Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-11-19
FACTS ABOUT SCOUTS.

ANcs - OA eyOu II DIHno NOveIl. Rnt a
They Are Found In Reality.
The~scout Of the novel and the sho,r
writes Con. A. Mahony, in the Ph;laJe,
phia Press, is very PICTURESQUE. kind fol
low, thoroughly reckless, dead shot. In.
proprietor Of varied selection of scaln.
and showing in his moral character tha,
combination OF "half angel and half I,uci
fer" OF which Joaquin Miller delights r.
sing. Like Samson Of old, his strength /,
in his hair, and his long g-flowing locks are
the admiration of frontier women and tbe
envy Of frontier men. He is ALWAYS clad
in buckskin, fringed and stamped with GRO
tesque designs, while his flowing locks are
surmounted with sombrero that II would
take three days to walk round the brim.
Such is the Eastern conception; now for
Southwestern reality. =
The United States scout in active service
wears his hair cut short, in soldier fashion.
because he has to sleep on the ground for
weeks at time, and If he wore long and
flowing locks they would give him consid-
cradle trouble oy affording a choice variety
Of insects refuge and a dwelling.nlace
Then again, outside OF some town in which
they wanted with pardonable vanity IN
show of, Inever saw one of them in a buck.
skin suit. 1t is too warm in summer and
not warm enough in winter. The scout ia a
good shot, but that is virtue he shares in
common with nearly every man and boy on
the frontier.
There is very little romance, but plenty
OF hardship about the life of scout. He ia
not selected for his dashing airs and reck
less bravery, but for the only quality in de-
mand with army officers, his thorough
knowledge Of the country in which the
troops are to operate, and especially of the
best camping grounds, the distance from
water to water IA point on which the lives
OF the command often depend) and his
power to shorten marches by his acquaint-
ance with short cuts through mountains
and over morasses II he knows the Span
ish language 80 much the better and il he
can speak a little Apache better still, but
these latter accomplishments are Of minor
Importance to thorough knowledge Of the
country.
United States army scouts may be di.
vided into two classes-white men, who
rank as chief of scouts, and Indian scouts.
who are organized as military COM
panies. The white scouts are usually
men who have been employees Of the
San Carlos and Mescalero Apache Reserya-
ton or Indian agencies. They are from
constant association with the Indians, well
acquainted with their character and habits
and frequently speak little Apache. The
Apaches, with few exceptions, speak Span
ish, and it is usually the language they use
in communicating with the Indian agent
and the employees of the agency. A white
man who makes himself useful to the In
dians by doing them little favors is, in time,
taught ITO read sign
Ascout who can read "sign" can tell you by
examining a trail over which horses have
aQd II fhAv I'D Aov,. NJ, La
both, the number ridden and the number
led. Even when shod he can tell whether |
the horses were American or Mexican. II |
the trail be made by men on foot he can tell |
II 1t be an Indian trail or imply the trail Of |
Mexicans wearing moccaA rs. In Q hostile |
party he can tell by the ira how many are |
bucks and how many are s,uaws and chill |
dren, and 80 on over Q field Of observation
a. extensive Is interesting
The scout thus qualified finds no difficulty
in obtaining employment in the Southwest,
whore Apache outbreaks are OF almost |
yearly occurrence. He is engaged, subject |
to the approval Of the commander Of the dis |
trict or deparement-New Mexico Is a mill |
tary district, while Arizona is a military de- |
partment-a a salary Of $12O month and
ration for his horse. He provides his own |
arms and ammunition, and ignores the Gov |
ernment Springfield rifle for the improved |
Winchester, As caliber repeating rife. From |
his pay he has to provide for his rations, |
and he messes with the officers when in |
post, or when outside with the command.
The Indian scout companies are enlisted
from the "good Indians on the reservations.
About thirty men form o company which is
placed under the command Of Lieutenant |
of the regular army with whom is associated |
q chief Ct scouts who acts as the medium Of |
communication between the officer and his |
command. About six soldiers, as q measure |
Of precaution against mutiny, are attached
to each company Of scouts. The period Of
service of an Indian scout is only six months, |
'unless sooner discharged" }" and he is paid |
thirty dollars month. His rifle generally |
provides his ration, as the Apache detests
army bacon, preferring even the abandoned
carcass Of an army mule.
The Indian scout companies are not popu-
lar on the frontier. They are considered to
be only training schools for the hostiles. and
as some Of the most desperate Of the
Apaches have been scouts, such as Bonita |
and Chatto, the antipathy Of the frontiers
men is not altogether without reason. The |
fact that the Indian scouts OF the Govern. |
ment are without uniform adds to the an
noyance Of the people Of the frontier who, !
except they see the Indians accompanied by |
q white man, can nottell them from hostiles |
The only thing distinctively worn by the
Indian scout outside the Government belt
that carries his ammunition to distinguish
him, is q red handkerchief bound around his
head The frontiersmen argue that red
handkerchiefs are so common that no In
dian, hostile or otherwise. need be without
one. It is well known that the lack Of uni
form of the Indian scout il source Of per-
petual danger on the border TO Americans
and Mexicans alike, and has cost the sacri-
ice Of many lives.
The Mouth q tho Horse.
Be careful Of thehorse's mouth Men who
jerk the reins because they are too mad 70
be sensible and humane, should have bit
placed in their own mouths and have II
jerked by some brutal fellow who would
enjoy giving pain. In breaking colts, be
verv corofnl afout the mouth and never |