Bivouacs. Tente d'Abri. Gutta-percha Knapsack Tent. Comanche Lodge.
Sibley Tent. Camp Furniture. Litters. Rapid Traveling. Fuel. Making
Fires. Fires on the Prairies. Jerking Meat. Making Lariats. Making
Caches. Disposition of Fire-arms. Colt's Revolvers. Gun Accidents.
Trailing. Indian Sagacity.
BIVOUACS AND TENTS.
In traveling with pack animals it is not always convenient or
practicable to transport tents, and the traveler's ingenuity is often
taxed in devising the most available means for making himself
comfortable and secure against winds and storms. I have often been
astonished to see how soon an experienced voyager, without any
resources save those provided by nature, will erect a comfortable
shelter in a place where a person having no knowledge of woodcraft
would never think of such a thing.
Almost all people in different parts of the world have their own
peculiar methods of bivouacking.
In the severe climate of Thibet, Dr. Hooker informs us that they encamp
near large rocks, which absorb the heat during the day, and give it out
slowly during the night. They form, as it were, reservoirs of caloric,
the influence of which is exceedingly grateful during a cold night.
In the polar regions the Esquimaux live and make themselves comfortable
in huts of ice or snow, and with no other combustible but oil.
The natives of Australia bury their bodies in the sand, keeping their
heads only above the surface, and thus sleep warm during the chilly
nights of that climate.
Fortunately for the health and comfort of travelers upon the Plains,
the atmosphere is pure and dry during the greater part of the year, and
it is seldom that any rain or dew is seen; neither are there marshes or
ponds of stagnant water to generate putrid exhalations and poisonous
malaria. The night air of the summer months is soft, exhilarating, and
delightful. Persons may therefore sleep in it and inhale it with
perfect impunity, and, indeed, many prefer this to breathing the
confined atmosphere of a house or tent.
During the rainy season only is it necessary to seek shelter. In
traveling with covered wagons one always has protection from storms,
but with pack trains it becomes necessary to improvise the best
substitutes for tents.
A very secure protection against storms may be constructed by planting
firmly in the ground two upright poles, with forks at their tops, and
crossing them with a light pole laid in the forks. A gutta-percha
cloth, or sheet of canvas, or, in the absence of either of these two,
blankets, may be attached by one side to the horizontal pole, the
opposite edge being stretched out to the windward at an angle of about
forty-five degrees to the ground, and there fastened with wooden pins,
or with buckskin strings tied to the lower border of the cloth and to
pegs driven firmly into the earth. This forms a shelter for three or
four men, and is a good defense against winds and rains. If a fire be
then made in front, the smoke will be carried away, so as not to
incommode the occupants of the bivouac.
This is called a "half-faced" camp.
[Illustration: HALF-FACED CAMP.]
Another method practiced a great deal among mountain men and Indians
consists in placing several rough poles equidistant around in a half
circle, and bringing the small ends together at the top, where they are
bound with a thong. This forms the conical frame-work of the bivouac,
which, when covered with a cloth stretched around it, makes a very good
shelter, and is preferable to the half-faced camp, because the sides
are covered.
[Illustration: CONICAL BIVOUAC.]
When no cloths, blankets, or hides are at hand to be placed over the
poles of the lodge, it may be covered with green boughs laid on
compactly, so as to shed a good deal of rain, and keep out the wind in
cold weather. We adopted this description of shelter in crossing the
Rocky Mountains during the winter of 1857-8, and thus formed a very
effectual protection against the bleak winds which sweep with great
violence over those lofty and inhospitable _sierras_. We always
selected a dense thicket for our encampment, and covered the lodges
with a heavy coating of pine boughs, wattling them together as
compactly as possible, and piling snow upon the outside in such a
manner as to make them quite impervious to the wind. The fires were
then kindled at the mouths of the lodges, and our heads and bodies were
completely sheltered, while our feet were kept warm by the fires.
The French troops, while serving in the Crimea, used what they call the
_tente d'abri_, or shelter tent, which seems to have been received with
great favor in Europe. It is composed of two, four, or six square
pieces of cloth, with buttons and buttonholes adjusted upon the edges,
and is pitched by planting two upright stakes in the ground at a
distance corresponding with the length of the canvas when buttoned
together. The two sticks are connected by a cord passed around the top
of each, drawn tight, and the ends made fast to pins driven firmly into
the ground. The canvas is then laid over the rope between the sticks,
spread out at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and the lower edges
secured to the earth with wooden pins. This makes some defense against
the weather, and was the only shelter enjoyed by the mass of the French
army in the Crimea up to October, 1855. For a permanent camp it is
usual to excavate a shallow basement under the tent, and to bank up the
earth on the outside in cold weather. It is designed that upon marches
the _tente d'abri_ shall be taken to pieces and carried by the
soldiers.
A tent has recently been prepared by Mr. John Rider, 165 Broadway, New
York, which is called the "_tent knapsack_." It has been examined by a
board of army officers, and recommended for adoption in our military
service.
[Illustration: TENT KNAPSACK.]
This tent is somewhat similar to the _tente d'abri_, and is pitched in
the same manner, but it has this advantage, that each separate piece
may be converted into a water-proof knapsack.
