Evening journal., 1892-09-29

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AS Joe followed the body down tho
gully he met several Indians coming up
to help remove the dead, but he had not
gone over two hundred feet when
break in the right bank offered him an
opportunity to leave the big ditch He
scrambled out at once and dropped to
his hands and knees and crawled away
in the darkness.
He had passed the gully, which had
been considered the great point Of dan
ger, and now TO get the lay Of tho ground
about him and seek to discover if thero
was another circle Of Indiansl Creeping
forward as silently Us a rabbit he ascend
ed a ridge from which he could make
observations.
The Indians were carrying off their
dead--a portion of them-while the
others had built fires behind another
ridge and were cooking their meat
They seemed assured that the white
men would make no move to assume the
offensive, and the repulse had evidently
demoralized them for the time being
The way to the north and the west
was unobstructed SO far as the scout
could determine in the darkness, and
after bit he moved forward, having no
other object in view than to cover the
/ twenty miles between him and the forks
of the Cheyenne as soon as possible. He
was carefully picking his way TO the
northwest, neglecting no precaution I'M
/ til he should be certain that he was be
yond the lines. when he suddenly came
upon dozen or more Indian ponies
punched in q hollow where the damp
ness had brought forth a growth Of
sweet grass. Two or three were hob
bled, but the rest were free, and after
creeping clear around the circle Joe
failed to find a guard. If one had been
left he had temporarily abandoned his
post
The Indians horse and dog are like
the Indian himself They hate the
white man. Although Joes disguise
had carried him through the Indians his
scent betrayed him to tho horses a.
once. and as he crept nearer, those which
were unfettered moved away. The
scout knew the characteristics Of the
animals, and he lost no time. From a
heap Of saddles, blankets and lariats he
seized a rawhide rope and made a dash
for one of the hobbled ponies. making
OFF as fast as his situation would permit
In a couple Of minutes he got the rope
around the pony's neck and looped il
into his mouth and then he had him. Il
was not more than five minutes work to
cast off the hobbies and arrange blanket
and saddle, and then he led the animal
out Of the hollow and over the ridge
and away into the darkness until he felt
safe in mounting him. The beast fought
hard for few minutes, knowing that il
was all wrong. uut the strong arms and
the hard heels of the scout finally hum
bled him, and he went off through the
darkness at a gait which would have
distanced pursuit had it been attempted
Up one ridge-down the other side
mp and down-never a change in the lay
of the ground for miles and miles, bui
holding MS straight for the forks as the
needle of the compass could point.
Hunters in the woods have their signs
and need no compass. The hunters and
scouts on the plains seem to divine by
intuition. To the average eye the great
plains are a trackless waste. To the
scout they are an open book. Blindfold
him and lead him in circles for an hour
and when the hoodwink is removed he
will give the compass points without
hesitation.
And an Indian has the instincts Of &
fish or wild animal The panther Of
wolf may be driven from his lair anC
pursued for miles, but he can return tC
it by the shortest route. Lead an In
dian blindfolded a hundred miles from
any familiar point and turn him loos'
and his eyes will instinctively turn il
the direction Of home.
As Joe rode forward through tn,
gloom of night he had no fear that he
would come out above or below Tn,
forks. His only anxiety was that h
might fail in finding the party. Sup
pose it had pushed ahead faster than he
had figuredl Suppose it was still two ol
three days away Suppose the order t.
set out had been countermandedl
The pony went forward through thu
darkness at Il steady gait. seeming never
to tire. and after midnight the character
{ of the country began to change. Instinc
p told the scout that he was approaching
the forks. If the party were there there
would be a score of signs 10 show it be
fore coming within rife range. At th'
distance Of mile away Joe pulled hi
horse down to a walk and thus wen
forward. listening with bated breath TO
some sound to locate the camp.
The soft footsteps Of his horse alon
broke the mighty silence. Not so mucl
as the chirp of a cricket came TO hin
from out the darkness.
When yet half q mile from the fork
Joe's heart sank within him. II ther
was camp near TT hand his hors
should make some sign The Indian
dog and pony are his sentinels as h
sleeps.
There was a grove Of cottonwoods a
the forks, and around and about wa
grass in plenty. It was the spot for
camp. but there was no camp. Th
scout advanced at steady walk unit
he reached the edge of the grove III
challenged. That settled it. The part
had not arrived. He almost cried OF