BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
jtr- 
 
 "LAW IS LlBEHTY." (Inshta Theamba Bright Eyes.) 
 
 HIDDEN POWER. 
 
 A SECRET HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE INDIAN RING, 
 
 ITS OPERATIONS, INTRIGUES AND MACHINATIONS. 
 
 REVEALING 
 
 THE MANNER IN WHICH IT CONTROLS THREE 
 
 IMPORTANT DEPARTMENTS OF THE UNITED 
 
 STATES GOVERNMENT. 
 
 A DEFENSE OF THE U. 8. ARMY, * 
 
 AND 
 
 A SOLUTION OF THE INDIAN PROBLEM. 
 
 T. HfTIBBLES r I S 3 &- ( ^1 8" 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 Copyright, 1681, by 
 
 G. W \ Carleton & Co., Publishers. 
 
 LONDON I S. LOW, SON & CO. 
 MDCCCLXXXI. 
 
~PZ3 
 
 Stereotyped by 
 
 SAMUEL STODDER, TROW 
 
 ELECTBOTTPEII & STEREOTYPEB, PBomNa AND BOOK-BINDINO Co 
 90 ANN STBEET, N. Y. N. Y. 
 
BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Military Officers. 
 
 Colonel GREENE, Colonel COLDCRAFT^ 
 
 Major HODSON, Captain HINKLE, 
 
 Captain BELFOR, Lieutenant BLAKE. 
 
 Washington Officials. 
 
 Secretary of the Interior. 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 
 Senator L. 
 
 Congressman H. (or DAN), 
 Senator's Private Secretary. 
 
 Indians. 
 
 RED IRON, WAJAPA, 
 
 MEHA, LITTLE WOLF, 
 
 SWIFT WALKER, Two CROW, 
 
 HAIRY BEAR, LITTLE WARRIOR, 
 
 BADGER, LEAN BEAR, 
 
 GRAY CLOUD. 
 
 Interpreters. 
 SHONNEE, PREEMO. 
 
 Scout. 
 CAPTAIN JACK. 
 
 W 
 
DKAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 Indian Commissioners. 
 
 H. O. CLARK, Mr. HUGHS, 
 
 Mr. SMITH, Mr. BORDEN, 
 
 Mr. BILLIARD, Mr. MARK AM. 
 
 Indian Inspector. 
 J. YOUNG BROWN. 
 
 Missionaries. 
 
 Mr. PARKMAN, Mrs. PARKMAN, 
 
 JENNIE WALKER, Catholic Priest. 
 
 Lawyers. 
 
 Mr. WILMOT, Mr. DAWSON, 
 
 BLEDSOE & DOSIER, DISTRICT ATTORNEY. 
 
 ATTORNEY OF DEPARTMENT OP JUSTICE. 
 
 Indian Agents. 
 
 H. L. PERKINS, Mr. HARKINS, 
 
 JOHN HILDRETH. 
 
 Government Detectives. 
 C. C. AXELL, Mr. LOFT. 
 
 Indian Traders. 
 A. S. PARKER, Mr. Cox. 
 
 Members of the Press. 
 
 Washington Correspondents. 
 Traveling Correspondent. 
 Editor of the Pioneer. 
 
PEEFAOE. 
 
 IF any reader of this book desires to make 
 "invidious comparisons," between any of the 
 characters portrayed in my story, and any sen 
 ator, representative, secretary of the interior, 
 commissioner, army officer, agent, trader, in 
 spector, scont, lawyer, missionary, peace commis 
 sioner, or contractor, now living or dead, he will 
 have to do so on his own responsibility, for I 
 distinctly avow that no such incidents as are re 
 corded herein ever occurred on the Little Blue or 
 Missouri ; that no such army officers' names were 
 ever on the roster of the United States army, that 
 I never knew any peace commissioner by the 
 name of Clark, any army officer by the name of 
 Colonel Greene, any contractor by the name of 
 Perkins, or any Indian inspector by the name of 
 Brown. I did know one Indian by the name of 
 Red Iron, but he was hung by the whites a long 
 time ago. He was a very bad Indian. 
 
 THE AUTHOE. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEB PAGE 
 
 I. The Scout's Wooing 11 
 
 II. The Indians did it 26 
 
 III. A West Pointer's First Service 36 
 
 IV. A Secret Council 58 
 
 V. Indians Discuss the White People's Religion. . . 63 
 
 VI. A Desperate Battle 68 
 
 VII. Old Hairy Bear's Orgies and Meta's Heroism. . . 81 
 
 VIII. A Woman's Conquest 87 
 
 IX. The Contractors' Harvest 95 
 
 X. Meha Deceived 98 
 
 XL A Ride for Life 102 
 
 XII. On the War-path 110 
 
 XIII. Totally Depraved 112 
 
 XIV. Twenty-five Thousand Dollars 122 
 
 XV. Jack in Red Iron's Camp ! . . 124 
 
 XVI. Treating with the Military 131 
 
 XVII. Congressmen on a Spree 138 
 
 XVIII. A Peace Commission 144 
 
 XIX. A Guarded Approach 154 
 
 XX. Military Meddlers 162 
 
 XXI. A Government Linguist 169 
 
 XXII. Secrets of the Indian Bureau 174 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XXIII. Official Information 181 
 
 XXIV. What Could it Mean ? 186 
 
 XXV. Dividing the Spoils 193 
 
 XXVI. Dying like Brave Men 204 
 
 XXVII. Colonel Greene Disgraced 221 
 
 XXVIII. An Agency School 228 
 
 I XXIX. The Mighty Monarch 233 
 
 XXX. Wreaking Vengeance on a Woman 240 
 
 XXXI. Jack's Stratagem 252 
 
 XXXII. A Legal Tangle 256 
 
 XXXIII. Indians Discussing the Whites 263 
 
 XXXIV. The Exiles 270 
 
 XXXV. Dawson's Discovery 277 
 
 XXXVI. Dogged by Detectives 284 
 
 XXXVII. Gone to the Arickoree 289 
 
 XXXVIII. Defeated 293 
 
 XXXIX. A Court-martial 299 
 
 XL. A Secret Council 307 
 
 XLI. A Reporter and a Priest 314 
 
 XLH. A " Straight " Transaction 319 
 
 XLIH. Meha's Fate 326 
 
 XLIV. Jack's Opinion of Injuns 328 
 
 XLV. Mrs. Parkman Translates a Cipher Letter 337 
 
 XL VI. Beyond Control 340 
 
 XLVII. Oh! for the Military 346 
 
 XL VIII. Three Million Dollars . . .349 
 
HIDDEN" POWER 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE SCOUT'S WOOING. 
 
 HEN Lewis and Clark made their voyage up 
 the Missouri River in 1803, after toiling for 
 many days against the rugged current of that 
 turbid stream, they landed at a place on the 
 eastern shore and held a council with the Indians. 
 They named the place Council Bluffs, and it is so 
 called to this day. Many years afterward, the outskirts 
 of permanent settlements hesitated and stopped for a 
 moment on the eastern bank of the Missouri, and was 
 now just invading the verge of what was marked upon 
 the atlas of those days as " The Great American Des 
 ert." A few houses, some more or less pretentious, 
 made up all there was of the " city " of Council Bluffs. 
 In the bar-room of the hotel was assembled a crowd 
 of men. Some were drinking at the bar, some were 
 playing " poker," others looking on, or listlessly loung 
 ing about in different positions. Standing by a window 
 and looking out over the wide, level bottom toward the 
 
 [11] 
 
12 THE SCOUT 8 WOOING. 
 
 river, with his hands clasped behind ' him, was a young 
 military officer. He had cairn blue eyes, light hair, 
 was about five feet ten inches tali, a strong, muscular 
 frame, a mild expression about the eyes and mouth, 
 and a skin yet unbrowned by the Western sun and 
 winds. His thoughts seemed to be in some far-off, 
 distant land, and lie paid no attention to what was 
 going on around him. 
 
 In another part of the room a very different indi 
 vidual sat in a chair, with his feet elevated almost as 
 high as his head. His eyes were said by some to be 
 gray, by others to be black. Both were right. When 
 his thoughts were pleasant, or when he smiled, the 
 darkness faded out of them, but when excited or angry 
 they gleamed with a terrible ferocity. He was six feet 
 tall, yet he was so perfectly proportioned that he did 
 not look so. His hands were small and finely shaped, 
 his forehead high, his head large, arid covered with a 
 most luxuriant growth of black hair. At times his 
 manner was perfectly fascinating. There was a sweet 
 ness in the tones of his voice, an indescribable tender 
 look about the eyes, a sort of whole-souled way with 
 him, that would impress the most stolid and indifferent. 
 
 Those who have conventional ideas, formed from 
 the literature which has been current in the past, would 
 not think this a good description of a frontiersman, 
 scout and guide, but this is the way Captain Jack ap 
 peared to a quiet looker-on as he sat in the bar-room of 
 the Causeland House on that day. 
 
 How did such a man adopt such a life ? Well, I 
 will tell you. 
 
THE SCOUT'S WOOING. 13 
 
 Jack's father moved to Illinois when it was a wilder 
 ness. As the country settled up "it got too thick for 
 him," and he moved across the Mississippi into Iowa. 
 When the land around him was all taken up, no 
 " range " left for his cattle and horses, and no more 
 game to hunt, he started to move on again. But his 
 journey was short, for disease overtook him, and he 
 died in his " prairie schooner, " and was buried in a 
 little grove of trees by the road-side. Jack's mother had 
 died before, and a large family of children were left 
 fatherless and motherless in a country where there were 
 neither children's aid societies nor orphan asylums. 
 Jack found a home in a frontier cabin, worked hard in 
 the summer and went to school in the winter. He 
 finally went to live with a western lawyer, and while 
 there got a taste for reading, and devoured Blackstone, 
 Kent and Fuffendorf. Encouraged by his friend, he 
 resolved on obtaining an education, went back East and 
 worked his way through college. 
 
 Near the college, a cousin of Jack's resided, who 
 was a Methodist preacher, and, like a good many of 
 that denomination, was extremely fond of a good horse. 
 He owned the wildest, most unmanageable and fastest 
 horse in that part of the country. He had a junior 
 preacher on the " circuit " with him who owned the 
 famous trotting mare " Lilly Dale," but Lilly was as 
 gentle as a lamb. Within the bounds of the " circuit " 
 and in the suburbs of a large city there had settled an 
 English family. The beauty of two of the daughters 
 was the talk of the whole country round about. The 
 family was very exclusive. It was known that the 
 
14: THE SCOUT'S WOOING. 
 
 mother was a member of the English nobility, had 
 married beneath her rank, and recently came to this 
 country on account of some family unpleasantness which 
 arose out of that circumstance. There was a great deal 
 of talk about the beauty of the oldest of the two 
 daughters. She did not go into society much, loved re 
 tirement and home, and had refused offers of marriage 
 from the sons of some of the wealthiest families in the 
 city. She had sometimes come to hear Jack's cousin 
 preach, and he described her beauty, comparing it to 
 what he imagined Rachel's to have been. 
 
 Jack had never been in society and was as rough and 
 uncouth as any western barbarian could be, but he had 
 heard so much of this English lady that he had. a great 
 curiosity to see her. One night Jack gave a lecture on 
 " Life in the Far West," and she was in the audience. 
 A few days after this she came to visit a family living 
 in a neighboring village. It was the same house where 
 the young preacher, the owner of " Lilly Dale," was 
 residing. Without telling Jack that she was there, the 
 young preaoher one day invited Jack to go over home 
 with him, and he mounted that unmanageable horse of 
 his cousin's and went. Jack's arms were aching, and his 
 hands were swollen with trying to hold the horse, when 
 he arrived. They hitched the two horses and walked 
 into the house. When Jack came into the parlor, he 
 saw standing by the piano the most lovely woman he 
 had ever beheld. She had that English complexion 
 with rosy cheeks which is so seldom seen among Amer 
 ican ladies, faultless form, rounded arms, white as snow, 
 and dimpled hands. Jack had never seen such a sight be- 
 
15 
 
 fore in all his life. He was astonished and overwhelmed. 
 He stood like one petrified. But she addressed him in a 
 manner so kind and self-possessed that his embarrass 
 ment soon passed away. She talked mostly about his 
 lecture, the hardships he had endured, and denounced 
 the treatment of the Indians by the American govern 
 ment in the most scathing terms, yet in the most lady 
 like way imaginable. 
 
 After a while they went out on the lawn, and he 
 spoke of the English custom of ladies riding on horse 
 back. She said she was very timid, and was afraid of 
 almost every animal except a horse, but the horses were 
 all her friends. Jack pointed to his cousin's horse, and 
 told her there was an exception ; that he was a regular 
 villain, and would delight in nothing better than biting 
 her head off. 
 
 " Oh, no !" she said. " You misrepresent the poor 
 horse ;" and she went up to him and patted him on the 
 neck. 
 
 That villain of a horse actually put down his head 
 and rubbed his nose against her shoulder. Jack was 
 astonished. He had never seen him act that way be 
 fore. She continued petting the horee, he became 
 more and more docile, and finally said she would like 
 to ride him. 
 
 " That would be madness," said Jack. " He is so 
 hard-mouthed that the strongest man cannot hold him." 
 
 " Oh," said she, " that is because you are not kind to 
 him. He is such a fine, strong horse, he could gallop 
 over these hills without effort. I would like to ride 
 him." 
 
16 THE SCOUT'S WOOING. 
 
 Jack looked at her in amazement. She smiled, and 
 put on such a pretty, pleading look, he did not know 
 what to say. It was the first time he had ever con 
 versed with a cultured and refined young lady in his 
 life. He did not know what was the proper thing to 
 do. Finally he said : 
 
 " But there is no saddle ; you cannot ride without 
 a lady's saddle." 
 
 " Oh !" she replied, " if you will let me have the 
 horse I will ask one of the servants if he will be kind 
 enough to bring me a saddle." 
 
 That rebel of a horse was standing there as quietly 
 as a pet lamb, and she stroked his head with her white, 
 dimpled hand and looked up to Jack for an answer. 
 Of course he said she could have the horse. A servant 
 brought a saddle, and she went into the house and put 
 on a riding habit. The saddles were exchanged, and 
 Jack looked to the girths to see that they were all 
 right and strong. She came down the pathway, and 
 then he began to wonder how she was to mount that 
 great horse. He said to her, as she went to the j*de of 
 the horse: 
 
 " There is no saddle block here. How will you get 
 on?" 
 
 She replied : " Oh, the servant will be kind enough 
 to assist me." 
 
 The servant extended his hand, she put a dainty 
 little foot in it, gave a light spring and landed in the 
 saddle. As she gathered up the reins, the wind blew 
 her long riding ' habit under the horse. He gave one 
 plunge forward and reared upon his hind feet. Jack 
 
WOOING. 17 
 
 saw the old gleam come into his eyes. The next 
 second the horse dashed away like an arrow shot from 
 a bow. For a moment Jack was motionless with 
 surprise and terror, the next, ho was on the back of 
 Lilly Dale. He had on a pair of Mexican spurs which 
 he had brought from the West with him ; he pressed 
 them into the flanks of the mare, and she dashed away 
 in pursuit, with the long, steady leap peculiar to her 
 breed. But that mad, unmanageable, blooded bay, with 
 the helpless lady on his back, was fully five hundred 
 yards ahead of him. Down through the village he 
 went, across the bridge, and up the rocky road along 
 the mountain side. Jack urged the mare to her utmost 
 speed, but the horse had a lighter load, and the ascent 
 was steep. Jack pressed the spurs into her side until 
 the blood ran out, and with nostrils extended and head 
 stretched forward she plunged on. Jack saw it was no 
 use, the horse was gaining on him. As the horse 
 turned a point on the mountain side he saw her 
 "sawing" on his mouth, but sitting firmly in the 
 saddle. She had the reins wound around her hands. 
 Nearly at the top, he passed an old farmer, carrying 
 some sacks of grain on a horse. As Jack went by he 
 cried out : " Hurry up, or that is a dead young woman 
 sure." But the mare was doing all she could. She 
 was breathing hard and fast, and the perspiration was 
 running from her neck and shoulders in streams, while 
 the greatest danger was going down the mountain on 
 the other side. If the horse should miss his footing 
 once, she would be dashed in pieces. 
 , As Jack reached the summit he saw the horse, fully 
 
18 
 
 a thousand yards ahead, going down the declivity in 
 long and steady leaps, but she was still sitting firmly 
 in the saddle. He saw no more until he reached the 
 foot of the mountain, for the trees and turns in the 
 road hid them from view ; then, still further ahead, up 
 a long, level lane, he saw the horse dashing forward, 
 with those strong, measured leaps, while his mare was 
 showing signs of exhaustion; but she was still sitting 
 straight in the saddle, neither looking to the right nor 
 the left. Presently the horse turned into a lane to the 
 right, and ran straight against the wind. Jack could 
 see her across the corner of the field, still with a firm 
 hold on the reins. The wind blew her riding-hat off, 
 but she did not turn her head. Just as he rounded 
 into the lane, he looked up and saw the horse coming 
 back. He either had turned himself, or she had turned 
 him. Now was his opportunity. He checked up the 
 mare, and, as the horse came back, turned in close to 
 l^im, dropped the reins and caught him by the bits. 
 The horse pulled Jack out of the saddle, but he held 
 on with a grip like death. The blood flowed from the 
 horse's mouth in a stream where the bits cut him, but 
 was soon stopped. For the first time Jack looked up 
 into her face. There was a little red stream trickling 
 down over her cheek, where a branch of a tree struck 
 her as she was dashing by, and all the color had fled from 
 her face. As soon as the horse stopped, she bounded from 
 the saddle to the ground. Jack was nearly exhausted 
 himself, and he threw the reins over a fence post and 
 came up to her. She was looking at her hands, from 
 which she had taken her gloves. Around the center of 
 
THE SCOUT'S WOOING. 19 
 
 each, where she had wrapped the reins, there was a 
 bloodless white circle. Neither could ever remember 
 what was the first words spoken, but after a moment or 
 two Jack said : 
 
 " You are brave enough to be the wife of a frontiers 
 man." 
 
 " Do you think so ?" she asked. 
 
 "Yes, indeed I do." 
 
 " That," she replied, " would be an honor for any 
 true woman." 
 
 The earnestness and dignity with which she spoke 
 these words went through Jack like an electric shock. 
 He took her hand and kissed it, and she did not resist. 
 
 That was all the engagement they ever had. 
 
 Jack put the side-saddle on Lilly Dale and mounted 
 that villainous bay himself. Upon inquiry he found 
 that they were twelve miles from the village. Half 
 way back they met several parties coming in search of 
 them, and the whole village turned out to meet them 
 when they returned. 
 
 Two years after that the wedding-day was fixed. 
 Jack had graduated with honors. Besides that, he had 
 finished his legal studies, and read a full course of med 
 icine. It was a bright morning in June when he took 
 the cars for the home of his beautiful and loved one. 
 At four o'clock in the afternoon she would be his own. 
 On the way he read over her letters. How much he 
 loved her no pen will ever write. It had been ten days 
 since he had seen her. At that time all the arrange 
 ments for the wedding had been made. He could not 
 wait for the train on which he had promised to come, 
 
20 
 
 but took one which arrived two hours earlier. He 
 went to the door and rang the bell ; a servant, whose 
 eyes were red with weeping, opened it. As he stepped 
 in he heard the sound of weeping. 
 
 " What has happened ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Oh, I cannot tell you," said the servant, and mo 
 tioned him to come into the reception room. A few 
 minutes later a clergyman of the Church of England 
 came in. 
 
 "My dear sir," said he, "you must prepare yourself 
 for sad news." 
 
 " Oh ! what is it ?" cried Jack, trembling from head 
 to foot. "Is she dead?" 
 
 " I thought I would break it to you gently," said the 
 clergyman. 
 
 The tremor in Jack's limbs ceased. He said not a 
 word. No sound escaped his lips. A deathly paleness 
 came over him, and he stood there like a marble statue. 
 
 Then the clergyman told him how she had gone 
 down to the river, which skirted their grounds, to take 
 her morning walk with her sister and her maid. She 
 went out on the boat landing; a board slipped from 
 beneath her feet, and she fell into the river. The body 
 had only been recovered an hour before. 
 
 Jack took one look at the form, surprisingly beauti 
 ful, even in death. He shed not a tear nor uttered a 
 sigh. He walked away. The next few months always 
 seemed like a confused dream. Every hope and aspira 
 tion was in the grave of his loved and lost. He went 
 West, loitered around in border towns for a while, and 
 then undertook to shut civilization out of his sight by 
 
THE SCOUT'S WOOING. 21 
 
 joining an Indian tribe. Sometimes he would come 
 back to the towns, and seem to seek 'death in quarrels 
 with the most desperate characters, but death never 
 comes to those who seek it. Since that sad day, fifteen 
 years had passed away. Jack had spent them among 
 the Indians, in garrisons, on long and sometimes solitary- 
 journeys over the uninhabited country, in different 
 Indian wars, in hunting and trapping. He had picked 
 up the jargon of the frontier, and spoke in a dialect 
 which would lead one to suppose that he could neither 
 read nor write. Sometimes, however, when conversing 
 with well educated people he would unconsciously drop 
 it, and speak as good English as any one for a few 
 sentences. 
 
 Such is a brief outline of the early history of the 
 celebrated Captain Jack. 
 
 As he sat in the Causeland House that June after 
 noon, looking out of a window upon the street, an Indian 
 woman passed by with a bright-eyed little pappoose on 
 her back. Captain Jack smiled, Lieutenant Blake, the 
 young officer, gave a look of mingled contempt and dis 
 gust. As the woman came opposite the wide-opened 
 door, one of the other men called out : 
 
 "Hallo, there! you squaw! come in and take a 
 smile. It will make you feel good all over. Hold on, 
 I say ! stop !" and, as the woman walked on, he called 
 out again, " Stop, I say ; stop !" and with that he rushed 
 out, took hold of the woman, and pulled her inside the 
 door. 
 
 Lieutenant Blake said not a word, but walked out of 
 the room. The Indian woman stood before these men 
 
22 
 
 trembling in every limb. The rush of the hot blood 
 to her cheeks could be seen through the brown skin. 
 The bright-eyed little baby stared in wonder. 
 
 The man handed her a glass of whisky, but the 
 woman shook her head. 
 
 " Oh, drink it," he said, and put his arm around 
 her neck to force it down her throat. At this juncture 
 Captain Jack came forward and said, in a low tone, 
 which quivered with rage, while his eyes, now jet 
 black, gleamed like balls of fire : 
 
 "Let go that squaw, er you will have more holes 
 than a skimmer in ye, inside of a minute." 
 
 The man stepped backhand said : 
 
 " What business is it of yours ?" 
 
 " Its anybody's business, I reckon," said Jack. 
 
 "Draw," said the man, putting his hand on the 
 butt of his pistol. 
 
 " You are a cussed fool," said Jack, and he struck 
 him a blow between the eyes which floored him in 
 stantly. Then he walked back to his seat, elevated his 
 heels, and looked quietly out of the window. He saw 
 the Indian woman fleeing toward the river, saw her 
 throw away her blanket and skirt and disappear over 
 the bank. She plunged into the muddy water with 
 her baby on her back and struck out for the other shore, 
 which she reached in safety. 
 
 When the man arose from the floor, he was orna 
 mented with two black eyes. 
 
 " I don't want no more fighting here," said the bar 
 keeper, " and I won't have it." 
 
23 
 
 " P'raps you won't and p'raps you will," said the 
 man. 
 
 "You want to git into business, do you?" said the 
 man, addressing Jack, and he whipped out a small 
 pocket revolver and commenced firing at him. He 
 emptied his revolver, five shots, in quick succession. 
 Jack did not move a muscle, but sat quietly looking 
 out of the window. When the firing ceased, he looked 
 up in the most unconcerned sort of a way, and said: 
 
 " Oh ! you were firing at me, were you ? Now let 
 me give you a piece of advice. The next time you 
 come out West, don't trust to a toy like that pistol of 
 yours." 
 
 Jack pulled out an eight-inch Colt revolver, cocked 
 it, and walked up to the man, who turned as pale as 
 death. " JSTow, with this ere shooter of mine," said he, 
 " I can hit any button on your coat at twenty yards." 
 By this time the perspiration had started out of every 
 pore of the man, his lips seemed glued to his teeth, and 
 a glassy look came into his eyes. He did not say a 
 word. 
 
 The bar-keeper was hiding behind the counter. 
 Most of the men had fled from the room, and those 
 who remained were crowding up against the wall, out 
 of range of Jack and his man. 
 
 " You oughtn't to go away from here," said Jack, 
 " without redeeming your reputation as a shot, 'cause 
 you won't be safe nowhere with such a reputation as 
 this. Every feller you meet will be picking a quarrel 
 with you. Here, take this tool of mine and whack 
 away a few times, and see if you can't do better." 
 
24: 
 
 Jack handed him his revolver, but it fell to the floor 
 from his nerveless hand and discharged itself. 
 
 " I give it up," said Jack. " I don't believe I could 
 ever learn you to shoot. Maybe ye ain't well, and 
 sort of unnarved. Say, you bar-keeper;" and then, 
 looking round, k ' Where in thunder is that bar-keeper ?" 
 and he walked up to the counter, looked over and said : . 
 " Bob, up here and give this feller a dose of your 
 pizen. He's got out of order." 
 
 The bar-keeper's head instantly appeared above the 
 counter. A glass and a big black bottle were set out. 
 Jack poured out a tumbler two-thirds full, handed it to 
 the man and said : 
 
 " I reckon this will waken ye up to a sense of your 
 responsibilities, after which you'd better give that pistol 
 to some baby for a plaything." Jack walked out and 
 went off up the street. 
 
 A few minutes afterward, those who had fled when 
 the firing commenced came back and pressed in at the 
 door. 
 
 " Anybody killed ?" asked one. 
 
 " No," said the bar-keeper, " but there's one feller 
 about scared to death." 
 
 "Who is the feller who shot at Jack?" asked 
 another. 
 
 " I know all about him," said one of the men. He 
 is the son of a Congressman from Pennsylvania. He 
 had a contract for one of the big agencies up the river, 
 made a pile, then got to gambling, and lost it all, and 
 now has a big claim for damages, caused by a raid from 
 the Sioux, in which he claims he lost fifty thousand 
 
THE SCOUT'S WOOING. 25 
 
 dollars' worth of supplies. My opinion is, we had better 
 keep in with him, for he is likely to get the money." 
 
 An account of this affair appeared in the Pioneer, 
 a weekly paper, published in the town. It was headed 
 " A Disgraceful Row." The account read as follows : 
 
 " Just after we went to press with our last issue a most 
 disgraceful row occurred at the Causeland House. A 
 dirty squaw, belonging to the Missouri Indians, came to 
 town with a pappoose on her back. She went into the 
 Causeland House saloon, and begged a drink of whisky 
 of a gentleman who happened to be in there at the 
 moment. The gentleman at first refused, but she asked 
 again and again, and said, ' Me heap sick. Git heap 
 hot, then git cold.' The gentleman, thinking she had 
 the ague, told the bar-keeper to give her a glass of 
 whisky. Just then, a fellow who is pretty well known 
 down the river, and who has since left town, snatched 
 the glass of whisky from the squaw's hand and threw 
 it on the floor. He then pulled out his revolver and 
 fired several shots, some at the 'squaw and some at the 
 gentleman first named. The firing naturally caused a 
 good deal of excitement in the saloon and hotel, and it 
 is pretty hard to get at all of the facts of the case. If 
 we have not stated them correctly, we will take great 
 pleasure in making any correction. 
 
 " The squaw, after leaving the Causeland House, hung 
 around town for a while, at last got drunk, and threw 
 her pappoose in the river and drowned it." 
 
THE INDIANS DID IT. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE INDIANS DID IT. 
 
 S soon as Jack left the hotel, Perkins, his 
 assailant, went to his room, where he held 
 a long consultation with himself. It was 
 evident he had " waked up the wrong pas 
 senger," and it would not do to remain where he was. 
 He resolved to go down the river, and he took passage 
 and stopped off at the first station, a little town on the 
 bank of the river, which has since disappeared from the 
 map ; and not only from the map, but from the face of 
 the earth, for it long ago tumbled into the Missouri 
 river and went to increase the deltas at the mouth of the 
 Mississippi. The place was called Hickman's. There 
 was a " hotel," besides two or three other houses. It 
 was a station on the regular stage-line, and a good many 
 travelers stopped there. The five card-tables in the 
 bar-room were generally occupied. There were a large 
 number of Indians on the other side of the river, and 
 Hickman drove a lively trade with them. The next 
 day after Perkins's arrival a band of them came over and 
 camped on the bank of the river, about a mile below. 
 He soon found some who spoke the Sioux language, of 
 which he knew enough to carry on considerable conver- 
 saHon. He was quickly on very good terms with them, 
 and that night there was a blanket spread in a tent, on 
 which a game of dice (Indian dice) was played. A$ 
 
THE INDIANS DID IT. 27 
 
 first the Indians won. Then Perkins left, went to the 
 hotel and returned with another man in a spring wagon, 
 and the game was resumed. The Indians lost. Their 
 money and their furs were soon all in Perkins's pocket 
 or in the wagon. While the game was going on, a 
 half-breed Indian had been sitting behind Perkins, and 
 just as it closed, or rather what closed it was, this In 
 dian went over to the others and said something to 
 them. This Indian had discovered that Perkins had 
 two sets of plum seeds (dice), and sometimes he played 
 with one and sometimes with the other. This created 
 a great uproar on the Indian side of the tent, and as 
 Perkins did not understand a word of their language 
 he was at a loss to know what it was about, for when 
 Indians lose at gambling they always take it very 
 calmly. 
 
 The noise in the tent attracted the attention of some 
 Indian women outside. Two or three of them put their 
 heads in at the door of the tent to see. One gave their 
 greatest expression of surprise, " He-oo-oo," and all in 
 stantly withdrew. Immediately there was rapid talking 
 and much confusion outside. All the Indians inside 
 rushed out, and Perkins followed. There was evidently 
 something wrong. A moment after an Indian came up 
 with a woman. Perkins looked at her and saw the one 
 whom he had dragged into the Causeland House. In 
 one moment more he was in his wagon, and twenty 
 young Indians after him yelling "like all possessed." 
 Perkins put his horse to his highest speed, got to the 
 " hotel/' which was a big log-house, rushed in and cried, 
 " The Indians are coming. They are all on the war 
 
28 THE INDIANS DID IT. 
 
 path." In an instant the doors were closed, the 
 shutters slammed shut, and every man in the house was 
 looking to his arms. The women and children were 
 crying and screaming, and general confusion and panic 
 prevailed. Half the revolvers were empty just when 
 they ought to have been loaded. There was a large 
 amount of ammunition in the store, which was five 
 hundred yards away, and the Indians howling around in 
 every direction. Some of the gamblers got down on 
 their knees and prayed, and some swore like pirates, to 
 keep their courage up. In the Indian camp things were 
 different. The chief, when the hubbub was at its 
 height, came out of his tent, but before he could learn 
 what was the matter, Perkins had fled and the young 
 men had started after him without orders from anybody. 
 The chief stood still for a few moments, during which 
 time some of the older men gathered around him. To 
 these he spoke about half a dozen words. A pony was 
 brought to him ; he dropped his blanket where he stood, 
 leaped upon its back, and without arms of any kind, 
 dashed after his young men. Within ten minutes every 
 tent was down, ponies packed, and the Indian train was 
 on the move through the heavy forest down the river 
 bank. Before the chief had got to the hotel the young 
 men had taken the contents of Perkins's wagon, cut the 
 harness to pieces, and broken in the windows of the 
 store. One word from the chief put a sudden stop to 
 the doings of the young men. Five minutes later they 
 were following the trail of the main body down the 
 river. Before daylight they had crossed to the other 
 side. 
 