The following extracts from the Report of the Board go to show that
this tent knapsack will be useful to parties traveling on the prairies
with pack trains:
"It is a piece of gutta-percha 5 feet 3 inches long, and 3 feet 8
inches wide, with double edges on one side, and brass studs and
button-holes along two edges, and straps and buckles on the fourth
edge; the whole weighing three pounds; two sticks, 3 feet 8 inches long
by 1-1/4 inches in diameter, and a small cord. When used as a knapsack,
the clothing is packed in a cotton bag, and the gutta-percha sheet is
folded round it, lapping at the ends. The clothing is thus protected by
two or three thicknesses of gutta-percha, and in this respect there is
a superiority over the knapsack now used by our troops. Other
advantages are, that the tent knapsack has no seams, the parts at which
those in use wear out soonest; it adapts itself to the size of the
contents, so that a compact and portable bundle can be made, whether
the kit be entire or not; and, with the cotton bag, it forms a
convenient, commodious, and durable receptacle for all a soldier's
clothing and necessaries.
"On a scout a soldier usually carries only a blanket, overcoat, and at
most a single shirt, pair of drawers, and a pair of socks, all of which
can be packed in the tent knapsack in a small bundle, perfectly
protected from rain, and capable of being suspended from the shoulders
and carried with comfort and ease during a march.
"2d. As a shelter. The studs and eyelets along two edges of the tent
knapsack are for the purpose of fastening a number of them together,
and thus making a sheet of larger dimensions.
"A sheet formed by fastening together four knapsacks was exhibited to
the Board, stretched upon a frame of wood. When used in service the
sheet is to be stretched on a rope supported by two poles, or by two
rifles, muskets, or carbines, and pinned down at the sides with six
pins, three on each side.
"The sheet of four knapsacks is 10 feet 6 inches long, and 7 feet 4
inches wide, and when pitched on a rope 4 feet 4 inches above the
ground, covers a horizontal space 6 feet 6 inches wide, and 7 feet 4
inches long, which will accommodate five men, and may be made to
shelter seven. The sheet can also be used on the ground, and is a great
protection from dampness, and as a shawl or talma; indeed, a variety of
advantageous uses to which the gutta-percha sheet may be put will
suggest themselves to persons using it.
"The Board is satisfied with its merits in all the uses to which it is
proposed to be put, and is of opinion that the gutta-percha tent
knapsack may be adopted in the military service with advantage."
* * * * *
The usual tenement of the prairie tribes, and of the traders, trappers,
and hunters who live among them, is the Comanche lodge, which is made
of eight straight peeled poles about twenty feet long, covered with
hides or cloth. The lodge is pitched by connecting the smaller
extremities of three of the poles with one end of a long line. The
three poles are then raised perpendicularly, and the larger extremities
spread out in a tripod to the circumference of the circle that is to
form the base of the lodge. The other poles are then raised, laid into
the forks of the three first, and spread out equidistant upon the
circle, thus forming the conical framework of the structure. Nine or
ten poles are generally used in one lodge.
[Illustration: COMANCHE LODGE.]
The long line attached to the tripod is then wound several times around
the top, where the poles intersect, and the lower end made fast at the
base of the lodge, thus securing the frame firmly in its position. The
covering, made of buffalo hides, dressed without the hair, and cut and
sewed together to fit the conical frame, is raised with a pole, spread
out around the structure, and united at the edges with sharpened wooden
pegs, leaving sufficient space open at the bottom for a doorway, which
may be closed with a blanket spread out with two small sticks, and
suspended over the opening.
The lower edge of the lodge is made fast to the ground with wooden
pins. The apex is left open, with a triangular wing or flap on each
side, and the windward flap constantly stretched out by means of a pole
inserted into a pocket in the end of it, which causes it to draw like a
sail, and thus occasions a draught from the fire built upon the ground
in the centre of the lodge, and makes it warm and comfortable in the
coldest winter weather. Canvas makes a very good substitute for the
buffalo-skin covering.
SIBLEY TENT.
A tent has been invented by Major H. H. Sibley, of the army, which is
known as the "_Sibley tent_." It is somewhat similar to the Comanche
lodge, but in place of the conical frame-work of poles it has but one
upright standard, resting upon an iron tripod in the centre. The tripod
can be used to suspend cooking utensils over the fire, and, when folded
up, admits the wooden standard between the legs, thereby reducing the
length one half, and making it more convenient for packing and
traveling.
[Illustration: THE SIBLEY TENT.]
This tent constituted the entire shelter of the army in Utah during the
winter of 1857-8, and, notwithstanding the severity of the climate in
the elevated locality of Camp Scott, the troops were quite comfortable,
and pleased with the tent.
In permanent camps the Sibley tent may be so pitched as to give more
room by erecting a tripod upon the outside with three poles high and
stout enough to admit of the tent's being suspended by ropes attached
to the apex. This method dispenses with the necessity of the central
upright standard.
When the weather is very cold, the tent may be made warmer by
excavating a basement about three feet deep, which also gives a wall to
the tent, making it more roomy.
The tent used in the army will shelter comfortably twelve men.
Captain G. Rhodes, of the English army, in his recent work upon tents
and tent-life, has given a description of most of the tents used in the
different armies in Europe, but, in my judgment, none of them, in point
of convenience, comfort, and economy, will compare with the Sibley tent
for campaigning in cold weather. One of its most important features,
that of admitting of a fire within it and of causing a draught by the
disposition of the wings, is not, that I am aware, possessed by any
other tent. Moreover, it is exempt from the objections that are urged
against some other tents on account of insalubrity from want of top
ventilation to carry off the impure air during the night.
CAMP FURNITURE.
The accompanying illustrations present some convenient articles of
portable camp furniture.
[Illustration: CAMP CHAIR. NO. 1.]
