Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1903-12-03
APACHE TIREIESS RAILERS
How the Red SleuthS Followed
bad Man" Over Desert Trails
CAPTURED MURDERER.

Astonishing Skill of These Human
BIoodhounds In Following Trail
Which Would Puzzle the Shsrpest
White Mantle Apache at Work
The recent trailing Of Outlaw Bud
Mckinney across hundreds of miles OF
Arizona deser; land to Bakersfield
Cal, where the murderer met death at
the hands Of posse, shows that the
Apache Indians have not forgotten
their old-time skill as man hunters. In
the days Of Geronimo the American
soldiers were many lines astonished at
the skill OF those human bloodhounds
in following a trial which would puzzle
the sharpest white man. Unerringly
the Apeches would paddle across the
desert, their soft mOccasins making
not the least sound, aud they would
track their quarry even when the sur
face of the plains apparently showed
not the slightest sign of any human
being having passed. This faculty
still clings to the Apache tribe, despite
long years Of reservation life, as Nc
Kinneys case proves.
Mckinney, who was a notorious bad
man." a few months ago shot two cow
boys named Blake and Winchester.
The murder was committed near Ish-
roms ranch, located in the foothills
of the Hualapi Mountains. Sheriff
Lovin, after attending the inquest and
taking the bodies to Kingman for
burial, organized a posse made up OF
Deputies Templemen and Bly, and an
Indian Trailer named Prime. The
party re urned to IshrOm's ranch, and
there the trailer viewed the footprints
of Mckinney and studied the horse
tracks made by the fleeing outlaw.
This did not take the Apache long.
He soon grunted that he was ready
for the chase to begin.
The posse followed the tracks across
the Sante Fe Railroad near Yucca and
then crossed the Black Mountains by
the way Of Warmer Springs. This
was a slow and rough trail to follow,
but the Apache never once faltered.
Most Of the time the white men could
see no indications of fOotmarks on the
trail but the trailer kept on his way
unswervingly and they trusted impli-
city to his Judgment. They finally
reached the Needles, to find that Nc
Kinney had purchased supplies there
five days ahead of them. At the Nee
dies the sheriff's parry learned that
Mckinney had left for Ivenpah, the
end of the Northern Railroad going
north. The party chartered a car,
put in their horses and were hauled to
Ivenpah during the night. thus gain
ing sixty miles, yet they were two
days behind the bandit.
At Ivenpah the Apache trailer soon
picked up McKinney's trail, and the
posse followed across Rushing Springs
down the Amigos River to Death Val
ley. Across Death Valley the trailer
took his way, the posse following.
This valley has claimed thousands Of
white men as lis victims. It is fam
GUS as a death-trap for prOspectors and
others who venture in its waterless
area. Portions Of Death Valley are
below sea level, and Il is covered in
some places with vast deposits Of
nitrate soda and other minerals and
chemicals. There is no water for hun
dreds of miles, and such a thing as
following a trial across this place Of
death and dissolution would never be
thought Of by white man. The
Apache trailer, however, took it all
as a matter Of course, and the white
men in the sheriff's party knew better
than to question the judgment of the
savage.
Occasionally on the desert they
would come to evidences of KcKin-
ney's presence. They would find dead
camp fires, showing where the outlaw
had cooked his meals. These fires
grew fresher and fresher, showing that
was travelling slowly, prob
ably figuring that he was safe in
Death Valley, of all places. The sher-
ifs party, with the untiring Apache
in the lead, swiftly crossed Death Val
ley, and soon arrived at RandSburg,
where they secured fresh horses and
pushed on to Bakersfield. Here they
learned that Mckinney had just ar
rived in town. The town marshal
Joined the party, and Mckinney was
cornered in a Chinese joss house. He
opened fire and killed two of the at
lacking party and was himself slain.
The Apache who had trailed him to
his death grunted as he received a few
dollars pay for his remarkable work,
and returned to his reservation as
though he had done nothing out Of the