Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-01-30
FOLLOWING THE TRAIL.
SOUTHWES SCOUTS ARE KEEN
Err THAN BLOODHOUNDS.

| Ahai DC A-huufcu-
One of the things of which humani-
ty has long stood in wonder is the ex-
traordinary smelling faculties Of the
| bloodhound, and the manner in which
he is able to trail criminals over
ground of almost every character long
after the scent has become cold. Few,
however, realize that in New Mexico
and Arizona, and also northern Mex
leo, there are men who far surpass
the bloodhound when it comes to trail
ing.
Men who served during the campaign
against Geronimo and the hostile
Apaches, many of them expert trail
ers, were from day to day overwhelmed
with astonishment at the almost super
human instinct of the Mexican and
Indian scouts, who on that memorable
campaign followed the fleeing Apaches
over sand deserts harder than asphalt
and floors of solid rock upon which
the pursuing soldiers were unable to
see SO much as a trace of passing
| horsemen.
One Of the military organizations
that campaign was Troop B of the
| Fourth cavalry, which, in 1887, was,
| by way of reward transferred to Fort
| Myer, Va, which from that time forth
has been a cavalry post, this being the
| first body of cavalry that had been east
| of the Mississippi river since the civil
war. In talking recently with men,
ber of this body a Post reporter
| learned much of interest concerning
| the human sleuth hounds that were
employed in the southwest in those
days.
YES" said the sergeant, 81 served
all through the latter part of the Ger
onimo campaign under General Law
ton, who was then a colonel. We are
out six months, and during that entire
period not one Of us had change of
clothing. The campaigning was
through one of the most mountainous
countries in the world. Sometimes we
would climb up the side of an almost
perpendicular slope, and at other times
the descent was so steep that we were
Obliged to let our horses down over
lodges of rocks by lariats tied to their
tails.
Accompanying our command were
about 100 friendly Indians, enlisted
and used as scouts. Talk of trailing
why, l never until then dreamed that
it was possible for human being to do
what these men did every day of the
campaign. Frequently we would de-
scend mountains, along the slope of
which old scouts of my company were
able to barely make out the trail of
the Apaches, until we reached valley
about half or three-quarters of a mile
in width, the surface Of which was as
hard as adaihant. Here we could see
nothing. but lhe scouts ahead, on COM
ing to such places never hesitated one
minute, but struck boldly across, fol-
lowing the trail up the mountain side
again.
"As we crossed these valleys and
mounted once again up the side of
the high ridges, we could again catch
traces of the Apaches in the softer
and looser soil of the mountain side,
and many a time we have wondered
at how our Indian trailers were able
to follow the track on ahead of us
over the valleys, where the surface
was as hard as asphalt and crossed
by fresh trails of hundreds of cattle,
horses and burros that had passed up
or down the depression after the In
dians.
1.-The most remarkable case of trail
ing that ever came under my notice,
however, occurred in 1887, when the
San Carlos Apaches broke out of their
reservation and went on the warpath
south into Mexico. This occurred
shortly after the Geronimo campaign,
Mt time when the war department
had discharged all the Indian scouts
attached to the southwestern posts,
thinking that the trouble was all over
and that there. would be no longer any
use for them. Consequently when we
received hurry order at Fort Hauchu-
ca to go in pursuit of the San Carlos
Apaches we were obliged to leave with
out taking any of these human blood
hounds with us.
I'VE soon began to feel the need OF
them, for although two-thirds of the
men in the command we're accom-
plished scouts they could not begin to
do the work with the skill and certain
ty of the Indian scouts trained to the
work from infancy.
"Along about the eighth day out we
crossed range of mountains into one
of the most peculiar depressions | ever
saw. 1t was surrounded on all sides
by high mountains, but the singular
feature was that the bottom rose up
like an inverted bowl. This curious
formation was solid rock that in some
past period of time had been lifted
up and tilted in such manner as to
leave no hollows in which sand or soil
could gather. Up to this time we had
made slow progress thaclling Indians,
but when we reached this spot we gave
up the task in disgust, as there were no