THE INDIANS DID IT. 29 
 
 It was now as silent as the grave outside of 
 Hickman's Hotel, but this only increased the horrors 
 within. Some of the men had undertaken to steady 
 their nerves and strengthen their courage by heavy 
 potations of com whisky. As the barkeeper had for 
 saken his post, any one could help himself. Some of 
 the cooler-headed ones saw how that would end, and 
 stationed a man at the bar with orders to shoot the first 
 man who attempted to get at the whisky. Two men, 
 already half crazed with fright and whisky, tried to 
 overcome the guard, a fight ensued and one was stabbed, 
 and his body thrown out doors. 
 
 Circumstances of great peril generally produce men 
 who are equal to the occasion, and it so happened at 
 Hickman's on that horrible night. It seemed essential 
 that, to preserve their lives, there should be authority 
 lodged somewhere to organize and conduct a defense. 
 Five or six collected in a room and chose a quiet young 
 man, who was stopping over there, because the stage 
 driver had left his baggage at St. Joseph. He was a 
 surveyor. The others swore solemnly to obey every 
 order, and to exert themselves to the utmost to enforce 
 obedience from the rest. The newly-made Captain 
 stationed guards so as to view every approach to the 
 house, inspected all the arms, and distributed them to 
 the men in equal proportions. He tore up the floors 
 and barricaded the doors and windows so as to be bullet 
 proof, put the women and children in places of safety, 
 and then sent for Perkins, to learn from him as nearly 
 as possible the number of the Indians and the cause of 
 the trouble. 
 
30 THE INDIANS DID IT. 
 
 Perkins said lie was down at their camp just out of 
 curiosity. The first thing he knew, a lot of Indians 
 got around him and commenced a war-dance. He 
 knocked two of them down and escaped. 
 
 The Captain then sent for the man who was with 
 Perkins, and he told an entirely different story. He 
 said that they had been running races and wrestling with 
 the Indians, and he had thrown their best man three 
 times, the last time very hard, at which the Indians got 
 angry and tried to kill him. 
 
 The young Captain thought it was important to 
 know the truth about the matter, so he sent for Perkins 
 again, and looking him straight in the eyes, said : 
 
 " Perkins, you told me a lot of infernal lies when 
 you were in here. Now tell me the truth, or as sure 
 as there is a God in heaven I will throw you. out of 
 a window and leave you to the mercy of these savages. 
 They would probably be satisfied if I should turn you 
 over to them, and I have about made up my rnind to 
 do it." 
 
 Perkins immediately told the whole story correctly, 
 so far as the gambling was concerned, and then he was 
 dismissed. 
 
 All night long the sentries stood at their posts. 
 Not a sound was heard, not a living thing was seen. 
 It was the opinion of all, that the Indians would make 
 an attack just before dawn, but at last the sunlight 
 broke over the tops of the hills ten miles away, and 
 then streamed over the Missouri bottom. 
 
 Shortly after the stage rolled up to the door. It 
 was full of passengers, and carried a heavy mail. The 
 
THE INDIANS DID IT. '61 
 
 passengers were greatly agitated when they heard the 
 news. 
 
 The Captain of the night before made up his mind 
 that the Indians had left. He took three men with 
 him and rode out to reconnoiter. In a few minutes he 
 struck the trail, and after following it for a mile or two 
 returned. While he was gone, four or five of the men 
 held a private council. They seemed to be old ac 
 quaintances. 
 
 " There is a big mail aboard of that coach," said 
 one. 
 
 "Yes," said another, "and there is a treasure box 
 and a lot express matter, too." 
 
 " How many men was there in it ?" asked another. 
 
 " There are only three." 
 
 " But there is the driver and a lot of women and chil 
 dren." 
 
 " This is the best chance we will ever git," said 
 one. " The Injuns did it. Don't you see ? For that 
 matter we could come right back here and be perfectly 
 safe." 
 
 " If I ever git my fingers on that Wells, Fargo & 
 Co.'s box, I think I'll see how much fun there is in St. 
 Louis for a while. I'm in for going for it." 
 
 To this they all assented. They went into the ho 
 tel and waited for the Captain's return. Everybody 
 agreed that the Indians had gone across the river. The 
 four men then announced their intention of going down 
 to St. Joseph, paid their bills, mounted their horses and 
 rode away to the south. They all had a camping outfit 
 with them. There was a roll of blankets and a pair of 
 
32 THE INDIANS DID IT. 
 
 saddle-bags on each horse. They rode leisurely along 
 for about a mile, and then spurred Into a sharp trot for 
 a while. At last they stopped, held a short consulta 
 tion, and turned out of the road into the timber. After 
 going eastward for a short time they changed their 
 course to the north. The grass on the bottom was al 
 most as high as a man on horseback, and made it very 
 exhaustive work for the horses to press through it. 
 They urged them forward as fast as they dared, and not 
 break them down with their efforts, until they came into 
 an old Indian trail which led in the right direction. 
 They followed this trail until it intersected the stage 
 road leading from Hickman's to Council Bluffs. A short 
 distance ahead was a heavy body of timber. They rode 
 into this, dismounted and hitched their horses. The men 
 then stripped themselves to their skins ; a paper of 
 some kind of light brown dye was poured into a camp 
 kettle, and it filled with water. In this they washed 
 their hands, faces, arms and bodies down to their waists. 
 With a sharp pair of scissors they had trimmed their 
 beards close to their faces. Then they striped their 
 faces and breasts with red and black paint. The change 
 in their personal appearance was most marvelous. To 
 all outward appearance they were Indians on the war 
 path. They then stationed themselves by the roadside, 
 but they had some time to wait, for to make sure that 
 they would have time they had sent one of their num 
 ber along the regular road to tear up a bridge which it 
 would take some time to reconstruct to make it possible 
 for the stage to pass over. 
 
 At last it came. With a regular Indian war-whoop 
 
THE INDIANS DID IT. 66 
 
 the men rushed out. Two caught the lead horses by 
 the bits. A shot from another brought the driver to 
 the ground. Several shots were fired from the coach 
 by the passengers, one of which killed the robber 
 holding the near lead horse, but the other one held on 
 iirmly. The freed horse plunged forward and this 
 turned them nearly around. The other two robbers 
 fired rapidly into the coach. One woman, one man 
 and two children were killed and one man wounded. 
 One of the robbers climbed on the boot and threw out 
 the treasure-box. One passenger jumped out and fled 
 into the woods. The terrified horses broke away from 
 the robber who was holding them, and plunged head 
 long through the woods, over the bank, down into the 
 river, and all who were in the coach disappeared be 
 neath the muddy water. The three robbers carried 
 their dead comrade out of the road and then scalped 
 the dead driver in true Indian style. They were at a 
 loss what to do with the body of their comrade. They 
 finally concluded to wash the paint from the body, 
 scalp it, and leave it by the driver. From the treasure- 
 box they got thirteen thousand dollars. After they had 
 mounted their horses and were ready to start, one of 
 them suggested that the body of their comrade might 
 betray them, for it might be recognized by somebody 
 from Hickman's or the Causeland House. One of them 
 said he would fix that ; he rode back and so disfigured 
 the face that it would be impossible for it to be recog 
 nized. The robbers then rode away. 
 
 No stage arrived at Council Bluffs that night, and 
 the greatest anxiety prevailed. As the same coach was 
 2* 
 
34 THE INDIANS DID IT. 
 
 to go back, none could leave. About midnight the 
 passenger who had escaped, arrived. The whole town 
 was aroused and the entire population was panic- 
 stricken. Two luckless Indians who came in early in 
 the morning, entirely ignorant of what had happened, 
 were shot dead at sight. The escaped passenger was 
 the lion of the day. Every time he told the story of 
 the attack on the stage-coach by the Indians, he put on 
 a little more varnish. 
 
 About midday, Perkins arrived, on a horse white 
 with foam, for, from the place where he saw the dead 
 bodies to Council Bluffs, he had kept him at the top of 
 his speed. He had come to tell the news of the attack 
 on Hickman's. Thousands of Indians, he said, were to 
 be seen on the west side of the river, all in their war 
 paint. It was his opinion that every settler between 
 the Bluffs and the Missouri line would be scalped be 
 fore midnight. Messengers had been sent from Hick 
 man's for troops. 
 
 All this added fuel to the flame, the wildest rumors 
 were circulated, and everything was in confusion. A 
 public meeting was called, and Perkins was the most 
 prominent speaker. He urged the immediate forma 
 tion of a military company. The company was forth 
 with organized, and he was elected Captain. 
 
 The Pioneer was a typographical curiosity when it 
 appeared that week. Blood-thirsty head-lines, in dis 
 played type, filled almost an entire column, indicating 
 what was contained in the recital following. As the 
 editor got his inf ormation from Perkins, and as Per 
 kins had a vivid imagination, and was a master of 
 
THE INDIANS DID IT. 35 
 
 descriptive eloquence, the horrible atrocities of those 
 blood-thirsty savages, as recorded in the Pioneer, would 
 throw any ordinary reader into a tremor. They had, 
 without any cause whatever, assaulted Hickman's Hotel, 
 and murdered one man, whose body was found just-out 
 side of the building. They made a raid on the store, 
 which contained a large amount of ammunition, which 
 they were about to seize, when they were driven away 
 by a courageous sally from the Hickman House, led by 
 Perkins. They then retreated and the next day as 
 saulted the stage-coach, murdered all the men but one, 
 disfigured the dead bodies, outraged the women, then 
 murdered and scalped them, put their bodies into the 
 stage coach, and drove them, with two children still 
 alive, into the Missouri river. This was the substance 
 of it, filled out with many horrible details, too disgust 
 ing to put into a permanent record, or be read by decent 
 people. 
 
 Perkins ordered a thousand extra copies, some of 
 the contractors two thousand more, and the editor had a 
 lively time in his office for several days. The old 
 hand press was worked day and night. 
 
 Perkins mailed a marked copy to each member of 
 the House and Senate, to the Secretary of the Interior, 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and sent the remain 
 der home to his noble father to be distributed in the 
 East. This horrible outrage and massacre by the In 
 dians was soon the subject of editorial comment in all 
 the leading dalies all over the country. The conclusions 
 generally arrived at was, "exterminate the whole 
 tribe." 
 
36 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 
 
 IEITTENANT BLAKE was waiting at the 
 Causeland House for orders. He Lad never 
 seen any actual service, but his West Point 
 training showed itself in the general panic. 
 He took no part in the "citizens' meeting, and when a 
 committee waited upon him, he replied that he could 
 do nothing, not even give advice, until he received or 
 ders from his commanding officer. The committee was 
 disgusted with him. They unanimously voted him a 
 snob. What did they pay taxes to educate him for, if 
 when his services were needed and the whole State was 
 in danger, he could not even lift his hand or open his 
 mouth. They didn't believe that he knew enough of 
 military tactics to drill a corporal's guard, etc., etc. 
 Lieutenant Blake was exceedingly unpopular, and Cap 
 tain Perkins was held in the highest estimation. 
 
 The news of the outbreak soon reached Fort Leav- 
 enworth, and three companies of cavalry were started 
 up the river. Lieutenant Blake was temporarily as 
 signed 'to duty with one of these companies. They came 
 up the river on steamboats, and landed at Council 
 Bluffs without any mishap. Six days had now elapsed 
 and nothing more had been heard of the Indians. The 
 commander of the battalion, Major Hodson, was at a 
 loss just how to proceed. It was evident to him that 
 
A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 37 
 
 the raid had been made by a small party who had im 
 mediately gone back to their tribe. There were some 
 things about it he could not understand. No houses 
 
 o 
 
 had been burned. No stock had been run off. Even 
 the horses on the stage-coach had not been taken. That 
 was not the way Indians generally carried on war. He 
 resolved to send out a scouting party, and it was neces 
 sary to employ a guide who was acquainted with the 
 country. He offered the place to Perkins, but that 
 gentleman declined. 
 
 After making several unsuccessful attempts to get a 
 competent scout and guide, he was surprised one morn 
 ing to see, standing before his tent, Billy, the barkeeper 
 of the Causeland House. 
 
 " Major," said Billy, " I think I know the man you 
 want, and if you send him out you will git the bottom 
 facts and no deceit. This Perkins, who is cavortin' 
 around here, is a cussed coward, and the biggest liar on 
 earth. If it wasn't for them scalped bodies down by 
 the stage-coach, I'm hanged if I wouldn't say that no 
 Injuns had been about at all, but that fact kind o' gitd 
 me. You see I meets a good many hard cases up at 
 the saloon there, and I hears a good many things. That 
 fellow who was killed down at Hickman's wasn't killed 
 by the Injuns at all. When the row occurred Bill Shep 
 herd and this feller Mike, who was killed, was drunk ? 
 and they two fit, and Mike was killed and thrown out 
 doors. The feller who was stationed to guard the bar 
 told me he seed it. If you want to know what is what 
 about this business, send Captain Jack. He's over the 
 river. He ain't afeerd of nothing." 
 
38 . j 
 
 Major Hodson sent for Jack, and the next morning 
 he reported for duty. A detail of ten men was made, 
 and Lieutenant Blake put in command. The orders 
 Lieutenant Blake received were very minute. Besides 
 the general instructions to scout the country to the east 
 of the Missouri and along its banks, they directed him 
 how lie should approach a wood, cross a stream, and 
 many other matters of the smallest detail, the command 
 ing officer evidently recognizing that this was the Lieu 
 tenant's first actual service. 
 
 Lieutenant Blake was exceedingly anxious to meet 
 the Indians. He marched directly down the river, and 
 the first day made forty miles. No Indians or signs of 
 Indians were seen. He went to Hickman's, but no new 
 information was to be obtained there, and the second 
 night, after thirty-live miles of hard marching, camped 
 under the bluffs ten miles from the Missouri river. He 
 was very much disappointed. Captain Jack had obeyed 
 every order and answered every question, but made no 
 suggestions. At Hickman's Jack met the whilom cap 
 tain of a night, and got all the information possible 
 from him. 
 
 After the guard was stationed, Lieutenant Blake 
 seated himself by the fire. Jack walked past him and 
 said: 
 
 " Lieutenant, don't you think it's a leetle risky set 
 ting there in the light of that fire, that is, providin' 
 there's any red skins around ?" 
 
 " I hadn't thought of it," replied Lieutenant Blake. 
 
 " I didn't think of it nuther, until I. got a bullet 
 through this shoulder, but since that time I generally 
 
A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 39 
 
 think of it when I'm out on a scout. But I don't 
 think there's any danger here. I don't believe there's 
 an Injun on this side of the river ; but then you know 
 there's no use of running risks when you can't gain ary 
 thing by it." 
 
 Lieutenant Blake walked away from the fire, spread 
 out a blanket, half reclined on his saddle, and went into 
 a fit of abstraction. Sometime afterward he called Jack 
 to him, and addressing him, said : 
 
 " Yon said, awhile ago, you didn't believe there 
 were any Indians this side of the river. What makes 
 you think that ?" 
 
 " Lieutenant," said Jack, " I'll obey any order you 
 may give me. I'll show you the shortest and best way 
 to any point in this part of the country, but when it 
 comes to givin' opinions I ain't thar. That remark 
 slipped out by accident." 
 
 " But there is no harm in giving an opinion when 
 you are asked. Then I can adopt it or not, as I may 
 choose." 
 
 " Well, I don't know anything for sartin' about this 
 ere business. I have my suspicions ; that's all. But if 
 you want to know, I can find out. I know jest where 
 to get sich information. Now, if you say so, I'll go 
 and find out." 
 
 " Where will you get all this information ? You 
 surprise me." 
 
 " I'll git it of the Injuns themselves." 
 
 " You don't mean to say that you know where these 
 Indians are ?" 
 
 " Sartinly I do." 
 
40 
 
 " Why didn't you guide me to them, then ?" said 
 Blake, in a curt tone. 
 
 " Now you see what comes of havin' opinions. A 
 feller who is under orders never oughter have opinions, 
 and it was only because you spoke in a friendly sort of 
 way that I had any." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said Lieutenant Blake. " I 
 should have inquired of you before. Now, if you 
 will tell me where these Indians ere, I will instruct you 
 to guide me to them." 
 
 " You can't do that, for our orders are to stay on the 
 east side of the river, and every blasted one of 'em is 
 on the other side. And now I am in the ' opinion ' 
 business I might as well let go another. I hadn't no 
 idea you wanted to find Injuns, or rather. I thought the 
 Major didn't want us to find any, for if he had, he'd 
 have sent us where they are. He knowed mighty well 
 there wasn't no Injuns on this side of the river. Do 
 you suppose an old officer like him would have sent 
 ten men out, all alone, where there was Injuns? I 
 calkerlate not. No, I've heard all these stories, and to 
 be honest, I don't believe a word of 'em. Leastwise, 
 more'n half is lies. Now, Lieutenant, if you really 
 want to know all about this ere business, I'll go and 
 find out. I'll be back by three o'clock to-morrer, and 
 we can git back to the Bluffs by sundown, and you can 
 make your report." 
 
 " Tell me where these Indians are," said the Lieu 
 tenant. 
 
 " They're across the river." 
 
 " Do you propose to go over there alone f ' 
 
A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 41 
 
 " Sartinly." 
 
 They'll murder you." 
 
 " Don't you be anxious about that. I tell you I'll 
 be back here by three o'clock to-inorrer." 
 
 This was a new idea to Lieutenant Blake, and he 
 sat and thought over it for some minutes. Then, with 
 out saying another word to Jack, he ordered the men 
 to break camp and march immediately. When the 
 men were in the saddle he said to Jack : 
 
 " You will guide us by the best route to the bank of 
 the river opposite where these Indians are." 
 
 The command proceeded at a trot, with Jack in the 
 lead. Three hours afterward, they came out on the 
 bawk of the river. 
 
 " There," said Jack, pointing to the dim outline of 
 the hills on the other side, " camped under them hills 
 is the band of Injuns who were at Hickman's the night 
 the trouble commenced." 
 
 " I do not want to order you to go over there. I 
 do not think I have authority to do so under my 
 orders, but it is your own proposition. I give you 
 permission to go if you desire to. I will camp here 
 and await your return until three o'clock to-morrow. 
 But how are you to get across the river ?" 
 
 " If you'll leave yer men under command of the 
 Sergeant and go with me about a mile up-stream I'll 
 show you," said Jack. 
 
 The Lieutenant would not do that, but he took his 
 whole command up to the point indicated. Arriving 
 there, Jack took off his clothes, except his shirt and 
 leggins. He then unsaddled his horse, and handing 
 
42 j 
 
 over his arms and accouterments to the Lieutenant, 
 drove his horse into the river, taking hold of the 
 horse's tail with one hand and swimming with the 
 other. By this means he could keep the horse's head in 
 any direction he desired. He was soon lost to sight in 
 the dim starlight. Lieutenant Blake watched this 
 performance with intense interest. He stood gazing 
 over the water for some time in silence, then turned 
 and gave the necessary orders for the disposition of his 
 little force for the remainder of the night. 
 
 Jack's horse plunged forward through the muddy 
 water, the rapid current bearing them down the stream 
 one yard for every yard they advanced. On and on 
 the horse swam, through the eddying, gurgling 
 waters, to a sand-bar in the middle of the stream, then 
 walking across the sand-bar and swimming the other 
 arm of the river, they reached the shore. The bank 
 was perpendicular, and Jack turned the horse's head 
 down stream until he found a place where he could 
 emerge in safety. Having fastened his horse in the 
 willows near the shore, Jack started on foot for the 
 camp, which was more than a mile away. 
 
 When some distance from the village he came upon 
 a lot of ponies picketed out. He passed through these 
 as quickly as possible, as they reared, plunged and 
 neighed the moment he came near them. The tents 
 of the village were in a semicircle at the foot of the 
 hills. A hundred dogs, all, as at a given signal, set up 
 a hideous yelping and barking, and numerous heads 
 were thrust out from the tents to see what was the 
 matter. 
 
43 
 
 Without looking to the right or the left, Jack 
 walked straight forward until he was in front of one of 
 the tents. Any other course would have been death. 
 If he had made the slightest motion, as if to conceal 
 himself, a dozen arrows would have penetrated his 
 body. 
 
 Standing in front of the tent, he said, in the Indian 
 language, "I am a white man. I am a friend. I 
 bring important news. I must tell it to the chief." 
 
 A brown hand was stretched out and clasped 
 Jack's. Indians never shake hands with one another, 
 but they all know that that is a sign of friendship 
 among the whites. To an Indian, the sight of two men 
 shaking hands is the most ridiculous thing in the world. 
 The flap of the tent was thrown back, and the Indian 
 led Jack in. An Indian woman raked over the few 
 embers in the center of the tent, threw on some dry 
 sticks, and a bright blaze sprung up. 
 
 Jack had been on the frontier nearly all his life. 
 He had been in all kinds of trying circumstances, but 
 the scene that met his eyes, on the opposite side of the 
 tent, came nearer unnerving him than anything which 
 had ever happened in all his life before. Lying on a 
 buffalo robe was a fair-haired white girl. Her cheeks 
 were flushed with fever. Her neck and arms were 
 bare, and her eyes had a wild look in them. She did 
 not seem to notice him. With every breath, a low, 
 murmuring moan escaped her lips. 
 
 A thousand thoughts seemed to rush into Jack's 
 head all at once. 
 
 " These Indians have done this devilish deed. Theie 
 
44: 
 
 is a captive white woman they have taken. She has 
 lost her mind through fright and abuse, and here I am 
 in the heart of this camp without arms." 
 
 But while these and ten thousand other thoughts 
 were coursing through Jack's brain, not a muscle of his 
 face moved. To all outward appearances he was per 
 fectly calm. 
 
 It is strange how rapidly the mind works under 
 such circumstances as these. In less than three minutes 
 Jack thought over how these Indians had crossed the 
 river, then, enraged at losing their money gambling 
 with Perkins, and excited by whisky, had first assault 
 ed him and then Hickman's. Perhaps some of their 
 number had been killed by shots from the house, and 
 their relations had in revenge attacked the stage-coach. 
 In those same minutes he had planned at least half a 
 dozen different modes of escape. 
 
 One by one the leading men of the tribe came in and 
 seated themselves around the fire, until at least a dozen 
 were present. Then they lighted a pipe, and after giv 
 ing it a few puffs passed it to Jack. Jack smoked the 
 pipe and passed it to the next one. Not a w T ord was 
 spoken until it had passed all around the circle. Then 
 the chief arose, came across to Jack and shook hands, 
 and retreated to his former position. It was a full min 
 ute after that before he said a word. Then he spoke 
 as follows : 
 
 " My friend, we are glad you have come. We have 
 known you in the past ; we know that you are our 
 friend. We seem to be wandering in the night, and 
 there is a deep precipice every way we turn. We want 
 
45 
 
 a guide to show us the right way. We fear the white 
 people are angry with us. We want to be friends of 
 the whites. My young men are foolish. The fire-wa 
 ter of the white man took away their sense. They 
 have done wrong. My friend, have pity on us. Tell 
 the white people I will give them fifty ponies for the 
 wrong my young men have done. We will give them 
 part of our country here. We will be their friends. 
 When the bad Indians from the north come to fight 
 them, I will give them my young men to go on the war 
 path. But for us, we will live in peace together. We 
 will be friends forever. I hear the Great Father has 
 sent his soldiers to kill us. My friend, tell us if this is 
 so." 
 
 " You lying, treacherous old hypocrite," thought 
 Jack, but he did not say so by any means. He did not 
 say anything. He pointed with a steady finger at the 
 white girl lying on the buffalo robe. After some min 
 utes, during which the pipe was passed around again, 
 another Indian arose, shook hands with Jack, and spoke 
 as follows : 
 
 " My friend, I shake hands with you, not only with 
 my hand but with my heart. It was midnight when 
 you came, but when you opened the door of my tent 
 the sun shone in. Some of our young men did wrong. 
 We are sorry. We are willing they should be punished. 
 
 We " Then the Indian hesitated and Jack arose 
 
 to his feet. He shook hands with all present, and said : 
 
 " I can only stay a few minutes. The night is now 
 far spent, and you must talk quick. I can't wait. I 
 don't understand what you mean. I want to know 
 
46 A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 
 
 where you captured that white woman, and who it was 
 that murdered the people in the stage-coach. I know 
 about the trouble at Hickman's, you need not tell me 
 about that. But this murder of the people in the stage 
 coach and having that white girl here, is very bad. 
 What have you got to say about these things ?" 
 
 The chief said, " I know nothing about anybody 
 being killed. I never heard of it before. My young 
 men " 
 
 " Tell me the truth," said Jack. " To talk with a 
 double tongue will do no good." 
 
 " It is night now," said the chief, " but the Great 
 Holy One (Wa-Kan-tanka) sees in the night as in the 
 day. He knows I tell the truth. I did not know that 
 any one was killed. The next day after we came over 
 the river, one of our young men walked by the river's 
 side. He saw something in the river, and somebody 
 holding to it. He swam out. It was this white 
 woman. When she saw the Indian she was afraid and 
 let go. She sank down in the water, and he dove down 
 and took hold of her. Then he took hold of the thing 
 she was floating on, and called for help. Some, who 
 were fishing, heard him, and went in a canoe and 
 brought them ashore. She has been sick ever since." 
 
 To prove that what he said was true, he sent out and 
 had the thing on which the girl was floating brought in. 
 It was the driver's seat and part of the top of the stage 
 coach. 
 
 The whole thing was plain to Jack now. The In 
 dians had told him the truth. Instead of murdering 
 
4:7 
 
 anybody they had saved this girl's life. He spoke to 
 them as follows : 
 
 " I believe you have told me the truth. I will do 
 all I can to help you. You have asked me to help you. 
 I do not say that I can, but I will try. But you must 
 do what I tell you to do. If you promise me that, I 
 will be your friend." 
 
 " We will do as our friend desires," said the chief. 
 
 The Indian woman threw another handful of sticks 
 on the fire. The blaze flashed up and lighted every 
 thing in the tent. Jack went over to the side of the 
 girl. The fever had gone down and she seemed to be 
 asleep. The Indians departed one by one, and Jack 
 went outside the tent. Great red streaks were shoot 
 ing up from the eastern sky. A thousand birds in the 
 branches of the trees burst forth into song. The open 
 stretch of prairie in front was covered with flowers. 
 Young rabbits were playing in and out of the edge of 
 the tall grass. The ponies were feeding leisurely at 
 the end of their lariats. Down near the mouth of the 
 Platte were two or three tents, and a wreath of smoke 
 was curling out at the top of one. To the west, up the 
 Platte, was a small herd of buffalo. In a moment the 
 sun touched the tops of the tall timber on the eastern 
 side of the Missouri river, and then burst upon the 
 circle of tents w r here Jack stood. All was stillness 
 around him. Even the dogs were quiet. Then one 
 by one the flaps of the tents were thrown back and the 
 village began to stir. Camp-kettles were swung over 
 the fires, which were made out of doors, and the women 
 began to cook. Jack stood still for a long time medi- 
 
48 A WEST POINTER'S FIKST SERVICE. 
 
 tating. He was awakened by hearing a low, sweet 
 voice say, " How came I here ?" 
 
 In a moment he was inside the tent. He knelt 
 beside the* young girl, who looked at him wonderingly 
 He took hold of her hand and felt her pulse. 
 
 " I am a doctor," he said, " and I have come to see 
 what I can do for you. You have been very, very sick, 
 but }^ou are better now. These people here are kind- 
 hearted, and no one will harm you. You must have 
 something to eat. I will have it sent to you right away." 
 
 Jack was about to rise when for the first time he 
 thought of the scantiness of his costume. Instead of 
 rising he gradually sank lower and lower. He glanced 
 around him. At the other side of the tent was a 
 blanket. An Indian girl was sitting at the head of the 
 white girl, watching her. She took in the situation, 
 arose and handed Jack the blanket ; he wrapped it 
 around him and walked out of the tent. He was 
 about to request some one to prepare some food for 
 the sick girl when he noticed an Indian girl coming 
 toward him with something smoking hot in a wooden 
 bowl. In a moment they recognized each other. It 
 was the one he had rescued from Perkins. She hung 
 her head in bashfulness, but he walked up to her, took 
 her hand and said he was glad to see her, and for want 
 of anything else to say asked her where her husband 
 was. 
 
 " I am not married," she said. 
 
 ' ' Not married ! Then whose baby was that you 
 had with you ?" 
 
 " That was my little sister." 
 
A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 49 
 
 " What is it you have in your bowl ?" 
 
 " It is stewed quail. I have made some every day 
 for the white girl, but she will eat nothing. Some 
 times I put the soup in her mouth and then she 
 swallows. I made this last night and have just made it 
 hot." 
 
 Meha passed into the tent, sat down beside the sick 
 girl, took a spoon and offered her some of the food. 
 When she had swallowed it, she reached out her small, 
 thin, white hand for more. Meha smiled and said the 
 only English words she knew, " Good, good." 
 
 "How long have I been here," asked the invalid. 
 
 " Good," answered Meha, offering her some more 
 of the quail, and then she put her hand over her 
 mouth in token that she must not talk. 
 
 A sharp shrill scream broke over the gentle murmur 
 of the camp. Then another and another, and then all 
 was still. Jack rushed into the tent. Meha was crying 
 and holding the hand of the white girl, whose face was 
 pallid as death, and her eyes glazed and still. She had 
 fainted. 
 
 " Bring me water," said Jack. 
 
 Meha ran out and in a twinkling came back with a 
 calabash full of water. Jack dashed handful after 
 handful in her face, yet there was no sign of returning 
 consciousness. He bound her arm and opened a vein, 
 but the blood refused to flow. The tent was full of 
 Indians, an old woman among them. She caught the 
 girl by her feet, and by main force held her up, head 
 down. The blood rushed back to the brain and she 
 3 
 
50 A 
 
 immediately revived. She attempted to speak, but 
 Jack said : 
 
 " Don't try to talk now. I know all about it. You 
 think all the people in the stage were murdered by 
 Indians, and that you are here a captive. I am con 
 vinced that it was white men who did that bloody deed. 
 These Indians are kind-hearted ; they will not hurt you. 
 Look at this one, little Meha, she is crying because you 
 are so sick. You must be quiet and not afraid, until 
 you get well enough for me to take you away to your 
 friends." 
 