CAMP CHAIR NO. 1 is of oak or other hard wood. Fig. 1 represents it
opened for use; in Fig. 2 it is closed for transportation. _A_ is a
stout canvas, forming the back and seat; _b_, _b_, _b_ are iron
butt-hinges; _c_, _c_ are leather straps, one inch and a quarter wide,
forming the arms; _d_ is an iron rod, with nut and screw at one end.
[Illustration: CAMP CHAIRS. NOS. 2 AND 3.]
CAMP CHAIR NO. 2 is made of sticks tied together with thongs of
buckskin or raw hide.
CAMP CHAIR NO. 3 is a very comfortable seat, made of a barrel, the part
forming the seat being filled with grass.
[Illustration: CAMP TABLE.]
CAMP TABLE. Fig. 1 represents the table folded for transportation; in
Fig. 2 it is spread out for use. _A_ is the top of the table; _a_, _a_
are side boards, and _c_, _c_ are end boards, turning on butt-hinges,
_b_, _b_, _b_.
[Illustration: FIELD COT. NO. 1.]
[Illustration: FIELD COT. NO. 2.]
FIELD COTS. In No. 1, _A_ represents the cot put up for use; _B_, the
cot folded for transportation. The legs turn upon iron bolts running
through the head and foot boards; they are then placed upon the canvas,
and the whole is rolled up around the side pieces. In No. 2 the upper
figure represents the cot put up for use; the lower shows it folded for
transportation. _A_ is a stout canvas; _b_, _b_ are iron butt-hinges;
_c_, _c_, the legs; _d_, _d_, leather straps, with buckles, which hold
the legs firm; _f_, _f_, ends, which fold upon hinges; _g_, _g_,
cross-bars from leg to leg. This cot is strong, light, and portable.
[Illustration: CAMP BUREAU.]
CAMP BUREAU. This cut represents two chests, _A_, _A_, with their
handles, a, a; the covers taken off, they are placed one upon the
other, and secured by the clamps _B_, _B_; _d_ shows the division
between the two chests. When it is to be transported, the knobs, _c_,
are unscrewed from the drawers, the looking-glass, _f_, is removed, the
drawers are filled with clothing, etc., and the lids are screwed on.
[Illustration: MESS-CHEST.]
MESS-CHEST. A represents the chest open for table; _B_ is the same
closed; _C_ is the upper tray of tin, with compartments, _b_, _b_; _E_
is the lower wooden tray, divided into compartments, _a_, _a_, for
various purposes, and made fast to the bottom of the chest; _d_, _d_
are lids opening with hinges; _f_ (in figure B) is a wooden leg,
turning upon a hinge, and fitting snugly between two pieces of wood
screwed upon the cover.
LITTERS.
Should a party traveling with pack animals, and without ambulances or
wagons, have one of its members wounded or taken so sick as to be
unable to walk or ride on horseback, a litter may be constructed by
taking two poles about twenty feet in length, uniting them by two
sticks three feet long lashed across the centre at six feet apart, and
stretching a piece of stout canvas, a blanket, or hide between them to
form the bed. Two steady horses or mules are then selected, placed
between the poles in the front and rear of the litter, and the ends of
the poles made fast to the sides of the animals, either by attachment
to the stirrups or to the ends of straps secured over their backs.
[Illustration: HORSE-LITTER.]
The patient may then be placed upon the litter, and is ready for the
march.
The elasticity of the long poles gives an easy motion to the
conveyance, and makes this method of locomotion much more comfortable
than might be supposed.
The prairie Indians have a way of transporting their sick and children
upon a litter very similar in construction to the one just described,
excepting that one animal is used instead of two. One end of the litter
is made fast to the sides of the animal, while the other end is left to
trail upon the ground. A projection is raised for the feet to rest
against and prevent the patient from sliding down. Instead of canvas,
the Indians sometimes lash a large willow basket across the poles, in
which they place the person to be transported. The animals harnessed to
the litter must be carefully conducted upon the march, and caution used
in passing over rough and broken ground.
[Illustration: HAND-LITTER.]
A very convenient and comfortable method of packing a sick or wounded
man when there are no animals disposable, and which is sometimes
resorted to by the Indians, is to take two small poles about ten feet
long, and lash three cross-pieces to them, one in the centre, and the
other two about eighteen inches from the ends. A blanket or hide is
then secured firmly to this frame, and the patient placed upon it under
the centre cross-piece, which prevents him from falling out. Two men
act as carriers, walking between the ends of the long poles. The
patient may be protected against the rain or sun by bending small
willows over the frame, and covering them with a cloth.
RAPID TRAVELING.
Small parties with good animals, light vehicles, and little lading, may
traverse the Plains rapidly and comfortably, if the following
injunctions be observed.
The day's drive should commence as soon as it is light, and, where the
road is good, the animals kept upon a slow trot for about three hours,
then immediately turned out upon the best grass that can be found for
two hours, thus giving time for grazing and breakfast. After which
another drive of about three hours may be made, making the noon halt
about three hours, when the animals are again harnessed, and the
journey continued until night.
In passing through a country infested by hostile Indians, the evening
drive should be prolonged until an hour or two after dark, turning off
at a point where the ground is hard, going about half a mile from the
road, and encamping without fires, in low ground, where the Indians
will find it difficult to track or see the party.
These frequent halts serve to rest and recruit the animals so that they
will, without injury, make from thirty to forty miles a day for a long
time. This, however, can only be done with very light loads and
vehicles, such, for example, as an ambulance with four mules, only
three or four persons, and a small amount of luggage.
