where were a number of officers and ladies besides our party. As Mark stepped out, a colored sergeant laid hands on him saying, Are you Mark Twain? I am he replied. I have orders to arrest and take you to the guardhouse. All right. And the sergeant walked him across the parade ground to the guardhouse, he not uttering a word of protest. Immediately Lieutenant Colonel Burt and the ambulance hurried over to relieve the prisoner. Colonel Burt very pleasantly asked Mark's pardon for the practical joke and invited him to ride back to headquarters. Mark said Thanks, I prefer freedom if you don't mind I'll walk. I see you have thorough discipline here, casting an approving eye toward the sergeant who had him under arrest. The garrison consisted of seven companies of the Twenty seventh United States Colored Regiment. There was a military band of thirty pieces. Guard mount was delayed for General Buggies and our inspection. The band played quite a programme and all declared it one of the finest military bands in America. We witnessed some fine drilling of the soldiers and learned that for this kind of service the colored soldiers were more subordinate and submissive to rigid drill and discipline than white men and that there were very few desertions from among them. When the band in 'trooping off' had marched past the guard and was counter marching back to the post, Col. [Andrew] Burt said, 'Mr. Twain says in one of his books that there were two things he didn't understand, one is the solar eclipse and the other is the counter marching band.' Twain replied, 'You are right, colonel, on both counts. I haven't solved the band proposition even now, and as for the other count, I was modest before I was born'"