 " I don't know what made me scream that way," said 
 the girl, " but it all flashed over rne at once, and " 
 
 "There, there," said Jack, "you know I said you 
 mustn't talk yet awhile. I will come and see you again 
 soon ; in an hour or so. Meantime, Meha will take 
 care of you." 
 
 Jack went out of the tent again. He intended to take 
 the girl with him back to Council Bluffs. This terrible 
 fainting spell had rather upset his calculations. He was 
 afraid, in her present weak state, she would not be able 
 to go. To leave her alone in that Indian camp seemed 
 terrible. He must get back to Lieutenant Blake's 
 camp by three o'clock or serious complications might 
 arise. He could stay there until noon, and perhaps by 
 that time she would be better. An Indian went down 
 into the willows and took Jack's horse and picketed it 
 out to feed. An Indian woman brought Jack his 
 breakfast. She tried her best to make it just like the 
 white people. From one of the packs, made of hard- 
 tanned buffalo hide, she took out a plate and knife and 
 
51 
 
 fork. She took a piece of fine board (one of her 
 treasures) about eighteen inches square, spread over it a 
 piece of white cloth, placed the plate, knife and fork 
 and tin cup on it, and then brought it and put it in front 
 of Jack. Then she brought the food itself. It was 
 soup made of dried buffalo meat. Before it is cooked 
 this meat is black and hard as a stone. It is prepared 
 by cutting the flesh into strips, three or four inches 
 wide, ten or twelve long, and about half an inch thick. 
 It is then dried in the sun. The soup made from it is 
 delicious. What took the place of bread was corn, 
 which had first been parched and then pounded fine. 
 Jack was also treated to a whole cupful of "black 
 medicine," i. e. coffee, which the woman had saved up for 
 some extra occasion. She gave him the very best she 
 had. 
 
 After breakfast Jack had another talk with the 
 Indians. He told them that he would return and in 
 form the military commander what they had said to 
 him and lay before them all of the facts, and would 
 come or send them word of what had happened. 
 
 About eleven o'clock they made a litter to carry the 
 white girl on, of the kind on which the Indians carry 
 their wounded. Two long tent-poles are fastened to 
 a pony, reaching out far behind. Between these is 
 stretched a buffalo hide, and on the hide is laid the per 
 son. The poles, being elastic, act as springs. It is rather 
 a rough way to ride, but for one who could not sit on a 
 horse it was their next best mode of conveyance. The 
 girl was brought out and a start was made for the river. 
 Fainting fits came on, and these were continued until 
 
52 
 
 Jack had to give it up. He feared she would die 
 before she got across the river. She was carried 
 tenderly back to the tent, and Jack told her that he 
 must go, but he would either come or send her help the 
 next day, and bid her be of good cheer, for she was 
 perfectly safe. He then returned to the river, a canoe 
 was provided, Jack swam his horse beside it and an 
 Indian paddled him over. 
 
 It was only one o'clock when Jack reported to 
 Lieutenant Blake. A few minutes after the report 
 was made the command was on the march for Council 
 Bluffs, where they arrived a little before sundown. 
 Lieutenant Blake made a verbal report to Major 
 Hodson, who requested him to write it out in full that 
 night and submit it to him in the morning. On going 
 up into town Jack was surprised to find a very large 
 number of strangers. There were eight or ten army 
 and Indian supply contractors. A large train of empty 
 wagons was corralled a little out of town, and the 
 teamsters and train bosses were filling the saloons. 
 Perkins had his company out on the streets drilling. 
 There were two or three Indian commissioners and an 
 inspector at the Causeland House. The town was 
 crowded full, and business was "booming." 
 
 Jack had seen such things before. It was the hope 
 of an Indian war which had drawn them together. 
 After making the round of the saloons and seeing the 
 sights, Jack started back to camp. As he walked down 
 the street he passed a small frame house, containing two 
 rooms. There was no inclosure around the house and 
 the footpath went right by the door. A small woman 
 
A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 53 
 
 stood in the doorway. She had a lithe figure, as per 
 fect as was ever drawn by an artist, large brown eyes, 
 delicately formed nose and mouth, and that indefinable 
 look which denotes culture and refinement. 
 
 "Why! Captain Jack! is that you?" The voice 
 was as soft as the tones of a JEolian harp. 
 
 Jack looked up in astonishment, first with a puzzled 
 expression, and then a smile spread all over his face. 
 
 " How in the world," said he, " came you here ?" 
 
 " We have just been transferred to this conference 
 and stationed on this circuit. I am so glad to see you. 
 We do not know a single person here." 
 
 This little woman, frail, delicate, refined and cul 
 tured, was the wife of the Methodist preacher. Jack 
 had known her in other days. Jack went in and sat 
 down. On the floor was a new rag carpet. There was 
 a bed in one corner. The other furniture consisted of 
 six new chairs, a small table and a book-shelf. There 
 were not more than a dozen books in all. There was 
 Watson's Institutes, Bledsoe's Theodacy, Upham's Men 
 tal Philosophy, two bound volumes of the Ladies' Re 
 pository, and Cruden's Concordance. 
 
 On the table was a large family Bible, and beside it 
 was a well-worn copy of a French New Testament. 
 The other room had no carpet. It contained a cooking- 
 stove, table, cupboard and two or three chairs. 
 
 "You should never have come here," said Jack, 
 " this is no country for a lady like you." 
 
 " Oh, Jack, you ought not to discourage me. I 
 have been so brave. I think you ought to compliment 
 me. When William concluded to enter the ministry, 
 
54 A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 
 
 (lie would not have done it, if it had not been for me), 
 he said that he would go where preachers were needed, 
 and not stay where there were two preachers for every 
 pulpit. So we came first to the Illinois conference and 
 then here. 1 am glad we have come, for this is a very 
 wicked place, and we will have opportunities to do a 
 great deal of good. He hasn't been able to get any 
 place to preach in yet. Oh ! there he comes now. He 
 will be so glad to see you," and she ran to the door, 
 every nerve quivering with delight, to meet her loved 
 one. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Parkman walked in and shook hands with 
 Jack. He did not look like the typical minister. He 
 was tall and muscular, and had an intelligent counte 
 nance. By nature he was generous and tender-hearted. 
 He was glad to meet Jack, not only " for old acquaint 
 ance' sake," but he was extremely anxious to get the 
 news. Just as Jack had got to the point where he had 
 found the white girl in the Indian camp, a neighbor 
 woman came in and heard the remainder of it. When 
 Jack described how sick the poor girl was, and how he 
 was forced to leave her all alone in the Indian camp, a 
 firm look came into the little woman's face, such as one 
 might imagine the martyrs had when they walked up 
 to the stake. 
 
 " William," she said, " I think it is our duty to go 
 to this poor girl. She may be dying, with no one to 
 pray for her, or to say a word of hope as she goes down 
 into the cold river." 
 
 Tears stood in Mr. Parkman's eyes, but there were 
 none in those of his little wife. 
 
55 
 
 " Medie," he said, " I will go to her ; I will start to 
 night." 
 
 " I will go too," she said. 
 
 "Yon go? Why, my little darling, it is impossi 
 ble. Go into an Indian camp in time of war ?" 
 
 " This sick girl needs the sympathy and care of a 
 woman. It is my duty to go. God will take care of 
 me." 
 
 It was no use to argue with her. There was some 
 thing about her that could not be argued with. There 
 are some women who never demand anything, who 
 never command anybody, who seem utterly weak, and 
 yet strong men bow before them, their wills are subser 
 vient to hers, and they seek to know her wishes that 
 they may take delight in complying with them. Such 
 women wield a power greater than the most deter 
 mined purpose of the strongest minds. They make 
 abject slaves of men, and men enjoy the slavery. When 
 behind this indescribable power a woman has a holy 
 purpose, the good she can accomplish cannot be esti 
 mated. Such a power had Mrs. Parkman. 
 
 It was decided that she should go, and they would 
 start at twelve o'clock midnight. Jack first went to 
 camp and got leave of absence from Major Hodson. He 
 then went to town for some medical supplies, and at the 
 appointed time rode up to Mr. Parkman's door. Two 
 horses were standing there, one with a side-saddle on 
 In a moment more Mr. Parkman and his wife came out. 
 He reached out his hand, she placed a tiny foot in it 
 and vaulted into the saddle. For some miles the bot 
 tom was prairie, and they followed an Indian trail in 
 
56 A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 
 
 single file, much of the time in a slow gallop. Mrs. 
 Parkman sat in that saddle apparently as easy as in a 
 rocking-chair. On and on they rode, mile after mile, 
 and just at dawn of day they came out on the bank of 
 the river opposite the Indian camp. 
 
 Indians have what is called the sign language, 
 which is common to a large number of tribes speaking 
 different languages. This sign-talking is so far de 
 veloped that common barter and trade can be carried 
 on, and intelligence of startling events, such as war, or 
 an intended visit by another tribe, can be expressed by 
 means of it. They also have a code of signals. These 
 signals are different among different tribes. They are 
 made by swinging a blanket. 
 
 Jack climbed up in a tree which stood on the bank 
 of the river, and commenced to make signals. He 
 kept this np quite awhile before he attracted the atten 
 tion of the Indians. At last he was rewarded by an 
 answer. Soon after a canoe shot out from the shore 
 and made straight across the river to where the party 
 stood. An hour afterward they were all safe in the 
 Indian camp. Mrs. Parkman sat down by the side of 
 the sick girl. The sides of the tent were raised to let 
 the cool wind pass through. Mr. Parkman walked 
 around and looked into the tents. lie had a great 
 longing to preach to them, but not one word of his 
 language could they understand. After awhile a few 
 of them gathered together and he asked Jack to 
 interpret for him. 
 
 " I can't interpret a sermon," said Jack. " I might 
 make some miss, and send them all to hell by it. If 
 
A WEST POINTER'S FIRST SERVICE. 57 
 
 your doctrine is true, and I suppose it is, it's too big a 
 responsibility for me to undertake. I'll tell you what 
 I'll do. I'll preach them a little sermon myself, and I 
 can keep inside of safe lines ;" and Jack held forth as 
 follows : 
 
 " This man is a teacher about God. He wants to 
 teach you the way to some happy hunting-grounds of 
 which you never heard. He thinks you can't get there 
 unless you do what is right. He knows all about it. It 
 is a very hard thing to learn. I don't know much 
 about it myself. I find out that the Great Holy One of 
 the Indians is the same one that he believes in. That 
 little woman is his wife. She came straight from the 
 happy hunting-grounds, and some of these days she's 
 going back. She knows all about it, because she has 
 been there. I don't know when she is going back. 
 Maybe to-morrow, maybe a year, maybe five years. 
 But she is going back there, sure. "When you leave 
 your camp to go on the long journey, you will find her 
 at the end of it. Now, you had better mind how you 
 treat her." 
 
 " There," said Jack, " I've told them all about it. 
 If they mind that sermon they'll all be saved, sure." 
 
 One of the Indians walked up to Mr. Parkman, 
 shook hands, and fixed himself for a speech. Of all 
 things, Jack hated to interpret. So he told the Indian 
 he must say but few words now. He must wait until 
 after the preacher spoke, or he would think it very bad. 
 The preacher would speak to-morrow. So the Indian 
 only said, " We are glad that you have come. We will 
 listen to all the words you have to say, and we hope it 
 3* 
 
58 A SECKET COUNCIL. 
 
 will be many days before your wife goes back to the 
 happy hunting-grounds." 
 
 Jack interpreted it as follows : 
 
 " He says he is glad you come. He will adopt your 
 religion immediately, and he hopes you won't send your 
 wife off to the happy hunting-grounds for some time 
 yet." 
 
 " How dreadful is the lot of woman among the 
 heathen !" thought Mr. Parkman. " That poor Indian 
 thinks I am liable to kill my wife any time," and he 
 made a note of it, to write home to the Missionary 
 Journal. Soon after Jack left the camp and returned 
 to Council Bluffs. 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 A SECKET COUNCIL. 
 
 HE population of Council Bluffs had greatly 
 increased during the one day that Jack had 
 been absent. The overland travel had been 
 suspended. All sorts of stories were current 
 of the atrocities committed by Indians on the main 
 trail westward, and there was a general demand for a 
 thorough campaign against the savages. Major Hodson 
 had written a report which had been forwarded to the 
 department commander, in which he stated his belief 
 that the robbery of the stage-coach had been committed 
 by white men, and that the affair at Ilickman's was the 
 
A SECRET COUNCIL. 59 
 
 result of a gambling row. He thought there was no 
 use for any more troops. This was telegraphed to 
 Washington, and the Commissioner and the Secretary of 
 the Interior were furnished with copies of the report. 
 A commission was made up of western men who 
 resided near the scene, to investigate the trouble. Mean 
 time the woman who had heard part of Jack's story 
 had spread the news over the town that the Indians had 
 in their possession a captive white woman. 
 
 When the commissioners arrived they were treated 
 with the greatest consideration by Perkins and the 
 contractors. They held their first session in the town. 
 The first witness examined before them was the man who 
 had escaped from the stage-coach. He testified that the 
 coach had been attacked by a large band of Indians, and 
 went into a great many details, most of which were 
 drawn from his imagination. Then Perkins and two 
 or three other persons, who were at Hickman's the 
 night of the trouble, testified. From their testimony a 
 very bad case was made out. Finally, Harkins, the 
 young surveyor, who commanded on the night of the 
 assault on Hickman's, asked to be heard. He told a 
 straightforward story. How Perkins had acknowledged 
 to him that the trouble was caused by gambling, that 
 the man found dead was killed in the house, the only 
 damage done by the Indians was cutting the harness 
 and breaking in the windows of the store, from which 
 they had taken nothing, and that they left immediately. 
 He thought it was only a drunken fracas, which was 
 liable to happen anywhere, and if they had all been 
 white men nothing would have ever been heard of it. 
 
60 A SECRET COUNCIL. 
 
 Whoever committed the murder of the passengers in the 
 stage-coach, he was certain that it was not this band of 
 Indians, for he had followed their trail, and they had 
 gone across the river. lie further testified that he 
 believed Perkins to be a gambler, and utterly unworthy 
 of belief. 
 
 This testimony created a tremendous uproar. They 
 said he was interested in surveying contracts, and was 
 afraid a war would interfere with his business. The 
 crowd hooted and yelled at him as he went out, and 
 finally he had to flee to the military camp for protection. 
 
 A hot discussion arose between the members of the 
 commission. Some were for immediate war and pun 
 ishment of the Indians. One opposed it, and wanted 
 further testimony taken. It was finally agreed to send 
 for Major Hodson. The Major didn't believe there 
 was any necessity for a war, thought that the people 
 might go to their homes in safety, travel could be 
 resumed, and as for the damage done at Hickman's, 
 the chief of the party had offered to make full restitu 
 tion. He spoke in such a calm and determined way, 
 the four warriors of the commission were inclined to 
 wait, and not press matters. Things took a decidedly 
 peaceful turn. 
 
 Perkins, the contractors and speculators of all 
 sorts, were at a loss what to do. That night the most 
 desperate of them held a secret council in a private 
 room in the Causeland House. In that council a plan 
 was resolved upon to bring matters to a crisis. Just 
 what conversation took place there will never be known, 
 but during the next day some thirty men crossed the 
 
A SECRET COUNCIL. 61 
 
 ferry to the western side of the river. They went over 
 three or four at a time. They were all well armed and 
 supplied. Ten miles west of where Omaha now 
 stands, there is a beautiful grove, called Sahling's 
 Grove. In this grove that night was camped a large 
 train. The stock belonging to the train was picketed 
 on the prairie near by. The thirty men congregated 
 about a mile east of the grove, and one of the number 
 crept up among the horses and cut all the lariat ropes. 
 At a given signal the thirty men dashed down on the 
 stock and they stampeded in one body over the prairie 
 to the South. Before dawn they were thirty miles 
 away. The wagons of the train had been corralled the 
 night before, and behind them the men belonging to 
 the train assembled and waited for daylight. Then a 
 strong guard was sent on foot to Council Bluffs for 
 help. The news that the Indians were murdering and 
 scalping everybody on the main trail was carried 
 through the town and it seemed that all went mad at 
 once. The commissioners, in a body, called on Major 
 Hodson and turned over all the Indians to the south 
 west to the care of the army. 
 
 Captain Jack was nonplussed. Even he was con 
 vinced that the Indians had gone to war. His first 
 thought was of Mr. Parkman and the two women. He 
 saw no possible way to save them. Major Hodson 
 immediately moved his command across the river, and 
 stationed them so as to protect the settlements and 
 travel on the main 'trail, and awaited further orders 
 from the department commander. 
 
 The commissioners held another session, and em- 
 
62 A SECRET COUNCIL. 
 
 ^v ; v ; 
 
 ployed a lawyer to assist them in prepariug-tLjQir-formal 
 report. They laid the whole case before him, and 
 asked his advice. 
 
 Lawyer "Wilmot had recently arrived from the East. 
 He had graduated at Yale, and studied law with one of 
 the most celebrated lawyers of the time, one who was 
 an authority on constitutional law. The advice he gave 
 to the commissioners was something different from 
 what they had ever heard before. Two or three of 
 them had served on many Indian commissions ; in fact, 
 that is the way they had made their living for years. 
 Wilmot stood before them with a huge law book in his 
 hand, and said : 
 
 " Neither this commission, Major Hodson, the de 
 partment commander, the General of the army, the 
 Secretary of the Interior, nor the President, has any 
 legal authority to declare war against these or any other 
 Indians. The Constitution of the United States has 
 placed the authority to declare war in another depart 
 ment of the Government. It has done this in terms so 
 plain that no other meaning can be attached to them. 
 Section 8 of article I. of the Constitution reads as 
 follows : ' Congress shall have power to declare war, 
 grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
 concerning captures on land and sea.' 
 
 " The power to declare war rests in Congress, and 
 Congress alone. Expeditions carried on under any 
 other authority are not war. They are wholly illegal, 
 and every life taken under such circumstances is mur 
 der. If the Indian tribes are mutinous, Congress must 
 give the authority to wage war upon them. If they 
 
63 
 
 are not mutinouo, your only legal way to proceed is to is 
 sue warrants for the arrest of the supposed criminals. 
 If the officer in whose hands they are placed is unable 
 to make the arrest, he can call for a posse comitatus. If 
 this is insufficient to execute the law, the Governor can 
 call upon the President for troops. These troops, when 
 so employed, are under the direction of the civil author 
 ity, and the force used must be for the purpose of exe 
 cuting the law. There is no other legal way to pro 
 ceed." 
 
 The commissioners voted "Wilmot a lunatic, and dis 
 charged him instanter. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 INDIANS DISCUSS THE WHITE PEOPLE'S KELIGION. 
 
 R. PARKMAN found staying in an Indian 
 camp, and not being able to speak a word of 
 their language, to be anything but pleasant. 
 He did not know that anything was going 
 on more than the usual life of the Indians, but runners 
 were coming and going between the different bands of 
 the tribe all the time. His presence in the camp was 
 thoroughly discussed. About listening to this new re 
 ligion, two parties immediately arose. One was opposed 
 to the whole thing. ""They did not want to hear any 
 thing about it at all. The other party wanted to hear, 
 
64 
 
 and then consider the matter afterward. These were 
 composed mostly of the younger men. The old ones, 
 and especially the old medicine men, were bitterly 
 opposed. They said the young men were fools, and 
 would bring some great harm upon the tribe. In one 
 tent they got especially warm over it, and half a dozen 
 of them were talking at once. Finally one man of 
 about middle age, who was greatly respected by all, got 
 their attention. He said : 
 
 " The white men and the Indians are all men. "We 
 have hands and feet and heads all alike. They are 
 very powerful and we are very weak. I have heard that 
 they have a book out of which they learned all these 
 things which we do not know. The book, they say, 
 was written by the Great Spirit. I would like to hear 
 this man read something out of this book." 
 
 " I don't believe they have any such book,"' said 
 another. " It is all a lie. The white men always lie. 
 I don't believe this man ie any different from the rest." 
 
 " Well, they have something which is different from 
 us, or how could they make guns and a village which, 
 will float on the water and go up and down the river, 
 as fast as a horse can run ?" 
 
 Then half a dozen got to talking at once again. 
 Finally, one, who had a stronger voice than the rest, 
 called out so that all heard him : 
 
 " Hush, you are nothing but a pack of children. 
 You don't know anything at all. You're all going to 
 hear this man, for the chief sent after Shonnee to 
 interpret, and he has come." 
 
 That settled it. No one said anything more, and 
 
65 
 
 one appeared just as eager as another to hear the 
 ; < talk." 
 
 Shonnee was a half-breed, who belonged to another 
 band. His name was John, or Johnny, as he was 
 commonly called, and that was as near as they could 
 pronounce it. Besides, " Shonnee " was an Indian word, 
 meaning, " sugar." Shonnee could talk Indian fluently, 
 but his English was desperately bad. He went to Mr. 
 Parkman and told him that he was an interpreter, and 
 the Indians desired hirn to speak to them. 
 
 The whole camp assembled, the men sitting in a 
 circle inside and the women and children on the outer 
 edges, and Mr. Parkman undertook to preach his first 
 sermon through an interpreter. He was very much 
 puzzled what to say, where to commence or how to in 
 troduce a subject so vast and complicated as the 
 Christian religion. This is what actually occurred. 
 
 Mr. Parkman " I will first sing a hymn in praise of 
 God." 
 
 Interpreter " He says he will sing about God." 
 
 " Who ever heard of such a thing as that ?" thought 
 the Indians. 
 
 Mr. Parkman then commenced to sing a rattling, 
 lively Methodist tune. The Indians were delighted 
 and immensely amused. 
 
 Mr. Parkman " Say to them I will pray to God." 
 
 Interpreter " He says he's going to talk to God." 
 
 " That is good," thought the Indians, " we all do 
 that," and they listened reverently. The prayer was 
 not interpreted. 
 
 Then Mr. Parkman commenced to talk. The 
 
66 WHITE PEOPLE'S RELIGION. 
 
 substance of the sermon was that there was one God, 
 who made all things. He sent his Son into the world 
 to teach men, and they killed him. After he was 
 dead he rose again, and went up to heaven. God had 
 given to the white men a book which taught them all 
 things which they ought to know. There were a great 
 many nations of people on the earth, some of them 
 on the other side of the great water. All the nations 
 who read this book and followed its teachings were 
 great and powerful. Those who did not have it, or 
 did not obey what it said, were weak, and poor, and 
 miserable. Now he would read some out of the book. 
 
 He then read the Ten Commandments, and part of 
 the Sermon on the Mount. When he had finished, an 
 old Indian arose. He was of the opposition party. 
 
 " My friend," said he, " we have heard what you 
 said. The first part that you read from the book we 
 have always known. Our law says there is a God, that 
 we shall not steal, we shall not lie, that we shall not kill, 
 except in war. I think that is the same as what you 
 read, only you must have forgotten to read c except in 
 war.' That, I think, must be in your book, too. 
 
 " What you told us of God's son, we know nothing 
 about. It is hard for us to understand that. Once be 
 fore, a missionary came to us. He told us this same 
 story. But he lied to us. He told us that one day in 
 seven was God's day. That we must not do any work 
 on that day. If we did, something bad would happen 
 to us. He said we must not hoe our corn on that day. 
 If we did, it would not grow good. Some of us 
 thought we would try it, and every seventh day we 
 
WHITE PEOPLE'S RELIGION. 67 
 
 hoed our corn, and on no other day, and the corn was 
 better than that which was not hoed so much. So we 
 know he told us a lie. The white people don't do 
 themselves what is commanded in that book. There are 
 white people just over the river. I know they do every 
 thing which you say the book says they must not do. 
 My friend, you are in our camp, you eat with us. My 
 heart feels good toward you and the two women. I. 
 have finished." 
 
 Mr. Parkman was not prepared to meet that argu 
 ment. He was turning over in his mind what was best 
 to say, when another Indian arose. 
 
 " My friend," said he, " it makes my heart feel good 
 to hear what you say. "What you have said is good. 
 All of it is good. The man who has just spoken don't 
 think so, but I do. He is old and he has forgotten some 
 things. He remembers there are bad white people who 
 tell lies and steal, and work on the holy day. He for 
 gets about the bad Indians. He can't remember about 
 Big Elk. He is too old." 
 
 The name of Big Elk had hardly been pronounced 
 when a half dozen Indians sprang to their feet and a tre 
 mendous battle of words ensued. Big Elk was a relation 
 of the old Indian who had first spoken, and of several 
 others. He had become such a confirmed thief that he 
 had been expelled from the tribe. It took the author 
 ity of the chief to restore quiet, after which, they dis 
 persed. The new religion was the subject of conversa 
 tion all over the camp, until late at night, and the two 
 parties became more than ever set in their way of think 
 ing. 
 
68 A DESPERATE BATTLE. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A DESrEKATE BATTLE. 
 
 HE night Major Hodson transferred his force 
 across the river was dark and rainy. When 
 they were in camp Jack went to the Major 
 and told him the situation of Mr. Parkman, 
 his wife and the young girl. Major Hodson was deep 
 ly interested and somewhat excited, and commenced to 
 think over different plans to effect their rescue. Being 
 convinced that the Indians had actually gone to war, he 
 could think of no plan that seemed feasible. A sudden 
 dash into the camp, if a complete surprise, might effect 
 a rescue ; but the Indians w T ere, of course, on the alert, 
 and there was no prospect of a surprise being effected. 
 He asked Jack if he thought he could lead a band of 
 men into that camp, and said if he could he would fol 
 low with the main force, and keep within supporting 
 distance. It was an extremely hazardous undertaking. 
 Jack thought if he had about twenty picked men, 
 mounted on good horses, he could reach the camp be 
 fore the break of day. The expedition was so extreme 
 ly hazardous that Major Hodson resolved to ask some 
 officer to volunteer to take command of this forlorn 
 hope. Lieutenant Blake immediately offered his ser 
 vices, and was accepted, and in half an hour the whole 
 command was on the march, the twenty men, led by 
 
A DESPERATE BATTLE. 69 
 
 Jack and Lieutenant Blake, soon leaving the main body 
 far in the rear. 
 
 Jack advised the lieutenant to march his men in 
 " Injun file," as he called it. The night was very 
 dark, but Jack knew the contour of every hill, and 
 pressed forward with as much certainty as the needle 
 points to the pole. 
 
 About an hour before day they reached the brow of 
 the hill above the Indian camp. As silently as possi 
 ble the men were formed and dashed down. But not a 
 tent was there. The Indians had fled. To prevent a 
 surprise, a retreat was made to the prairie back of the 
 hills, to await the arrival of the main force. In the 
 morning a trail was discovered leading across the Platte 
 river, and then away to the southwest. From the size 
 of the trail it was evident that the band did not number 
 over sixty or seventy warriors, and Major Hodson re 
 solved to send forty picked men in pursuit, under com 
 mand of Captain Hinkle and Lieutenant Blake, and 
 Jack as scout and guide. The men carried four days' 
 rations and forty rounds of ammunition. It was ten 
 o'clock when they were ready to start. TW T O horses 
 were lost in the quicksand in fording the Platte, and 
 the men were sent back on foot to the main command. 
 By sundown they had marched forty miles, and the trail 
 looked no fresher than it did in the morning. Cof 
 fee was made, a hasty meal eaten, and the command 
 pushed on until the horses showed signs of exhaustion. 
 A halt was made until daylight, and then the march 
 commenced again. On through the hot sun they passed 
 over the rolling prairie, covered with short buffalo grass, 
 
70 A DESPERATE BATTLE. 
 
 it always seeming that when the next swell was gained 
 something different would meet the view ; but it was 
 ever the same never-ending billows of solid earth. The 
 sun burned the untanned face of Lieutenant Blake to a 
 blister. Men and officers suffered terribly for water 
 and from fatigue. 
 
 It was two o'clock in the afternoon when a email 
 stream was reached and a halt was called. Here the> 
 Indians had made the first halt since they had left their 
 old village. All along the trail for the last few miles 
 were found articles which the Indians had abandoned. 
 Near the creek were the carcasses of four ponies which 
 had evidently given out and then been killed. The horses 
 were allowed to bait, and the men to rest for an hour and 
 a half. Many of them had fallen to sleep the moment 
 they had unsaddled their horses, and it was with much 
 difficulty that they were awakened by the officers. Can 
 teens were filled at the creek and the march was continued. 
 Lieutenant Blake, unused to the saddle, was in a terrible 
 condition. The great blisters on his face were perfect 
 torture, and Jack began to fear that he would fall from 
 his saddle, but not a word of complaint escaped him. 
 The Indians had made a march of at least seventy-five 
 miles without a halt. At about four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, Jack, who was half a mile in front, discovered 
 that another trail came into the one he was following, 
 giving evidence that this band had been joined by 
 another equally large. The fact was reported to Captain 
 Hinkle, but the Captain ; resolved to press on. In 
 another hour Jack called Captain Hinkle's attention to 
 
A DESPERATE BATTLE. 71 
 
 what appeared to be two bunches of grass on a swell 
 of the prairie some distance in front and to the right. 
 
 Objects on or near the surface are very indistinctly 
 seen on the prairie when at a little distance. There is 
 always, on a clear day, a wavy, hazy look in the atmos 
 phere at the point where the earth and sky seem to 
 meet. 
 
 " There's no sich grass growing on the high prairie," 
 said Jack. 
 
 " What is it 3" asked the Captain. 
 
 " Injuns," said Jack. 
 
 They both kept their eyes on the objects for some 
 time, but they did not move. The Captain ordered his 
 men to close up and look to their arms. A detail of 
 ten men was made to scour the prairie in that direction. 
 When Jack reached the little hill where the objects 
 had attracted attention, he saw beyond a wide valley, 
 in the midst of which was flowing a beautiful river. 
 Both to the right and left were heavy groves of timber. 
 It was the valley of the Blue. No living object was in 
 sight. Going back to the trail it led down to the 
 river bank, and on the other side the Indians had made 
 a halt much longer than at the previous place. 
 
 To a dweller in the Eastern States, it is a mystery 
 how a scout can tell whether a trail is fresh or old, or 
 how long a halt has been made at a camping-place. 
 The amount of manure from the animals, the appear 
 ance of the camp fires, the condition of the grass, the 
 well-trodden path down the bank of the river to get 
 water, will easily tell any man with eyes such a thing 
 ae that, 
 
72 A DESPE11ATE BATTLE. 
 
 In the boughs of some trees near the crossing were 
 the dead bodies of an Indian woman and a very young 
 baby. They had died from fatigue, and been buried 
 there by their friends. One of the soldiers fired some 
 shots into the bodies from his revolver. He was se 
 verely reprimanded and ordered on extra duty by 
 Captain II inkle. 
 
