Gid and his men are in transit when the Nephite spies tell them that Ammoron’s reinforcements are marching to Cumeni. While they may have had Cumeni as a destination, they clearly find and engage Helaman’s forces in the field.
Historical: In Mesoamerican warfare the use of spies was not only common, it was essential. Among the Aztecs the spies were called quimichtin “mice,” which is rather descriptive of their role of being intrusive and quite. The Aztec quimichtin would speak the language and wear the dress of the people on whom they were spying upon (Hassig 1988, p. 51). We do not know if the Nephite spies attempted the same type of infiltration, but the need for information was no less great among the Nephites than among the later Aztecs. Mesoamerica had a long history of military spies.