FUEL AND FIRE.
There are long distances upon some of the routes to California where no
other fuel is found but the dried dung of the buffalo, called by the
mountaineers "chips," and by the French "bois de vache," the _argul_ of
the Tartary deserts. It burns well when perfectly dry, answers a good
purpose for cooking, and some men even prefer it to wood. As it will
not burn when wet, it is well, in a country where no other fuel can be
had, when it threatens to rain, for the traveler to collect a supply
before the rain sets in, and carry it in wagons to the camp. When dry,
the chips are easily lighted.
A great saving in fuel may be made by digging a trench about two feet
long by eight inches in width and depth; the fires are made in the
bottom of the trench, and the cooking utensils placed upon the top,
where they receive all the heat. This plan is especially recommended
for windy weather, and it is convenient at all times. The wood should
be cut short, and split into small pieces.
It is highly important that travelers should know the different methods
that may be resorted to for kindling fires upon a march.
The most simple and most expeditious of these is by using the lucifer
matches; but, unless they are kept in well-corked bottles, they are
liable to become wet, and will then fail to ignite.
The most of those found in the shops easily imbibe dampness, and are of
but little use in the prairies. Those marked "Van Duser, New York," and
put up in flat rectangular boxes, are the best I have met with, and
were the only ones I saw which were not affected by the humid climate
of Mexico. Wax lucifers are better than wooden, as they are impervious
to moisture.
I have seen an Indian start a fire with flint and steel after others
had failed to do it with matches. This was during a heavy rain, when
almost all available fuel had become wet. On such occasions dry fuel
may generally be obtained under logs, rocks, or leaning trees.
The inner bark of some dry trees, cedar for instance, is excellent to
kindle a fire. The bark is rubbed in the hand until the fibres are made
fine and loose, when it takes fire easily; dry grass or leaves are also
good. After a sufficient quantity of small kindling fuel has been
collected, a moistened rag is rubbed with powder, and a spark struck
into it with a flint and steel, which will ignite it; this is then
placed in the centre of the loose nest of inflammable material, and
whirled around in the air until it bursts out into a flame. When it is
raining, the blaze should be laid upon the dryest spot that can be
found, a blanket held over it to keep off the water, and it is fed with
very small bits of dry wood and shavings until it has gained sufficient
strength to burn the larger damp wood. When no dry place can be found,
the fire may be started in a kettle or frying-pan, and afterward
transferred to the ground.
Should there be no other means of starting a fire, it can always be
made with a gun or pistol, by placing upon the ground a rag saturated
with damp powder, and a little dry powder sprinkled over it. The gun or
pistol is then (uncharged) placed with the cone directly over and near
the rag, and a cap exploded, which will invariably ignite it. Another
method is by placing about one fourth of a charge of powder into a gun,
pushing a rag down loosely upon it, and firing it out with the muzzle
down near the ground, which ignites the rag.
The most difficult of all methods of making a fire, but one that is
practiced by some of the Western Indians, is by friction between two
pieces of wood. I had often heard of this process, but never gave
credit to its practicability until I saw the experiment successfully
tried. It was done in the following manner: Two dried stalks of the
Mexican soap-plant, about three fourths of an inch in diameter, were
selected, and one of them made flat on one side; near the edge of this
flat surface a very small indentation was made to receive the end of
the other stick, and a groove cut from this down the side. The other
stick is cut with a rounded end, and placed upright upon the first. One
man then holds the horizontal piece upon the ground, while another
takes the vertical stick between the palms of his hands, and turns it
back and forth as rapidly as possible, at the same time pressing
forcibly down upon it. The point of the upright stick wears away the
indentation into a fine powder, which runs off to the ground in the
groove that has been cut; after a time it begins to smoke, and by
continued friction it will at length take fire.
This is an operation that is difficult, and requires practice; but if a
drill-stick is used with a cord placed around the centre of the upright
stick, it can be turned much more rapidly than with the hands, and the
fire produced more readily. The upright stick may be of any hard, dry
wood, but the lower horizontal stick must be of a soft, inflammable
nature, such as pine, cottonwood, or black walnut, and it must be
perfectly dry. The Indians work the sticks with the palms of the hands,
holding the lower piece between the feet; but it is better to have a
man to hold the lower piece while another man works the drill-bow.
Inexperienced travelers are very liable, in kindling fires at their
camp, to ignite the grass around them. Great caution should be taken to
guard against the occurrence of such accidents, as they might prove
exceedingly disastrous. We were very near having our entire train of
wagons and supplies destroyed, upon one occasion, by the carelessness
of one of our party in setting fire to the grass, and it was only by
the most strenuous and well-timed efforts of two hundred men in setting
counter fires, and burning around the train, that it was saved. When
the grass is dry it will take fire like powder, and if thick and tall,
with a brisk wind, the flames run like a race-horse, sweeping every
thing before them. A lighted match, or the ashes from a segar or pipe,
thrown carelessly into the dry grass, sometimes sets it on fire; but
the greatest danger lies in kindling camp-fires.
To prevent accidents of this kind, before kindling the fire a space
should be cleared away sufficient to embrace the limits of the flame,
and all combustibles removed therefrom, and while the fire is being
made men should be stationed around with blankets ready to put it out
if it takes the grass.
