New Orleans Republican., 1873-05-25
PRAIRIE DETECTIVES.

LAS: summer to take charge temporarily If
the Indians tha. were gathered near Fort
Randall. Dakota. to form a new rese;va-
ton. one day q guide and trailer came into
, the general. headquarters. l told him to
be seated He sat down on the floor. bracin.
; h:s back agains: thu wall. The general saw
| this. and IL yexatiOn cried out d: MY God.
, why don't ycU take chair. when there are
| plenty here net occupied
! The u1n arCse aud seated him self il a
| chair. bit in 80 awkward and unc0mIort,-
bic manner that he looked as If he nigh.
slip ticiu it g: any moment. But when this
F.. iEccutL person came 10 transact his ol>-
ness with the general. he turned out to be a
! man of 10 ordinary abilities. His descrip-
ton Of a .CHte he took as guide and trailer
for the OgaIlalahs in bringing them from
: the Platte to .he fort was minute and &C re
exceed:r yiy Interesting. Every war party
that tdt the season had crossed his trail. he
described with nIinuteness as to their num-
! her. tle kiut. OK aims tn6v had. anu stated
the trihes they belonged to. In these strange
revelations that he made there was neither
imposition or supposltl2u. tor he gave salts.
factory reasons tor eve.v assertion ne made
have role several hundred miles with
al experienced guide and trailer. Hack.
| whom intei.ogate;: ai,on n;arv points il
the practice OF this ar. Nearly ali tracks
| saw, either OlG or new. as a novice il the
SIT. questioned him about In going to
the N:1bra,a river W. crossed the track ct
an Indian pony. Nv guide followed the
trai. q few miles ana thel SAID. Il. IS a
stray black ho:se: with a loHg. brshE tai.
nearly star.es. 70 death. has q split hoo. q.
the left fore toor. an goes very ,am-. and
. ne passed here early this morning" As.
tonlshel and ;ncredu:ols l asked him the
reasons for knowing these particulars bv
the tracks OF the animal. when he replied:
1T was a straC horse. because it did NJ.
90 IL direct line: his tai was long. fer he
dragged IL over the sUCv. il brushing
against 8 bush be left some OF his hair.
-rv. .or IN going alons. he has n.pped at
those high. .;:y We. d. which horses seldom
ea:. The tissu:c o. the lett foy. tco- left.
also. Its track. an'! the depth OF the linden
tatior shows the degree OF his lanene>s:
and his tracks show he was here this mora.
ing when the STOW was hard win FROST
At another place We came across an In
dian track. aud lie SAID: 1t is at old Yanli-
ton. who came across the Missouri last eve.
ming to look a: hi. traps. In coming over
he carried in his right hand trap AID in
his left a iasso ia oatc. a pony he had lost.
He returne! without finding the horse. bu.
had caught n the trap he had put out a
prairie wolf which he carried home on his
back. and a bundle OF klnikinic wood in his
right hand Then he gave his reasons:
Il know he is cid by the impression his
gait has made. and Yankron by that OF
lis mOccas;:i. He is from the other eide OF
the river. as there are no Yancktons on this
side. The trap he carried struck the snow
now and then. and. III the same manner IA
when he came. shows that he die! not find
lis pony. A drop of blood in the centre of
his track shows that lie carried .l. volt On
his back. and the bundle oe kinik!uic wood
lie used for staff tor support. and catching
a wolf. also shows that h. had traps.
But" | asked. "how do YOU know i,'s
wolf: why not fox or a coyote. or even !,
deer - Said he. Il. it had been a ;cx or
coyote. or any other kind of small game.
he would have slipped the head Of the an.
NAL in hi. waist-balt. and SD carried it by
his side. and no. en his shoulders. Deer
are not caU2ht hy traps: but If Il had been
deer. he would not have crossed this high
hill. but would have gone back by way OF
the ravine, ana the load would have made
his steps still more tottering.''
Another Indian track we saw twenty
miles ives: OF this he put this serious con-
struction upon: HE is an upper Indiana
prowling horse thief-carried double sho:
gun. and is rascal shat killed some white
man iatly. and passed here one week ago:
for said he. "a lone Indian in these parts
is bent on mischief. and generally on tie
itI hoiocss lIo uiIt Ou the sUttS OI
a white man whom he had in al! probability
killed. but his steps are those of an Indian.
Going through the ravine. 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; eyas since
it has been intensely cold weather. which
makes very shallow tracks, ! sugges.
that perhaps he bought those shoes. ''In-
dams don't Guy shoes. and if they did they
would NOT sjIIT them 40 largo these. wSra
for Indians have very small feet"