As late as mid-June 1876, Tullock's Creek was still considered by the military as a possible location of the large Indian village, even though most planning by General Terry and Custer in the days before the battle focused on the Little Big Horn River. When the Seventh Cavalry started up Rosebud Creek on June 22, 1876, Custer's written orders directed that a scout be sent from Rosebud Creek to General Alfred Terry by way of the Tullock's Creek drainage a couple of days into the march. Two days later, when the time came to send the scout north from the Rosebud at present Busby, Custer gave no orders and no explanation to his officers and scouts. Meanwhile, on the morning of June 25, 1876, the Montana Column was a few miles up the Tullock's Creek drainage when General Terry ordered it to turn right toward the Bighorn River. Expecting bench land with easy access to the southwest, the column instead encountered rough, hilly terrain with almost no water, and excessive midday heat made conditions so severe for the infantry that the cavalry had to ride ahead to the Bighorn River, fill canteens, and return to troopers still in the hills. At about the same time, Crow scouts reported smoke visible over the Little Bighorn Valley to the southwest, increasing Terry's sense of urgency. The six infantry companies reached the Bighorn River in mid-afternoon and continued south along the river, finally camping at 7:00 PM after covering 24 difficult miles. The four companies of the Second Cavalry pushed on through a stormy, moonless night and finally rested at midnight after crossing an additional 12 miles. Terry had positioned the Second Cavalry to reach the confluence of the Little Bighorn by June 25 as planned a few days earlier, but he did not know it was already too late.