When a fire is approaching, and escape from its track is impossible, it
may be repelled in the following manner: The train and animals are
parked compactly together; then several men, provided with blankets,
set fire to the grass on the lee side, burning it away gradually from
the train, and extinguishing it on the side next the train. This can
easily be done, and the fire controlled with the blankets, or with dry
sand thrown upon it, until an area large enough to give room for the
train has been burned clear. Now the train moves on to this ground of
safety, and the fire passes by harmless.
JERKING MEAT.
So pure is the atmosphere in the interior of our continent that fresh
meat may be cured, or _jerked,_ as it is termed in the language of
the prairies, by cutting it into strips about an inch thick, and
hanging it in the sun, where in a few days it will dry so well that it
may be packed in sacks, and transported over long journeys without
putrefying.
When there is not time to jerk the meat by the slow process described,
it may be done in a few hours by building an open frame-work of small
sticks about two feet above the ground, placing the strips of meat upon
the top of it, and keeping up a slow fire beneath, which dries the meat
rapidly.
The jerking process may be done upon the march without any loss of time
by stretching lines from front to rear upon the outside of loaded
wagons, and suspending the meat upon them, where it is allowed to
remain until sufficiently cured to be packed away. Salt is never used
in this process, and is not required, as the meat, if kept dry, rarely
putrefies.
If travelers have ample transportation, it will be a wise precaution,
in passing through the buffalo range, to lay in a supply of jerked meat
for future exigences.
LARIATS.
It frequently happens upon long journeys that the lariat ropes wear out
or are lost, and if there were no means of replacing them great
inconvenience might result therefrom. A very good substitute may be
made by taking the green hide of a buffalo, horse, mule, or ox,
stretching it upon the ground, and pinning it down by the edges. After
it has been well stretched, a circle is described with a piece of
charcoal, embracing as much of the skin as practicable, and a strip
about an inch wide cut from the outer edge of sufficient length to form
the lariat. The strip is then wrapped around between two trees or
stakes, drawn tight, and left to dry, after which it is subjected to a
process of friction until it becomes pliable, when it is ready for use;
this lariat answers well so long as it is kept dry, but after it has
been wet and dried again it becomes very hard and unyielding. This,
however, may be obviated by boiling it in oil or grease until
thoroughly saturated, after which it remains pliable.
The Indians make very good lariat ropes of dressed buffalo or buck
skins cut into narrow strips and braided; these, when oiled, slip much
more freely than the hemp or cotton ropes, and are better for lassoing
animals, but they are not as suitable for picketing as those made of
other material, because the wolves will eat them, and thus set free the
animals to which they are attached.
CACHES.
It not unfrequently happens that travelers are compelled, for want of
transportation, to abandon a portion of their luggage, and if it is
exposed to the keen scrutiny of the thieving savages who often follow
the trail of a party, and hunt over old camps for such things as may be
left, it will be likely to be appropriated by them. Such contingencies
have given rise to a method of secreting articles called by the old
French Canadian voyagers "_caching_."
The proper places for making caches are in loose sandy soils, where the
earth is dry and easily excavated. Near the bank of a river is the most
convenient for this purpose, as the earth taken out can be thrown into
the water, leaving no trace behind.
When the spot has been chosen, the turf is carefully cut and laid
aside, after which a hole is dug in the shape of an egg, and of
sufficient dimensions to contain the articles to be secreted, and the
earth, as it is taken out, thrown upon a cloth or blanket, and carried
to a stream or ravine, where it can be disposed of, being careful not
to scatter any upon the ground near the cache. The hole is then lined
with bushes or dry grass, the articles placed within, covered with
grass, the hole filled up with earth, and the sods carefully placed
back in their original position, and every thing that would be likely
to attract an Indian's attention removed from the locality. If an
India-rubber or gutta-percha cloth is disposable, it should be used to
envelop the articles in the cache.
Another plan of making a cache is to dig the hole inside a tent, and
occupy the tent for some days after the goods are deposited. This
effaces the marks of excavation.
The mountain traders were formerly in the habit of building fires over
their caches, but the Indians have become so familiar with this
practice that I should think it no longer safe.
Another method of caching which is sometimes resorted to is to place
the articles in the top of an evergreen tree, such as the pine,
hemlock, or spruce. The thick boughs are so arranged around the
packages that they can not be seen from beneath, and they are tied to a
limb to prevent them from being blown out by the wind. This will only
answer for such articles as will not become injured by the weather.
Caves or holes in the rocks that are protected from the rains are also
secure deposits for caching goods, but in every case care must be taken
to obliterate all tracks or other indications of men having been near
them. These caches will be more secure when made at some distance from
roads or trails, and in places where Indians would not be likely to
pass.
To find a cache again, the bearing and distance from the centre of it
to some prominent object, such as a mound, rock, or tree, should be
carefully determined and recorded, so that any one, on returning to the
spot, would have no difficulty in ascertaining its position.
DISPOSITION OF FIRE-ARMS.
The mountaineers and trappers exercise a very wise precaution, on
laying down for the night, by placing their arms and ammunition by
their sides, where they can be seized at a moment's notice. This rule
is never departed from, and they are therefore seldom liable to be
surprised. In Parkyns's "Abyssinia," I find the following remarks upon
this subject:
"When getting sleepy, you return your rifle between your legs, roll
over, and go to sleep. Some people may think this is a queer place for
a rifle; but, on the contrary, it is the position of all others where
utility and comfort are most combined. The butt rests on the arm, and
serves as a pillow for the head; the muzzle points between the knees,
and the arms encircle the lock and breech, so that you have a smooth
pillow, and are always prepared to start up armed at a moment's
notice."