 It was absolutely necessary to halt here and rest the 
 stock. A guard was stationed, and the other men were 
 soon fast asleep. Before dark camp was broken and 
 the march resumed. About midnight another halt 
 was called, and camp was made on the open prairie, far 
 from any timber, to prevent surprise. When daylight 
 came the weary men were in their saddles and on the 
 trail again. For two days they had all been on half 
 rations. The day was intensely hot. It seemed as if 
 the blazing sun would set fire to the crisp prairie grass. 
 Indian cooking utensils, tent-poles, blankets, and other 
 articles were found all along the trail during the day. 
 Several broken-down ponies were also seen, showing 
 that the Indians were fleeing as fast as it was possible. 
 It was one o'clock in the afternoon. The water in the 
 canteens was all gone. A hot wind was blowing from 
 the southwest, so hot that it immediately dried up the 
 perspiration on the horses and men. Jack knew that 
 the first water they would reach was at the Little Blue, 
 which must be many miles away. Captain Hinkle 
 knew that to urge the horses under this hot wind would 
 be certain death to them, and the command proceeded 
 at a slow walk. As the afternoon wore away, the 
 suffering from thirst, aggravated by the hot wind, made 
 
A DESPERATE BATTLE. 73 
 
 existence a perfect agony. Night came on and the 
 Little Blue was not in sight. Wearily onward the 
 command dragged itself. Many of the men were 
 asleep in their saddles. Scarcely a word was spoken as 
 mile after mile they crept over the prairie. 
 
 As Captain Hinkle rode at the head of his command 
 he thought of his wife and children in the pleasant 
 barracks at Fort Leaven worth. He thought of the 
 happy time he had spent there during the last nine 
 months, before he was ordered away on this expedition. 
 He had seen a great deal of hard service in the ten 
 years he had been in the army, and the few short weeks 
 or months he had, at different times, spent with his 
 family, were the only bright spots in his life. He 
 cursed Perkins from the bottom of his heart, knowing 
 that he was the cause of all this trouble, and the hard 
 ships he was forced to endure. 
 
 " If I were making such a forced march as this," 
 thought the Captain, " in any civilized war, I might 
 get some credit for it, perhaps promotion, but an 
 officer never gets any credit for fighting Indians. If 
 he is not successful against as brave a foe as ever 
 carried arms, wily, alert and relentless as Satan himself, 
 and that, too, always fighting them with inferior 
 numbers he is denounced all over the West as an in 
 competent or a coward. If he is successful, he is de 
 nounced in the East as an inhuman butcher." 
 
 I don't suppose there was ever an officer on an 
 
 expedition like this who did not think more or less of 
 
 resigning his commission in the army; and Captain 
 
 Hinkle thought of it too. But he did not know how to 
 
 4 
 
74 A DESPERATE BATTLE. 
 
 do anything on earth. In civil life he would be a 
 pauper, he thought, and then what would become of his 
 wife and children ? 
 
 Suddenly, as they were plodding along, Jack's horse 
 gave a snort, and would have given another if he had 
 not given him an awful jerk in the mouth. He rode up 
 to Captain H inkle, and said : 
 
 " Captain, there's Injuns within five hundred yards 
 of this place." 
 
 The command was halted, and with some difficulty 
 formed in line. The officers had to ride up and down 
 the column while they stood there, and slap the men 
 with their swords to keep them awake, so utterly ex 
 hausted were they. 
 
 Skirmishers were thrown out, and every precaution 
 was taken to prevent a surprise. Jack and Lieutenant 
 Blake were sent to see what discoveries they could 
 make. About half a mile to the front they came to the 
 brow of a hill, and discovered by the dim starlight an 
 Indian camp on the banks of the Little Blue. A few 
 ponies were picketed out, and quite a number of tents 
 could be seen. 
 
 When Jack saw the ponies he turned to Lieutenant 
 and said : 
 
 " These Injuns are up to some deviltry. They've 
 got more ponies than that. We'd better git back to the 
 command or we'll be cut off. Where's the rest of them 
 ponies ?" The words were scarcely pronounced when 
 a howl, as of a thousand demons, broke out over the 
 still night. The Indians had attacked the main force. 
 
 The fierce war-whoops of the Indians seemed to put 
 
A DESPERATE BATTLE. 75 
 
 new life into the jaded horses. In moments like those 
 that followed it sometimes occurs that the commanding 
 officer is changed without any formalities. Jack com 
 menced to give orders to his superior officer, who did 
 his best to obey them. 
 
 " Clap them spurs into that horse," said Jack to Lieu 
 tenant Blake. 
 
 " Lie down on the horse," was the next order. 
 
 " Be sure of your revolver, and have it ready." 
 
 Indian tactics are not according to Hardee, or any 
 other standard military authority; nevertheless they 
 have a system of their own. A warrior who should 
 lead his men in a charge on the enemy, even if he was 
 victorious, would gain no honor if he lost several of 
 his men. Their system is based on the idea of killing 
 without being killed. It is to lead the enemy into am 
 bush, to surprise and slay him when he cannot resist. 
 They adopt this mode from necessity. Their warriors 
 are few in number, and a small loss seriously cripples 
 them. Besides, it disturbs their family relations, and 
 throws the support of the dead warrior's kindred upon 
 those unable to bear it. They have no pension roll. If 
 they seldom charge on batteries and lines of well-formed 
 troops, it is not for the want of courage, as the United 
 States troops have frequently learned from experience. 
 In this case they were riding around Captain Hinkle's 
 command at a safe distance, firing arrows from under 
 tiieir ponies' necks, and those who had rifles using them 
 in the same way. 
 
 Through this line Jack and Lieutenant Blake had to 
 make their way. When within about four hundred 
 
76 A DESPERATE BATTLE. 
 
 yards of the command the Lieutenant's horse was shot, 
 and Jack's fell a moment afterward. They were not 
 twenty feet apart. The horses were running at full 
 speed, and the men fell heavily to the ground. 
 
 " Crawl up to your horse," said Jack. " Make a 
 breastwork of him." 
 
 A band of twenty Indians rode down upon them. 
 
 "Keep still," said Jack. Not a movement was 
 made until they were in revolver range. 
 
 " Now's yer time," said Jack. Three reports in 
 quick succession came from Jack's revolver, and one 
 from Lieutenant Blake's. A volley of shots and 
 arrows was returned from the Indians. Two of them 
 dropped from their ponies, and the others, stooping 
 down, picked them up and retreated. 
 
 " Now's our time," said Jack. 
 
 " Save yourself," said Lieutenant Blake. " I cannot 
 go. It is no use for you to stay. You will only be 
 killed. Go on before they come back." 
 
 " "Where are you hurt ?" 
 
 " In my right leg. Go on. I'm as good as dead 
 anyhow. Go on." 
 
 Jack stooped down, felt of the wound, and said, 
 " I'll stay right here and fight it out." 
 
 Captain Hinkle heard the firing and could see 
 something of what was going on, and he moved his 
 whole command to where they were, the Indians circling 
 around them and firing all the time. Besides Lieu 
 tenant Blake, he had already lost one man kiJled and 
 two wounded. For the remainder of the night Captain 
 Hinkle fought it out where he was. When the morn- 
 
A DESPERATE BATTLE. 77 
 
 ing dawned upon those exhausted and thirsty men the 
 clear water of the Little Blue was in plain sight through 
 a break in the hills. His losses at daybreak were six 
 men wounded, two killed and twelve horses shot. His 
 command must have water. It was with the greatest 
 difficulty that he prevented them rushing pell-mell 
 down to the river, which he knew would be certain 
 death to them all. He resolved to drive the Indians 
 before him or perish, one and all, in the attempt. He 
 formed his men and pressed forward, the Indians giving 
 way before him, over the bluffs and down into the 
 bottom. As they neared the river bank, it was plain 
 that, concealed behind it, was a large body of Indians. 
 One-third of his command was either killed or 
 wounded by the heavy fire, and he was forced to retreat 
 out of range. The Indians, encouraged by their suc 
 cess, swarmed around in overwhelming numbers, dashing 
 down and firing, and then retreating. Every few 
 minutes another man was wounded or killed. Captain 
 Hinkle did not have more than twenty-five effective 
 men and one officer left. 
 
 At last he ordered the horses brought into a circle 
 and shot, and behind them the men lay down to fight 
 it out to the bitter end. Jack said to the Captain, " If 
 we dig down in this earth, I think in five or six feet 
 we will come to water. I think if one man is kept at 
 it all the time, we can reach it in three or four hours. 
 Dig up the dirt with hunting knives and throw it out 
 with the hands." 
 
 This suggestion was put into immediate execution. 
 ' Lieutenant Blake dragged himself up to the body of 
 
78 A DESPEEATE BATTLE. 
 
 a dead horse, took a carbine from a wounded soldier, 
 and fought as bravely as if not half dead from thirst 
 and suffering inexpressible agony with his wound. 
 They found water, as Jack had predicted, but many of 
 the men, when they drank, threw it up, and could keep 
 none on their stomachs, until they followed the direc 
 tions of the surgeon, to take a small swallow at inter 
 vals. 
 
 The Indians gave them no rest. They were con 
 stantly circling around them, rushing up, first on one 
 side, and then on another, firing and retreating. 
 As the day wore away, more and more men were 
 wounded and killed. 
 
 About four o'clock in the afternoon a bullet pierced 
 the brain of the brave Captain Hinkle. Never was 
 there a more gallant officer, a better husband and father, 
 a more generous and whole-souled companion. He was 
 mercilessly sacrificed, as have been hundreds of others, 
 in unnecessary Indian wars. Twenty minutes after 
 ward, the only other officer was so desperately wounded 
 that he was totally disabled, and Lieutenant Blake took 
 command. Unused to such hardships, sorely wounded, 
 almost exhausted from fatigue, during all that long 
 night he never closed his eyes. He gave every neces 
 sary order, kept complete control of the few men who 
 were yet able to fight, and every time an Indian came 
 in the range of his carbine, its sharp report rang out on 
 the still night air. Sometimes the Indians howled like 
 so many devils. Sometimes it was as still as death, and 
 then again there was a rain of arrows and bullets. 
 When the sun arose the next morning, it never shone 
 
A DESPEEATE BATTLE. 79 
 
 on a more horrible sight than that little circle. The 
 dead had been thrown in the middle, and the wounded 
 and those who were yet unhurt lay close up against the 
 carcasses of the dead horses. Lieutenant Blake's leg 
 was fearfully swollen, and he was suffering unspeakable 
 agony, but he was not enduring more pain than some 
 of the other wounded. 
 
 Some of the Indians brought water from the river 
 and threw it up in the air. Lieutenant Blake could not 
 imagine what they were doing that for, and he asked 
 Jack. 
 
 " The infernal varmints," said Jack, " think that 
 we haven't any water, and they want to tantalize us." 
 
 A few minutes afterward, Jack got a camp-kettle full 
 of water and a tin cup, and commenced to throw it up 
 in the air. 
 
 "Mebbe," said he, "when them red devils find out 
 we have plenty of water, they will conclude they can't 
 kill us for want of something to drink, and clear out." 
 
 It was certain that this performance of Jack's had 
 had some effect on the Indians, for all their forces were 
 drawn olff. The spirits of the few half dead heroes, 
 who were still able to handle their guns, arose. They 
 thought the Indians were about to leave. A few minutes 
 afterward the hope vanished, for over a hundred Indian 
 warriors rode out of the woods, with the very evident 
 intention of making a charge on the remnant who still 
 lay inside of the circle of dead horses. 
 
 Lieutenant Blake spoke to his men : 
 
 " This," said he, " is the end of the struggle. If 
 you repel this assault it will be their last. Load and be 
 
80 A DESPERATE BATTLE. 
 
 ready to fire at the word of command. Have your 
 revolvers ready, and fight to the last. If taken prison 
 ers you will be tortured to death. Let us die like brave 
 men." 
 
 The Indians formed a line. The chief in gay dress 
 and feathers rode along the line and took his station in 
 the center. A chorus of war-whoops rent the aiv, and 
 on they came. Across the dead horses was leveled 
 every carbine. The Indians were about half a mile 
 away. They put their ponies to the top of their speed. 
 Their bodies were nearly naked, and their faces and 
 breasts daubed with paint. They had made about half 
 the distance, when a cry of surprise rent the air. The 
 Indians turned, fled across the river, up the bluffs on 
 the other side and out of view. Lieutenant Blake was 
 struck dumb with surprise. As the Indians had fled, 
 the men rose to their feet and watched them with 
 eager eyes. The silence was broken by a soldier saying : 
 
 "Look! Look!" 
 
 They turned and looked. Down over the hills in 
 their rear, at full gallop, came a company of United 
 States cavalry, with Major liodson at their head. Back 
 on the hills they had come upon the mutilated and 
 scalped bodies of the men who had been killed in the 
 first onslaught. From there they had ridden at a full 
 gallop. 
 
OLD HAIRY BEAR'S ORGIES. 81 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 OLD HAIRY BEAR'S ORGIES AND MEHA'S HEROISM. 
 
 HAT occurred in the camp of the Indians 
 after the preaching of the sermon by Mr. 
 Parkman, will be hard for a civilized person 
 to understand. Old Hairy Bear, who had 
 made the speech against the white men's religion, went 
 to his tent, and having gathered some of the familiar 
 spirits of his own kind about him, wrought them into a 
 rage by relating the attrocities which had been perpe 
 trated upon them in by-gone days by the whites. 
 
 " Once," he said, " the Indians owned all this 
 country. We were free and happy. Our young 
 men were brave, our young women strong, healthy and 
 good to look at. Game was everywhere. The Indian 
 never went hungry then. Our lodges were made of 
 the finest furs, and when a man laid down to sleep he 
 wrapped himself in beaver and otter skins. There was 
 no sickness in those days, but men died of old age. 
 Then the white men came. They were poor. There 
 were but very few of them. They came begging to 
 our tent doors. We fed them, we gave them land. 
 They said they would ever be our friends. But they 
 were liars and thieves and murderers. They crept upon 
 us by night and killed our warriors and women and 
 children. My father was brave and kind. A white 
 man killed him. My brother was a great hunter and 
 4* 
 
82 
 
 warrior. They killed him. Our chief was a coward 
 and did not revenge their death. The Great Spirit is 
 angry with us." 
 
 Then the old heathen set up a howl, like a dying 
 swan, pretending to lament for the dead, and the 
 others joined in it. Another wrinkled old Indian, who 
 knew he was too old to go on the war-path, told of the 
 death of his relations and that God called upon them 
 for vengeance. The tent was steaming hot and the 
 excitement grew intense. A medicine man, with the 
 sacred stick in his hand, which had the " big medicine " 
 in it, got out in the center of the tent, and went through 
 a series of most disgusting contortions, the others 
 crooning a most melancholy tune, if tune it could be 
 called. It was a jumble of words and sounds without 
 meaning, lamenting the dead killed by the whites, who 
 never would reach the happy hunting-grounds because 
 they had not been avenged. After this had gone on 
 for a while, and the naturally nervous temperaments of 
 the Indians had been wrought up to a terrible pitch of 
 excitement, by this sort of religious exercise, resembling 
 very much the scenes which sometimes occur at camp 
 meetings, the old medicine man began to prophesy, 
 that all the woes which could be told would fall upon the 
 tribe, if these wrongs were not avenged ; and wound it 
 up by the startling information that the whites at 
 Council Bhrffs had sent for the soldiers and they were 
 then on the way to exterminate the whole band. This 
 produced a yell of rage which startled the whole camp. 
 The Indians rushed out of the tent, covered with 
 perspiration, wild with excitement, arms in their hands, 
 
83 
 
 and ran for the tent where Mr. Parkman stopped, with 
 the full intent of murdering them all. When they got 
 inside they found the tent empty. Mr. Parkman and 
 the two ladies were gone. In their rage they came 
 near killing the owner of the tent. 
 
 Every tribe has its military organization ; from the 
 want of a better term, it is known among the whites 
 as the " Soldier Lodge." The man in command is 
 called the " Head Soldier.'' When on a hunt or on the 
 war-path, the penalties for disobedience of orders are 
 very severe, sometimes even death. Besides the Head 
 Soldier, there are other officers, which are usually called 
 " policemen." The Head Soldier gets his orders from 
 the head chief. The chief knew of the orgies which 
 had been going on in Hairy Bear's lodge, but as they 
 indulged in that sort of thing more or less frequently 
 he had no thought of anything serious coming of it. 
 Now he walked up to the raving Indians, proclaimed a 
 state of war, and ordered the old Crier to spread the 
 news and call a council. The first cry of the old man 
 brought the Head Soldier to the chief's side. Only a 
 few words were spoken, but there was instant obedience 
 on all sides. 
 
 Badger, the head chief, had kept himself pretty 
 well informed of the movements on the other side of 
 the river. He knew of the arrival of the troops and 
 the uproar among the whites, and had made up his 
 mind, to avoid war, it was better to leave that part of 
 the country and go far into the interior. He had in 
 tended to break camp and march in the morning. He 
 told the head men when in council that he had received 
 
84 
 
 the news from a runner that the soldiers were coming. 
 It was, therefore, necessary for them to go immediately, 
 to get out of their way, until he could be joined by 
 other bands and be able to fight them. Before mid 
 night the whole camp was on the march. 
 
 Little Meha lived with her uncle in her uncle's tent, 
 for her father was dead. Her mother lived in the same 
 tent also. Her uncle had no children, and but one 
 wife. He had lost all of his children and one of his 
 wives in the great small-pox epidemic. When the or 
 gies commenced in Hairy Bear's tent she listened. As 
 they increased she began to fear for the white wo 
 men, whose kind treatment of her had completely won 
 her heart. As the orgies increased in fervor, she was 
 certain that they would end in the death of the whites. 
 She went and told her uncle, and he went down near 
 the tent and listened. He was also convinced that 
 Hairy Bear's orgie had been gotten up on purpose, with 
 that end in view. But what could he do ? He could 
 do nothing. He told Meha they had all better go out 
 of the tent and leave them alone. He felt sorry for the 
 white people, but he could not help them. Hairy Bear 
 and his relations would kill him if he interfered. So 
 Meha's uncle, mother and aunt went off to another tent. 
 Meha looked into the tent and saw the sick girl sleep 
 ing, and the lovely and kind Mrs. Parkman sitting by 
 her side watching her. She sat down and cried. Then 
 she made a resolve to save them. 
 
 She went into the tent, her eyes full of tears, and 
 put her arms around the neck of Mrs. Parkman and 
 sobbed as if her heart would break. Then she com- 
 
85 
 
 mcnced to make signs. She got a knife, drew it across 
 her own throat, and made a motion as if to scalp her 
 self. She put her hand on her lips to indicate silence, 
 and started toward the tent door, and motioned to follow 
 her. 
 
 The whole truth flashed over Mrs. Parkman in a 
 moment. She did not faint ; she did not scream. She 
 walked across to the other side of the tent and awoke 
 her husband. She told him that the Indians intended 
 to murder them, and Meha had come to warn them. 
 The girl, who had greatly recuperated, was awakened, 
 and told that they must leave immediately. The calm 
 courage of Mrs. Parkman imparted itself in some de 
 gree to her. When they were ready to leave the tent, 
 Meha took a knife from her belt and cut some of the 
 tent fastenings on the back side, raised it up, and mo 
 tioned for them to go out that way. There was a heavy 
 growth of black jack and hazel brush coming up to the 
 tent. A narrow path led through this brush, over the 
 point and down into the Missouri river bottoms. Along 
 this path the Indian girl led the little party. One In 
 dian only saw their departure. He was a relative of 
 Hairy Bear. He was as savage-looking a human being 
 as could be found on all the plains. His face was al 
 ways daubed with paint. His tent was as dirty as a 
 pig-sty, and his wife was just like him. As Mr. Park 
 man walked along in the rear there was a moccasined 
 foot which kept time with his own, coming stealthily 
 after him. Meha caught a glimpse of the dark figure, 
 stopped, allowed them to pass her, and just as the hand 
 was raised, threw herself between the Indian and his 
 
86 
 
 intended victim. The knife cut a heavy gash across 
 the top of her shoulder, and the villain turned and fled. 
 
 Meha's uncle was one of the police. He saw this 
 Indian emerge from the brush and suspected what his 
 object had been. Hairy Bear's party were just mak 
 ing the raid on his own tent, and it was through this vil 
 lain that Meha's uncle came near losing his life. The 
 sudden order issued by the chief gave Meha's uncle 
 command over this Indian, and he sent him to the 
 mouth of the Platte with a message to the three lodges 
 camped there. 
 
 After this incident, the little party were led on as 
 fast as possible by Meha. There was another Indian 
 village up the river, inhabited by a kindred tribe, who 
 spoke the same language, had intermarried with this 
 one, but were entirely separate as a tribe. To this vil 
 lage Meha intended to take the white women. She did 
 not know where else to go. She was afraid to go to 
 the whites. They arrived at the village just at day 
 light, and found it in an uproar. The head men were 
 all in council. Major Hodson's command had marched 
 by in the night, not very far to the west of them. At 
 first, it was thought they were coming to attack them, 
 but after the command had passed on, they could 
 not decide what it meant. The council concluded they 
 would send a delegation to overtake the command and 
 inform the officer that they had had nothing to do 
 with the troubles which had occurred, and were anxi 
 ous for peace. In accordance with this conclusion, the 
 chief and head men started immediately. This tribe 
 
! A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 87 
 
 was rich in horses and cattle, had never been at war 
 with the whites, and earnestly desired to live in peace. 
 
 Mr. Parkman, his wife, the young lady and Meha, 
 were given a tent to themselves, and every honor paid 
 to them that the Indians could devise. Their best 
 blankets and robes were given to them, and much food 
 brought and placed before them. 
 
 Meha came into the tent, pulled her blanket up over 
 her head, placed her face in her hands and remained 
 perfectly motionless for a long time. At last Mrs. 
 Parkman went to her, and, to attract her attention, 
 raised her blanket, and saw the wound on Meha's 
 shoulder. Then she realized the heroism of the brave 
 girl, who had received the stab intended for her hus 
 band, and, though sorely wounded, had led them to a 
 place of safety. 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 
 
 ED IRON and his men, delegated to inter 
 view Major Hodson, started out, struck the 
 trail and followed on. After a few miles 
 they saw the Major's command returning. 
 They halted on a hill-top in plain view, and waved a 
 piece of white cloth. Then Red Iron went forward 
 with his interpreter. He told Major Hodson that he 
 was a friend of the whites and wanted to have a talk 
 
88 A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 
 
 with him. After some friendly words from Major 
 Hodson, he signaled for the rest of the delegation to 
 come forward. 
 
 A long council followed, during which Red Iron 
 made several set speeches. One was as follows : 
 
 " I have always been a friend of the whites. When 
 others counseled war, I would not agree to it. I cannot 
 fight the whites if I desired to. I have but few warriors. 
 The Great Father has so many no man can count 
 them. I will do anything the Great Father says. This 
 country is mine. I will give part of it to the whites, 
 if I can keep the remainder. My tribe has many horses 
 and cattle. "We can watch them, and live happy, and 
 at peace. We are ignorant, and the whites know, it 
 seems to me, almost everything. I am old and cannot 
 learn, but my children can learn, and I want them to 
 know the ways of the whites. These other Indians 
 have gone to war. They did not consult me about it. 
 They knew I would not agree to it. Other tribes will 
 join with them, and there will be a long war. The 
 war will be right in this country where I live, and I am 
 afraid that the soldiers will not know rny people from 
 them and kill them. Tell me what to do to have peace, 
 and I will do it. I have some warriors. I will give 
 you some to fight these bad Indians. I do not say that 
 the Indians are all wrong and the whites all right, but 
 I am very angry at them that they have gone to war. 
 There is a better way. The Great Father sent his 
 commissioners to me, and they said they wanted peace, 
 and I made a treaty with them. I said I would always 
 live in peace with the whites, and I will keep my 
 
A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 89 
 
 treaty. The commissioners said the Great Father would 
 send us presents twice each year, if I would give him 
 the part of my country which was on the other side of 
 the river. The presents have not come. But the Great 
 Father has many tilings to attend to. lie lias forgotten 
 it, but some day he will remember it and then he will 
 send them. My heart does not feel bad about it. If 
 my tribe can be at peace, I will do whatever you say. 
 One white man and two women were in Badger's 
 camp, and they tried to kill them. This has made me 
 very angry. An Indian woman "brought them to my 
 village and I have given them a tent and food. They 
 can live with us as long as they want to. If they want 
 to go back I will take them. 
 
 " My little children play around our tents. My young 
 women have glad hearts. The older women look at 
 them and laugh. My young men count their ponies 
 and find there is a great number. We are happy, and 
 I want to live in peace. When I die, let it be said that 
 lied Iron never raised his hand against a white man. If 
 I knew of anything I could do to make the whites 
 know I am their friend, I would do it. It is true that 
 some of my people have bad hearts, because the presents 
 have not come which the Great Father promised. But 
 none dare disobey me. After awhile the presents will 
 corne and then they will know that I was right. I 
 have come to ask you what I shall do to keep out of 
 this war." 
 
 Red Iron was tall, graceful and courtly in his bear 
 ing. He had a mild expression, and a personal 
 magnetism about him which won the confidence of all 
 
90 A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 
 
 with whom he came in contact. Major Hodson was 
 greatly impressed by his speech. He felt that every 
 word of it was the true sentiment of the old Indian's 
 heart. He shook him by the hand, and said : 
 
 " I believe you have spoken to me with no double 
 tongue. Your tribe shall not be molested if I can 
 prevent it. But this country here will be the theater 
 of the war, and many troops will be marching over it. 
 I think you had better move your tribe up on the 
 Elkhorn. You can live there, and be out of danger. I 
 am glad to hear that those white people are in your 
 camp. I thought they had either been killed or carried 
 off by Badger. I wish you would send them across 
 the river to Council Bluffs. You had better move up 
 on the Elkhorn river right away." 
 
 Red Iron made particular inquiries about just the 
 place on the Elkhorn that the Major desired him to go, 
 and the council broke up. The next morning he had 
 his whole tribe on the march for the spot designated, 
 and after they were located sent down and asked that 
 an officer be sent to see if he was in the right place. 
 
 Shortly after Red Iron left Major Hodson a courier 
 came with orders. A large body of troops had arrived, 
 the general commanding the department having for 
 warded all the troops he could spare from other points. 
 They were in command of Colonel Greene. Colonel 
 Greene was called upon immediately by Perkins and 
 several other " prominent citizens " (all contractors), and 
 all the information he had was their version of the 
 story. Perkins offered him the assistance of his 
 company of volunteers, which was declined. This set 
 
A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 91 
 
 the Governor, who had come in person, and all the 
 newspapers, to denouncing Colonel Greene. They were 
 unanimously of the opinion that one company of 
 western frontiersmen was worth more than a whole 
 regiment of regular cavalry in fighting Indians. The 
 orders which Major Hodson received instructed him to 
 press the fighting, and strike a decisive blow, if possible, 
 against Badger's band. So Major Hodson started to 
 reinforce Lieutenant Hinkle. 
 
 When Red Iron returned to his camp, he first set 
 himself about performing his promise to send the white 
 people over the river. He owned a spring wagon, 
 which among the Indians was a possession of which the 
 whole tribe was proud. He sent his interpreter to tell 
 them, and the interpreter brought back the astounding 
 information that they refused to go. Eed Iron could 
 not understand it, and it caused him the greatest anxiety. 
 If they were not returned to their friends it might get 
 him into trouble, so he went to them himself. He 
 said : 
 
 " My friends : It makes my heart feel good that 
 you like my people, and desire to live with us. If it 
 were not for this war I would make a big feast, and we 
 would all rejoice. But if you do not go the officer will 
 say I did not keep my word. I will give you five 
 ponies to take back, and when the war is over you can 
 come again and live with us always." 
 
 "We would be glad to go," said Mr. Parkman, " but 
 I cannot persuade my wife to leave this poor wounded 
 girl, who risked her own life to save mine." 
 
92 A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 
 
 Although this was correctly interpreted, Red Iron 
 was as much in the dark as ever. He replied : 
 
 " Why don't you tell her to go ? If I want my wife 
 to do anything, I tell her to do it, and she does it." 
 
 Mr. Parkmaii thought of the note he had written in 
 his memorandum-book about the degradation of women 
 among the heathen. But Red Iron was much more 
 astonished when Mrs. Parkman came up to him and 
 said, in her sweet and quiet way : 
 
 " Brother Red Iron " (the Methodists call everybody 
 brother or sister, and it becomes such a habit with 
 them they are not conscious half of the time that they do 
 it), " Brother Red Iron, God teaches us in his holy book 
 that we must do good to all men, and his Son, when he 
 was in the world, told a parable about a wounded man 
 who lay by the roadside, and many men passed by on 
 the other side of the way and did not help him. God 
 is angry with every one who does that way. Here is 
 this poor wounded girl. If I should go away and leave 
 her, God would be very angry with me. Please let me 
 stay and take care of her until she is well, and then we 
 will go. I won't make you any trouble at all." 
 
 This was something that Red Iron was not prepared 
 for. He replied : 
 
 " But I have received orders to move away from 
 here. We are to go two days' journey further away 
 from the whites." 
 
 " Where she goes I will go," said Mrs. Parkman, 
 " and her " She was unconsciously repeating Scripture, 
 but when she was about to say " her God shall be my 
 God " she hesitated, and thought, " is the God of the 
 
A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 93 
 
 Indian girl my God ?" " Yes, lie is," said she mentally, 
 and then she went on : 
 
 " Where she goes will I go, her God shall be my 
 God, and her people shall be my people. Do you 
 know, Red Iron, that one God made us all, and he 
 loves us all ? He wants us to live in peace, to do good 
 to one another, to love one another, and do you know 
 that he is preparing a place for us, and by and by, he 
 will take us all there. We shall live on the banks of a 
 beautiful river. No wicked men can ever come there. 
 There will nevermore be any sickness or death or 
 hunger or thirst. Our hearts will never be sad, for 
 God will wipe all the tears from our eyes. Won't 
 you promise to go to that beautiful place with me, Red 
 Iron?" 
 
 The beauty of her countenance, the earnestness of 
 her manner, the heavenly sweetness which came over 
 her face, sent a thrill through the old Indian's heart 
 which he had never felt before, although he had to 
 wait to hear it all interpreted sentence by sentence. 
 He replied : 
 
 " I would go, but I do not know the way there." 
 
 " Then let us stay and we will teach you the way," 
 she said. 
 
 " I will do anything you say," said Red Iron. 
 
 The weakness and gentleness of a delicate woman 
 . had conquered. Nothing would give Red Iron greater 
 pleasure than to obey her. She wielded a power stronger 
 than the dictates of councils, or officers, or commission 
 ers. He went to his tent and sat in silence for a long 
 time. He named her " Sunshine," and thought over 
 
94: A WOMAN'S CONQUEST. 
 
 and over all that she had said. After a while he went 
 back again, and stood hesitating at the door of the tent. 
 Mr. Parkman asked him to come in. When he had 
 seated himself and waited a due length of time, accord 
 ing to Indian etiquette, he asked Mr. Parkman if his 
 women and girls should learn this way, " would they 
 be like Sunshine ?" " How long would it take them to 
 learn?' " Was it very hard to learn it?" and many 
 other questions, to which it was very hard for Mr. 
 Parkman to find answers. Ked Iron finally concluded 
 that Mr. Parkman did not know as much as his wife 
 did. 
 
