irection from which the Indians are
approaching, he may direct his piece toward them, and walk in the same
line of direction.

Should the pickets suddenly discover a party of Indians very near, and
with the apparent intention of making an attack, they should fire their
pieces to give the alarm to the camp.

These telegraphic signals, when well understood and enforced, will tend
greatly to facilitate the communication of intelligence throughout the
camp, and conduce much to its security.

The picket guards should receive minute and strict orders regarding
their duties under all circumstances, and these orders should be
distinctly understood by every one in the camp, so that no false alarms
will be created. All persons, with the exception of the guards and
herders, should after dark be confined to the limits of the chain of
sentinels, so that, if any one is seen approaching from without these
limits, it will be known that they are strangers.

As there will not often be occasion for any one to pass the chain of
pickets during the night, it is a good rule (especially if the party is
small), when a picket sentinel discovers any one lurking about his post
from without, if he has not himself been seen, to quietly withdraw and
report the fact to the commander, who can wake his men and make his
arrangements to repel an attack and protect his animals. If, however,
the man upon the picket has been seen, he should distinctly challenge
the approaching party, and if he receives no answer, fire, and retreat
to camp to report the fact.

It is of the utmost importance that picket guards should be wide awake,
and allow nothing to escape their observation, as the safety of the
whole camp is involved. During a dark night a man can see better
himself, and is less exposed to the view of others, when in a sitting
posture than when standing up or moving about. I would therefore
recommend this practice for night pickets.

Horses and mules (especially the latter), whose senses of hearing and
smelling are probably more acute than those of almost any other
animals, will discover any thing strange or unusual about camp much
sooner than a man. They indicate this by turning in the direction from
whence the object is approaching, holding their heads erect, projecting
their ears forward, and standing in a fixed and attentive attitude.
They exhibit the same signs of alarm when a wolf or other wild animal
approaches the camp; but it is always wise