I have never made the experiment of sleeping in this way, but I should
imagine that a gun-stock would make rather a hard pillow.
Many of our experienced frontier officers prefer carrying their pistols
in a belt at their sides to placing them in holsters attached to the
saddle, as in the former case they are always at hand when they are
dismounted; whereas, by the other plan, they become useless when a man
is unhorsed, unless he has time to remove them from the saddle, which,
during the excitement of an action, would seldom be the case.
Notwithstanding Colt's army and navy sized revolvers have been in use
for a long time in our army, officers are by no means of one mind as to
their relative merits for frontier service. The navy pistol, being more
light and portable, is more convenient for the belt, but it is very
questionable in my mind whether these qualities counterbalance the
advantages derived from the greater weight of powder and lead that can
be fired from the larger pistol, and the consequent increased
projectile force.
This point is illustrated by an incident which fell under my own
observation. In passing near the "Medicine-Bow Butte" during the spring
of 1858, I most unexpectedly encountered and fired at a full-grown
grizzly bear; but, as my horse had become somewhat blown by a previous
gallop, his breathing so much disturbed my aim that I missed the animal
at the short distance of about fifty yards, and he ran off. Fearful, if
I stopped to reload my rifle, the bear would make his escape, I
resolved to drive him back to the advanced guard of our escort, which I
could see approaching in the distance; this I succeeded in doing, when
several mounted men, armed with the navy revolvers, set off in pursuit.
They approached within a few paces, and discharged ten or twelve shots,
the most of which entered the animal, but he still kept on, and his
progress did not seem materially impeded by the wounds. After these men
had exhausted their charges, another man rode up armed with the army
revolver, and fired two shots, which brought the stalwart beast to the
ground. Upon skinning him and making an examination of the wounds, it
was discovered that none of the balls from the small pistols had, after
passing through his thick and tough hide, penetrated deeper than about
an inch into the flesh, but that the two balls from the large pistol
had gone into the vitals and killed him. This test was to my mind a
decisive one as to the relative efficiency of the two arms for frontier
service, and I resolved thenceforth to carry the larger size.
[Illustration: THE GRIZZLY.]
Several different methods are practiced in slinging and carrying
fire-arms upon horseback. The shoulder-strap, with a swivel to hook
into a ring behind the guard, with the muzzle resting downward in a
leather cup attached by a strap to the same staple as the
stirrup-leather, is a very handy method for cavalry soldiers to sling
their carbines; but, the gun being reversed, the jolting caused by the
motion of the horse tends to move the charge and shake the powder out
of the cone, which renders it liable to burst the gun and to miss fire.
An invention of the Namaquas, in Africa, described by Galton in his Art
of Travel, is as follows:
"Sew a bag of canvas, leather, or hide, of such bigness as to admit the
butt of the gun pretty freely. The straps that support it buckle
through a ring in the pommel, and the thongs by which its slope is
adjusted fasten round the girth below. The exact adjustments may not be
hit upon by an unpracticed person for some little time, but, when they
are once ascertained, the straps need never be shifted. The gun is
perfectly safe, and never comes below the arm-pit, even in taking a
drop leap; it is pulled out in an instant by bringing the elbow in
front of the gun and close to the side, so as to throw the gun to the
outside of the arm; then, lowering the hand, the gun is caught up. It
is a bungling way to take out the gun while its barrel lies between the
arm and the body. Any sized gun can be carried in this fashion. It
offers no obstacle to mounting or dismounting."
This may be a convenient way of carrying the gun; I have never tried
it. Of all methods I have used, I prefer, for hunting, a piece of
leather about twelve inches by four, with a hole cut in each end; one
of the ends is placed over the pommel of the saddle, and with a
buckskin string made fast to it, where it remains a permanent fixture.
When the rider is mounted, he places his gun across the strap upon the
saddle, and carries the loose end forward over the pommel, the gun
resting horizontally across his legs. It will now only be necessary
occasionally to steady the gun with the hand. After a little practice
the rider will be able to control it with his knees, and it will be
found a very easy and convenient method of carrying it. When required
for use, it is taken out in an instant by simply raising it with the
hand, when the loose end of the strap comes off the pommel.
The chief causes of accidents from the use of fire-arms arise from
carelessness, and I have always observed that those persons who are
most familiar with their use are invariably the most careful. Many
accidents have happened from carrying guns with the cock down upon the
cap. When in this position, a blow upon the cock, and sometimes the
concussion produced by the falling of the gun, will explode the cap;
and, occasionally, when the cock catches a twig, or in the clothes, and
lifts it from the cap, it will explode. With a gun at half-cock there
is but little danger of such accidents; for, when the cock is drawn
back, it either comes to the full-cock, and remains, or it returns to
the half-cock, but does not go down upon the cone. Another source of
very many sad and fatal accidents resulting from the most stupid and
culpable carelessness is in persons standing before the muzzles of guns
and attempting to pull them out of wagons, or to draw them through a
fence or brush in the same position. If the cock encounters an obstacle
in its passage, it will, of course, be drawn back and fall upon the
cap. These accidents are of frequent occurrence, and the cause is well
understood by all, yet men continue to disregard it, and their lives
pay the penalty of their indiscretion. It is a wise maxim, which
applies with especial force in campaigning on the prairies, "_Always
look to your gun, but never let your gun look at you._"
An equally important maxim might be added to this: _Never to point
your gun at another, whether charged or uncharged, and never allow
another to point his gun at you._ Young men, before they become
accustomed to the use of arms, are very apt to be careless, and a large
percentage of gun accidents may be traced to this cause. That finished
sportsman and wonderful shot, my friend Captain Martin Scott, than whom
a more gallant soldier never fought a battle, was the most careful man
with fire-arms I ever knew, and up to the time he received his
death-wound upon the bloody field of Molino del Rey he never ceased his
cautionary advice to young officers upon this subject. His extended
experience and intimate acquaintance with the use of arms had fully
impressed him with its importance, and no man ever lived whose opinions
upon this subject should carry greater weight. As incomprehensible as
it may appear to persons accustomed to the use of fire-arms, recruits
are very prone, before they have been drilled at target practice with
ball cartridges, to place the ball below the powder in the piece.
