The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-05-27

plantation for fire and blapke,s 'us
mora men, and soon roarlng b Hau
mounted skyward, and eyeyv '' ,a
minutes tbs ooneh-shell was blo| 70"
Nothing more could be done ~
manned with the now sorely trnnhIos
husband through the night. A. ,Su
first peep of dawn he bad breaLto05
Brought from the plantation, and ' ~
soon as it became light enough tn %. a.
in the great forest, We searehed ~
and round the pony's track. and =.
carefully followed the traces LETT =
the soft soil. The chase led w;l ia
marvellous turns and twist. rioS I
along the little ridge OF frmer la md
which led irregulsrly on between m.
boundless morssses stretched ~
either side, trendlDg noW this wav
now that, but always penetrati1a
deeper and deeper into the almoa,
unk nown bosom of the swami. IT,
pony had followed his own trail IL
coming out OF the ssamp, and tbia
made it easy for as to trace his wav
At last We came to dark, sluggis5
sul!en water. 1t was a point CT gOli3
ground, of less than an acre in av.
tent, foot or two above the wa,e,
almost circular in outline and neariy
surrounded by the lagoon, Il van
comparatively clear of timber. ana
near the centre rose a grand magma
liza tree, sach as Celia had Described
to Mrs. Martas on the evening ne
fore. at the root of this tree, bsthed
by the rich, overpoweIing perfume
of the wonderful blossom above her
lay the dead body of the .beautifni
woman, her clothes disordered. her
hair dlsheVeled, coarse diriv
handkerchief stuffed into her month
and all the surroundings giving evi.
dence of despairing struggle and 8
desperate crime. Captain Martss
was overcome with anguish. and
after one sgonizing look around. a. i
to assure himself that Celia was not
also somewhere in sight, be sa' down
beside the body and gazed upon his
murdered wife In a silent bgIpIess
agony of spirit.
/ desired all the men 10 remain
where they were, except TOBY. whom
l ordered to follow me; and then be-.
ginning at the little ridge of land be-
tween the waters by which We had
reached the circular space before
described, We followed the edge of
the ground completely round 10 the
starting point, seeking; in the sofI
mud along the shore iol footDrins
or the mark made By a canoe or
skiff, for some evidence of the route
by which the murderer had reached
the peninsula, or by which Celia mad
felt it.
We found perfec! tracks of all
animal life existing in the awamps,
even to the minute lines lett by the
feet of the smallest birds, but no
trace of human foot, although a ANAL
could not have passed into or out Of
the water without leaving his mark
upon the yielding mud, much less a
fnotstep or a canoe.
The thing was inexplieable. Where
vas Celia? How had she gone with
out leaving trace of her departure?
Had she been there at alp Who
had murdered Mrs. hartas? Surely
some man or devil had perpeLra!cd
the crime. How had the villain es-
capped from the scene of his crime,
leaving not the slightest cleW BY
which it was possible to tell which
way be had gone?
reported to Captain Martas the
exact condition OF the affair, and told
him 1 knew not what to do, unless
We could get bloodhounds and put
themon the trail He ssid there we're
no hounds within sixty miles; that
all of the planters he knew pre-
ferred to lose a runaway rather than
follow them with the dogs. RumoTl
OF the loss OF Mrs. Martas had spread
from plantation to camp, and two OF
three soldiers had Immediately rid,
den out to the plantation, and then
had followed us to the scene Of
the crime. One of them said:
If there are no hounds, send 10
camp for old Du Chen. He is better
than any dog"
The remark was SO singular that
asked:
What do you mean by saying
He is better than any dogF"
Il mean that he can follow the
trail by the scent better than any
hound l ever saw, and I have seen
hundreds of them"
Is this q mere camp story" said
l. ''or do you know it of your own
knowledge?"
II know it myself SIR" said the
soldier. 81 have seen him gmelI 6
man or bis clothes, and then go
blindfolded into the whole regiment
and pick oat that man by his scent
l nave seen him pull lock Of WOO
of q sheep, smell it good, and then
go blindfolded into the pen and pick
out that identical sheep from fifty
others. I nave known him to smell
the blanket niger elept in, and
follow that darkey four or five mile;
by tre scent Of him through cotton,
corn, and woods. He is better thar
q dog"
The man looked to be homes. and
intelligent; and while could hardly
credit s1nb an oaFo,.5i. "a n n