The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-06-10

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they had seen with gravelly bed.
1--WE must res; awhile, boys" he e..iGi.
and recruit our horses or we shall break
down before night
His companions followed his example.
and all led their painting horses to the
stream. to drink of its clear, sparkling wa.
tcrs. But Edgar drew his back. suddenly,
before he had touched the tide; and. arrest.
ing the others in the samo manner, pointed
to the bottom of the rivulct
" Is not that horses tracki" he asked,
indicating the spot with his rifle.
Yes, said White, land here are more /;
and here to the left they are palmer and
moro numerous. Our visitors must have
passed this way, and are not going to the
Portage"
The tracks were but faint prints ia the
shifting gravel of the stream; and to the
eyes Of less obscrVant men. would have
been quite void of meaning. II was, how
ever, the peculiar faculty of Western Ran.
gers, never to overlook anything and their
attention once attracted, but few moments
was consumed in determining that fifteen
or twenty hOrscmcn had ridden along the
bed of the stream; that they were Indians.
and travelling in haste. 1t might seem n
more difficult matter to fix, even approxi-
matcly, the length o.! time which had
elapsed since their passage; but the invon-
tlun of rangers was seldom at fault.
George said the Captain to Fielding,
get on your horse, and ride up the stream
few rods, as fast as he can walk in among
those tracks"
Fielding obeyed and turning out of the
stream, short distance above, camc back
and dismounted. The party now unsaddled
their horses, and picketing them upon the
sweet heritage, stretched themselves upon
the sward at the margin of the stream. As
soon as the agitation of tho waters had
ceased, Edgar fixed his gaze upon the foot
prints-plalnly visihe-of Fielding horse,
and watched the gradual process of their
hling up, by the current. Scarcely min
ute passed whose influence he did not osti-
mate in slowly oblitcrating the trail and
when nj the end of an hour he rose and
walked nearer the water, but few mo-
ments of scrutiny were sufficient to deter
mine how long it would be before the new
tracks were as nearly filled up as were the
old when he saw them first,
They are quite six hours ahead of us
he said, land tomorrow night will see
them before we will"
They must bo making for the ford x
above the Piasan Bluffs suid White, land
if SO, will not GROSS the Mississippi"
That is rather too far north" Edgar re-
piled, but we will follow them, if they 20
to the starved rock
So saying, he threw the saddle again
upon his horse, and-imitated by his COM
panions -remountcd for the pursuit.
81 think George" gaid he, after II min
ute's reflection, you had better rido on to
the Portage; the men will all he there by
the middle of the afternoon. Tell them to
bait their horses for an hour and then fol-
low lis with all speed, so as to join us at
the mouth of the Illinois by sunrisa tG-mor-
row. Unless the trail should lead us too
much out of the way, we will wait for them
there. If you do not find us there. look for
three columns of smoke ranging north and
south, and make all haste to come up.
Fielding made no reply; but, putting
spurs TO his horse, turned his head TO the
west and was soon out of sight-while
Edgar and White, now left alone, took their
way as rapidly as possible up the banks of
the stream. 1t was small force with
which to attack twenty savages; but had
the odds been ten times greater, Edgars
eagornesa and Whites zeal would have let
no check, What they might not effect by
me StrohG hand, they trusted to staatagom
to compass; and even the savage was no
match for the ranger i'll cunning.
The two adventurers had gone scarcely a
mile, - ten tney were brought suddenly to
a halt. The trail was about equally divid-
ed-one-half the party keeping up the bed
of the stream, and the other issuing toward
the left and leading of westward This
was embarrassing The prisoner could not
be with both divisions-and it was ex-
tremely difficult to tell which to follow.
We are at fault, said Edgar.
There is IA sign which may set Ills right"
exclaimed White, pointing to a little strip
of some white stuff which huttered upon "a
bush, but y few PAGES from tho water.
" Tho briars have hetriendcd us in need"
AN obstruction TO tho navigation Of the Ilinois,
now open, at "Apple Creek Bar"
CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK.