New Orleans daily crescent., 1866-10-15
gs rx#s aveekv Gtssttm saaxa atug osfaber 49, 1885,


the earth is soft, and makea careful examination,
embracing the entire area where it is likely to,
run. E,t .
Indians who find themselves pursued and wish
to, escape, scatter as much as possible, with an
understanding that they are to meet again at some
point in advance, 50 that, if the pursuing party
follows any one of the tracks, it will invariably
lead to the place of rendezvous. If, for example,
the trail points in the direction of amQuntaih pass,
or towards any other place which affords the only
passage though particular section Of country, it
would not be worth while to spend much time in
hunting it, as it would probably beregained the
pass. I'D 4T--.a l-'f
In traversing district Of unknown country,
with view ofreturnihg to the point of departure,
pocket compass should always be carried, and
attached by string to a button-hole of the coat,
to prevent its being lost or mislaid and on start
ing out, as well as frequently during the trip, take
the bearing and examine the appearance of the,
country when facing toward the starting point, as
landscape presents very different aspect when
viewed from opposite directions. There are few.
white men who can retrace their steps for any
great distance unless they take the above preea1
tions in passing over an unknown country for the
first time; but with the Indians it is different: the
sense. of locality seems to, be innate with them,
and they do not require the aid of the magnetic
needle toyguide them. .sbat r.
Upon a certain occasion, when / had made a
long march over an unexplored section, and was
returning over an entirely different ronte, without
either road or trail a Delaware, by the name of
"Black BeaYer,n who was in my party, on arriv-
ing at particular point suddenly halted, and,
turning to me, asked'if l recognized the country
before US. Seeing no familiar. objects, 1 replied
in the negative. He put the same question to
other white men of the party, all of whom gave
the same answers, whereupon he smiled, and in
his quaint vefnacular said, "Injun, he don't know
nothing. Iniun big fool. White man mighty
smart; he know heap.n At the same time he
pointed to tree about two hundred yards from
vy1,n,n s,tnr vi SYFr
that our outward trail ran directly by the side of
it, which proved to be true.
Another time, as | was returning from the Co.
manche country over route many miles distant
from the one had Travelled in going ont, one Of
my Delaware hunters, who had never visited the
section before, on arriving upon the crest of an
eminence in the prairie pointed out to me clump
OF trees in the distance, remarking that cur out
ward track would be found there. was not,
however, disposed to credit his statement untilRe
reached the locality, and found the road passing
the identical spot he had indicated. @
The same Indian would start from any place to
which he had gone bya sinuous route, through an
unknown country, and keep a direct bearing back
to the place of departure; and he assured me that
he has never even during the most cloudy or
foggy weather, or in the darkest nights, lost the
points Of the compass There are yeryfew white
men who are endowed with these wonderful facul.
ties, and those few are only rendered proficient by
matured experience.
have known several men, after they had be
came lostin the praries, to wander about for days
without exercising the least Judgment, and finally
exhibit state of mental alteration almost upoL
the verge of lunaey. Instead Of reasoning upor
their situation, they exhaust themselves, running
ahead at their utmost speed withoutany regard tc
direction. When person is satisfied that he has
lost his way he should stop and reflect upon the
course he has been travelling, the time that has
elapsed since he left his camp, and the probable
distance that he is from til and if he is unable tt
retrace his steps, he houldkeep as nearly in fht
direction of them as possible; and if he has com
pass, this will be an easy matter; but, above all
he should guard against following his own tracE
around in circle with the idea that, he is in q
beaten trace.
When he is travelling with train of wagons
which leaves a plain trail, he can make the dis
t8nce he has Travelled from camp the radius. Of I
circle, in which to ride around, and before the
circle is described he will strike the trail If Tie
person has no compass, it is always we'll to make
an observation, and to remember the direction, o
| the wind at the time of departure from camp, ant
as this would not generally change during the
day, it would afford means of keeping the points
of the compass. .a rrf
IN the night Ursa Major 1.-THE Great Bear) is no
only useful to find the north star but its position
when the pointers will be vertical in the heavens
may be estimated with sufficient accuracy to de
ter1nine the north, even when the north star can
not be seen. In tropical 1atitudes the zodiaca
consultations such as Orion and Antares give thu
east and west bearing, and the Southern Gross tht
cannot be seen. L@4r IN
1t is said that the moss upon the frs and othe
trees in Europe gives a certain indication of tn
points Of the compass in a.forest country, tht
greatest amount accommodating upon the north sid
of the trees. But / have often observed the tree
in our own forests, and have not been able t6forr
any positive conclusions in thisway.
| The following upon letters of recommendatio
| will be interesting in this latitude senato'
| doubtful letter contained more truth doubtless
than many such letters of recommendation, tha
/ are piled up by carloads in this part of til
| country: e
The Indians are desrous Of procuring fror
| whomsoever they meet testimonials of their goo
behavior, which they preserve with great care
| and exhibit upon all occasions to strangers, as
guarantee OF future good conduct.
| On meeting with a chief of the Southern Co
| manches, in lS49, after going through the usua
ceremony of embracing, and assuring me that h
was the best friend the Americans ever had amonj
the Indians, he exhibited numerous certificate
| from the different white men he had metwith testi
| flying to his friendly disposition. Among these wa
one he desired me to read with special attention
as he said he was of the opinion that perhaps
might not be so complimentary in its character a
some of the others. TWAS in these words
"The bearer of this says heis Comanche chief
named senaco; that he is the biggest Indian an
best friend the whites ever had; in fact, that he
a first-rate fellow; butI believe he is q d-dras
| cal, so look out for him. %,
!, smiled on reading the paper, and looking uu
4 found the chiefs eyes intently fixed upon min
with an expression of the most earnest inquiry.
told him the paper was not as good as it might be
| whereuponshe destroyed it. ,
4 His sketches of border hunters are very graphic
The far famed Capt Martin Scott whose Rnerrin
aim with the rifle was such as to produce the we
i known legend that the coon, when treed by him
would sing out, If it is you, Capt. Scott, dom
fire; III come down" was an officer in Colone
Marcy's regiment, and long associated with him i
border life His chapter upon his old friend, VIII
fell heroicaly in the Mexican war, is full of inter
| est, and we quote from it r-1
| Like other boys, young Scott was very fond 0
visiting places of amusement, such as horse-races
| trainings, town meetings, etc., and, as he was
| good rider, he was sometimes selected to rid
races by the,sportng fraternity of that section.
In those days (before the lime Of horse fairs
horseracing was looked upon by the New Eng
landers as a most immoral and pernicious praC
4 tice, and young Scott was never allowed to max
his appearance at such places with his father
4 consent. @sfr' -ft
Upon one occasion an unknown horse wa
1 brought to Bennington by some sportsmen, VIII
| offered large wagers upon his running against an
other horse that could Reproduced. Now cel
tain Deacon R, of that place, was the owne
OF several fine horses, and among them was on
that was considered very fleet, but those dispose
\ to'contest the wager so confidently offered on t
strange horse We're perfectly aware that Pre-
Il byteran deacon would not openly sanction an
/ give countenance to such diobolical immoralit,
i yet those who knew him well verify believed
there was any one trait in the deacon,s charactt
that was not instruct accordance with the rei,nir
ments of the church and with the sanctity Of h