Officers conducting detachments through the Indian country should
therefore give their special attention to this, and require the
recruits to tear the cartridge and pour all the powder into the piece
before the ball is inserted.
As accidents often occur in camp from the accidental discharge of
fire-arms that have been capped, I would recommend that the arms be
continually kept loaded in campaigning, but the caps not placed upon
the cones until they are required for firing. This will cause but
little delay in an action, and will conduce much to security from
accidents.
When loaded fire-arms have been exposed for any considerable time to a
moist atmosphere, they should be discharged, or the cartridges drawn,
and the arms thoroughly cleaned, dried, and oiled. Too much attention
can not be given in keeping arms in perfect firing order.
TRAILING.
I know of nothing in the woodman's education of so much importance, or
so difficult to acquire, as the art of trailing or tracking men and
animals. To become an adept in this art requires the constant practice
of years, and with some men a lifetime does not suffice to learn it.
Almost all the Indians whom I have met with are proficient in this
species of knowledge, the faculty for acquiring which appears to be
innate with them. Exigencies of woodland and prairie-life stimulate the
savage from childhood to develop faculties so important in the arts of
war and of the chase.
I have seen very few white men who were good trailers, and practice did
not seem very materially to improve their faculties in this regard;
they have not the same acute perceptions for these things as the Indian
or the Mexican. It is not apprehended that this difficult branch of
woodcraft can be taught from books, as it pertains almost exclusively
to the school of practice, yet I will give some facts relating to the
habits of the Indians that will facilitate its acquirement.
A party of Indians, for example, starting out upon a war excursion,
leave their families behind, and never transport their lodges; whereas,
when they move with their families, they carry their lodges and other
effects. If, therefore, an Indian trail is discovered with the marks of
the lodge-poles upon it, it has certainly not been made by a war-party;
but if the track do not show the trace of lodge-poles, it will be
equally certain that a war or hunting party has passed that way, and if
it is not desired to come in conflict with them, their direction may be
avoided. Mustangs or wild horses, when moving from place to place,
leave a trail which is sometimes difficult to distinguish from that
made by a mounted party of Indians, especially if the mustangs do not
stop to graze. This may be determined by following upon the trail until
some dung is found, and if this should lie in a single pile, it is a
sure indication that a herd of mustangs has passed, as they always stop
to relieve themselves, while a party of Indians would keep their horses
in motion, and the ordure would be scattered along the road. If the
trail pass through woodland, the mustangs will occasionally go under
the limbs of trees too low to admit the passage of a man on horseback.
An Indian, on coming to a trail, will generally tell at a glance its
age, by what particular tribe it was made, the number of the party, and
many other things connected with it astounding to the uninitiated.
I remember, upon one occasion, as I was riding with a Delaware upon the
prairies, we crossed the trail of a large party of Indians traveling
with lodges. The tracks appeared to me quite fresh, and I remarked to
the Indian that we must be near the party. "Oh no," said he, "the trail
was made two days before, in the morning," at the same time pointing
with his finger to where the sun would be at about 8 o'clock. Then,
seeing that my curiosity was excited to know by what means he arrived
at this conclusion, he called my attention to the fact that there had
been no dew for the last two nights, but that on the previous morning
it had been heavy. He then pointed out to me some spears of grass that
had been pressed down into the earth by the horses' hoofs, upon which
the sand still adhered, having dried on, thus clearly showing that the
grass was wet when the tracks were made.
At another time, as I was traveling with the same Indian, I discovered
upon the ground what I took to be a bear-track, with a distinctly-marked
impression of the heel and all the toes. I immediately called the
Indian's attention to it, at the same time flattering myself that I had
made quite an important discovery, which had escaped his observation.
The fellow remarked with a smile, "Oh no, captain, may be so he not
bear-track." He then pointed with his gun-rod to some spears of grass
that grew near the impression, but I did not comprehend the mystery
until he dismounted and explained to me that, when the wind was
blowing, the spears of grass would be bent over toward the ground, and
the oscillating motion thereby produced would scoop out the loose sand
into the shape I have described. The truth of this explanation was
apparent, yet it occurred to me that its solution would have baffled
the wits of most white men.
Fresh tracks generally show moisture where the earth has been turned
up, but after a short exposure to the sun they become dry. If the
tracks be very recent, the sand may sometimes, where it is very loose
and dry, be seen running back into the tracks, and by following them to
a place where they cross water, the earth will be wet for some distance
after they leave it. The droppings of the dung from animals are also
good indications of the age of a trail. It is well to remember whether
there have been any rains within a few days, as the age of a trail may
sometimes be conjectured in this way. It is very easy to tell whether
tracks have been made before or after a rain, as the water washes off
all the sharp edges.
