Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1894-12-31

AS Joe followed the BODY down the
gully he met several Indians coming up
to help remove the dead, but he had not
gone over two hundred feet when a
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 dam
ger, and now to get the lay Of the ground
about him and seek to discover if there
was another circle of Indians Creeping
forward as silently as rabbit he ascend
ed 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 a dozen or more Indian ponies
punched in hollow where the damp
ness had brought forth 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 Joe's disguise
had carried him through the Indians his
scent betrayed him to the horses at
once, and as he crept nearer, those which
were sunfettered moved away. The
scout knew the characters ,G1cs Of the
animals, and he lost no time. From
heap of saddles, blankets and lariats he
seized a rawhide rope and made a dash
for one of the hobbled ponies, making
off s'fast as his situation would permit.
In a couple of minutes he got the rope
around the ponys neck and Topped it
into his mouth and then he had him. 1t
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 it
was all wrong, but 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
dista need pursuit ad it been ATTEMPTED.
stp@ene RIDGE aoWs the other side
up and down-nesS fahange in the lay :
of the ground for miles and miles, but
holding as 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 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 or
wolf may be driven from his lair and
pursued for miles, but he can return to
it by the shortest route. Lead an In
dian blindfolded a hundred miles from
any familiar point and turn him loose
aud his eyes will instinctively turn in
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