The times., 1899-08-21

horses hoofs, and the area occupied at the
camping spots the number of persons there
were in the band, whether they were bucks
or squaws, or mixed as to sex, whether
they were fleeing from pursuers or were
going to new hunting ground,
Some of the most expert Indian scouts
have even been astute enough to distin-
guish from the character of smoke that
ascendS from campfire ten and more
miles distant whether the campers we're
whites or Indians. General Miles used to
have Pima scout in the campaign of 1880
against Geronimo and Cochise who could
pretty accurately tell from gazing at the
smoke through glass whether the fire in
distant camp had been kindled for long
or short time The same scout once led
detachment of soldiers across the twen-
ty-mile desert valley at what is now the
settlement of Dos Cabezos, in southeastern
Arizona and thence into the Dragon
Mountains, where he found a week-old
trail of a dozen fugitive Apaches among
the granite, yet the troopers saw not the
least indication that any human being
had been that way in years.
For five days the Pima scout scented the
trail like hound. He led the soldiers
through ravines, among thorny cacti and
chaparral, amid miles OF powders, over
sun baked hills, and along the foot Of bald
mountains. All this time he seldom spoke.
He kept his eyes constantly busy, and oc
casionally he motioned to his followers az
if TO point out that he was following the
right trail. AT last one noon he suddenly
stopped his horse, motioned TO his follow
ers to get their weapons ready, and to dis
mount. Then the Indian scout erawied for
half an hour on his hands and knees over
the hard, brown EARTH serutirizing the soil
for footprints. He went back to Lieuten-
ant Cowles. in command of the detachment,
and said softly that the Apaches were in
camp less than a mile away. Then he
guided the soldiers and horses slowly and
silently up the foothill and when the men
had picketed their horses and crawled TO
the brow of the hill they saw the trailed
Apaches in camp down in the valley on the
other side of the hill
One of the difficult things to determine
is the age of trail If the track is very
fresh it will show moisture where The
earth is turned up. Should rain have fall
en- the edges will be less clear, and will be
washed down somewhat. The scout can
tell by glance what tribe of Indians mad
made given trail, its age and every par
ticular about it as truthfully as though he
had himself seen the cavalcade pass. but
this comes after years of observation and
familiarity with the customs and dress Of
the several tribes. Major Robinson, U. s.
A. (retiredl, of Pomona, Cal, says that
once, Willie SOiuR WIFI Il veteran oNOGts
and guard TO Fort Bowie to pay the sol
diers, he stepped his horse and pointed to
a well-defined bear track in the dry sand
of the desert. The scout gazed at it a mo-
ment, and said: mo, that't no bear track
We'll if | ever saw a bear track, and
I've seen thousands of them that's one"
Cant help it, major, but that's no pear
track
Quickly alighting, the major pointed
ot,f ha hea Of "a ac
clearly defined as If made few minutes
before.
Well" said the scout, ''if it does look
like bears track, still it isn't one, the
marks you imagine to be heels and toes
are made by those spires of foxtail grass.
which bent by the wind, scoop out the sand
in the manner you see"
The indentation in the sand was care
fully examined, and the scout was right.
When the murderous Apache Kid was
hunted along the boundary between the
United States and Mexico few years ago
a detachment of cavalry that had trailed
the fugitives across the San Simon Va ley
to the Pedregosa Mountains came TO an
area, several miles square, of rock forma-
ton. If the soldiers had scrutinized that
rock with magnifying glasses their IN
practiced eyes would probably never have
discovered what course the Apache Kid
anu MS gang udQ AGkGH dCIOSS ludt uAAAts
floor The lieutenant and the sergeant
thought that the trail was at an end and
that they might as well turn back TO Fort
Huachuca But Jose CaralleZ famous
scout (since shot TO death by an Apache
assassin, was in the party, and, dis
mounting he walked slowly over the
place where the trail IN the sand led I'D
to the trackless granite ledge. He was
an hour at the work. The rest of the par
-
the rocks with the care and nicely of a
botanist examining a flower He surveyed
the canyon mouth and resumed his stu
dious walk over the ledge.
Come come; this way him go; him
put rags on him horse hoof, but him no
fool me- drawled the scout at length,
Then on hands and knees he showed
the lieutenant how there was a train of
very minute particles of jute on the gray.
rocky floor straight toward the mouth of
a distant canyon. 1t was then as plain
to the detachment as the MONDAY sun
that the fleeing Indians had mufled tLeir
horses hoofs with gunnysacking SO as to
close at the rock the trailing after them.
The chase after the Apache Kid was re-
newed, but again he escaped across the
border line into Sonora, Mexico and there
the United States soldiers had TO stop.
In the grass a trail can be seen for a
long time as the blades will be bent in
the direction followed by the party, and
even after it has recovered its natural po-
sition an expert trailer will detect a slight
difference in the color OF the grass that
has been stepped on and that growing
around it. So the appearance of the
tracks will also show him the gait at
which the party was travelling. and he
thus knows how to regulate his place to
oyertake the party. There are stories