Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-06-14
ON THE TRAIL.

elIc JSO1UlP.
ON THE TRAIL.
TO properly understand the country in
which the Indians range, andits difficulties,
says an army officer, suppose a case as fol-
lows: An outrage has been committed.
Troops, accompanied by scouts, start, say
twelve hours late, in pursuit of the perpe-
traitors. They march on the trail twenty
four hours and "strike" water for the first
time where the Indians have camped, and
on leaving have fouled the spring, throwing
in old hides and filth of all kinds, so no wa
ter is to be had. The stock is allowed to
Craze for few hours, and then with scouts
in front trailing, the pursuit is resumed.
1t is no Broadway promenade or pleasant
ride on a New England macadamized road.
The hostiles have chosen the toughest part
of the Mountain range, always in position
where they can see and observe the sur
rounding country for miles. The trail runs
up and down rises of more than forty-fve
degrees angle and through passes and can
yons where ten determined men with
breach-loaders could defy a hundred. Lucky
is the officer in command that he has no
Anglo-SaXon foe to contend with. This foe
is cOwardly and will not fight unless he has
every advantage on his side and the troops
occasion, had the necessary pluck, massacres
would have occurred that would have aston
ished the country. Many an officer of the
Sixth and Ninth cavalry would only have
been remembered by an obituary notice of
four lines, ending with "killed in an affair
with hostile Indians"
The trail now probably leaves the noun
tains and runs across an alkali plain OF great
length to another range of mountains. If
the troops reach this plain in daylight it
would be folly to go on, as every man and
animal could now be seen by the outposts
and runners that the ApacheS generally
leave behind and on either flank of their
parties. 1t is now thirty-six miles without
water, and still march of many miles to
reach known spring. The troops halt,
horses are unsaddled, mules unpacked, and
men and stock kept out of sight in the foot
hills of the mountains.
At sunset the march is resumed, the In
dians trailing in the dark almost as we'll as
by daylight by use of touch. Picture long
line of Indians, silent as death, in single
file. Closely behind them come the caval-
nv, and behind them the pack trBin. The
only sounds heard are the steps of the ami
mails on the rocks or hard earth, the mutf1ed
tinkle of the bell on the bell horse of the
pack train, accompanied by the occasional
crack of a packer as some mule shows a ten
dency to leave the column. No smoking or
talking is allowed Suddenly the Indians
halt, the trail is lost, the line breaks, spreads
out like fan and in the dim starlight men
are seen on their hands and knees feeling
the ground. After time some Indian will
rise, perhaps away off to the right, and
soft '"Hish ~ is heard. The trail is found
and the command runs forward in the new
direction. 1t is all night work, and the men
have been almost without sleep for forty
eight hours. 1t is long time since the
stock have been Watered and the strain is
beginning to tell on both man and beast.
At daybreak the mountains have not been
reached toward which the trail runs, and
the command hunt depression in the plain
where they can rest unseen. Signs OF hard
riding on the part Of the Indians have been
found in a number of killed and abandoned
ponies. In the matter ola mountthey have
every advantage over the troops. Ifa pony
giyes out he is at once killed or abandoned,
and another stolen to replace him at the
first opportunity. Should a troopers horse
give out he has to dismount and lead him,
he cannot steal.
Toward evening a ScOutrunS IN ana reports
water, his refilled canteen being proof. 1t
is off the trail about ten miles, but it is now
sixty hours since water has been had, and
the animals must have it. The trail is
abandoned at sunset and the command
pushes as hard as tired men and leg-Weary
animals can for the point where water is
reported. On arriving the water is found
to be in water hole, and strongly impreg-
mated with alkali. Halt! The men tumble
off their horses without command; a guard
is put on the hole to keep out the mules,
whose bump of self-interest is more hugely
developed than that Of any other animal,
human or otherwise, that exists, and they
always break for water, to the detriment OF
all, if not restrained. The men and scouts
drink what they want, canteens are refilled,
the horses are then watered, and after them
the mules.
And now take look at the young officer
in command. He wears flannel shirt,
dirty, hard-lOOking canvas coat, and dirty
pair of soldiers trousers. His head gear is
a coat that has seen better days. His men
are attired similarly, but their arms are
bright and in good order. Loss OF sleep,
coupled with anxiety, make him look nag
gard and worn. He knows that no thanks
are to be given him if successful for rlsklng
his life, save perhaps an empty compliment
tary order which is only known to the army,
and ten chances to one he will not get that.
If killed, his immediate friends are the only
people that will mourn his loss. Nopromo-
ton awaits him, thanks to the present retire
ment laws. His captain is probably ola or
fat, or cannot ride, and the other troop officer
is on a "soft detaip in the east. He is doing
the work of three officers, and this scout
NAV, like many others, result in two or
three hundred miles of hard marching, with
terrible priyations and no result lie is
CARRYING his life and those of his command
in his hand, but he does not shrink from
the task. Renewed and inVigorated by the
water, he signals the command to mount,
and the force sweeps forward to renew the
pursuit. The story of the march is the same
Scarcity of water, the trail leading IN al
rection to bring about this result, and avoid,
ING any possible chance of being approached
without the pursuers being discovered long
before they can come within striking dis
tance.
On the other hand suppose that by good
fortune and night marching the Indians are
so closely pursued that they cannot escape
without a fight. The trail leads to water,
the commanding points around which are
fortified with breastworks built of stone. On
rush the scouts, who are leading. The trail
is 'shob" now, and they cast aside all super
fuous clothing and spring forward ike cats
over the rough ground in natures garb, with
the exception Of breech clout and mecca
sins. Wildly excited, they scatter all over
the hills endeavoring to find shelter from
which to deliver their fire with effect. The
troops have their horses in safe place and
move forward in extended skirmish lines,
trying in some way to flank the hostiles:
Its a fight now to the death. Officers and
men know that if wounded, and the COM
mand is repulsed, a horrible death awaits
them. Probably two days without water,
maybe three, they are fighting for that as
much as ANYTHING else The scouts are fight