Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 February 1903 — Shrewd Trailers of Men. [ARTICLE]

Shrewd Trailers of Men.

There is no member of the human race more skillful In tracking men through forests or deserts, over mountains or through verdure-clad vales than the Apache Indian. He possesses In an eminent degree the acute Instinct of tho hound combined With an accurate sense of vision. A turned leaf, a fleck of gravel cast aside, the displacement of a pebble from its bed—all are clear, readable pages. ' , They ask few, if any, particulars of the man they are to follow. They will, as they progress on his track, gather up for themselves one by one little items as to his.personality, which are nearly always verified In the end. When following a trail over the Ironcapped rocks and stony arroyas of Arizona bis face is a picture of intense concentration; not a syllable escapes him; his pace varies from no visible cause. At times he almost runs. Then, with a rapid glance behind, he glides along slowly and with eyes glued to the ground, possibly for hours. Here and there may be a few stretches of sand, but dry sand leaves after the footstep only an Indentation, closing after the pressure, so thaf, to the Inexperienced eye, It might have been a horse or a mule that made it and not a man.