ey were neighbouring
cattlemen, and explained that the two men in my house were rustlers, and
they were determined to take them dead or alive. They asked me to join
their party as they were going to "shoot up" the house if necessary. To
this I would not consent and went back. After a deal of talk and
persuasion the two men finally agreed to give me their guns, preliminary
to meeting two of the other party, who were also asked to approach
unarmed. They met, much to my relief, and when, somehow or other, the
two men allowed themselves to be surrounded by the rest they saw the
game was up and surrendered. Then the funny thing happened and the one
reason for the telling of this story. They all came down to the house,
had dinner together, chatted and cracked jokes, and not a word was said
about the immediate trouble. They were all "punchers," had worked
together, knew each other's affairs, etc., etc. The one party was about
to send the other to the penitentiary, or perhaps the gallows; but you
would have thought it was only a pleasant gathering of long-separated
friends. The two rustlers were lodged in the county jail, quickly broke
out, and soon afterwards died in their "boots," one at the hands of the
sheriff.

For tracking jail-breakers Indians, Navajoes or Apaches were sometimes
employed, and the marvellous skill they showed was simply astonishing
and inexplicable; all done by reading the "sign" left by the escaping
party, but "sign" often quite unnoticeable to the white man. Indeed, an
Indian would follow a trail by sign much as a hound will do by scent.

Talking of scent, the homing instinct of horses and cattle is very
wonderful and mysterious; but it is not generally known that a horse has
also great power of scent. A horse will follow its mate (nearly all
horses have their chums) many miles merely by sense of smell, as my long
experience of them has amply proved to me. On one occasion I for some
reason displaced the near horse of my driving team and hitched up
another. After driving a distance of fifteen miles and returning
homewards on the same road, soon in the distance could be seen said near
horse busy with nose on the ground picking up the trail, and so absorbed
in it that even when we got up quite close he did not notice us. When he
did recognize his chum and companion his evident satisfaction was
affecting.

CHAPTER IV

ODDS AND ENDS

Scent and Instinct--Mules--Roping Contests--Antelopes--The