 Mrs. Parkman was writing on some of the blank 
 leaves of Mr. Parkman's memorandum book. When 
 she had finished she folded them np and gave them to 
 .Red Iron, and asked him if he would not send them 
 over to the town, saying it was a letter to tell the white 
 people where they were, and why they did not come 
 back. The chief then asked Mr. Parkman to write a 
 letter to the military officer there, and tell him why he 
 did not bring them back, which Mr. Parkman did. 
 The next morning they were placed in Red Iron's 
 spring wagon, and went with the tribe to the new loca 
 tion. 
 
HARVEST. 95 
 
 CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 THE CONTEACTOES' HAEVEST. 
 
 HE first thing Major Hod son did after his 
 arrival on the field which had been so 
 bitterly contested by brave Captain Hinkle 
 and his heroic handful of men, was to care 
 for the wounded and then bury the dead. The loss 
 was nineteen killed and mortally wounded and twelve 
 wounded, with a total loss of all the horses of the first 
 command. A scouting party of fifteen men were sent 
 on after the fleeing Indians. They followed the trail 
 for about twelve miles, when it broke in every direc 
 tion. The Indians had separated into small parties, 
 with the intention of meeting at some appointed 
 rendezvous. Major Hodson's horses were worn out, he 
 had but a day and one-half full rations left, and he was 
 nearly two hundred miles from his base of supplies. It 
 was absolutely necessary for him to return. When he 
 got back and the news of the battle and its results 
 became known, the military were furiously assaulted by 
 the Governor. The battle was called a cold-blooded 
 massacre, and a general cry was raised for the ex 
 termination of all the Indians in the south-west. Colonel 
 Greene was denounced as an incompetent, and a military 
 martinet, and his refusal to accept the services of 
 Perkins's company was set down as proof positive that 
 he was unfit for the position he occupied. Colonel 
 
96 
 
 Greene forwarded his formal official reports to his 
 commanding officer, but made no defense of his con 
 duct. He was an old officer, grown gray in the service 
 of his country, and he knew there was a long and 
 costly war on hand, and that it was not to be fought 
 out with newspaper articles or one company of militia. 
 He recommended the erection of a fortified fort on the 
 Little Blue, to be well provisioned and garrisoned. 
 From this as a base, expeditions could be made into 
 the heart of the Indian country, their villages de 
 stroyed, and the bands so harassed and punished as to 
 bring them into subjection. His recommendations 
 were adopted, and a fort was commenced and pushed 
 with all vigor, so as to be completed, provisioned and 
 garrisoned before winter. The site of the fort was two 
 hundred miles from the river, and all supplies had to 
 be hauled in wagons. 
 
 Now commenced the harvest the contractors had 
 been waiting for. Freight was let out by contract to 
 the lowest bidder. The contractors held a council and 
 an arrangement was made, so that, in fact, there was no 
 competition. The first bids were all rejected by the 
 quartermaster as too high. Then a howl went up from 
 the newspapers, the Governor, the friends of the con 
 tractors, the hundreds of men who were waiting for 
 jobs, such as teamsters, wagon-masters, etc., as was 
 never heard before. The fort would not be built in 
 time, the whole country would be over-run by Indians, 
 thousands of lives would be lost, and the settlement of 
 the country set back for a generation. A delegation 
 started for Washington immediately, to impress upon 
 
HARVEST. 97 
 
 the President the importance of removing Colcnel 
 Greene from the command. Bids were advertised for, 
 a second time. They were a shade less extortionate 
 than before, and as time was pressing they were ac 
 cepted. Then another delegation was started to Wash 
 ington to overhaul the first, and change the programme. 
 The contracts were let, and things were all right. Cav 
 alry company after company kept arriving. Corn, 
 which at the commencement of the trouble was worth 
 only ten cents a bushel, went up to a dollar. The Mis 
 souri river was lower than ever before (so the contrac 
 tors said), and it was almost impossible for the boats to 
 get up it at all, and contracts could not be made for 
 transportation for less than five times the amount asked 
 two months before. Business in Council Bluffs was 
 " booming." Everybody discussed Indians. They 
 were red devils. They were blood-thirsty beasts. 
 They cut out the hearts of their victims and ate them. 
 They ate the entrails of animals without cleaning them. 
 The " bucks," as they called them, did nothing but 
 roam over the country and hunt for scalps during the 
 day, and return home at night and beat their " squaws" 
 with war-clubs. They were so dirty that you could 
 smell one of their villages five miles. In fact, they 
 were not human, but a sort of wild beast, and there 
 was no more harm in killing one of them than in kill 
 ing a wolf and in all the cityf ull of people there was 
 not one to dissent to any of these statements. 
 
 It was four weeks before the expedition was ready 
 to start. It was composed of three regiments of cav 
 alry and one of infantry. A block-house had been built 
 . 5 
 
98 MEIIA DECEIVED. 
 
 at the mouth of the Elkhoni on some earthworks 
 thrown up. Two companies were stationed there. A 
 hospital, stables for the horses, barracks for the men, 
 and quarters for the officers, were built in a very short 
 time. The work was mostly done by the soldiers them 
 selves. In this hospital Lieutenant Blake and the others 
 wounded from the battle of the Little Blue were left. 
 No one not aequainted with such expeditions can im 
 agine what an enormous amount of freight must be 
 transported. The trains stretched out for miles over 
 the prairie. The progress must be extremely slow even 
 in a prairie country. Streams must be bridged, banks 
 in the deep " draws" must be cut down, and in some 
 places wells must be dug, from seventy-five to a hundred 
 feet deep, to furnish water at the end of each day's 
 march. The stopping places for other trains, which 
 are to come afterward, are all located as the command 
 proceeds. It was nearly a month after the command 
 started before the site for the fort was located and work 
 was commenced. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MEIIA DECEIVED. 
 
 the banks of the Elkhorn, with the endless 
 rolling prairie stretching to the west, and the 
 ever-advancing white settlements to the 
 east, Red Iron made his new location, in 
 accordance with the directions received from the officers. 
 
MEHA DECEIVED. 99 
 
 His tribe was rich, as riches are accounted among 
 Indians. They were at peace with the whites, and with 
 other Indian tribes. There was plenty of water and 
 grass and timber near at hand. Not far to the north 
 west were elk and deer and endless herds of buffalo. It 
 was time for the beginning of the fall hunt. Nearly 
 all of the active men and many of the women and chil 
 dren went on a hunt. The old and infirm, and enough 
 well and active to take care of the stock, remained be 
 hind. It was a gala day, and had been preceded with 
 games of all sorts and a big feast. There had been horse 
 races, foot races, wrestling matches, " shinny," and all 
 sorts of fun. The whole tribe was happy, and the families 
 parted, doing all sorts of foolish things for " good luck," 
 some to go on the hunt and some to stay at home. 
 
 Meha's wound had healed, and she was bright and 
 happy. Mrs. Parkman had won her heart. When it 
 was proposed that the three white people should go 
 back to Council Bluffs, not only Meha, but many 
 others, shed bitter tears. They were given many 
 presents, and the thought of parting with them cast a 
 gloom over all the village. Meha refused to be com 
 forted. At last Mrs. Parkman, moved by Meha's deep 
 grief, proposed that she go with them and stay until 
 spring. Mr. Parkman was very anxious to devote his 
 life to work among the Indians, but he must wait for 
 the church authorities to sanction it. He thought, if 
 Meha would go with them, he could learn the language 
 from her. She had already learned a great many 
 English words from Mrs. Parkman, and pronounced 
 them all perfectly correctly. So Meha went with 
 
100 MEIIA. DECEIVED. 
 
 them. They went down the Elkhorn to the block 
 house and stopped there over night. 
 
 Lieutenant Blake was still suffering from his wound, 
 and was not able to walk. Besides him there were 
 many others wounded, and some sick in the hospital. 
 A great pressure was brought to bear upon Mr. Park- 
 man to remain there, and he finally got permission of 
 his presiding elder to do so. 
 
 Lieutenant Blake's long confinement had made him 
 morose and melancholy, and to keep up his spirits he 
 had drank, pretty regularly, more than the Government 
 ration of whisky. He was not the man he was six 
 months before. He needed an attendant, and when he 
 saw Meha he thought it would be a good thing to se 
 cure her services for himself and another officer who 
 was just recovering from a long siege of typhoid fever. 
 Meha came ; she watched with them by day, and stayed 
 with Mrs. Parkman at night. Lieutenant Blake 
 amused himself with her a great deal. At first she was 
 too bashful to talk, but little by little it wore off. He 
 pretended to learn the Indian language from her, and 
 she really tried to learn English from him. Then 
 he taught her to play games, backgammon, check 
 ers and cards. Sometimes when her hand lay careless 
 ly upon the board he would take hold of it. He was 
 amused to see the hot blood rush to her cheeks, and 
 show even through her brown skin. 
 
 There is a wondrous mystery in a woman's heart, 
 which no science has fathomed. And this is as true of 
 the Indian girl on the plains as of the educated and re 
 fined daughter of the eastern merchant prince. Little 
 
MEHA DECEIVED. 101 
 
 Meha stood in awe of Lieutenant Blake at first. He 
 was the wondrous white chief, the bold and gallant war 
 rior, so far away and above her that she could only look 
 on him and admire. Then, as in e very-day life she 
 came in closer contact with him, learned to speak his lan 
 guage, and he grew to take more and more notice of her, 
 strange thoughts came into her mind. She tried harder 
 than ever to be like the white women. She put up her 
 hair ; she took off the large brass rings which she had 
 worn, and dressed as near as she could like Mrs. Park- 
 man. The metamorphosis in her personal appearance 
 was wonderful. She was now a shy, bashful, very dark 
 brunette, with the natural dignity and grace of her peo 
 ple. 
 
 One day Lieutenant Blake received orders to join 
 his company. He sent for Meha and told her he was 
 going away, and said to her, " I have no wife, would 
 you like to go with me and be my wife ?" 
 
 She said, in broken English, she would go and tell 
 Mrs. Parkman. Her father was dead and her mother 
 was with Badger's band, she had no brother or sister, 
 and she had no one else to tell. That was her home, 
 and he must come there and get her. Then she would 
 go with him. 
 
 The Lieutenant replied, that the ambulance in 
 which he was to go was ready. He had said good 
 bye to Mr. and Mrs. Parkman and all the officers. If 
 she was to be his wife, she must get in the ambulance 
 and go then. He was going through a big town, and 
 he would buy her a great many nice dresses and every 
 thing she wanted. He would always be good to her. 
 
102 A BIDE FOR LIFE. 
 
 By and by, after the war was over, he would try to 
 find her mother and she should come and live with 
 them. He put his arm around her and kissed her. 
 They walked toward the door, and and Meha got in 
 the ambulance with him and rode away. 
 
 After they had started Meha looked up to Lieutenant 
 Blake and said : 
 
 " Is this the way the white people do ? Is this the 
 way they marry ?" 
 
 "They have a great many different forms," said 
 Lieutenant Blake, " and I suppose this is as good as any." 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 A EIDE FOR LIFE. 
 
 ORAGE for twenty-five hundred horses, 
 rations for three thousand three hundred 
 men, for six months. What an enormous 
 quantity it takes! Besides this, supplies 
 for fifteen hundred civilians, wagon-masters, teamsters 
 and hangers-on. It soon took all the products of the 
 farmers in that sparsely-settled country, for a hundred 
 miles around. Corn and pork and beef, for which there 
 was before no market at all, brought prices far above 
 what the produce could have been sold for, after 
 transportation to New York. There was not a human 
 being in a radius of one hundred and fifty miles who 
 was not directly interested in that Indian war. On 
 
A RIDE FOB LIFE. 103 
 
 this self-interest the hatred of the Indian race was fed, 
 until it became second nature. It was instilled into 
 the children, and fair young girls gave utterance to 
 sentiments concerning them that, under other circum 
 stances, would be thought a disgrace to Feejee islanders. 
 All the horse thieves and robbers in that section of 
 the country congregated in proximity to the scene of 
 war. Around Council Bluffs, to the south and east and 
 north of it, a great many horses were stolen. It was 
 all accounted to be done by the Indians. Red Iron's 
 tribe were the ones who were doing it, without doubt, 
 was the accepted theory, and they must be punished. 
 The matter was laid before the military officers ; they 
 made a thorough investigation, and ascertained beyond 
 the possibility of a mistake that the old chief and his 
 men were sacredly keeping their compact of peace. 
 Then the military were denounced again. They were 
 harboring savages almost in the very midst of the inno 
 cent and unprotected settlers, who might at any 
 moment, scalp, burn, and murder without let or hinder- 
 ance. It was not in human nature to endure it, and it 
 would not be endured, was the substance of the whole 
 discussion of the subject. 
 
 Red Iron's band of women and children, the old and 
 infirm, were quietly sleeping in their tents beneath the 
 still star-light. The old men dreamed of the happy 
 days that were gone, and the young of the happy 
 days to come. Mothers unconsciously hugged their 
 babes to their bosoms. Not a breath of air was 
 moving. The bright stars twinkled above the silent 
 camp. A hundred armed white men crept up through 
 
104 A HIDE FOK LIFE. 
 
 the timber. There were no sentinels to give warning, 
 for they slept in perfect confidence in the white 
 man's word. There was a sudden volley and leaden 
 missiles pierced every tent. Then into the tents they 
 rushed. Mother and babe, young men and maidens, 
 old men and little children, alike were soon writhing 
 in the agony of death, before the smoking revolvers. 
 No resistance was made and not one was spared. Many 
 of them were scalped and their scalps tied to the horses' 
 bridle bits. All their little store of wealth was taken 
 and all their ponies. The bodies were left where they 
 were slain, to be food for the wolves. Perkins led his 
 gallant band of brave men back, after his " glorious 
 victory," and received the plaudits of the whole coun 
 try round about. It is true that the people believed 
 these Indians to be guilty, and the men who w r on the 
 " victory " never gave the details. They said they had 
 " surprised an Indian village and destroyed it." 
 
 There was one man who was not satisfied with the ac 
 count given by Perkins, and that was the lawyer, Wil- 
 mot. A keen and sharp thinker, a close reasoner and a 
 good judge of men, he was not to be deceived by such 
 an improbable tale, that a whole Indian village could be 
 attacked, captured and sacked without the loss of a 
 man. It would not have been safe for him to say so in 
 public, and Wilmot, being a prudent man, did not ex 
 press any opinion on the subject. He resolved to ride 
 over to the block-house, and see what the officer in com 
 mand there thought about Perkins's "victory." 
 
 Arriving there, he found that the military had heard 
 nothing about the matter, but the officer said instantly : 
 
A RIDE FOR LIFE. 105 
 
 <; I know what he has done. Ked Iron and his able men 
 are all on a hunt, and Perkins has crept up on a band 
 of helpless old men, women and children, and murdered 
 them in cold blood. It is nothing but murder, sir, 
 cold-blooded murder; a crime which would be a disgrace 
 to savages, and which will bring retribution upon us all. 
 Red Iron had offered to help me defend this post, and 
 the Colonel had relied on his aid in case we were at 
 tacked. I haven't a dozen fighting men here, having 
 sent a heavy guard with the last train. If I had the 
 power I would court-martial Perkins and his band of 
 assassins, take them out and send for Red Iron to come 
 and shoot them dead in their tracks. That is what jus 
 tice demands, and that is what I would do if I could. I 
 ought to have the power to do it. In any other coun 
 try an officer set to guard a frontier would have some 
 authority ; but this infernal Indian system of ours is a 
 mass of contradictions. It isn't war we are engaged in 
 at all. It is a sort of murdering, marauding, banditti 
 affair, in which every man can take a hand to suit him 
 self." Here the officer used some adjectives concern 
 ing Perkins which were more emphatic than polite, 
 
 " Excuse my ' French,' " he said, " but Perkins has 
 not only murdered a band of Indian women and chil 
 dren, but he has murdered all at this post, in all likeli 
 hood. As soon as this massacre spreads abroad, all these 
 Indians to the north-west will be down upon us. Red 
 Iron and his warriors will be turned from friends to 
 fiends, thirsting for vengeance, to lead them on." 
 
 Here some more " French " was resorted to in giv 
 ing a second opinion of Perkins, which, however, did 
 5* 
 
106 A EIDE FOE LIFE. 
 
 not differ much from the one before expressed, and tlje 
 officer walked away and commenced to prepare imme 
 diately for a vigorous defense. 
 
 Captain Belfor got an ambulance, put four of the 
 best horses to it, told Mr. and Mrs. Parkman, Lawyer 
 Wilmot and the young lady to get in, and get across 
 the river to Council Bluffs as soon as possible, for there 
 was no telling what minute the post might be attacked 
 by the Indians, and in that case it was no place for wo 
 men or civilians. On going to the ambulance, Mr. Wil 
 mot was introduced to Miss Jennie Walker. The driver 
 was told to get the best time out of those horses there 
 was in them. They dashed out of the post and over 
 the prairie on a keen run. Half the distance had been 
 made when, on looking back, they saw riding after 
 them a hundred savages, naked, except breech-cloth and 
 moccasins, daubed with paint and furious with rage. 
 The driver plied his whip, the foam-covered horses sped 
 onward, the wheels spun around like tops. In crossing 
 a draw the right front wheel struck a bank, and was 
 knocked into splinters. The front of the box dragged 
 on the ground. Wilmot sprang out, and called out, 
 " Cut loose the horses." In less than a minute they 
 were free from the ambulance, and the driver mounted 
 one and ran away. Wilmot held two of the horses by 
 the bits, and Mr. Parkman the other. 
 
 " Put your wife on this horse," said Wilmot to Mr. 
 Parkman, and in a moment she was on its back. The 
 two men then mounted the other two horses. Miss 
 Walker was running down the road, wild with fright. 
 As Wilmot came along by her side he checked his 
 
A EIDE FOR LIFE. 107 
 
 liorse, and, stooping, took her by the arms, close to the 
 shoulders, and said "jump," and she was seated in 
 front of him on his horse. This accident had allowed 
 the Indians to come almost within rifle range. Indeed, 
 a few shots were fired. The American horses on 
 which the party was mounted out-ran the Indians' 
 ponies, and gradually the gap between them was 
 widened. Two or three miles from the river they came 
 upon the first settlements. They could only ^y out to 
 them "The Indians are coming," and press onward. 
 They reached the ferry in safety. Mrs. Parkman 
 alighted from her horse and stood on the deck erect, 
 calm and dignified. Poor Miss Walker had long lain 
 limp in Wilmot's arms, perfectly unconscious. A 
 blanket was spread out on the deck of the boat, and 
 she was laid upon it. 
 
 Mrs. Parkman approached Wilmot, and said : 
 
 " Cannot something be done to aid the settlers on 
 the west side of the river 2" 
 
 " I am afraid it is too late," he said, sadly. 
 
 Great excitement was occasioned in town upon 
 their arrival. Wilmot sought out Perkins and plead 
 with him to take his company of volunteers, and cross 
 the river for the protection of settlers and succor of 
 Captain Belfor. Perkins was suddenly taken sick, and 
 not <-a man of all his heroes could be mustered, now 
 that there was actual fighting to be done. It was 
 proved afterwards that Perkins took nearly a teaspoon- 
 ful of ipecacuanha and half a box of pills. 
 
 Wilmot could not drive away from his mind the 
 wild and terrified look of the women and little children 
 
108 A EIDE FOR LIFE. 
 
 he saw by the road as lie was dashing along. He 
 sometimes cursed himself for a coward, that lie did not 
 stop, although lie knew it would have only been certain 
 death to do so, not only to himself but to them also. 
 
 That night there was a public meeting held, and 
 Wilrnot addressed them as follows : 
 
 " Fellows-citizens : Affairs have arrived at a crisis, 
 which requires the wisest and most prudent action on 
 the part of the citizens of this part of the country. I 
 cannot now discuss, or I may at some future time, the 
 causes which have brought this state of affairs about. 
 The question for us to decide to-night is : What will we 
 do to save the lives of. hundreds of innocent settlers, 
 men, women and little children, to whose homes is to 
 night laid the torch, and over whose heads is circling 
 the scalping-knife of the savage. The men who have 
 brought this calamity upon us have fled like cowards. 
 Now you, who have wives and children, who have had 
 no part in what has passed, must take the direction of 
 affairs and meet the Indians upon the field and drive 
 them back. This will be no raid, under the cover of 
 night, upon helpless women and children, but it is war, 
 war to the knife and the knife to the hilt. The sky to 
 the west is red. You know what that means. It is 
 from the flames of burning cabins of settlers. The 
 men a:;.d children have been murdered and scalped, and 
 the women carried off prisoners to a fate worse than 
 death, and that will be our fate and the fate of our 
 wives and children, unless we prepare to fight. There 
 is no other recourse now. I " 
 
 A grave old gentleman interrupted him. 
 
A BIDE FOE LIFE. 109 
 
 " I have," said lie, " just received a note from the 
 Governor, in which he says that as soon as the official 
 papers can be made out, a call will be made for the for 
 mation of several companies of militia, and if this meet 
 ing can take any action to-night about organizing, it 
 will be so much time gained." 
 
 Wilmot took from his pocket a sheet of legal cap 
 paper, at the head of which was written a few lines. 
 
 " This is not a resolution," said he, " it is an agree 
 ment of enlistment in the militia for one year. I enlist 
 as a private," and put down his name. 
 
 One could not help noticing the difference in this 
 meeting and the first one that was held in regard to the 
 Indian troubles. There were no drunken men there, 
 and no bummers. It was composed of the best citizens 
 of the place and neighborhood. The men who put 
 their names down on that paper were men with fami 
 lies, men who had some property, and men who be 
 longed to churches, owned stores, supported schools, and 
 formed the solid framework of society. The next 
 morning, when they went to the rendezvous appointed, 
 to elect officers, the most of them left weeping wives 
 and children behind. 
 
110 ON THE WAR-PATH. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ON THE WAR-PATH. 
 
 ITIIIN twenty-four hours after Bed Iron's 
 v/omen and children had been slaughtered 
 by Perkins's tribe of white savages, the 
 hunting party returned, rejoicing at the 
 successful result. They came down the Elkhorn, 
 through the timber, and saw nothing of the awful 
 tragedy until they stood on the very spot. There the 
 bodies, mangled by the wolves, laid before them. Red 
 Iron was speechless. He had always been the friend of 
 the whites, and there had always been a large party in 
 his tribe who had derided and opposed him. He sat 
 down, drew his blanket over his head, and moved not a 
 muscle nor uttered a single sound. He was wifeless 
 and childless. Perfect, absolute despair seized him. 
 The others burst out in the wildest howls and groans, 
 the nature of which it is perfectly impossible to describe. 
 This soon gave way to rage and ferocity. The Head Sol 
 dier proclaimed war, and orders were soon issued which 
 secured perfect quiet. Still Red Iron said not a word. 
 The chiefs and head men gathered around him. The 
 leader of the opposition upbraided him, and applied 
 every vile epithet which the language contained to him. 
 He was called a dog and a coward. He had better put 
 on a woman's dress, aud a hundred other things of like 
 nature. The Indian who spoke trembled with rage. 
 
ON THE WAR-PATH. Ill 
 
 Red Iron's particular friends were silent. They could 
 not say a word in his defense. 
 
 At last Red Iron spoke : 
 
 " Why do you denounce me ? Have I not suffered 
 as much as all of you ? Are not my wives and my 
 children all dead ? Do I not see their mangled bodies 
 before me ? What tribe was happier than mine up to 
 the present time ? Have you not been rich while 
 others were poor ? Has not my advice always been 
 good ? Am I to blame for this ? Is there one of you 
 who advised me not to come here ? Did you not all 
 rejoice when I made peace with the white officer? 
 Stand back and obey my orders, or I will kill every one 
 of you. When the time comes to tight w T e will see who 
 will be brave. There has been some mistake. I don't 
 believe the white officers have done this, knowing it to 
 be Red Iron's tribe. I will send first and see. Then, 
 if they have, I will hunt the whites and kill them as I 
 would kill snakes." 
 
 The proposition to send a delegation before going 
 to war raised an instant rebellion. Most of Red Iron's 
 friends walked away from his side and joined the other 
 party, and after consulting together they delegated the 
 Head Soldier to speak their sentiments. He said, 
 " Red Iron, you are our chief. The white people have 
 come and murdered our wives and children without 
 cause. You are not our friend if you refuse to avenge 
 this wrong. If you will lead us to war it is well, we 
 will follow you. If not, we will have a chief who is 
 not a friend to murderers and who will avenge our 
 wrongs." 
 
112 TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 
 
 Red Iron knew what this meant. If he did 'not 
 lead them to war they would kill him. Why should 
 he die for those who had killed his wives and children ? 
 
 He was too dignified to make any reply, but he 
 commenced giving orders to the Head Soldier as if 
 nothing of the kind had been spoken. An hour after 
 ward Red Iron and his whole tribe were on the war 
 path. He made terrible work of it on the west side of 
 the river. Men, women and children were mercilessly 
 slaughtered and scalped. Twenty families, together 
 numbering more than one hundred persons, were bleed 
 ing and mangled corpses before the sun went down that 
 night. About the dawn of day the next morning they 
 assaulted the block-house, but Captain Belfor held them 
 at bay for over two hours, when they beat a retreat, 
 and started with their bloody trophies toward the north 
 west, taking with them the few women and children 
 who went on the hunt with them and thus escaped the 
 Perkins massacre. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TOTALLY DEPKAVED. 
 
 T took but an hour to elect the officers of the 
 militia company. Wilmot received his 
 commission from the hand of the Governor 
 as Captain. Before starting he rode over to 
 
 Mr. Parkman's to bid them good-bye. 
 
TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 113 
 
 " I am glad you are going," said Miss Walker. " I 
 liope you will kill every one of them." 
 
 " Do you want me to kill the women and children ?" 
 asked Wilmot. 
 
 "What is the use of their living?" she replied. 
 "They will only raise more warriors to scalp white 
 people. The sooner they are all dead the better." 
 
 " Those are very harsh sentiments for a young lady," 
 said Wilmot, with considerable bitterness in his tone. 
 
 " If you had seen poor little children shot, who had 
 never done them any harm, as I did in the stage-coach, 
 you would not like Indians any better than I do." 
 
 " Did not an Indian save your life ?" 
 
 " Suppose he did ?" 
 
 " Do you want to see that Indian killed ?" 
 
 " Yes, I do. I have no doubt that he was the one 
 who tried to stab Mr. Parkman because he was taking 
 me away." 
 
 " Do you want me to kill Meha ?" 
 
 " She had better be dead than leading the life she is." 
 
 Mr. Wilmot was getting angry. He had no idea 
 that the fair-haired girl whom he had held in his arms 
 during that long and fearful ride would entertain, much 
 less express, such sentiments. He replied : 
 
 " I don't think there is much difference in human 
 nature, whether it be red or white. I suppose that is 
 about the way the young Indian women talk to the 
 warriors as they start on the war-path." 
 
 "Do you mean to compare me to a squaw?" she 
 said, and her eyes flashed with indignation and rage. 
 
 Mr. Wilmot smiled. He was just as angry as she 
 
114: TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 
 
 was, but he was a trained lawyer, and did not allow his 
 feelings to be reflected in his face. 
 
 " You should not apply a general remark to a par 
 ticular case. I did not intend to speak offensively," he 
 said. " You know it is natural for a man to phil 
 osophize." 
 
 " Well, if you aren't going to kill Indians what are 
 you starting out on this expedition for ?" she asked. 
 
 "I expect to engage in honorable war, not in 
 slaughtering women and children. If you admire men 
 who engage in that sort of thing, I advise you to make 
 the acquaintance of that heroic gentleman, Captain 
 Perkins." 
 
 Mr. Wilmot had risen to his feet, as he finished 
 speaking he bowed and walked out of the room. He 
 was, as he afterward expressed it, " mad all over." 
 He had expected a very pleasant interview with Miss 
 "Walker. He thought that because of the timidity she 
 had manifested in danger, that when she knew that he 
 was going forth to fight the Indians, she would express 
 fears for his safety, and in all probability would 
 endeavor to persuade him not to go, and he had found 
 her the very opposite of what he expected. He was 
 interested in her. To tell the truth, he thought it was 
 much more like what a woman ought to do, to faint 
 away in his arms perfectly helpless, than to sit on a 
 horse in perfect steadiness, and ride ten miles at a 
 breakneck speed, like Mrs. Parkman, when a band 
 of howling savages were after their scalps. 
 
 After Mr. Wilmot left, Miss Walker went to a 
 window and sat looking out on the prairie for a long 
 
TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 115 
 
 time. She thought she had been very ungrateful to 
 Mr. Wilmot. He had saved her life, and yet the first 
 time he had called on her afterward she had quarreled 
 with him. She said to herself, " I am a coward. Every 
 time I am in danger I faint away ; and, like all cowards, 
 when I am out of danger I am talking about killing peo 
 ple as if it amounted to nothing. Now Mrs. Parkman 
 never talks that way, and when she is in danger she don't 
 faint away. She is as brave and cool as a man. I am 
 very, very sorry that I talked to Mr. Wilmot that way. 
 He must think I am a dreadful creature." Then the 
 tears began to trickle down her cheeks, and she resolved 
 she would write a letter to him, and apologize. But 
 how would he get it ? He was going off into the Indian 
 country, where there were no stage-coaches or post- 
 offices. She would put it in the post-office at Council 
 Bluffs, and write on the envelope, " Please forward." 
 This was the letter : 
 
 " DEAR MR. WILMOT : 
 
 "I am afraid you will think I am worse than a 
 savage. I am very sorry for the way I talked to you. 
 I don't know what made me do it. I know I am very, 
 very grateful to you for saving my life, and that you 
 expressed only such sentiments as a brave man would. 
 I don't know how to write to you about it, but when 
 you come back I hope to see you, and then I will tell 
 you. I do hope that you will not get hurt, and soon 
 come back, so that I can apologize. 
 " Very truly, 
 
 "JENNIE WALKEK" 
 
116 TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 
 
 Mr. Wilmot got his company across the river as soon 
 as possible. He gave orders in a stern and severe tone. 
 There was a clouded look on his face, and an irritable 
 manner, which was entirely foreign to his usual habits. 
 The officers and men thought how the elevation to of 
 fice had affected him. No one would have believed he 
 would have denied it himself that all this change had 
 come over him because of words spoken to him by a 
 young lady. Yet such was the case. He could not 
 drive her out of his mind. As he rode up over the hills 
 on the west side of the river he thought less of the In 
 dians than he did of Jennie Walker. 
 
 Coming upon the rains of burned cabins and the 
 bodies of the dead soon drove all thoughts of her out of 
 his mind. A hasty glance was all he gave to these, and 
 pressed on to the relief of Captain Belfor. But the 
 Indians had fled before he arrived there. 
 
 Soon after this Perkins called upon Miss Walker. He 
 brought word from her father, who was a trader among 
 the Indians far to the north. He had written to Jennie 
 to come to Council Bluffs, and expected to meet her 
 there in June ; but he had got into a new speculation, 
 and would not come down the river until the next year, 
 when he would bring an immense quantity of furs. He 
 sent a large check on a bank in New York to pay her 
 expenses until he should come. Perkins offered to get 
 the check cashed for her. She was about to employ 
 him to do the business when she thought that Mr. Wil- 
 mot was a lawyer, and when he returned she could go 
 to him with perfect propriety on business, and then 
 would have an opportunity to speak to him. So she 
 
TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 117 
 
 declined Mr. Perkins's offer, saying she had no need of 
 money just at present, and would rather have the check. 
 
