Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1869-06-15

Inc most extraordinary skill jnaU is
exhibited in this part Of the country,
either by the white or red native, is in
the practice Of trailing. Here it may
be accounted an art as much as music,
painting or sculpture is in the East.
The Indian or trapper that is a shrewd
trailer is man of close observation,
quick perception, and prompt action1
AS he goes along, nothing escapes his
observation, and what he sees and hears
he accounts for Immediately. Often
not another step is taken until mys-
terry that may present itself in this line
is fairly solved. The Indian trailer
will stand still for hours in succession,
to account for certain traces or effects
in tracks and sometimes give the mat
ter unremitting attention for days and
weeks.
/ have ridden several hundred miles
with an experienced guide, and trailer,
Hack, whom interrogated upon many
points in the practice of this art. Near
ly all tracks [ saw, either old or new,
as q novice in the art, I questioned him
about. In going to the Niobrara River
we crossed the track OF an Indian pony.
Ny guide followed the track few miles
and then said, cit is stray, black
horse, with long, bushy tail, nearly
starved to death, has split hoof of the
left foot, and goes very lame, and he
passed here early this morning" As
tonished and incredulous, I asked him
the reason for knowing these particu-
lars by the tracks of the animal, when
he replied :" It was stray horse, be-
cause it did not go in direct line his
tail was long for he dragged it over the
snow in brushing against bush he
left some of his hair, which shows its
color. He was very hungry, for, in 60
ing along, he has nipped at those high,
dry weeds, which horses seldom eat.
The assures of the left fore foot Left al
so, it's track, and the depth of the in
denture shows the degrer of his lame
ness and his track shows he was here
this morning, when the snow was hard
with frost"
At another place we came across an
Indian trail, and he said, cit was an
old Yankton who came across the Mis-
souri, last evening to look at his traps.
In coming over he carried i'll his right
hand trap, and in his left lasso to
catch a pony which he had lost. He
without finding the horse, but
had caught in the caught in the trap he
had out a prairie wolf, which he carried
home on his back and q bundle of kin
ikinic wood in his right hand. Then
he gave his reasons, 81 know he is old,
by the impression his gait has made
and a Yankton by that of his moccasin.
He is from the other side of the river,
as there are no Yanktons on this side.
The trap he carried struck the snow
now and then, and in tile same manner
as when he came, shows that he did not
find the pony. A drop of blood in the
centre of his tracks shows that he car
ried the wolf on his back, and q bundle
Of kinikinic wood he used for staff for
support, and catching a wolf, shows
that he had traps out. " "But, ask
ed, chow do you know it is a wolf, why
not fox, or q coyote, OF even q
deer ?" Said he, Eff it had been fox,
or coyote or any other small game he
would slipped the head of the animal
in his waist belt, and so carried it by
his side and not on his shoulders. Deer
are not caught by traps, but if it had
been a deer, he would not have crossed
this high hill, but would have gone
back by way of the ravine, and the load
would have made his steps still more
Another Indian track we saw twenty
miles west of this he put this serious
upon /" He is an upper
Indiana prowling horse thief-carried
4 double shot gun, and is a rascal that
killed some white man lately, and pass
ed here one week ago for, said he, a
lone Indian in. these parts is on mis-
chief, and generally on the lookout for
horses. He had on the shoe of Ia white
man, whom he had in all probability
killed, but his steps are those of an In
dian. Going through the ravine, the
end of his gun hit into the deep SHOW.
A week ago we had very warm day,
and the snow being soft, he made these
deep tracks I; ever since it has been in
tensely cold weather, which makes very
shallow tracks" l suggested that per-
haps he bought those shoes. "Tndians
don't buy shoes, and if they did they
would not buy them as large as these
were, for Indians have very small feet
The most noted trailer of this country
was Paul Daloria, q half breed, who
died under my hands of Indian con