It is not a difficult matter to distinguish the tracks of American
horses from those of Indian horses, as the latter are never shod;
moreover, they are much smaller.
In trailing horses, there will be no trouble while the ground is soft,
as the impressions they leave will then be deep and distinct; but when
they pass over hard or rocky ground, it is sometimes a very slow and
troublesome process to follow them. Where there is grass, the trace can
be seen for a considerable time, as the grass will be trodden down and
bent in the direction the party has moved; should the grass have
returned to its upright position, the trail can often be distinguished
by standing upon it and looking ahead for some distance in the
direction it has been pursuing; the grass that has been turned over
will show a different shade of green from that around it, and this
often marks a trail for a long time.
Should all traces of the track be obliterated in certain localities, it
is customary with the Indians to follow on in the direction it has been
pursuing for a time, and it is quite probable that in some place where
the ground is more favorable it will show itself again. Should the
trail not be recovered in this way, they search for a place where the
earth is soft, and make a careful examination, embracing the entire
area where it is likely to run.
Indians who find themselves pursued and wish to escape, scatter as much
as possible, with an understanding that they are to meet again at some
point in advance, so that, if the pursuing party follows any one of the
tracks, it will invariably lead to the place of rendezvous. If, for
example, the trail points in the direction of a mountain pass, or
toward any other place which affords the only passage through a
particular section of country, it would not be worth while to spend
much time in hunting it, as it would probably be regained at the pass.
[Illustration: HORSE-TRACKS AT ORDINARY SPEED.]
As it is important in trailing Indians to know at what gaits they are
traveling, and as the appearance of the tracks of horses are not
familiar to all, I have in the following cut represented the prints
made by the hoofs at the ordinary speed of the walk, trot, and gallop,
so that persons, in following the trail of Indians, may form an idea as
to the probability of overtaking them, and regulate their movements
accordingly.
In traversing a district of unknown country where there are no
prominent landmarks, and with the view of returning to the point of
departure, a pocket compass should always be carried, and attached by a
string to a button-hole of the coat, to prevent its being lost or
mislaid; and on starting out, as well as frequently during the trip, to
take the bearing, and examine the appearance of the country when facing
toward the starting-point, as a landscape presents a very different
aspect when viewing it from opposite directions. There are few white
men who can retrace their steps for any great distance unless they take
the above precautions in passing over an unknown country for the first
time; but with the Indians it is different; the sense of locality seems
to be innate with them, and they do not require the aid of the magnetic
needle to guide them.
Upon a certain occasion, when I had made a long march over an
unexplored section, and was returning upon an entirely different route
without either road or trail, a Delaware, by the name of "Black
Beaver," who was in my party, on arriving at a particular point,
suddenly halted, and, turning to me, asked if I recognized the country
before us. Seeing no familiar objects, I replied in the negative. He
put the same question to the other white men of the party, all of whom
gave the same answers, whereupon he smiled, and in his quaint
vernacular said, "Injun he don't know nothing. Injun big fool. White
man mighty smart; he know heap." At the same time he pointed to a tree
about two hundred yards from where we were then standing, and informed
us that our outward trail ran directly by the side of it, which proved
to be true.
Another time, as I was returning from the Comanche country over a route
many miles distant from the one I had traveled in going out, one of my
Delaware hunters, who had never visited the section before, on arriving
upon the crest of an eminence in the prairie, pointed out to me a clump
of trees in the distance, remarking that our outward track would be
found there. I was not, however, disposed to credit his statement until
we reached the locality and found the road passing the identical spot
he had indicated.
This same Indian would start from any place to which he had gone by a
sinuous route, through an unknown country, and keep a direct bearing
back to the place of departure; and he assured me that he has never,
even during the most cloudy or foggy weather, or in the darkest nights,
lost the points of compass. There are very few white men who are
endowed with these wonderful faculties, and those few are only rendered
proficient by matured experience.
I have known several men, after they had become lost in the prairies,
to wander about for days without exercising the least judgment, and
finally exhibiting a state of mental aberration almost upon the verge
of lunacy. Instead of reasoning upon their situation, they exhaust
themselves running a-head at their utmost speed without any regard to
direction. When a person is satisfied that he has lost his way, he
should stop and reflect upon the course he has been traveling, the time
that has elapsed since he left his camp, and the probable distance that
he is from it; and if he is unable to retrace his steps, he should keep
as nearly in the direction of them as possible; and if he has a
compass, this will be an easy matter; but, above all, he should guard
against following his own track around in a circle with the idea that
he is in a beaten trace.
When he is traveling with a train of wagons which leaves a plain trail,
he can make the distance he has traveled from camp the radius of a
circle in which to ride around, and before the circle is described he
will strike the trail. If the person has no compass, it is always well
to make an observation, and to remember the direction of the wind at
the time of departure from camp; and as this would not generally change
during the day, it would afford a means of keeping the points of the
compass.
In the night Ursa Major (the Great Bear) is not only useful to find the
north star, but its position, when the pointers will be vertical in the
heavens, may be estimated with sufficient accuracy to determine the
north even when the north star can not be seen. In tropical latitudes,
the zodiacal stars, such as Orion and Antares, give the east and west
bearing, and the Southern Cross the north and south when Polaris and
the Great Bear can not be seen.
It is said that the moss upon the firs and other trees in Europe gives
a certain indication of the points of compass in a forest country, the
greatest amount accumulating upon the north side of the trees. But I
have often observed the trees in our own forests, and have not been
able to form any positive conclusions in this way.