 " I am surprised," said Perkins, " to see you looking 
 so fresh and rosy after the terrible sufferings you have 
 endured among the Indians." 
 
 "Oh! I was treated in a splendid way by them. 
 They were just as kind as they could be, and gave me 
 the best they had." 
 
 "I suppose that the chief had promised you to 
 some of his young men for a wife is the reason they 
 treated you so well." 
 
 "No, I don't think so, for they seemed to think 
 even more of Mrs. Parkman, and treated her just as 
 kindly as they did me. Many of the women cried 
 when we came away, and the chief offered us presents 
 of horses. I think they are very nice, kind people when 
 they are at peace." 
 
 " But they will go to war," said Perkins. " Every 
 one of them lives in hopes of that all the time, and 
 when they are making the greatest pretensions of 
 friendship is the very time they are plotting murder. 
 There was never an Indian who was not treacherous. 
 What cause had they to assault the stage-coach ?" 
 
 " I was told," replied Jennie, " that some white 
 man was down there and cheated them gambling. I 
 think that gambler was more responsible for the 
 murder of the people in the stage-coach than the Indians 
 were." 
 
 " That is one of their lies," said Perkins. " Nothing 
 is more true than what one of our United States 
 
118 TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 
 
 Senators recently said, that they can outlie a minister 
 plenipotentiary." 
 
 " If that is so, why do you blame Indians for doing 
 the same thing that the minister of the great civilized 
 states are proud of ?" 
 
 " Yes, but when civilized nations make a treaty of 
 peace, they don't go to plotting murder under cover 
 of it." 
 
 " I heard Mr. Parkman say that General Harney 
 swore before a committee at Washington that he never 
 knew an Indian tribe to be the first to break a treaty," 
 said Jennie, " and thought the wars were caused by bad 
 white men." 
 
 " The officers at the post have been filling your 
 head with nonsense," said Perkins. " They are a hard 
 lot. The only titled aristocracy we have in this country. 
 They have done more to demoralize and degrade the 
 Indians than all other things put together. About half 
 of them have Indian wives. Look at Lieutenant 
 Blake." 
 
 Mrs. Parkman replied to this. " I know," said she, 
 " that Captain Belf or and many other of the officers 
 denounced Lieutenant Blake. They said that he would 
 be denied social recognition by other officers wherever he 
 went. They looked upon it as a disgrace to the army, 
 and were greatly mortified." 
 
 "Well, the Indians are a dirty, degraded, treacher 
 ous, fiendish set of blood-thirsty savages, and no one 
 who knows anything about them will say anything 
 else," said Perkins. 
 
 "And the gamblers who cheat them, the agents 
 
TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 119 
 
 who rob them, and the cowards who kill their women 
 and children are worse," said Jennie. 
 
 Both of them were getting somewhat warm over 
 the subject, and Mrs. Parkman changed the conversa 
 tion to a discussion of the weather. After Perkins 
 had gone, Jennie said to herself, " Why couldn't I have 
 talked that way to Mr. "Wilmot ? I suppose it is be 
 cause I am totally depraved. Mr. Parkman says that 
 everybody is totally depraved until they are converted, 
 and I am sure I am, or I should never have acted so. 
 I do hope he will come back soon. I'm sure I want 
 him to think w r ell of me." 
 
 Miss Walker had two admirers, and she had quarreled 
 with both of them during their first call upon her. 
 
 However, it was only a day or two before Perkins 
 called again. He drove up in a buggy, to which were 
 attached a magnificent pair of bays, and asked her to 
 take a ride. The day was beautiful, and Jennie went 
 with him. Prairie roads are as smooth as a floor, and a 
 carriage rolls along without a jar. As the horses sped 
 away the bracing, pure air acted like a stimulant and 
 soon put Jennie in the best of spirits. Perkins did 
 his best to be entertaining and pleasant. He told her 
 of his intimacy with her father, of their hunts and 
 perils together, and dilated upon what a fine man he 
 was. Then he talked of her mother, who had died 
 when Jennie was a little girl. It was because of her 
 mother's death that her father had come West. He 
 could not remain where the old scenes constantly re 
 minded him of her, and how for the last two years he 
 had been longing to see his daughter. He knew, he 
 
120 TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 
 
 said, that it was something far out of the common run 
 of business that had kept him for another year in the 
 fur regions of the north. But when he came he would 
 be independently rich. Not a word was said about 
 Indians, and when they returned after a two hours' 
 drive, Perkins was satisfied he had made a very favor 
 able impression upon her. From that time, Perkins 
 was a frequent visitor at Mr. Parkrnan's, and the buggy 
 rides in the afternoon were almost a daily occurrence. 
 It became the common talk of the town that Perkins 
 and Miss Walker were engaged. 
 
 One day Perkins informed Jennie that he was 
 going away for a short time. He had got a contract to 
 cut hay out at the new fort, on the Little Blue. He 
 would be gone about two weeks. He tried in every 
 way to get some expression of regret from her, concern 
 ing his proposed absence, but did not succeed. 
 
 The next day after Perkins left, Mr. Parkman was 
 astonished to see Captain Jack walk in. " I've come," 
 said he, " to bid you good-bye. I don't suppose you 
 will ever see me agin. I've resigned my place as 
 scout. I reckon a good many hard things will be said 
 agin me when I am gone, but I wanted you and Mrs. 
 Parkman to think well of me. I don't care about the 
 rest. I can't stand this fighting old Red Iron. I've 
 lived in his tent many a month, and he allers give me 
 the best he had. There's no better man on earth than 
 old Red Iron. I knowed his wife and children. When I 
 heard that they had all been murdered, I just give up. 
 Think of it ! That old man hasn't a child nor a wife 
 left, and he thought as much of them as any white man 
 
TOTALLY DEPRAVED. 121 
 
 ever did. How mncli lie used to play with Minnie- 
 chuck. She was about twelve year old, and as good a 
 girl as ever lived. I won't fight old Red Iron. I am 
 going out to find him and I will stand by him to the 
 end. The time is coming, of course, when he will 
 have to give in, 'cause a few Injuns can't fight this 
 Government more'n a year or two, and then he will need 
 somebody who knows the ways of those white devils to 
 help him." 
 
 " Did you see Mr. Wilmot ?" asked Jennie. 
 
 " Yes, I seed him, and he looked sort of down-cast 
 and heart-broken, not like himself at all. He was 
 guarding a train through. He didn't say so, but I know 
 he hain't got no heart in this war at all." 
 
 " You did not come all the way here to say good 
 bye to us," said Mrs. Parkman. " Now tell us, Jack, 
 what else brought you here ?" 
 
 " Well, I kind a thought it would be pleasant to 
 have an interview with Perkins," said Jack, " so I 
 could tell Red Iron that I had seen him, you know." 
 
 " Oh ! Jack !" said Mrs. Parkman, who fully under 
 stood the meaning of Jack's significant sentence, but 
 Jennie did not understand it at all. 
 
 " I am sorry," she said, " but Mr. Perkins went 
 away yesterday. I know he would have been delighted 
 to have met you, for I have heard him speak of you, 
 and you both have been great Indian fighters." 
 
 " When did he fight Injuns ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Oh ! up north, and he led the men who captured 
 and destroyed a hostile Indian camp not long ago. He 
 told me all about what a terrible fight they had. He 
 6 
 
122 TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. 
 
 was very sorry about Ked Iron's band, but he had 
 nothing to do with that, although some of the men in 
 his company did." 
 
 " He told ye that, did he ?" said Jack. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And you believed it ?" 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " He is the very man who murdered, in cold blood, 
 Red Iron's helpless women and children." 
 
 " Oh, the monster !" said Jennie. " I will never 
 speak to him again." 
 
 There were tears in Jack's eyes when he shook 
 hands with them. 
 
 "I ain't going to fight agin my own color and 
 flesh and blood," he said, " but I'm going to find Ked 
 Iron, and help him all I can," and he went away. 
 
 CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. 
 
 ED IRON'S successful raid on the settlements 
 brought about another great outcry against 
 the military. Colonel Greene was denoun 
 ced in the papers as utterly incompetent to 
 manage the campaign, and a great pressure was brought 
 to bear upon the President to remove him. Colonel 
 Greene made no defense (regular army officers never 
 
TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. 123 
 
 do), against such assaults. He forwarded liis regular 
 official reports, which gave a truthful and minute ac 
 count of what was transpiring. He was pushing for 
 ward the construction of the fort with all the force he 
 had at hand, and making ready for a vigorous winter 
 campaign, when Perkins arrived on the spot with his 
 contract to cut several thousand tons of hay. The con 
 tract specified that the Government would reimburse 
 him for all losses from the Indians. Perkins carried 
 with him three or four old mowing-machines, all but 
 one being totally worn-out and unfit for use. He had, 
 perhaps, a dozen broken-down old horses, so poor, that 
 it was a hard matter to get them through to the fort 
 alive. With this outfit, he went about five miles from 
 the fort and camped, where the tall grass was of 
 the kind from which prairie hay is made. A few 
 swaths were cut before sundown, and the men retired 
 to their tents for the night. About midnight, Perkins 
 arose, went out, fired several shots from his revolver, 
 and cried at the top of his voice, " Injuns, Injuns." 
 The men all ran away. 
 
 Perkins put in a claim for twenty-five thousand dol 
 lars for losses incurred by a raid from the Indians. It 
 was rejected by the quartermaster, for it was positively 
 proved first, that he did not have over five hundred 
 dollars' worth of property on the ground, and second, 
 that no Indians had disturbed him, for not a sign of a 
 trail could be found, except what the men had made 
 themselves in going out and coming back. However, 
 Perkins got a pile of affidavits, proving the raid and his 
 heavy losses, and had a bill introduced in Congress for 
 
124 JACK IN KED IKON'S CAMP. 
 
 his relief. It was not many months before he had his 
 money in his pocket, except what he had to divide with 
 his associates in Washington and the affidavit-makers. 
 He kept his promise to Miss Walker, and was back to 
 Council Bluffs within two weeks. 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 JACK IN KED IRON'S CAMP. 
 
 ACK never had a sadder heart but once in 
 his life than when he started on his chase 
 after Red Iron. There was a firm friend 
 ship between these two men, cemented by 
 many acts of kindness on both sides. Once, when Red 
 Iron and a few men who were with him were assaulted 
 by an overwhelming number of a tribe hostile to them, 
 Jack had, by his unerring rifle, saved the party, and 
 the old chief had tried to repay him by every means in 
 his power. Jack started out prepared for a long 
 journey. He had two pack-horses and one which he 
 rode. The pack-horses were laden ed with blankets, 
 provisions and ammunition. He knew that Red Iron 
 would try to unite his force with Badger's band, and 
 he thought they must be somewhere on the Ariekoree 
 river. There the winters were mild and game was 
 plenty. Twenty-one days after he left he came across 
 signs of Indians, and the next day he rode into Red 
 
125 
 
 Iron's camp. The meeting of these two men can 
 scarcely be described. When he rode up to Red Iron's 
 tent, the old chief came out and took his hand in 
 silence. Then he motioned to Jack to come in. They 
 sat down on a robe and smoked in silence for a long 
 time. There were no women or children about the 
 tent. At last Jack said : 
 
 " I have come to live with you always. I think I 
 can help you if you will let me. You know that 
 there is no man on these plains who is better with the 
 rifle or revolver than I am. I want to be a mem 
 ber of your tribe. There may be a long war, but after 
 a while it will come to a close somehow, and then you 
 will need some one who will be able to help you with 
 the whites. You and I have been friends in days 
 which have passed, let us always be friends." 
 
 " You shall be my son," said Red Iron. 
 
 To become a "member .of a tribe the person must 
 first be adopted into some family. All tribal govern 
 ment is founded on kinship. 
 
 Nothing more was said that day, but the next they 
 talked for hours together. Red Iron told the story of 
 the massacre, and then said : 
 
 " I wanted to live in peace with the whites. I know 
 I cannot fight them. They out-number me a hundred to 
 one. They have plenty of arms and ammunition. They 
 have gold and silver. Of these I have none. They 
 have driven us back from the great water to these plains, 
 and thousands of them are going on by us to the great 
 waters beyond. After a while they will take all this 
 country, and there will be no place for us to go. I 
 
126 
 
 know we will soon have to change our mode of life. 
 We will have to plow instead of hunt. I know that, 
 but I can't make my people understand it. I would go 
 in and make peace to-morrow if I could have a piece of 
 land which was my own, and on which the white men 
 would let us live in peace. I can carry on this war for 
 a while ; but if we kill the soldiers who are sent to fight, 
 they will only sond more. If we are killed, there are 
 no more to take our places. I went once to Washing 
 ton. I passed through a great many cities. I saw the 
 white people. No man can number them. The men 
 of my tribe cannot believe what I tell them. They 
 seem to know nothing at all, and sometimes I think 
 that I do not." 
 
 " Things are very bad," said Jack. " If we retreat 
 much further, we will come into the country belonging 
 to the Indians who have always been at war with you. 
 As soon as the fort on the Little Blue is completed, 
 and they have plenty of rations there, the soldiers will 
 march against us. Then we must fight or surrender. 
 The cavalry will scour all over this country. There 
 will not be a stream on which you can camp that they 
 will not march up and down. If the cavalry are not 
 strong enough, they will halt and wait for the infantry 
 and the field battery to come up. We can't fight in 
 fantry and artillery." 
 
 " I know all that," said Ked Iron. " I knew it be 
 fore I went into this war. I was forced into it. There 
 seems to be no spot on all the earth where I can go and 
 live in peace. There is no place anywhere in all this 
 big earth for me and my people. We are all to be 
 
127 
 
 killed. There is but one thing we can do. "We can die 
 fighting, and not die like cowards. Then in the future, 
 when they see our graves, they will at least say, ' these 
 were brave men.' " 
 
 " Do you think that Badger and the others would 
 make peace ?" asked Jack. 
 
 "I don't know," said Eed Iron; "they talk of 
 nothing but war. We have about fifty men out, under 
 a young chief, and he has been very successful in 
 assaulting trains, and has captured a great many horses. 
 He is young, and made very proud by his success. He 
 has more influence than Badger. His name is Little 
 Wolf. His head is turned. He thinks he can whip 
 the whole white race. If he lives to be as old as I am, 
 he will then see how foolish such thoughts are. I don't 
 believe we could do anything with him. He will be 
 for war until he gets badly defeated in some fight, and 
 then he will be for peace. Two or three times he has 
 come back with a herd of horses and a large amount of 
 plunder. It is about time he was back again. I think 
 as soon as he comes we had better call a general council, 
 and talk over what we will do." 
 
 During the next four or five days Jack and Red 
 Iron had several more long conversations, and it was 
 their conclusion that the best thing to be done was to 
 make a treaty of peace, if such terms could be got as 
 the preservation of their lives, a piece of land which 
 was to be theirs forever, and an agreement to learn the 
 ways of the whites. This was a conclusion which was 
 a secret between the two. Red Iron knew that it 
 
128 
 
 would meet with small favor, if openly advocated, in 
 the present state of feeling in the tribe. 
 
 The days wore away one after another, and not one 
 of Little Wolfs band returned. Nearly three weeks 
 afterward, a haggard and foot-sore Indian came into 
 camp. He said they had all been killed, and that he 
 was the only one who had escaped. Then the relations 
 of the dead sat down in their tents and commenced to 
 wail. 
 
 An Indian's relations are much more to him than a 
 white man's, for he has nothing else on which to set 
 his affections. The white man has the world of art and 
 literature, his business, a thousand things, to draw off 
 his thoughts and assuage Ids grief. The Indian has 
 nothing ; so, male and female, they sit down and wail 
 until they are perfectly exhausted. It is enough to 
 drive a white man crazy to listen to them. 
 
 But the escaped Indian was mistaken, they were not 
 all killed, for one by one they came into camp until 
 more than half of them had returned, and among the 
 number was Little Wolf himself. The story they told 
 was as follows : 
 
 They were watching a large train, with which there 
 were no soldiers. At a camping-place they undertook 
 to stampede the stock, and partially succeeded in doing 
 so. A great number of men, who were not soldiers, 
 mounted other horses and made chase. They over 
 took them in the hills and timber of the Big Blue, and 
 a terrible battle ensued, with victory on neither side. 
 Then a large body of soldiers came upon them 'in the 
 rear and surrounded them. They fought until night, 
 
129 
 
 and stole out as best they could and fled, every man for 
 himself. 
 
 This disaster to Little Wolf greatly reduced his in 
 fluence in the tribe. The relations of the dead warriors 
 were very bitter against him. 
 
 Red Iron thought it a good time to hold a general 
 council, and all the chiefs and head men, to the number 
 of about twenty-five, assembled. After the usual for 
 malities were gone through with, Bed Iron spoke. He 
 talked very fast, in a high key, and gesticulated with 
 great energy. 
 
 His speech was full of the most bitter invective 
 against the whites. He called them dogs, wolves, 
 thieves, murderers, cowards and liars ; related instances 
 to illustrate each charge he made against them, and 
 gave a picture of his camp when he came back 
 from the hunt. He told how they were now building 
 a fort in the heart of their country, in which they would 
 harbor thousands of soldiers, to raid upon them and kill 
 them. The country back to the great water was full of 
 soldiers. They were heartless, and had no pity in 
 them. This was the wily old chiefs opening. It was 
 made simply for effect, and it accomplished the purpose 
 intended. 
 
 He knew there was a large party who would oppose 
 anything he would suggest, and he wanted to get them 
 to talking peace first, and then he would come over to 
 their views. The stratagem succeeded better than he 
 had hoped. Old Two Strike arose and addressed the 
 chiefs. He thought they had whipped the whites al 
 ready. He descanted upon the great victory of Badger 
 6* 
 
130 JACK IN 
 
 over the soldiers who had followed them. They had 
 killed nearly every one of them, and they had given up 
 the chase. He thought they had gained a grand vic 
 tory. 
 
 This stirred up the Head Soldier of Red Iron's band. 
 He told how many scalps he had taken in one day, and 
 had driven the whites clear out of the conntry. Every 
 one who was not killed had fled across the river. He 
 was certain the whites were eager for peace, and the 
 only question was for them to decide whether they 
 would grant them peace or not. 
 
 Little Wolf hadn't anything to say. He had done 
 more fighting than any of them, but he was in disgrace 
 on account of the loss of half of his warriors. 
 
 The council lasted for several hours and adjourned 
 without any decision, to come together the next day. 
 Meantime Red Iron had his emissaries to work, arguing 
 that the whites were so anxious for peace that they 
 might expect great concessions, perhaps big annuities, 
 for many years to come. In this way a sentiment was 
 worked up in favor of making peace, but they held 
 councils for three days before it was finally decided 
 that a delegation should be sent to ask for peace. Then 
 there was a great contest about who should go on the 
 delegation, and it took a good deal of sharp managing 
 on the part of Red Iron to get it arranged so as to 
 promise any hope of success. It was finally agreed 
 that it should be composed of Red Iron, Badger, Two 
 Strike, Little Wolf, and Red Iron's Head Soldier, White 
 Hawk. 
 
TREATING WITH THE MILITARY. 131 
 
 Jack agreed to go in first and arrange for a meeting 
 with Colonel Greene, and then come back and take the 
 delegation. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 TREATING WITH THE MILITARY. 
 
 HE nights were cold and frosty when the 
 delegation started for the fort on the Little 
 Blue. The greatest precautions were used 
 to prevent surprise, as they might at any 
 time meet with the cavalry, and be killed before any ex 
 planation could be made. 
 
 Jack left the delegation twenty miles from the fort, 
 securely concealed in a thick growth of underbrush on 
 a little stream, and went on alone. Arriving at the 
 fort, he went directly to Colonel Greene's head-quarters 
 and made a full report. It was slightly colored in 
 favor of the Indians, but he could not well help that, 
 for not only did he sympathize with them, but he was 
 acting for them, and he was determined to get the best 
 terms he could. He represented that there were a very 
 large number of Indians well armed and supplied, and 
 if the war went on could make a very vigorous resist 
 ance, which would cost the government many millions 
 of dollars and thousands of lives, but now a peace could 
 be made on very favorable terms. 
 
 Colonel Greene and the senior officers at the fort 
 
132 TREATING WITH THE MILITARY. 
 
 were delighted with the result of their plans. A 
 winter campaign in the fierce cold and storms of the 
 plains was a prospect which was anything but pleasant. 
 It had been Colonel Greene's idea that the establish 
 ment of this fort, heavily garrisoned, in the heart of 
 the Indian country, would awe them into subjection, 
 and now he saw it realized. He knew of the efforts 
 which had been made to remove him from his com 
 mand, and he smiled as he thought how utterly ridicu 
 lous those speculators and politicians would appear when 
 they heard that all the hostile Indians had surrendered 
 to him. 
 
 The fact was that Jack's expedition to Red Iron's 
 camp was planned by Colonel Greene himself, and Jack 
 resigned his position as scout and undertook the 
 difficult task almost as much out of regard for Colonel 
 Greene as for his friendship for Red Iron, knowing 
 very well that if these two men could be brought 
 together, a peace, honorable to both, would be the 
 result. Yet he doubted very much whether the Indians 
 would make peace so soon after the great outrages had 
 been committed upon them, and it was understood by 
 Colonel Greene, that if they would not, Jack would 
 remain with his friend Red Iron. 
 
 Jack returned to the delegation with a safe conduct 
 and brought them into the fort. Colonel Greene 
 assigned them as pleasant quarters as was in the fort, 
 and treated them as well as if they had been a delega 
 tion from a civilized power with which he had been at 
 war. A day was given for them to rest, and then 
 they assembled in council. There were present Colonel 
 
TREATING WITH THE MILITAEY. 133 
 
 Greene and his staff, Major Hodson, Captain Belfor, 
 Mr. Wilmot arid several other officers. Jack acted as 
 interpreter. The chiefs were dressed in their most 
 gorgeous Indian costumes, and the officers in full-dress 
 uniform. An adjutant made a verb&tim report of 
 every word that was said, a thing that any expert long 
 hand writer can do, where everything has to be 
 interpreted from one language into another. 
 
 Red Iron made a set speech. He told of his con 
 tinued friendship for the whites ; of his agreement with 
 Major Hodson ; the massacre of his women and children. 
 " That man," said he, pointing to Major Hodson, 
 " knows that I have spoken the truth." (Indians never 
 speak of a person by name if they can possibly avoid it. 
 They consider it very impolite to do so. The United 
 States Senate has adopted this custom, and never address 
 a senator by name.) He then claimed a large sum for 
 damages for the outrages committed upon his people, 
 and for the presents the Great Father had promised 
 him, but which he had never received. When he sat 
 down he asked Captain Belfor and Major Hodson to 
 state if he had not told the truth. They both said he 
 had given a correct account of the whole matter. 
 
 Colonel Greene then undertook to explain to him 
 that he was a military officer. He had only authority 
 in time of war. He could not negotiate about annuities 
 or damages, that must be done by commissioners sent 
 by the Great Father. He could only talk about war, 
 and conditions of surrender. 
 
 Jack interpreted the speech with care, and then 
 tried to explain to Red Iron our form of government. 
 
134 TREATING WITH THE MILITARY. 
 
 He told him about the great council (Congress), the 
 different departments at Washington, the Indian 
 Bureau and the Secretary of Interior, and the Indians 
 were more in the dark when he finished than before he 
 began to talk. Red Iron replied : 
 
 "I can't understand this. I come here to make 
 peace, if we can agree upon the terms. If you have 
 no authority to make peace, I had better go back and 
 wait until some one comes who has." 
 
 " I have authority,' 7 said Colonel Greene, " to make 
 the conditions of surrender ; and whatever conditions I 
 make, the authorities at Washington are bound in 
 honor to maintain. I have command of all the soldiers 
 in this part of the country, and all the officers. They 
 must obey every order I give. Whatever I agree to 
 do will be done. Now, if you want to make peace and 
 come in I will talk about that. I have no doubt that 
 if you surrender Congress will give you a reservation 
 and annuities. You can have schools, and learn to be 
 like the white people, and become rich and powerful." 
 
 Red Iron took that as a positive promise that he 
 should have a reservation and annuities, as every Indian 
 would, and always has. They know nothing about 
 hypothetical propositions. There seems to be no " ifs " 
 in an Indian's thoughts. Then the other chiefs talked. 
 One of them demanded a hundred boxes of gold 
 ($100,000) as damages, another that the murderers 
 of Red Iron's women and children should be turned 
 over to them for punishment, another that the whites 
 should vacate all the country west of the Missouri 
 river, and the tone of the whole council was to the 
 
TREATING WITH THE MILITARY. 135 
 
 effect that they were the aggrieved parties, and had 
 come to demand satisfaction. While they were 
 respectful in their language, their bearing and tone was 
 haughty and imperious. 
 
 Red Iron saw that it was time for an adjournment, 
 and asked permission to retire and talk over the matter, 
 and come back the next day. 
 
 During the interval he sought a private interview 
 with Colonel Greene. 
 
 When he and Jack were alone together he spoke 
 without any reserve whatever. 
 
 He said, "I know that I cannot fight the white 
 people long, there are too many of them. I want to 
 surrender and make peace if I can do so, and thereby 
 save my people. I know we must learn to farm. 
 What I want is some land I can call my own, which 
 shall be mine forever, and annuities to live on for a few 
 years until we can learn to farm. I want a pledge 
 that none of the Indians who have been in this war 
 shall be harmed if they surrender. If I can have these 
 things I will submit. But if my men are to be killed 
 for going to war, and I can have no place I can call my 
 own, I will go back and fight until I die. I had better 
 do that than die like a coward, or all of us become 
 beggars among the whites." 
 
 Colonel Greene thought over the matter for some 
 moments. He was in a very perplexing situation, as 
 many other officers had been before him under the 
 same circumstances. He knew he had no authority to 
 make a promise of annuities or a reservation. That 
 was not in the province of the War Department. If 
 
136 TREATING WITH THE MILITARY. 
 
 the authority was vested anywhere it was in the 
 Interior Department. He certainly had authority, if 
 this was war in which he was engaged, to make con 
 ditions of surrender. He could pledge them that they 
 should be protected in their lives and he could hold 
 them as prisoners of war until peace was declared. 
 His pledge the Government was bound to keep. He 
 finally said to Red Iron : 
 
 " If you will come in and surrender, I will promise 
 that none of you shall be harmed. I have no doubt 
 the Government will give you a reservation and annui 
 ties. This country is yours, and the Government can't 
 take it away from you, without your consent, if you 
 are at peace ; but if you are at war it can take it by 
 conquest. Therefore it is better for you to made peace 
 as soon as you can. I will issue rations to all of your 
 people who will come in, until the Great Father sends 
 a commission to fix the details of the settlement. 
 They will say how much annuities you shall have and 
 where your reservation shall be. You had better come 
 in and surrender. It is the best thing you can do." 
 
 The following was said to Jack in the Indian 
 language, and of course Colonel Greene could not 
 understand it. 
 
 " Is this man my friend ?" 
 
 " Yes, I think he is," said Jack. 
 
 " Tell him that it is very hard for me to surrender, 
 without knowing what is to become of me afterward, 
 but I am helpless and cannot do otherwise. I want 
 to save the few who remain of my people. I put 
 all our lives into his hands, Badger's band and all the 
 
TREATING WITH THE MILITARY. 137 
 
 others who are with me on the Arickoree. He has 
 pledged me that their lives shall be saved. I have 
 nothing but his word. To him I give the lives of 
 the men, the women and the little children. lie will 
 see that they are not killed by the bad white men. 
 Ask him if he will do this ?" 
 
 This was interpreted to Colonel Greene. He re 
 plied : 
 
 " Tell him, I pledge him my word, upon the honor 
 of a man and a soldier, that not even a hair of their 
 heads shall be harmed." 
 
 This ended the private council, and the next day> at 
 the formal one, it was agreed that the Indians would 
 come in, surrender their arms and their horses, and re 
 ceive rations until they should be provided for by a 
 commission from Washington. 
 
 In accordance with this agreement the Indians came 
 to the fort and surrendered their arms and their ponies. 
 An Indian without arms or a pony is perfectly help 
 less. He cannot hunt or go to war, and is absolutely at 
 the mercy of the Government. 
 
 It was with many misgivings that Red Iron did it. 
 He had risked all on the word of one white man, 
 Colonel Greene. He would not have done it if there 
 had been any ocher course open to him. War would 
 only result in extermination, and this was a chance, if 
 only a chance, for life. 
 
138 CONGRESSMEN ON A SPREE. 
 
 CHAPTEK XVII. 
 
 CONGRESSMEN" ON A SPREE. 
 
 was mid-winter when Mr. Wilmot returned 
 to Council Bluffs and took his seat in his 
 office. He never received Jennie Walker's 
 letter, for Perkins had been intrusted with 
 the mail that was forwarded to the fort on the Little 
 Blue, when he went out to cut hay. He noticed it 
 among the dozen others which were committed to his 
 charge, and opened it. Then he tore it in a thousand 
 fragments, and scattered them to the winds. Jennie 
 had kept her check as long as she could, so as to have 
 an excuse to call upon Mr. Wilmot when he returned, 
 but his long absence made it necessary for her to have 
 it cashed before his return. Mr. Wilmot did not call 
 upon her. He heard the current stories of her engage 
 ment to Perkins, and in every way avoided meeting 
 her. Although residing in the same little town together 
 they never met. She saw him once at church but he 
 did not seem to see her. She went to several parties, 
 against the wishes of Mr. Parkman, in hope that she 
 might meet him, but Mr. Wilmot was not there. Mr. 
 Wilmot stayed in his office. He was never seen in the 
 saloons or hotels, and seemed to have no acquaintances, 
 except in the way of business. Perkins called upon her 
 frequently ; she felt bound to treat him with politeness 
 on account of his relations with her father. She 
 
CONGRESSMEN ON A SPREE. 139 
 
 declined his invitations to ride, and to parties and 
 balls. The parties and balls were interdicted by Mr. 
 Parkman, the Methodists holding them to be exceed 
 ingly sinful. She gave her time to religious work, 
 attending all the meetings held by Mr. Parkman, and 
 as she had a beautiful soprano voice, aided much in the 
 singing. 
 
 Life in a frontier town is exceedingly monotonous. 
 There are no theaters, no lectures, no libraries, no 
 newspapers, except the weekly local paper, which can 
 be read through in fifteen minutes. 
 
 Only once was there any stir in the town during the 
 long winter. It was when a committee of Senators 
 and Congressmen arrived, during the holiday recess, to 
 investigate the recent troubles. Their arrival was an 
 nounced two or three days in advance, and the Cause- 
 land House was put in the best order possible. They 
 sent an order for dinner for fifteen, and the proprietor, 
 who was a poor man, went to a great expense to pre 
 pare for their reception and entertainment. When that 
 august body came, they went directly across the river, 
 and did not stop at the Causeland House at all, nor in 
 any way offer to reimburse him for his loss. An escort 
 was waiting for them, and they went directly to the 
 fort on the Little Blue. 
 
