The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-03-28
Prairie Detectives.
INDIAN TRAILERs-THErR ASTONISHING POWERS.
lCnrresnnnd ence of the Hndson Star

INDIAN rRAnERs-rHErR ASTONISHING POWERS.
| Correspondence of the Hudson stsrl
U. 8. A.. Posr HOSPITAL, FIR. RANDALL, !
DAcoTAH TERRITORY, Feb. IL, 1869.
The most extraordinary skill that Is exhibite
| In this part of the country, either by the whit
man or red native, Is In the practice of trailing
! Here II may be accounted an art as much ss music
or painting or sculpture il In the East. The Indian
or trapper that Ia shrewd trailer Is q man O
close Observation, and what he sees and hears hi
| accounts for Immediately. Often not another steE
~ taken until mystery that may present itself i
stand still for hours In succession to account fol
certain traces or effects In tracks, and sometimes
give to the matter unremitting attention for day.
i and weeks.
his head much inclined, his eye Is quick and rest.
less. always on the WATCH and he Is practcing his
art unconsciously, hardly ever crossing the track
| OF man or animal without seeing 1t. When he en-
tiers house he brings the practice Of his art with
him. l know trailer as soon as he enters nv
room. He comes In through the door softly and
| with an air of exceeding caution. Before he is
fairly IN, or at least has sat down, he has taken
| note OF every article and person, though there
may be q dozen vacant chairs in the ROOM He ia
not used to chairs and, like the Indian, prefers
more humble seat.
When ! was employed by Gen. Harvey last sum.
mer to take charge temporarily Of the Indians that
were gathered here to form new reservation,
headquarters. / told him to be seated. He sat
down on the floor, bracing his back against the
wall. The general saw this. and In vexation cried
ont, my God, why don't you take chair, when
there are plenty here not occupied" The man
arose and seated himself in a chair, but in SO
awkward and uncomfortable a manner that he
looked as If be might slip from II at any moment.
But when this uncouth person came to transact
his business with the general, he turned out to be
man OF no ordinary abilities. His description of
route he took as guide and trailer for the Ogsl.
lalas in bringing them from the Platte to this place
was minute, and 10 me exceedingly interesting.
Every war party that for the season had crossed
his trail he described with minuteness az to their
number, the kinds of arms they had, and stated
the tribes they belonged TO. In these strange
revelations that he made there was neither impo-
siton nor supposition, for he gave satisfactory
reasons for every assertion he made.
have rode several hundred miles with an ex-
perienced guide and trailer. Hack, whom inter-
roRated upon many points in the practice of this
art. Nearly all the tracks / saw, either old or
new, as novice in the art. questioned him
about. In going to the Niobrara river we crossed
the track Of an Indian pony. My guide followed
the track few miles and then said, at is q stray
black horse, with long, bushy TAIL nearly starved
to death, has split hoof of the left fore foot and
goes very lame, and he passed here early this
morning." Astonished and incredulous, asked
him the reasons for knowing these particulars BY
the tracks of the animal. when he replied: at
was stray horse because il did not 60 in direct
line; his tail was long, for he dragged it over the
snow; IN brushing against bush be left some of
his hair, which shows its color. He was very
hungry, for, in going along he has nipped at those
high, dry weeds, which horses seldom eat. The
assure OF the left fore foot left. Also it's track
and the depth OF the indentation shows the degree
of his lameness and his tracks show be was here
frost.r -"
AT another place we came across an Indian
track. and be said: at is an old Yankton who
came across the Missouri last evening to look at
his traps. In coming over he carried in his right
hand trap, and In his left lasso to catch pony
which he had lost. BE returned without finding
the horse, but had caught In the trap he had ont a
prairie wolf, which he carried home on his back.
and bundle Of knikinic wood in his right hand.n
Then he gave his reasons. " / know he ia old by
the impression his gait has made, and Ysnkton,
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 the same manner as when he
came, showing that he did not find his pony. A
drop OF blood in the center Of his tracks shows
that be carried the wolf on his back, aud the
bundle of kinikinic wood he used as a staff for
support, and catching a wolf shows that he had
traps opt But, l asked, show do you know It
is wolf why not fox, or covette, or even a
deerW Said he, " IL IL had been g fox, or a CO.
vette, or any other small game, he would have
slipped the head of the animal in his waist belt,
and so carried II by his side, and not on his shout
ders. Deer are OF caught by traps, but IL it had
been deer, he would not have crossed this high
hill, but would have gone back by way of the "a.
vine, and the load would have made him step still
more tottering."
Another Indian track we saw twenty miles west
Of this he put this serious construction upon:
" de Is an upper Indiana proving horse
thief-carried double shot gun, and is q rascal
that killed some white man lately and passed here
one week ago; for" said he, a lone Indian in
these parts is on mischief, and generally on the
lookout for horses. he had on the shoes of q
wul h o1 ~.
but his steps are those of an Indian. Going |
through the ravine the end of his gun hit into the
deep snow. week ago we had very warm |
day. and the snow being soft he made these deep |
tracks; ever since it has been intensely cold |
weather, which makes very shallow tracks, I /
that perhaps he had bought those shoes.
- Indians don't buy shoes, and il they did they /
would not buy them as large as these were for In
dams have very small feet" The most noted /
trailer of this country was Paul Daoria, a half.
breed, who died under my hands, of Indian con.
sumption. last summer. have spoken of him in /
q former letter. At one time rode with him, and
railing was naturally the subject of our CONVEX.
'stion. l begged 10 trail with him an old track
over the prairie. in order to learn its history. |
lad hardly made the proposition, when he drew
~ his horse, which was at q ravine, aud said |
Well, here IL on old elk track. Let Us get off our
horses and follow if.v
We followed 1t bat few rods, when he said IL
vas exactly q month old, and made at O'Clock
n the afternoon This he knew, as then we had
'ur last RAIN, and at the hour named the ground
vas softer than at any other time. The track
'eiore us was then made. he broke up here
md there clusters of grass that lay in the path of
he track, and showed me the dry ends of some
be stumps Of others, and by numerous other SINH
ar items, accounted for many circumstances that
stonished me. We followed the trail over q mile.
'Ow and then we saw that WOLF fox and other
nimss had practiced their trailing instincts on
he elk tracks. Here and there, he would show
re where snake, rat, and a prairie dog had
rossed the track. Nothing had followed or
rossed the track that the quick eye Of Dsloria
Id not detect He gave an account of the habits
fall the animals that had left their footprints on
be track, also of the state Of the weather, since
be elk passed, and the effect of sunshine, winds,
ridity. sand storms, and other Influences that
I'D q bearing on these tracks.
The old man, like sll travellers, was reticent,
ut on this occasion, seeing I was interested |