Year: 1869

A gentleman, who has been among the
Indians of Dacotah writes as follows;


Ihaye ridden several hundred miles with
an experienced guide and trailer, Hack,
whom interrogated upon many points IN
the practice Of this art Nearly all tracks l
saw, either old or new, as novice in the
art, Iquestioned him about. In going to
the Niobrara river we crossed the track of an
Indian pony. My guide followed the track
few miles and then said, sit is a stray
black horse, with long, bushy tail, nearly
starved to death, has split hoof of the left
foot, and goes very lame, and has passed
here early this morning" Astonished and
incredulous, asked him the reason for
knowing these particulars by the tracks of
the animal, when he replied, sit was stray
horse, because it did not go on in direct
line; his tail was long, for he dragged 1t
over the snow; in brushing against bush
he left some of his hair, which shows Its
color. He was very hungry, for in going
along, he has nipped at those high, dry
weeds, which horses seldom eat The tissure
of the left fore foot left, also, its track, and
the depth of the indention shows the degree
of his lameness; and his tracks show. he was
here this morning, when the snow was hard
with FROST"


At another place we came across an Indian
track and he said, "It is an old Yankton,
who came across the Missouri last evening
to look at his traps. In coming over he
carried in his right hand trap, and In his
left lasso to catch a pony which he had
lost He returned without finding the horse
but had caught in trap he had out,
-. x,b,ob ho nd homo n
his back and bundle of kinikinic wood IN
his right hand"


Then he gave his reasons, II know heis old
by the impression his gait has made, and
Yankton by that of his moccassin. He is
from the other side of the river, as there are
no Yanktons on this side. This trap he
carried struck the snow now and then, in
the same manner as when he came, shows that
he did not find his pony. A drop OF blood
in the centre of his track, shows that he car
ried wolf on his back, and the bundle OF
kinikinic wood he used as staff for sup
port, and catching q wolf, shows that he
had traps out" But" I asked how do
you know that it is wolf, why not fox or
a coyote, or even a deer2" Said he, " If it
had been fox, or coyote, or any other
small game, he would have slipped the head
of the animal in his waist belt, and so car
ried it by his side, and not on his shoulders.
Deer are not caught by traps, but if it had
been deer, he would not have crossed this
high hill, but would have gone back by the
way of the ravine, and the load would have
made his steps still more tottering


Another Indian track we saw twenty miles
west of this he put this serious construction
upon: I" He is an upper Indian-a prowling
horse.th .thief-carried double-barrel shot
gun, and is a rascal that killed some white
man lately, and passed here one week ago !;
for,n said he, a lone Indian in these parts
is on mischief, and generally on the lookout
for horses. He had on the shoes of white
man whom he had in all probability killed,
but his steps are those of an Indian. Going
through the ravine, the end of his gun hit
in the deep snow. A week ago, we had
very warm day, and the snow being soft he
made these deep tracks; ever since it has
been intensely cold weather. which makes
very shallow tracks," l suggested that per-
haps he bought these shoes. Indians
don't buy shoes, and if they did they would
not buy them as large these were, for Indians
have very small feet