Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-01-10
THE BOULDER WAS ALIVE.

An Apache Trick That Nearly Cost "a
Courier His Life in Arizona.
Talking of Indians and their strata
gems" said ID. A. Marston, lately Of the
United States cavalry, to a New York
Sun man, ''they are past masters of the
arts of skulking and deceiving. An
Apache will lie behind a soapweed on
the open prairie, and you may ride past
two or three hundred yards away and
never have an idea that there is red
skin within fifty miles of you, unless ne
decides to risk a shot at You. AS you
pass the soapweed he works his body
around so as to keep it always In line
with the plant and you. Even on the
open prairie, with no more shelter than
that afforded by some little inequality
of surface, lie will sift dust over his
body, fiatten himself out, face down
ward, against the ground, and, lying
the observation of any except sharp
and practiced eyes, Sometimes, in n
grove Of cactus or Spanish bayonet, his
buckskin garments blending with the
hues of the plants, his face and neck
concealed by the head of Spanish
bayonet he will stand like a post, indis-
tinguishable to the inexperienced eye.
even at close quarters, from the gro
tesque plants about him. A queer ex-
perience of this kind occurred to me in
my service in Arizona during Gen.
Crooks last campaign against the
Apaches. Tom Merriam. of my troop.
and myself were detailed to carry dis
patches from Camp Bowie to Camp
Grant, up on the Rio Benito. 1t was u
dangerous service at that time, and we
had to keep sharp lookout and be
ready to fight or run at q moments no.
tice, for there was no knowing at what
point on the route the Apaches might
not be lying in wait to jump us as we
came along. We were on our return to
Camp Bowie and had just crossed the
wooded canon where the cold spring Is
and were coming out upon the open
prairie that stretches down to the San
Pedro River when through the branch
es of IL low tree saw what l took to be
an Indian OH the plain, about a half
mile ahead. But on squirting my horse
forward so as to get better look moth
ing was to be seen but the bare prairie,
with no sign of man or beast upon its
expanse. AS we rode along spoke Of
the matter to Tom, who laughed ut
what he called my scare, which he said
caused me to see imaginary Indians.
We came opposite low. gray boulder
upon the prairie 200 PAGES or so from
the trail.
:" Il don't remember ever to have seen
that rock BEFORE said Tom, who had
been over the route several times. Hoy
in the devil did it get there? I'll ride
over and take a look at it! And he
reined his horse and rode toward the
object. l followed him, few yards
behind
"His horse had scarcely taken dozen
steps when the seeming gray rock
moved slightly upward and there came
from its lower edge fash and report,
with the scream Of big caliber ball
that tapped Toms coat with its wind,
and caused his horse to plunge so sud-
denly that Tom, one Of the best riders In
ehc tioOD, hOt DciuS Ou tue lOOkOuI lOI
such happening, was thrown. At the
same instant an Apache leaped from
beneath the gray blanket that had
served him to masquerade rs boulder,
and ran like deer for the canon, leap
ing to left and right as he went to avoid
the shots that Tom and / sent after him
from our repeating carbines. We knock
ed up the dust about his feet and made
him do some tall lodging to the whist
ling of our bullets, but that was all. for
we didn't hit him. To have chased
him would have been folly, first, be-
cause we were bearing dispatches i'm
haste and needed the last ounce of re-
serve force In our horses, and, secondly.
because with the start he had we should
not have overhauled him in his run for
the canon, into which we could not have
followed him. So we took the trail
, again and rode our way with another
wrinkle added to our experience of In
I HI