The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-29
MIGHT TRAILING IN RUGKlrS
DIFFICULTY OF .TRAVEL IN 4 WILD, UNKNOWN COUNTRY.

Dead Line-An Experience in the
 Uintas..
 One of the most important things topographer or explorer in uninhabited regions must learn is the ability to travel and locate himself by night as well as by day. This is to many no easy matter, says Olin D. Wheeler in Opportunity, for the appearance Of natural objects such as streams, canons' peaks, headlands, valleys, sc, is far different in the night time from what it is by daylight. Some persons can never learn. to follow a trail at night, while others become experts enough to pick their way through regions where no trails exist
 Some of these night rides which fall to the lot of explorers. indeed to the most of them, have much that is inter- esting in them to the rider. There IS something of the unnatural in riding among mountains, or across valleys, plains, or plateaus where you know there are none. or at best but few Of your kind save your own little party, after night, with it's mysterious hush and it's dark exaggerated forms, has de- scended upon the earth.
 Our party of five were encamped at some water pockets on a plateau which extended southward from the foot of Glen Canon of the Colorado River in northern Arizona.
 These water holes formed the only water supply for distance of from ten to fifty miles in all directions. This necessitated our making trips of two or three days duration, with the home camp as centre, the animals doing without water for that length of time. Then we would return and start again for some other point with a fresh set of horses and mules. In one of these ex- petitions we had gone some thirty miles from camp and having finished our work, we traced our course and stopped early in the afternoon of the second day out to establish our position on an overhanging projection of the Vermillion Cliffs much nearer our per- manent camp.
 We completed our labors here just al twilight, and although we were ten miles from our main camp. I immedi- ately proceeded to pack the mules and started of, greatly to the surprise ot my two companions. These men al. most worthless in every way. had never before engaged in such work, and soon discovered from their remarks that they never expected to see camI that night I thought they would learT q thing or two before many hours had passed, and they did. They had nc idea whatever of locality and alone could never have reached camp al night, if indeed they could have done | it in daylight.
 There was nothing difficult in tn, feat, and for one who had had any trainins in such lines there was yer. little credit attaching to it. Before go ing many miles we came to a stretch Q pinon or pine forest. and I warned th, men to keep close to me with the pael mules and on no account to lose sigh of each other as we wound througl the dark timber in single file As W, l penetrated deeper into the heart of tn, I forest 1t became darker and darker and for a while I watched closely be hind me to see that all was right, fo I was picking my way, there being n trail at all could, from time GO time catch a few of the remarks made by tn l two behind, and they were to the effee that was lost and knew nothing as t, where I was going, Coming to rougl piece of ground among the trees, stopped to make sure that all was right and In the dim light could discern tn outline of but, one man.
 1I I called back for the other one and II response came, and then it was dis covered that he was not there. Bot men had some time before relapsed int silence and the foremost supposed tn lother to be immediately behind him I We now called loudly for him and a first received no reply, but at lengt 3l faint hail was heard, and after wait ing for ten minutes with continue shouting on both sides the last ma
 came up.
 | Cautioning him again, we once nor
 resumed our march. When we emerge
 from the timber, we entered a Ions
 shallow valley at right angles to ou
 previous course which ran the whol
 length of the plateau and passed nea
 our camp. Wheeling into this we plod
 ded on for another hour when, turnin
 to the right, distance of a. quarter (
 mile brought us to our objectiv
 point. By simply Knowing the lay (
 the land and having it well pictured
 my mind. had done what my needles companions seemed to them entirel impossible.
 Many miles to the northeast fro1
 where this experience occurred, are th
 interesting cliff villages of the Mol
 Indians.
 As we approached them from tn I south, circumstances conspired to Ter
 der it expedient to divide my party i
 order that might accomplish an
 work of consequence. Taking with m I two men and the two strongest pac
 mules, I pushed ahead, leaving the re 1 lnaining animals and supplies in charg
 of my cook, an experienced campaigne and a trustworthy man. These includ ed a horse and mule so thoroughly use up that they were abandoned to the In
 dians two or three days later I gay my cook general directions as to wha
 to do, expecting to reunite the part
 within week. With my little force W