Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-12

the hard brown earth, scrutinizing the soil
for footprints. He went back to Lieut..
Cowles, in command of the detachment,
and said softly that the Apaches were in
camp less than mile away. Then he
guided the soldiers ana horses slowly and
silently up the foothilf. and when the men
had picketed their horses. and crawled to
the brow of the hill, they saw the traiied
Apaches in camp down in the valley on the
other side of the hill.
some Difficult Problems.
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 fallen the
edges will be less clear anaswi be washed
down somewhat. The scout can tell by a
glance what tribe of Indians had made
given trail. it's age and every particular
about 1t as truthfully as though he had
himself seen the cavalcade pass, but this
comes after years of observation and IA
miliarity with the customs and dress of the
several tribes. Major Robinson, U. s. A.
retired) of Pomona, Cal, says that once
while going with a veteran scout and
guard to Fort Bowie to pay the soldiers
he stopped his horse and pointed to a we'll
defined bear track in the dry sand of the
desert. The scout gazed at it moment and
said: mo, that's no bear track"
We'll, If ever saw a bear track and
I've seen thousands of them. that's one"
Cant help 1t. major, but that's no bear
track.
Quickly alighting, the major pointed out
the heel and toes of the track, as clearly
defined as if made a few minutes before.
WELL" said the scout, IF 1t does look
like bears track, still it isn't one. The
marks you imagine to be the 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 careful
ly examined and the scout was right.
TraiIed Apache Kid.
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 valley
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 unprac-
ticed eyes would probably never have dis
covered what course the Apache Kid and
his gang had taken across that fiinty floor
The lieutenant and the sergeant thought
that the trail was at an end and that they
might as we'll turn back to Fort Huachuca
But Jose Carallez, a famous scout (since
shot to death by an Apache assassin), was
in the party and, dismounting, he walked
slowly over the place where the trail in the
sand led up to the trackless granite ledge
He was an hour at the work The rest of
the party smoked and looked on. He went
over the rocks with the care and nicely of
a botanist examining flower. He survey
ed the canyon mouth and resumed his
studious walk over the ledge.
Come come; this way him go; him put
rags on him horse hoef, 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
moor straight toward the mouth of a dis
tant canyon. 1t was then as plain to the
detachment as the MONDAY sun that the
fleeing Indians had muftied their horses
hoofs with gunnysacking SO as to close at
the rock the trailing after them. The chase
after the Apache Kid was renewed, but
again he escaped across the border line
into Sonora, Mexico, and there the United
States soldiers had to- stoH