 They arrived there late at night, and the next morn 
 ing walked around and looked at the defenses. About ten 
 o'clock they went into the council room. Only two 
 chiefs were there, Two Strike and Little Wolf. The 
 other chiefs had not been notified in time to get there. 
 
 The following conversation took place : 
 
CONGRESSMEN ON A SPREE. 
 
 Senator. You have recently been on the war-path, 
 haven't you ? 
 
 Two Strike. There was trouble between the Indians 
 and the whites last fall, but it has all been settled, and 
 we have made peace. 
 
 Senator. Do the military officers treat you well ? 
 
 Two Strike. Yes. We have no complaints to 
 make. 
 
 Senator. Have you anything you desire to say to 
 us? 
 
 Two Strike. We have a great deal we want to say, 
 but the other chiefs are not here, and we wish to wait 
 until they come. 
 
 Senator. We are in a great hurry. We leave to re 
 turn to Washington at one o'clock. If you have any 
 thing to say you must say it now. 
 
 Two Strike. I cannot speak for the other bands. 
 Their chiefs must speak for them. It seems to me that 
 it will take a long time to settle all these matters. It 
 cannot be done in an hour. 
 
 Senator (to interpreter). Ask the other Indian if 
 he has anything to say. 
 
 Interpreter. He says he has nothing to say before 
 the other chiefs come. 
 
 Senator (to interpreter). Say to them that we will 
 excuse them for the present. We want to consult to 
 gether about what is best to be done for them. 
 
 The interpreter and the chiefs walked out and the 
 committee was left alone. 
 
 " It is very evident/' said Senator L., " that they 
 
CONGRESSMEN ON A SPREE. 141 
 
 have no idea about what they want. They are like 
 little children, and we must do the best we can." 
 
 " It is a waste of time," said Representative H., " to 
 talk with them. We must exercise our own judgment 
 abo^t what is good for them. There is a gentleman 
 here who is perfectly familiar with the whole matter, 
 and I think we would save time by asking him to come 
 in and give us his opinion." 
 
 ~No objection was made, and soon after Representative 
 H. walked in with Perkins. " This gentleman," said 
 he, " has been here during all the war, knows all about it, 
 and knows Indians thoroughly. Besides, he is a life 
 long friend of the Indians, and his opinion should have 
 great weight/' 
 
 " We would be glad to hear anything you have to 
 suggest," said Senator L. 
 
 " I am glad," replied Perkins, " to have an oppor 
 tunity to say something in behalf of these poor people. 
 If they were treated with kindness we would never 
 have the least trouble with them. An Indian is 
 naturally very independent and desires freedom of 
 action. The strictness of military rule is very irritating 
 to them, and the consequence is, that every once in 
 awhile they break out into open war, hoping thereby 
 to better their condition. There are as fine men among 
 them as can be found among any race. Some of them 
 I have known for years, and there is a cordial friend 
 ship between us. They have been hunted by the 
 military like wolves, and no mercy has been shown 
 them. Those who are here are very poor, and every 
 consecration of justice and humanity demands that they 
 
142 CONGRESSMEN ON A SPKEE. 
 
 should have a liberal provision made for*them by Con 
 gress. I should suggest that they be divided into two 
 tribes of about equal numbers, and each given a reserva 
 tion, one on the Arickaree and the other on the 
 Baha Taya. They should have annuities granted them 
 of not less than a hundred thousand dollars a year for 
 five years, and gradually reduced after that. The an 
 nuities should run for at least thirty years, until a new 
 generation grows up who can be made capable of 
 taking care of themselves. My heart aches for these 
 Indians. When I first knew them they were rich and 
 prosperous. Now they have been robbed of everything 
 they had by the military and are in a desperate condi 
 tion. A liberal provision for these Indians, I am sure, 
 would meet with the approval of the whole country. I 
 have written several letters to different religious papers 
 in the East, describing their terrible condition^ and I 
 am sure that all the great religious bodies will greet 
 such action by Congress with their hearty approval. I 
 have thought of going East and speaking in their be 
 half, in order to excite some public interest and thus 
 influence Congress to grant large appropriations. I am 
 sorry you have not time to go with me into their camp, 
 so I could show you the utter destitution existing there. 
 It is a disgrace to the nation, which has taken from 
 them their lands and deprived them of their natural 
 means of living. "Whatever Congress may do, it will 
 not be a gratuity, for if we should pay them for the 
 lands we have taken from them, it would amount to a 
 great deal more than what I have asked in their behalf. 
 I hope you will not recommend less than a hundred 
 
CONGRESSMEN ON A SPKEE. 143 
 
 thousand dollars to each of the bands. That is simple 
 justice. Anything less would be robbing them of 
 what is actually due them." 
 
 After hearing this plea for the Indians the com 
 mittee adjourned to hold their next session in Council 
 Bluffs. 
 
 Arriving at Council Bluffs, they went to the Em 
 pire House, upon the invitation of Perkins and his 
 associates, where he desired them to consider them 
 selves his guests. Their entertainment there cost the 
 contractors two thousand dollars, but they counted the 
 money well invested. The most costly wines and ci 
 gars had been brought up from St. Louis. Toasts were 
 proposed, speeches were made, and they held high car 
 nival until long after midnight. The arrangements 
 were perfect, and nothing occurred, in the least, to mar 
 the enjoyment of the occasion. But Perkins made one 
 mistake. He forgot the editor of the Weekly Pioneer, 
 until ten o'clock in the evening, and when he sent for 
 him, he was so angry, he would not come. The conse 
 quence was, that the next paper contained a minute^ac- 
 count of this drunken carousal. It gave samples of 
 speeches made by the honorable gentlemen after the 
 wine had driven all sense of the fitness of things out of 
 their heads, and a comical account of how one represen 
 tative was carried to bed up a very narrow pair of 
 stairs. They did not seem to be in nearly as great a 
 hurry to get back to Washington as when they were at 
 the fort, for they stayed two days in Council Bluffs. 
 
144 A PEACE COMMISSION. 
 
 CHAPTEK XYIII. 
 
 A PEACE COMMISSION. 
 
 EKKINS'S letters to the religious press had the 
 desired effect, and soon after a " peace com 
 mission" came out, composed "of men "emi 
 nent for their philanthropy." These gen 
 tlemen, for the most part, were honest, upright and be 
 nevolent. They came at the request of charitably dis 
 posed associations and churches, and had no other 
 desire than to defend the Indians against the oppres 
 sions of the whites, introduce schools and spread the 
 Christian religion among them. They were without 
 experience, and knew nothing practically of either In 
 dians or contractors. This was true of five of the seven 
 commissioners. The other two were in good standing 
 in the churches to which they belonged, bat one was a 
 contractor for Indian supplies, the said contracts hav 
 ing been taken under a fictitious name, and the other 
 one had come, not for any love for the Indian, or any 
 benevolent purpose whatever, but because he owned a 
 large amount of wild lands, and he would have an op 
 portunity to see the country and look out for his own 
 private interests. Mr. Wilmot had paid his taxes and 
 done his business for him, so he called to talk over mat 
 ters with him. Commissioner Hughs, having no real 
 interest in the Indian question, one way or the other, 
 listened to what Mr. Wilmot had to say on that sub- 
 
A PEACE COMMISSION. 145 
 
 ject, and replied that he would introduce him to Com 
 missioner Clark, who was president of the board, and 
 had the civilization and christianizing of the Indians 
 greatly at heart. This led to an invitation to explain 
 his views to the full board, and a meeting was called 
 for that purpose. When they were assembled, Mr. Wil- 
 mot said : 
 
 " Your object, I understand to be, to protect the 
 Indians from the encroachments of the whites, to 
 establish schools and propagate the Christian religion. 
 Upon the subjects of school teaching and preaching the 
 gospel, I would be a poor counselor. I would refer 
 those matters to men who have had experience in 
 educational affairs, and to the clergy. It seems very 
 evident to me that not much can be accomplished in 
 either direction until some form of government is 
 established among them, with sufficient power to en 
 force its decrees. As far as I have been able to look 
 into history, I do not find a single instance where any 
 advancement from the primitive condition of man has 
 been made until some form of government has been 
 established. 
 
 " When Moses undertook to lead the children of 
 Israel from a state of bondage, to a condition in 
 advance of that, the first thing he did was to give them 
 a code of law suited to the conditions which sur 
 rounded them. 
 
 " These Indians could live far separated from the 
 whites, under laws of their own, regulating matters 
 concerning only themselves. That is no longer possible. 
 Laws must now affect both them and their relations to 
 
14:6 A PEACE COMMISSION. 
 
 the whites who surround them. There is constant 
 intercourse, and it must increase year by year. There 
 should be laws under which all disputes or disagree 
 ments between them and the white settlers could be 
 adjudicated." 
 
 " I have often said," remarked Mr. Clark, " that there 
 should be a simple code of laws applicable to their 
 present condition." 
 
 " I do not know," said Mr. "Wilmot, " what you 
 mean by ' a simple code of laws, applicable to their con 
 dition.' All law is enacted and enforced for the pur 
 pose of protecting the life, liberty and property of the 
 individual. Law is for the benefit and protection of 
 the weak against the strong. The weaker and more 
 ignorant the person is, the more careful have the enact 
 ments been in his favor. The minor and the imbecile 
 are more carefully protected by law than those of full 
 age and strong mind. The law will annul and set aside 
 a contract made by a minor, in which he has been 
 cheated, but will not do it with one of full age and 
 strong mind, unless fraud is proved." 
 
 " I don't see what all that has to do with Indians," 
 said Commissioner Smith. 
 
 " It has this to do with it," replied Wilmot. " You 
 want to civilize and christianize the Indians. You 
 cannot build that superstructure upon any other founda 
 tion than written law. The law preceded the Gospel, 
 not, I fancy, by accident, but by infinite wisdom. With 
 out the law of the Old Testament there would have never 
 been the Christianity of the New Testament. I read a 
 story somewhere about a man who built a house upon 
 
A PEACE COMMISSION. 147 
 
 the quicksand, and the first rain that came washed away 
 the sand, and down went the house. You go out here 
 and build a school-house and a church among the 
 Indians. Soon there is a dispute between some of the 
 Indians and the whites. There is no tribunal before 
 which it can be tried. Both sides resort to force. 
 Then we have war, and that is the last of teacher or 
 school-house, and of the preacher and the church. I 
 I wish I could remember where I read that story about 
 the house built on the sand. It is a perfect illustration 
 of this whole business." 
 
 There was a broad smile on the faces of the com 
 missioners, and Wilmot wondered what amused them. 
 
 " I may not make myself understood," said Wilmot, 
 " but the whole subject seems very plain to me. For 
 many thousand years the best minds of every race and 
 every generation have been thinking out a system of 
 law for the government of men. We have divided it 
 into civil and criminal, statutory and common law. 
 Underlying it all are the great principles of equity, 
 first recorded by Moses. It is scarcely possible for a 
 crime to be committed or a dispute to arise, but that we 
 shall find in this law, either enacted in form, or applied 
 by some learned and just judge, a true principle for its 
 just punishment or adjudication. It is applicable to 
 every possible phase of human existence. Its enforce 
 ment among any people will render life and property 
 safe, punish crime, make regular and orderly habits, 
 stimulate thought, promote industry, make sacred the 
 family relation, and this, if it is not civilization, is the 
 beginning of civilization. On such a foundation you 
 
148 A PEACE COMMISSION. 
 
 can build your superstructure of schools, colleges, 
 cliurclies, eleemosynary institutions, and from it springs 
 the arts and sciences. Without law you have chaos. 
 The weak are trampled down by the strong, and might 
 alone makes right." 
 
 Mr. Parkman was a deeply-interested listener. To 
 some of these ideas he fully subscribed, but after all it 
 did seem as though there was something not quite right 
 about it. He said : 
 
 " I agree with some things which Mr. Wilmot said, 
 but I cannot agree to others. He seems to argue that 
 law must precede Christianity. I think that Christian 
 ity must precede law. No race of men have ever 
 been civilized until the Gospel has been preached 
 among them. A thousand years ago our ancestors were 
 wilder and more savage than the Indian of to-day. 
 Paul first preached the gospel to them, and as Christian 
 ity spread among them they adopted just laws." 
 
 " The Romans were there with their laws first," 
 said Wilmot. 
 
 " I must ask again," said Commissioner Smith, 
 " what all this has to do with the Indians ?" 
 
 "I think that the whole problem could be solved," 
 said Wilmot, " by extending over them the jurisdiction 
 of our courts." 
 
 "I know one band, at least," said Mr. Parkman, 
 " who are very anxious to have missionaries and 
 teachers sent to them. I think, if their wishes in that 
 regard were complied with, in a few years you would 
 find them a self-supporting and Christian community." 
 
 " I think you would still have a band of paupers. 
 
A PEACE COMMISSION. 149 
 
 That thing has been tried now for a hundred years, and 
 the mass of Indians to-day are just where they were 
 then. Give them legal security for life and property, 
 and thus stimulate enterprise and industry, if you want 
 them ever to become self-supporting." 
 
 " I think," said Mr. Clark, the sub rosa contractor 
 and president of the board, " that our business is with 
 things as they exist. These Indians, at present, if put 
 on a reservation, cannot be self-supporting. The gov 
 ernment should take a paternal charge of them, and 
 supply them until such time as they may be able to 
 take care of themselves. For these reasons, large appro 
 priations should be made for them." 
 
 " That will be the ruination of them," said Wilmot. 
 " There can be no development without exertion, and 
 there will be no exertion as long as they are supported 
 by appropriations made by the general Government. 
 If you want to ruin any set of men, just place them by 
 themselves, clothe and feed them, and give them noth 
 ing to do." 
 
 "There is nothing to hinder them from working if 
 they want to," said Mr. Clark. 
 
 " I never heard of any set of men < wanting ' to 
 work," said Wilmot. " Men work because necessity 
 drives them to it, and when the necessity ceases the 
 work always stops. Look at the sons of our million 
 aires. Do they work ?" 
 
 " I don't see at all what this has to do with Indians," 
 said Mr. Smith. 
 
 " And how soon do the sons of the rich become 
 profligate/' continued Wilmot, without noticing the 
 
150 A PEACE COMMISSION. 
 
 remark of the commissioner, " and waste the accumu 
 lations of their fathers. Necessity forces men to labor, 
 and labor develops them. When you provide for ex 
 istence without work, you plan for the lowest possi 
 ble grade of existence." 
 
 " Mr. Wilmot," said Mr. Smith, " if you have any 
 suggestions to make I would be pleased to listen, but 
 I cannot see what this kind of talk has to do with In 
 dians." 
 
 " I have nothing further to say," replied Mr. Wil 
 mot, and he immediately left the room. 
 
 That night, as the commission were holding a private 
 session in a room of the Causeland House, a knock was 
 heard on the door. 
 
 " Come in," said Commissioner Clark. 
 
 The door opened and Perkins w r alked in. 
 
 Mr. Clark, who seemed to be an old acquaintance, 
 introduced him to the other commissioners. 
 
 " This gentleman," said he, " is the author of the 
 letters making such eloquent pleas in behalf of these poor 
 Indians. If it had not been for the unselfish interest 
 which he has manifested, they would have been al 
 lowed to perish of cold and hunger." 
 
 Then, addressing Perkins, he said : 
 
 " I am delighted to meet you. I am sure my asso 
 ciates will give great weight to any suggestions you 
 make." 
 
 " I hope," said Mr. Smith, " that this gentleman 
 may have something to say about Indians. The last 
 one introduced by you wanted to talk about everything 
 else except Indians." 
 
A PEACE COMMISSION. 151 
 
 " I fancy you will find Mr. Perkins a different sort 
 of man from that lawyer," said Mr. Clark. 
 
 ""What lawyer?" asked Perkins. 
 
 " Mr. Wilmot." 
 
 A look of utter disgust came over Perkins's face. 
 
 " Do you know him ? What kind of a man is he ?" 
 asked Mr. Hughs. 
 
 " Oh, he is a shrewd, sharp lawyer," said Perkins, 
 " and is trying to work up a case, and pocket a fee." 
 
 " Just what I thought," said Mr. Smith. 
 
 " The war," said Perkins, " was perhaps necessary 
 to teach the Indians the power of the government, but 
 the extreme cruelty practiced by the military was 
 wholly unnecessary. JSTow that they are subjected and 
 docile, it is eminently proper that mild influences be 
 used. The military have robbed them of everything. 
 If they are not fed they will die of starvation. It is 
 inhuman cruelty to leave them to take care of them 
 selves, as has been suggested by some who think the 
 whole race should be exterminated. If that is the 
 object, let them form them in line and shoot them dead, 
 but not sentence them to the slow torture of starvation. 
 There is a very large number of Indians at the fort on 
 the Little Blue. Congress should appropriate not less 
 than two hundred thousand dollars a year for them. 
 With such an amount churches and schools could be 
 erected, agricultural implements purchased, and the 
 industries of civilized life introduced among them." 
 
 " There, that is something practical, something 
 
152 A PEACE COMMISSION. 
 
 humane," said Mr. Smith. " I am very glad you have 
 come in." 
 
 " But two hundred thousand dollars a year is a very 
 large sum," said Mr. Hughs. 
 
 "It is much cheaper than war," said Perkins. 
 " This campaign has already cost over seven hundred 
 thousand dollars." 
 
 " That is very true," said Mr. Clark. " It is much 
 cheaper to feed, clothe, educate and christianize the 
 Indians than to fight them. I " 
 
 Here another knock on the door interrupted them. 
 A servant entered and handed Mr. Clark a hugh 
 envelope. He opened it, and after glancing at the 
 contents, said : 
 
 "This is from the President, authorizing this 
 commission to proceed to the Little Blue and make 
 treaties with all the bands of Indians now there, or 
 who may assemble there before we return." 
 
 Some of the commissioners did not seem pleased 
 with this announcement, but it was very evident that 
 Perkins and Mr. Clark were delighted. Shortly after, 
 the commission adjourned until the next day. Perkins 
 remained with Mr. Clark after the others had retired. 
 
 " Things are working splendid," said Perkins. 
 
 " Yes, better than I expected. I did not look for 
 this for four or five days yet," said Mr. Clark. 
 
 " If you can get out there, make the treaties and 
 have them confirmed before Congress adjourns, two 
 years from now we will all be well heeled. But are 
 you certain about this commission? Hughs, Smith and 
 yourself are all right. You have got to have one 
 
A PEACE COMMISSION. 153 
 
 more on whom you can rely. It takes four to 
 make a majority." 
 
 " I liave been troubled about it, but I could not get 
 it made up any other way. There is Borden. He is 
 very conscientious, religious and tender-hearted. You 
 struck the right theme in what you said to-night. I 
 saw the tears come into his eyes when you were talking 
 about the Indians starving. You keep that up and he 
 will be all right for big appropriations. Wilmot made 
 sure of Smith. Smith is an old blue-stocking, and when 
 he was talking about giving the administration of the 
 law precedence over preaching, Smith set him down for 
 a regular heretic. He's down on Wilmot, and when he 
 once gets set, he's there while time lasts." 
 
 " I am more afraid of Wilmot than any man in this 
 country," said Perkins, " and I have been thinking 
 that we had better take him in. There is not much 
 paying law business in this part of the country, and I 
 think a moderate-sized slice would satisfy him. He's 
 as sharp as lightning, and I don't want him to be fight 
 ing us. I'll tell you why I think he would accept. 
 When the trouble first commenced he was terribly op 
 posed to the war, but when he was commissioned as 
 captain of a company, he accepted and fought like a 
 tiger. It was him who gave Little Wolf such an awful 
 thrashing. The military were all afraid of Little Wolf, 
 but when Wilmot got after him,, he made short work of 
 it. If that Injun hadn't got whipped they would have 
 been fighting yet." 
 
 " I don't know about that," said Mr. Clark. " Are 
 7* 
 
154 A GUARDED APPROACH. 
 
 you sure lie would come in if we gave him something 
 pretty nice ?" 
 
 " Of course he would. Every man has his price." 
 
 " He would have to be approached very carefully," 
 replied Mr. Clark. " I'll feel of him a little, to-mor 
 row, and see how he takes it." 
 
 " Hadn't you better get out to the Little Blue as 
 soon as possible?" asked Perkins. 
 
 "No, that would be the worst thing in the world. 
 You see we don't want too much time out there, for 
 complications might arise. Now, there are two or 
 three men on the commission who have very large busi 
 ness interests on their hands, and must necessarily soon 
 return East. If we can manage to keep them here for 
 a week, they can't possibly stay there more than a day 
 or two, and that is as long as it is safe." 
 
 " I'll give in to you for management every time," 
 said Perkins with a laugh, and the two men separated. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 A GUARDED APPROACH. 
 
 FTER tea, the night Mr. Parkman had 
 attended the session of the commission, he 
 sat down by his little table and fell into 
 deep thought. 
 " A penny for your thoughts," said Mrs. Parkman. 
 
A GUAEDED APPROACH. 155 
 
 " I was thinking of what Mr. "Wilmot said to-day," 
 and then he told her of the discussion, and how he did 
 not seem able to answer the argument which Mr. 
 Wilmot made. " I know," said Mr. Parkman, " that 
 men are only regenerated, saved and elevated by the 
 Gospel. I know that in towns where the Gospel is not 
 preached and no public worship is held, that in a short 
 time the whole population becomes depraved. Now, 
 there is the town of Riverton. Last week some of the 
 greatest sinners in the place came to me and asked that 
 regular preaching be established there, for, they said, 
 that the place was becoming so desperately wicked that 
 some of the best citizens threatened to leave. There is 
 no murdering or stealing there, or anything the law 
 can take hold of, but the men are drunken, the little 
 children on the streets are shockingly profane, the 
 young of both sexes are losing all virtue and sense of 
 modesty. Now, the law won't save a place like that, 
 and I know it. Yet Mr. Wilmot insists that all there 
 is good in the world grows out of the enactment and 
 enforcement of good laws. There is something wrong 
 about his argument." 
 
 " I think," said Mrs. Parkman, " that you forgot 
 that your professions lead you into entirely different 
 spheres of thought, and that both of you may be right. 
 Law protects life and property and preserves liberty. 
 This brings material welfare to men, and makes it 
 possible to densely populate the world. It pertains 
 entirely to creature comforts. It does not of necessity 
 bring peace and happiness. A man may be eminent in 
 science and art, and of the profoundest scholarship, 
 
156 A GUARDED APPEOACH. 
 
 have all of what we call civilization, and yet be more 
 miserable than the untutored savage. You may take 
 the savage, build him a palace, give him gold and 
 silver, the finest raiment, and surround him with all 
 the luxuries of civilization, and yet he is a savage still. 
 If he is blood-thirsty and cruel, you may add to that a 
 finished education, and you have simply made him 
 more powerful to do wrong. There is something to be 
 done in the man, which cannot be effected by outward 
 circumstances something that law cannot do. His 
 desires and aspirations must be changed. Revenge and 
 cruelty must give place to love and peace. Law cannot 
 accomplish this. Your field of labor lies in this direc 
 tion. Mr. "VVilraot's in securing to them life, liberty 
 and property." 
 
 " I will tell him that the next time I meet him," 
 said Mr. Parkman. 
 
 " Why not invite him over here to tea some even 
 ing?" asked Mrs. Parkman. 
 
 " I wish you would," said Jennie Walker, " I do so 
 like to hear such discussions." 
 
 The next day Mr. Parkman went into Wilmot's 
 office to extend the invitation to him, and found Com 
 missioner Clark there, and it was arranged that they 
 should both spend the evening with Mr. Parkman. He 
 stayed only a moment, for Wilmot was just starting to 
 the court-room to argue a case, and could not wait. 
 
 Jennie's quick ears heard Mr. Parkman's announce 
 ment to his wife of the coming of Mr. Clark and 
 Wilmot, and her heart bounded up in her throat. 
 To a woman who has a musical taste, it is as natural 
 
A GUARDED APPROACH. 157 
 
 to sing when she is happy as for a bird, and all that 
 afternoon, every few moments she sang scraps of songs 
 or hymns, as she made preparation for the expected 
 guests. 
 
 After tea was over, Mr. Clark said : 
 
 " I called upon Mr. Wilmot to-day to have a talk 
 with him privately, for I was very much impressed 
 with what he. said to the commission." 
 
 " So was I," said Mr. Parkman, " although I did 
 not entirely agree with him. I have since thought 
 over the matter, and I want to explain my views to 
 him." 
 
 Then Mr. Parkrnan repeated what his wife had 
 said. 
 
 " I guess you are entirely right," replied Wilmot. 
 " I said in the beginning I would be a poor counselor 
 in regard to those matters, and referred them to the 
 clergy." 
 
 There was evidently to be no discussion of those 
 points, and Mr. Clark thought it a very favorable time 
 to Bound him on the point in which he was interested. 
 This is the way he " approached " him. 
 
 "I understand," said he, "that you rather out 
 fought the regular soldiers during the late war." 
 
 " That is a mistake," said Wilmot ; " I don't see who 
 could have been so foolish as to have so informed you." 
 
 " Why, I was informed that you were the officer 
 who finally defeated Little Wolf." 
 
 " My company had a skirmish with that chief, but 
 we would have accomplished nothing had not Major 
 liodson come upon them in the rear with two com- 
 
158 A GUARDED APPROACH. 
 
 panics of cavalry. My part was a very small one in 
 the late war, and I am glad that it was. There is 
 nothing to be proud of on our side." 
 
 Mr. Clark saw he was on the wrong track. Wilmot 
 did not seem to appreciate compliments, so he "ap 
 proached " from another direction, and said : 
 
 "If these Indians make a treaty with the Govern 
 ment, and agree to go upon reservations, the control of 
 them must be put into the hands of agents. My experi 
 ence has taught me that it is very hard to find men hav 
 ing the necessary qualifications, who are willing to ac 
 cept of such positions. To be a successful agent, a man 
 must possess great executive ability, have a good knowl 
 edge of commercial affairs for large amounts of goods 
 of various kinds must be handled and inspected by him. 
 He must understand farming, superintendence of 
 schools, have mechanical knowledge sufficient to direct 
 their rude efforts at building themselves permanent 
 habitations ; he must oversee the building and running 
 of saw-mills, flouring mills, blacksmith shops, carpenter 
 shops, and the introduction of various other industries 
 among them. He must be a man of the purest morals, 
 and have the power to command men ; establish laws 
 and regulations for the formation of society ; and be a 
 mild and firm judge, for to him must be referred all the 
 disputes which may occur among a large number of 
 people. Of course any man who may be selected will 
 fail in some of these departments ; but if he is honest, 
 energetic and intelligent he will succeed in most. The 
 country will soon settle up around them, and a new 
 state will be formed in a few years. The man who can 
 
A GUARDED APPROACH. 159 
 
 take these Indians, and make of them a prosperous and 
 self-supporting community, will do a great service to 
 liis country and to humanity." 
 
 " I don't know where you could find a man who 
 possesses the qualifications you have enumerated," said 
 Wilmot. 
 
 " I do not expect to find one possessing them all, but 
 I hope to find one possessing most of them." 
 
 " It would take a George "Washington, Alexander 
 Hamilton and Judge Marshall combined," said Wilmot. 
 
 Mr. Clark laughed, and Mrs. Parkman said : 
 
 " There is one other qualification, and the most im 
 portant of all, which you have not enumerated. He 
 should be a thoroughly religious man." 
 
 " And there is another," said Jennie. " He should 
 understand the Indian language." 
 
 " A man who would undertake to perform such 
 duties, with any expectation of succeeding, would have 
 to possess an unlimited amount of self-confidence," said 
 Wilmot. 
 
 " Some one 'must undertake it," replied Mr. Clark, 
 " and he who does so, is engaged in a noble work. It is 
 not for himself he labors. It is to help others who can 
 not help themselves." 
 
 A sudden seriousness came into the face of Mr. 
 Wilmot. Mr. Clark had found the right line of " ap 
 proach" to his man. I do not know that there has 
 been another man in these modern times like Wilmot. 
 Through all his life there were never more than one or 
 two persons who understood him. Unselfishness is a 
 good trait, but an abnormal development of it produces 
 
160 A GUARDED APPROACH. 
 
 a character, which, to the world at large, is an enigma. 
 Mr. Wilmot was not a minister, but a lawyer, and yet, 
 the only real enjoyment he ever had in life, was 
 when he was helping others. lie never could lay plans 
 to help himself. lie never could become interested in 
 anything which pertained to himself. He would work 
 for a client with untiring energy, and while the contest 
 went on he was happy. When he did not have some one 
 to help, he sunk into chronic melancholy, and only 
 came out of it when some new opportunity to aid some 
 body else presented itself. Another trait of his charac 
 ter was abnormally developed, and that was sensitive 
 ness. But this was only in one direction. He would 
 go into an election and work for a candidate whom he 
 took a fancy to help, with an energy that never ceased, 
 until the last vote was counted. If harsh things were 
 said about him, if he was charged with all manner of 
 crimes, it did not affect him in the least. In fact, he 
 rather enjoyed it. But let some one whom he considered 
 his friend say one harsh word, and Wilmot was 
 wounded to his very heart's core, and he would suffer 
 the most intense agony for days. Most of those whom 
 he had aided turned against him. While this caused 
 him the most intense suffering, he was just as anxious 
 the next day to help somebody else, or if one of them 
 should come to him again, he was just as ready to assist 
 as he was the first time. If one did seem to appreciate 
 his kindness, the slightest expression of it put him into 
 a state of perfect bliss. He always denied, and hon 
 estly too, that he deserved any credit for the assistance 
 he rendered others. He said he did it because he 
 
A GUARDED APPROACH. 161 
 
 would feel bad if he didn't, whereas the man whom it 
 made to feel bad to do it, and, notwithstanding that 
 fact, did help others who needed aid, ought to have 
 great credit for doing so. He deserved no praise for 
 saving Jennie Walker, for if he had not, he would have 
 abandoned himself to a fate a hundred times worse than 
 death, for existence would have been a continued agony 
 every afterward. Of course, everything a man like 
 this did was misrepresented. If he devoted his time, 
 money and energies to building a church, for the pur 
 pose of helping some poor preacher, or feeble congrega 
 tion, it was said he was trying to get political influence 
 with that denomination. If he supported a man for 
 office, it was agreed that the spoils should be divided. 
 The consequence was, that although it was conceded 
 he was a talented man, he was about as unpopular with 
 the general public as a man could be. He went away 
 from Mr. Parkman's absorbed with the subject of help 
 ing these Indians. He thought over all the men he 
 knew, in the endeavor to select some one competent to 
 undertake the charge of them. 
 
 The next day Mr. Clark called at his office and pro 
 posed that he should accept the appointment. The 
 offer was a perfect surprise to Wilmot. At first he 
 absolutely refused, then agreed to take the matter into 
 consideration, and finally, before the commission left, 
 consented to take it if it was offered to him. 
 
