The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-05-09

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fke, ,"be sai4, after short scrutiny 81 sift
track. "What think you ?" s.
s That If we follow him." White raui;sa
eve shall be led away from the chass. IIs
takes too muck pains to show us which Way
he has gone"
"You are right" said Edgar "Sor hss
has passed here since sunrise, and his horsJ
was as fresh as when he left the groye.-
The water is all brushed from his tracks,
but is not disturbed between. Well nci
follow him." -.Ss I: Ssf'
And, without further cousultatioh, he
sprang again to the saddle, and resumed
his original direction---vki 81 indeSa,
rather from Than toward the vi jifatt 6a 81.
Those little indications---li circumsta6lial
evidencc-morc convincing than positive
declarations, or more apparent signs, salts.
fed him that this was an attempt to draw
him of. He smiled at the shullowness of the
deceit and rode away. His companions
understood his reasoning almost instructive.
ly. 1.-THE fact that the grass was dry in the
tracks, proved that they had been made
since sunrise; because the dew must have
ceased to drip from one blade to another,
and its being undisturbed between cstab.
lished the freshness of the Indians horse.
because every bound was clear spring
from the ground Fifteen minutes brought
them to the outskirts of Cahokia timber :;
and, after a rigid examination of this,
they issued again upon the prairie tow
ard the West, maintaining the same course
They were now approaching more dense.
ly wooded country. The prairics grew mar
rover ard were broken, here and there, by
groves and strips of timber, along the banks
OF numerous little streams. Tho ground
became uneven, in places even hilly and
every thing denoted tho approach to the
Mississippi. This continued for about three
hours, during which they had made scarce
ly five miles an hour : it was noon, too, and
tho September sun was pouring upon their
heads the overpowcring heat of tho season.
A halt became necessary, both for men and
horses. Edgar rode within the shelter of
the timber, and dismounted on the bank of
shallow stream-the first they had seen
with gravolly bed.
1--WE must rest awhile, boys" he said,
"and recruit our horses, or We shall break
down before night"
His companions followed his example :;
END an led t6ois panSfdg horses TO the stfeam,
to drink Of its clear sparkling waters. But
Edgar drew his back, suddenly, before he
had touched the tide and, arrcstinc the
others in the same manner, pointed to the
bottom of the rivulet.
'Is not that horses track ?" he asked,
indicating the spot with his rife
EYES," said White, "and here are more |!
And here, to the left, they are palmer, and
moro numerous. Our visitors must have
passed .nls way, and arc not going to the
Portage F'
The tracks were but faint prints in the
shifting gravel of the stream and to the
eyes of less observant men, would have been
quite void of meaning. 1t was, however,
the peculiar faculty of Western Rangers
never to overlook anything and their at
tention once attracted, but few moments
were consumed in determining that fifteen
or twenty horsemen had ridden along the
bed of the stream that they were Indians,
and travelling in haste. 1t might Seem a
more difficult matter to fix, even approx.
mately, the length of time which had
elapsed since their passage but the inven-
tion OF rangers was seldom at fault.
George" said tie captain to Fielding,
"get on your horse, and ride up the stream,
few rods-as fast as he can walk-in
among those tracks"
Fielding obeyed; and turning out of tho
stream short distance above, came back
and dismounted. The little party now
stripped their horses Of their harness and
picketing them upon the sweet herbage,
stretched themselves upon the sward at the
margin Of the stream. AS soon as the agi.
tation in the waters had ceased, Edgar fixed
his gaze upon the footprints plainly visi-
ble-of Ficldings horse, and watched the
gradual process of their filing up by the
current. Scarcely pebble or grain Of
sand was washed into one of thom, that he
did not note; scarcely a minute passed
whose influence he did not estimate in
slowly obliterating the trail; and when. at the
end Of an hour, he rose and walked nearer
to the water, but few moments of scruti.
ny were sufficient to determine how long it
would be before the new tracks were aa
nearly filed up, rs were the old when he
saw them first.
'They are quite six hours ahead of us
he said land tomorrow night will see
them, before we will"
"They must be making for the ford*
above the Piasan Bluffs" said White "and
It so, will not cross the Mississippi"
''That is rather too far north, Edgar re.
III sAI L..l - r-lr.