The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1870-12-09

DR.. Hachenbcrg, of tho United States
Post Hospital at Fort. Randall, Dacotah
Territory, describes the trailers in very
graphic manner, and recounts some of hi.
experiences with them. Weare indebted "a
him for the following instances illustrative
of the trailer's powers:
I have rode several hundred miles with
IN experienced guide and trailer, Hack
whom interrogated upon many points in
the practice of this art. In going to the
Niobrara River We crossed the track of an
Indian pony. My guide followed the
track few miles and then said, 1T is Z
stray, black horse, with a long bushy tail
nearly starved to death, has split hoof Of
the left fore foot, and goes very lame, and
he passed here carly this morning." As
tonished and incredulous, asked him the
reason for knowing these particulars by the
tracks of the animal, when he replied: II,
was . stray horse because it did not 60 IN
= straight line; his tail was long, for he
dragged it over the snow; in brushing
lagainst bush he left some of his hair
which shows its color. He was very hun.
cry, for, in going along he had nippcd al
those high, dry weeds which horses seldom
eat. The fissure of the left fore foot left,
also, its track, and the depth of the linden.
tation shows the degree of his lamcness;
and his tracks show that he was here this
morning, when the snow was hard will,
FROST"
At another place we came across an In.
dian track, and he said, 1T is an old
Hankton, who came across the Missouri
last evening to look at his traps. In com.
ing over, he carried in his right hand q
trap, and in his left a lasso, to catch pony
which he had lost. He returned without
finding the horse, but had caught in tho
trap he had out prairie wolf, which he
carried homo on his back, and a bundle of
kinikinick wood in his right hand" Then
he gave his reasons: II know he Is old, by
the impression his gait has made, and a
Yankton by his moccasins. lie is from the
other side of the river, as there are no
Yanktons on this sidc The trap he car
ricd struck the snow now and then, and in
the same manner as when he came, shows
that he did not find his pony. A drop of
blood in the centre of his tracks shows
that he carried the wolf on his back, and
the bundle of kiniklnick wood he used for
u staff for support, and catching wolf
shows that he had traps out" but, l
asked, ''how do you know it is wolf why
not fox, or coyote, or even a deer p
Said he, ''if it had been q fox. or coyote,
or any other small game, he would have
slipped the head of the animal in his waist
belt, and 90 carried it by his side, and not
on his shoulders, Deer are not caught by
traps; bus if it had been deer, he would
not have crossed the high hill, but would
have gone back by way of the ravine, and
the load would have made his steps still
more tottcrirg." '''s --'
Another Indian track we saw twenty
miles west of this he put this serious con-
struction upon: ''He is an upper Indian
prowling horse thief-carricd . double
shot. gun, and is = rascal that killed some
white men lately, and passed here ono week
ago; for" said he, "a lcnc Indian in these
parts is on mischief. and generally ON the
look -out for horses. He had on the shoes
of white man whom he had, In all proba-
bility, killed, but his steps are those of an
Indian. Going through tho ravinc, the end
of his gun hit into the deep snow. A 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," 1sug-
gcsted that perhaps he bought those shoes.
Indians don't buy shoes, and if they did,
they would not buy them as large as these
were, for Indians have small feet" The
most noted trailer of this country was Paul
Daloria, half breed, who died under my
hands of Indian consumption last summer.
At one time I rode with him, and trailing
was naturally the subject of conversation.
I begged to trail with him an old track over
the prairie, in order to learn lis history.
had hardly made the proposition when be
drew up his horse, which was at q ravine,
and said: "Wcll, here is an old elk track.
Let US get on our horses and follow it." We
followed it but few rods, when he said It
was exactly q month old, and made at two
o'clock in the afternoon. This he knew,
as then we had our last rain, and at tho
hour named the ground was softer than at
any other time. The track before US was
then made. He broke up here and there
clusters OF grass that lay in the path of the
track, and showed me the dry end Of some,
the stumps of others, and by numerous
other similar items accounted for many
circumstances that astonishcd me- We fol-
lowed the trail over mile. Now and then
We saw that wolf, a fox, and other ami.
mails had practiced their trailing instincts
on the elk's tracks. Here and there he
would show me where snskc, rat, and 4
prairie dog had crossed the track. Moth.
ing had followed or crossed the track ths,
the quick eye of Dsloria did not detect.
He gave an account of the habits of all the
animals that had left their footprints on The
track, also Of the state of toc weather since
the elk passed, and the effect Of sunshine,
winds, nridity, sand, storms, and other in.
6uences that had bearing on these tracks.