Scott,

Thank you for your input. Mentioning having the horse in the cave is practical reasoning, and good to consider. Since "General" Crabtree handled mostly new recruits, it sounds reasonable to me to keep them under cover and minimize the time they were out in the open. I know Crabtree took his recruits from the area of Cole and Miller Counties south to Brigadier General McBride. I seem to recall that sometimes Crabtree would meet General McBride in Shannon County area or in a county nearby. Conceivably, the recruiter Crabtree could use a cave known to locals in various locations along his routes of bringing the recruits to McBride. I suppose McBride told Crabtree where he could be found the next time, etc.

Bruce Nichols