 In conveying the information to Perkins, Mr. 
 Clark said : " I am not entirely satisfied about Wilmot. 
 It is one of three things with him. He is either 
 entirely unsophisticated in these matters, or he intends 
 
162 MILITARY MEDDLERS. 
 
 to get on the inside and beat us, or he wants more than 
 we can give him. That fellow is shrewd and deep, 
 now, I tell you." 
 
 " He'll want something pretty nice, I expect," said 
 Perkins, " but if we get these appropriations through 
 we can afford to give it to him. Whatever happens, I 
 don't want to fight him. It is a good deal cheaper to 
 give him something." 
 
 CHAPTEK XX. 
 
 MILITARY MEDDLERS. 
 
 HE commission remained in Council Bluffs 
 six days before they could get away. 
 Great delay was caused in securing trans 
 portation, and when they were finally 
 ready to go and drove to the river, they found that the 
 ferry-boat was disabled, and could not be used for a 
 whole day. At last they arrived at the fort, were 
 assigned quarters, and the Indians were informed of 
 their presence and the chiefs invited to come in. 
 
 The council opened with a statement from Mr. 
 Clark, and a letter of the President, appointing the 
 commission and defining its powers, was read and inter 
 preted to them by Jack. Just as Jack finished, a 
 messenger handed Mr. Clark a letter. He seemed to 
 be somewhat disturbed by it, and spoke to Mr. Smith 
 
MILITARY MEDDLERS. 163 
 
 and Mr. Hughes. Then Mi* Clark arose and said that 
 the commission, before further proceedings were had, 
 desired to consult together, and they retired to another 
 room. All were anxious to know the contents, and 
 crowded around Mr. Clark, who held the letter in his 
 hands. 
 
 "I will read it," said Mr. Clark. 
 
 " MY DEAR MR. CLARK : 
 
 " I understand that parties who are opposed to 
 granting annuities to these Indians, have had several 
 interviews with Captain Jack, and made arrangements 
 through the military to have him act as interpreter. 
 He has considerable influence with the Indians and 
 would be very unreliable in that capacity. I would 
 recommend for that place Shonnee, an Indian, and not 
 a white man. He belongs to Two Strike's band. They 
 should certainly be allowed to have one of their own 
 race to act for them in a matter which is of so much 
 importance to them. Yours truly, 
 
 H. L. PERKINS." 
 
 " That seems only just," said Mr. Borden. " White 
 men who live with the Indians are never to be trusted. 
 I am in favor of sending for this Indian to act as 
 interpreter." 
 
 "I hope he is near at hand," said Mr. Hilliard. 
 " For positively I can't stay here after to-morrow. I 
 must be back to attend the directors' meeting of my 
 company." 
 
 The commission returned to the room, and inquiry 
 
1G4 MILITARY MEDDLERS. 
 
 was made for Shonnee. In a few minutes lie came 
 in. 
 
 " Do you speak English ?" asked Mr. Clark. 
 
 " Yes," lie replied. 
 
 " Are you a full-blooded Indian ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " What tribe do you belong to ft" 
 
 " Two Strike's tribe." 
 
 "Are you willing to act as interpreter to this 
 commission ?" 
 
 " How much pay ?" asked Shonnee. 
 
 " We will give you three dollars a day." 
 
 " I will talk English a heap," said Shonnee. 
 
 There was an animated conversation going on 
 between Jack and Red Iron in the Indian language, 
 and presently Red Iron arose to address the commission 
 and Jack stood up by his side to interpret. 
 
 " We have dispensed with your services," said Mr. 
 Clark to Jack. " If the chief desires to speak Shonnee 
 will interpret." 
 
 Jack's eyes began to flash fire. He unconsciously 
 shifted his revolver belt around. Red Iron spoke a 
 few words. 
 
 " He says," said Jack, " that I am his friend and he 
 wants me to interpret for him." 
 
 u Did he say that?" asked Mr. Clark of Shonnee. 
 
 " He say Jack heap bad," said Shonnee. 
 
 " You're a liar !" said Jack, and he jerked out his 
 revolver, but Red Iron stiuck his hand up and the ball 
 went into the ceiling. In a second more the strong 
 arms of Red Iron were c'asped around Jack and his 
 
MILITARY MEDDLERS. 1G5 
 
 pinioned to his side. The two guards who were on 
 duty took away his pistols and he was led off to the 
 guard-house, and Mr. Clark's interpreter had the floor. 
 
 " What a desperado that fellow is," said Mr. Bor- 
 den. "It is lucky jou got that letter from Mr. Per 
 kins, or we might have been led into another war 
 through him." 
 
 No more counciling was done that day. 
 
 Jack had not been in the guard-house half an hour 
 when Colonel Greene called in person. Jack sat on a 
 bench in moody silence. 
 
 " Why, Jack," said the Colonel, " I am surprised. 
 What have you been doing ?" 
 
 " Making a fool of myself," said Jack, "fled Iron 
 has got more sense now than I have." 
 
 " I know all about it," said Colonel Greene. " You 
 did act foolishly, but you mustn't stay in here. This 
 will never do." 
 
 " How am I to get out, I would like to know ?" 
 
 " I'll issue an order for your discharge, providing 
 you will give me your word to keep the peace toward 
 Shonnee, Perkins and the commissioners." 
 
 " Good Heavens ! is Perkins here f 
 
 " Yes, he came last night." 
 
 " That accounts for the whole business." 
 
 " Well, will you keep the peace ?" 
 
 " I reckon I'll have to. They took my shooting- 
 irons away." 
 
 " That is rather indefinite. Will you keep the 
 peace ?" 
 
 " Now see here, Colonel, that's being pretty hard on 
 
166 MILITARY MEDDLERS. 
 
 a feller. I'd swore to shoot Perkins on sicrht. He's 
 
 Zj 
 
 the worst devil on earth," and Jack scratched his head 
 and shifted himself around. 
 
 " You don't want to stay here, do you ?" asked the 
 Colonel. 
 
 " Can't say that I do." 
 
 " Well, if you will give me your word that you 
 won't do any shooting at Perkins, Shonnee or the com 
 missioners, you may go out." 
 
 " Every cussed one of 'em ought to be killed, and 
 you know it ; but I reckon I'll have to promise, pro 
 viding they don't shoot first." 
 
 The door was opened and Jack walked out. 
 
 Both Perkins and Mr. Clark were very much enraged 
 when they learned that Jack was at liberty ; but when 
 Perkins found out the conditions of his release he was 
 somewhat easier in his mind. 
 
 Jack went straight to Badger's camp, and there he 
 found out that Perkins had had Shonnee with him all 
 night at the fort, where he had given him a rifle, four 
 or five blankets, some money and a lot of trinkets of 
 various kinds. Two or three of Badger's band could 
 understand some English, and through them the band 
 had learned that it was proposed to make Perkins their 
 agent, they having overheard something that one of the 
 commissioners had said. The whole band was in an up- 
 ' roar about it, Meha's uncle taking a very active part in 
 the discussion. Perkins was known among them by a 
 name which signified " The-man- who- cheats." They 
 declared they would not submit to have him their agent, 
 
MILITARY MEDDLEKS. 167 
 
 and appointed a delegation to go to Colonel Greene and 
 protest against it. 
 
 About sundown the delegation came to Colonel 
 Greene's head-quarters, with Jack for their interpreter. 
 Meha's uncle was the first to speak. lie said : 
 
 " We have heard that The man-who-cheats is to be 
 appointed our agent. He is a very bad man. We do 
 not want him. Since we surrendered you have been 
 very kind to us and we think you are our friend. We 
 need somebody to help us and we come to you for 
 help. We want you to prevent this man from being 
 appointed our agent. We want some good man." 
 
 " Tell them," said Colonel Greene, " that I cannot 
 help them in this matter at all. I have nothing to do 
 with appointing agents." 
 
 After the Indians had consulted together over 
 this answer, Jack said : 
 
 " They want to know if you won't write a letter to 
 the President and tell him what kind of a man this 
 Perkins is." 
 
 The Colonel said he would write the letter, if they 
 desired him to do so, but that it would do no good. 
 
 (That night Colonel Greene sat down, and wrote, 
 giving Perkins's history, and the Indians' objections to 
 him. The letter was opened by the President's private 
 secretary, who seeing that it referred to Indian affairs, 
 sent it to the Secretary of the Interior. By his private 
 secretary it was sent to the Commissioner of Indian 
 Affairs. The Commissioner glanced at it, and seeing 
 that it concerned the Indians at the fort on the Little 
 Blue, filed it away with other papers, to be turned over 
 
168 MILITAliY HEDDLEKS. 
 
 to the Peace Commission when it returned. The 
 appeal went back to the very persons appealed from, 
 for final decision, and that is the result of all such 
 efforts.) 
 
 That evening the commission had a session to dis 
 cuss matters among themselves. 
 
 " I do not like the looks of that Indian, Shonnee," 
 said Mr. Borden. 
 
 " Nor I either," said Mr. Hillard. " I don't think 
 he is truthful. He said he was a full-blooded Indian, 
 and he is evidently a half-breed." 
 
 " You can't tell whether an Indian is a half-breed 
 or not by his color," said Mr. Clark. " Many of the 
 full-bloods are lighter than some of the half-breeds." 
 
 " Well, it won't do to trust to that ruffian Jack," 
 said Mr. Smith. 
 
 "It was a direct insult to this commission," said 
 Mr. Clark, " for the military authorities to release him. 
 In every effort to civilize and christianize the Indians 
 we have to meet the opposition of the regular army. 
 
 " Who is this Captain Jack, as they call him," asked 
 Mr. Hilliard. 
 
 " Oh ! he is one of the low whites who live with 
 the Indians ; one of those ruffians, who, to escape the 
 punishment of crime, has fled from the vengeance of 
 society to live among the Indians," said Mr. Clark. 
 
 " But this Indian Shonnee does not speak English 
 well at all," said Mr. Hilliard, " and I am afraid he 
 will not be able to interpret correctly. I don't like the 
 shape affairs have assumed. I had a talk with Colonel 
 Greene, and he seems to be a perfect gentleman. He 
 
A GOVERNMENT LINGUIST. 169 
 
 says he has always found Captain Jack to be honest 
 and reliable, and that Eed Iron and he have long been 
 friends, and he thinks that Jack interpreted correctly 
 what Red Iron said." 
 
 " Colonel Greene has the outward appearance of a 
 gentleman," said Mr. Clark, " but he wants to get up 
 another Indian war, thereby hoping to get promotion 
 and glory. I never take the word of these military 
 men unless it is confirmed from other sources. Their 
 influence upon the Indians has been of the most degra 
 ding character. Not long since one of them, Lieutenant 
 Blake, enticed away an Indian girl who was living in 
 the family of a missionary. If we are ever to teach 
 them correct morals we must manage to keep them 
 from contact with the soldiers. Army officers are 
 always meddling and interfering with the work of 
 properly-constituted commissions." 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A GOVEBNMENT LINGUIST. 
 
 I1E next morning the council assembled 
 again. The chiefs were all there and 
 Shonnee was ready to interpret. Mr. Clark 
 addressed them : " "We," said he, " are sent 
 here by the Great Father himself. What we say is the 
 same as if the Great Father was here and said it him- 
 8 
 
170 A GOVERNMENT LINGUIST. 
 
 self. We have come to help you, to hear what you 
 have to say and to make a treaty with you. Now we 
 will hear you." 
 
 This is the way Shonnee interpreted it : 
 
 " He says the Great Father has sent them to make a 
 treaty. The Great Father wants to give you a great 
 many presents. He will make you rich, if you will do 
 what he wants you to do. He wants to help you." 
 
 A long silence followed. Not an Indian moved or 
 spoke. 
 
 " Tell them," said Mr. Clark, " that we are ready 
 to hear what they have to say." 
 
 " They want you to make some speeches," inter 
 preted Shonnee. 
 
 Then there was another long silence. 
 
 "Why don't you talk?" said Shonnee to Eed Iron. 
 
 " We want Jack to interpret for us," said Red Iron. 
 
 "What did he say?" asked Mr. Clark. 
 
 " He want to know Captain Jack where is ? " said 
 Shonnee. 
 
 The commissioners consulted together, and Mr. 
 Clark replied : 
 
 " We do not know anything about Captain Jack 
 since he was taken away by the soldiers. We can have 
 nothing further to do with him." 
 
 "He says," said Sbonnee, "that Captain Jack is a 
 very bad man, that he knows nothing about him, and 
 will have nothing to do with him, and that 1 am a goo<J 
 interpreter." 
 
 At this point Badger arose and shook hands with 
 the commissioners. He folded his blanket around him, 
 
A GOVERNMENT LINGUIST. 171 
 
 leaving his right arm free, and standing perfectly erect, 
 said : 
 
 " We are willing to make a treaty with the Great 
 Father, but there are some things we want to know 
 first. We have heard that The-rnan-who-cheats is to be 
 made agent for us. We know this man. He is a very 
 bad man. If he is to be made our agent we would 
 rather not make a treaty. We want two or three inter 
 preters present, so we will be sure to understand and 
 not make a mistake." 
 
 " He say," interpreted Shonnee, " he heard Captain 
 Jack be made their agent. It make him heap mad. 
 He no make treaty. He want five, six interpreters 
 here. He 'fraid you make mistake, not give him 
 presents enough, unless five, six interpreters here to 
 count them." 
 
 " Tell him," said Mr. Clark, " that we can't waste 
 our time staying here, there are no more interpreters to 
 be got. Tell him we come here to make a treaty. If 
 he won't make a treaty that shows he is still at war, and 
 the Great Father will order the soldiers to kill them." 
 
 " He says," interpreted Shonnee, " that the Great 
 Father is angry with you, and will send the soldiers to 
 kill every one of you, unless you make a treaty of peace, 
 and he says you can't have any other interpreter 
 than me." 
 
 The Indians made no reply to this whatever, but sat 
 still in stolid silence. 
 
 "Why don't they talk ?" asked Mr. Clark. 
 
 " He says if you don't talk he will order you sent to 
 the guard-house," said Shonnee. 
 
172 A GOVERNMENT LINGUIST. 
 
 " I don't believe he has got the power to do it," said 
 Bed Iron. 
 
 " He say he dare you to do anything," interpreted 
 Shonnee. 
 
 This brought consternation to the commission. 
 None of them had thought of affairs taking such a turn 
 as this. A hurried consultation was held, and it was 
 resolved to adjourn until afternoon. The Indians 
 departed, and Colonel Greene was sent for. A request 
 was made for a stronger guard to be stationed in the 
 council-room in the afternoon, and he was informed of 
 the impertinent language of the Indians. 
 
 Colonel Greene was somewhat surprised at the state 
 ments made to him, but complied with the request for 
 a stronger guard, making a detail of twenty men, under 
 the command of a lieutenant, to be stationed in the 
 council-room. 
 
 In the afternoon the council assembled again. The 
 chiefs were astonished to see so many armed soldiers 
 present, and they began to think that the threat to kill 
 them was to be carried out immediately. Red Iron was 
 the first to speak, but he did not speak until he had said 
 a few words in private to Shonnee. Whatever he said, 
 it seemed to have a powerful effect on Shonnee, who 
 was so agitated that he could hardly talk at all at first. 
 Colonel Greene and some of the officers of the fort 
 were also present. Red Iron said : 
 
 " I shake hands with you because I desire to be friendly 
 with you. I desire to make peace with the Great Father, 
 to go upon a reservation, and to learn to farm, to have 
 teachers sent to instruct the children, and men to teach 
 
A GOVEKNMENT LINGUIST. 173 
 
 us the ways of the whites. But I made a treaty once 
 before with some men the Great Father sent, and the 
 presents promised were never sent. I do not know 
 whether the Great Father ever sent those men or not. 
 Now, before I make a treaty, I want to go to Washing 
 ton and see the Great Father myself. I think that is 
 the best way to do. If you are willing to let us go to 
 Washington, I promise to make a treaty when I get 
 there, if he will give us a piece of land, teachers for 
 the children, men to show us how to farm, and pay us 
 for the damages clone by the whites, and for the land 
 which has been taken away from us." 
 
 Shonnee did his best to interpret this correctly, and 
 this is how he succeeded : 
 
 "He say shake hands. He be a friend. He want 
 to make peace a heap, and live on reservation. He want 
 heap schools. He make treaty one time, and Great 
 Father no keep it. He no send presents. He not know 
 whether Great Father send you or not. He go to 
 Washington ; make treaty there. No make treaty here. 
 Treaty here no good. He want heap pay for land. 
 Great big heap, 'cause whites kill 'em. " 
 
 This speech caused another adjournment of the 
 commission for consultation. 
 
 Mr. Smith, who did not feel at fill safe in the 
 country where there were Captain Jacks and In 
 dians, and Mr. Hilliard and Mr. Borden, who had 
 business interests which imperatively demanded their 
 immediate attention, were earnest in their advo 
 cacy of granting the request of Red Iron. Other 
 members of the commission honestly thought that 
 
174 SECRETS OF THE INDIAN BUEEAU. 
 
 no treaty, which would be beneficial to the In 
 dians, could be made while they were under the 
 influence of the military and such men as Captain Jack. 
 
 The commission stood five to seven for taking 
 the Indians to Washington, Mr. Hughs and Mr. Clark 
 opposing it ; and so it was resolved that the chiefs 
 should go. It is true, the commission had no author 
 ity for taking such action ; but Indian commissions are 
 sometimes not particular on that point. 
 
 The next day eleven chiefs, or what they called 
 chiefs, started. In fact there were but four chiefs, the 
 other seven being selected by Perkins from among the 
 men whom he thought it would be easy to manage. 
 Badger was not allowed to go. Captain Jack found 
 out that he was not able to help Red Iron as much as 
 he had imagined he could. Shonnee was taken along 
 as interpreter for one part of them, and for the others, 
 who spoke a different language, another half-breed 
 called Pree-mo. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 SECRETS OP THE INDIAN BUREAU. 
 
 RRIYINGr at Washington a council was held 
 with the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
 and speeches were made by the four chiefs. 
 The others said nothing, because they did 
 not know enough to say anything. Not one of them 
 had ever made a speech, not even in their own councils 
 
SECRETS OF THE INDIAN BUREAU. 175 
 
 at home, and when invited to talk they simply said that 
 the other chiefs had expressed their views. 
 
 Red Iron gave a detailed account of the war, but it 
 was so badly interpreted that it was almost impossible 
 to understand any of it. Now and then a sentence 
 seemed to have some point to it and that was all. To 
 Little Wolf had been assigned by the Indians the 
 stating of what they desired put in the treaty, but here 
 again the interpretation was so bad that little could be 
 got out of it. That night, at the Indian commissioner's 
 house, the whole matter was talked over between him, 
 Mr. Clark, Perkins and a Member of Congress, and a 
 treaty was drawn up in the stately and formal language 
 such as is used in these documents. It provided for 
 the creation of two reservations, and the following 
 officers on each : 
 
 1 Agent, at $1,500 
 
 2 Clerks, at 1,800 
 
 1 Farmer, at 1,000 
 
 JL Blacksmith, at .... 900 
 
 1 Carpenter, at 900 
 
 1 Physician, at .... 1,200 
 
 1 Miller (flour mill), at ... 800 
 
 2 Engineers, at .... 1,800 
 1 Miller (saw mill), at ... 600 
 
 1 School Teacher, at ... 500 
 
 2 Common Laborers, at . . . 600 
 
 1 Head Sawyer for Saw-Mill, at . 750 
 
 2 Assistant Engineers (firemen), afc . 800 
 This created twenty-six new offices, most of them 
 
 with pretty fair salaries attached. 
 
176 SECRETS OF THE INDIAN BUREAU. 
 
 The Congressman remarked that he wanted it dis 
 tinctly understood that he was to have the supplying 
 of sixteen of the places. There was a young man 
 sitting in the room who had taken no part in the con 
 versation up to this time. He was the private secretary 
 of Senator L. When the Representative made this re 
 mark he arose and said that such a distribution of these 
 offices w r oiild never be agreed to by the Senator. 
 
 " I don't see why he should kick at that," said the 
 Congressman. " I will have the biggest part of the 
 work to do, in getting the appropriations through the 
 House. I have taken ten and left six for him, and I 
 think that he ought to be satisfied." 
 
 "I have been instructed by the Senator," said the 
 young man, " to say that he will agree to taking 
 twelve of these appointments and give you fourteen. 
 He also wants the two traderships, not included in this 
 list, who will be appointed under the intercourse law." 
 
 " I won't agree to anything of the kind," said the 
 Representative. " I'll bust up the whole thing first. 
 I'll do anything that is fair, but this is acting the reg 
 ular hog. Besides, as I said before, I have got to work 
 the appropriations through." 
 
 " The Senator will likely have just as much to do 
 in getting the treaty confirmed by the Senate," replied 
 the young man. 
 
 The Representative declared he would take nothing 
 less than he had said, and the youug man insisted upon 
 all he had demanded, until they came to pretty hot 
 words, and broke up without making any agreement, 
 and both declaring they would " bust up" the whole 
 
SECEETS OF THE INDIAN BUREAU. 177 
 
 business, rather than recede one iota from their de 
 mands. 
 
 Perkins was disgusted, and called both the Senator 
 and Representative fools, and said they had better take 
 what they could get, than act like lunatics. The only 
 chance for him was to get the matter compromised in 
 some way. 
 
 The next day he called upon the Representative, but 
 he was still in a very bad humor, and denounced Senator 
 L. again as a hog. He never would do anything that 
 was fair. He always wanted to grab everything, and 
 he had endured it as just as long as he intended to. 
 Then he went to the young man and tried to get him 
 to compromise, but he said the Senator would never 
 agree to it. The fact was, the Senator was in a tight 
 place. He had promised something to several mem 
 bers of the Legislature who had voted for him, and 
 some of them he had been unable to provide for as yet, 
 and they were getting very persistent and threatened 
 some ugly revelations unless they got places pretty 
 soon. There were two of them who would not be 
 satisfied unless they got something pretty big ; for these 
 two he wanted the traderships. He was willing to let 
 the Representative have both of the agents, but he 
 must have the traderships. This information was car 
 ried by Perkins to the Representative. He replied: 
 " That is just like him. One of his plausible stories. 
 He knows that I can't have either one of the agents. 
 You are to have one, and Clark got scared and gave the 
 other one to some lawyer out at the Bluffs. You- see 
 there is nothing but skimmed milk for rne, and that 
 8* 
 
178 SECRETS OF THE INDIAN BUREAU. 
 
 old sharper is to take all of the cream. I'll see him 
 damned first. Tell him that." 
 
 Perkins went to see Mr. Clark, and told him what 
 the Representative said. 
 
 " Well, it's your fault," said Mr. Clark. " I would 
 never have given that agency to Wilmot if it had not 
 been for you." 
 
 " I didn't tell you to give him the agency, I only 
 said I thought we should have to give him something, 
 and you went off and gave him the best thing we had. 
 But it is no use crying over spilt milk. This thing 
 has got to be fixed up somehow." 
 
 "What are you going to do .?" 
 
 " They'll divide the patronage up somehow, or I'll 
 make it so hot for both of them that they'll not want 
 to stay in Washington long." 
 
 Perkins waited seven or eight days for the Senator 
 and Representative to come to some agreement, but 
 they both were just as obstinate as ever. Then he 
 called on the private secretary and said : 
 
 " One tradership and eleven other places must be 
 agreed upon for the Senator before sundown to-night, 
 or the whole transaction with the member from Lincoln 
 County, the amount of money paid, the place where 
 the agreement was made, the bank on which the check 
 was drawn, and every detail will be published to-morrow 
 in the New York papers. I don't intend to fool 
 around here any longer. I mean business, and you can 
 so inform the Senator." 
 
 Then he went up to the House and sent in his card 
 
SECKETS OF THE INDIAN BUREAU. 179 
 
 to the Representative, who came out immediately, and 
 said : 
 
 " This matter has come to a head at last. The 
 Senator will send a proposition before night to take 
 one trader and eleven other places, and you had better 
 agree to do it." 
 
 "That's all right, I'll do it. You see, I had prom 
 ised a tradership and I was bound to have it. That's 
 what I made the fight for." 
 
 Sure enough, as Perkins had said, the private 
 secretary called upon the Representative before sun 
 down and the " patronage " was satisfactorily divided. 
 
 The next evening another meeting was held at the 
 residence of the Indian commission, the same parties 
 being present, and the details of the affair were gone 
 into. 
 
 All the officers appointed under the treaty were to 
 have residences built for them out of the money appro 
 priated for the Indians. The agent's house was to cost 
 three thousand dollars, and those of the other officers 
 eighteen hundred each, and to be built under the 
 direction of the agent. As they were to be the same 
 on both reservations the contracts were to be divided 
 equally between the two parties. A commission was to 
 be appointed to locate the reservations and designate 
 their boundaries. The private secretary insisted that 
 these persons should be selected by the Senator, for, he 
 said, it was only a temporary thing, not much money 
 in it, and the Senator had several very respectable men 
 who had rendered him some service in primary elections, 
 county conventions or the legislature, who would feel it 
 
180 SECRETS OF THE INDIAN BUEEATJ, 
 
 to be a compliment to be put on such a commission. 
 The Representative said he could have them. 
 
 Then the all-important point was reached how 
 much should the annuities be? Perkins said that 
 nothing less than a hundred thousand dollars a year for 
 five years, to be gradually diminished afterward, 
 would do. 
 
 " Now, you see," said the Representative, " that I 
 have to furnish the money for the whole business, as I 
 said in the first place. I am on the Indian Committee, 
 it is true, but there are a good many more on it, and 
 they all have something they want. What is in the 
 Indian Appropriation Bill now runs it up to a good 
 many millions." 
 
 4 "A good many millions ! Why, this is only two 
 hundred thousand, a mere bagatelle. Then if the 
 Senate confirms the treaty, the appropriations have got 
 to be made anyhow. The tiling is to get the treaty 
 confirmed." 
 
 " Never mind," said Mr. Clark, " we'll need all the 
 help we can get anyhow. Now, let us go at the text of 
 the treaty." 
 
 After working at it for some time they all got 
 tired, and it was agreed that the private secretary and 
 Perkins should both draw up a treaty and submit it to 
 another meeting, and then they adjourned. 
 
 Three days afterward the drafts were completed 
 and submitted. After both were read, Perkins's copy 
 was adopted, with a few slight alterations. It provided 
 for the cession of all right, title and interest in any 
 or all lands held by the Indians to the United States, 
 
OFFICIAL INFORMATION. 181 
 
 except two specified tracts which were reserved for 
 their " use and occupancy." The title granted by the 
 Indians to the United States was a full and entire re- 
 linqnishment and quit-claim of all their interest in it 
 forever. The title granted by it to the Indians was a 
 fraud, no title at all, in fact, being a sort of tenancy at 
 will, for use and occupancy. Then it specified in 
 separate items the amounts to be appropriated by the 
 Government, so much per annum for agent, farmer, 
 physician, etc., through the list of appointees. This left 
 eighty-six thousand nine hundred dollars to be spent 
 annually for the benefit of the Indians, in such way as 
 the secretary of the interior might direct. The annui 
 ties were to run for twenty years and be gradually re 
 duced after the first five years. Another copy like 
 this was made for the other tribe, making only such 
 alterations as were necessary in regard to names and the 
 boundaries of their reservations. In this way did Per 
 kins prepare Red Iron's treaty for him. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 OFFICIAL INFORMATION. 
 
 TIRING- all these weary days the Indians had 
 been lodged at a miserable hotel, the whole 
 eleven in one room. Their meals were 
 brought to them on plates, and a tin-cup 
 full of coffee was furnished to each one. The hotel- 
 
182 OFFICIAL INFOEMATION. 
 
 keeper charged full rates, two dollars a day, for each 
 of them, it being a sort of political hotel-keeping. The 
 Indians, being accustomed to live in the open air, which 
 was always pure and light on the elevated plains where 
 they had been born, soon began to feel unwell from 
 breathing the heavy air of the sea level, vitiated as it 
 was in the unventilated room where they were confined 
 for the greater part of each day. 
 
 Poor old Eed Iron wondered and wondered, what 
 was the reason why the business could not be finished, 
 and they allowed to return home ; and every day he 
 made inquiry of the man who had been detailed by 
 the Indian Bureau to take charge of them. He was 
 generally told that the Great Father had so much to 
 attend to that he could not get time, but in a day or 
 two he would see them. 
 
 Every day they were taken out for a walk, and were 
 shown over the Capitol, the Treasury and other places 
 which it was deemed desirable that they should see, in 
 order to duly impress them with the greatness and 
 power of the Great Father, and incline them to subjec 
 tion to the orders of his agents. Some of these Indians 
 had never seen a house larger than a sutlers cabin, 
 which, before they started on this journey, they re 
 garded as the acme of wealth. Now they were dazed 
 and bewildered. Everything was new to them, from 
 the paved streets to the dome of the Capitol. As they 
 walked along the streets, looking straight ahead, one 
 who did not understand Indian character would have 
 supposed that they did not notice anything, but they 
 saw everything. lied Iron stood by the open window 
 
OFFICIAL INFORMATION. 183 
 
 of the hotel dining-room. To all appearance he was 
 intensely interested in something far down the street. 
 In the few minutes while he stood there he saw how 
 the white people ate, cups, saucers, knives, forks, nap 
 kins, salt-spoons, butter-knives, nut-crackers, all were 
 photographed on his mind ; and when, a few days after 
 ward, Mr. Borden, who was greatly interested in him, 
 took him to dine, he was astonished to see him seat 
 himself at the table and eat with as much grace as if 
 he had been trained in the most polite society. 
 
 Every day or two, while the Indians were waiting, 
 the newspapers announced that they were still there, 
 and the commission were finding great difficulty in 
 getting them to agree to a treaty which would be of 
 any benefit to them. Don't let the reader blame the 
 newspaper correspondents for publishing such state 
 ments. The correspondent or reporter gets his infor 
 mation from " official " sources. He goes to the heads 
 of departments and bureaus for it. If he should refuse 
 to publish what they give him, his mission would end, 
 his occupation would be gone, for they would refuse to 
 give him any information, and his journal would be 
 left without its Washington news. If a correspondent 
 was at war with the head of a department or bureau, he 
 could get no news at all, for from these most of it 
 comes. 
 
 Toward the last all the Indians began to feel un 
 well. When the fact was announced in the papers, the 
 comment was made that the Indian could not live af 
 ter the manner of civilized lift and in consequence 
 
184 OFFICIAL INFORMATION . 
 
 must soon fade from the face of the earth. This also 
 was " official information." 
 
 When Perkins had got the " patronage " arranged 
 and the treaties drawn up, Mr. Clark called the com 
 mission together. Mr. Borden and Mr. Hilliard gave 
 the document the closest scrutiny. The more they had 
 seen of Red Iron the better they liked him, and they 
 were determined to make the best arrangement for him 
 they could. These men were both tender-hearted, hon 
 est, Christian gentlemen, and greatly desired to do jus 
 tice to the Indians. They could find nothing to criti 
 cise in the treaties, and gave Mr. Clark, whom they sup 
 posed had drawn them, great praise for the labor he 
 had bestowed upon them. 
 
 At last Red Iron and the other chiefs were sum 
 moned before them. Shonnee and Free-mo, whose 
 real name among the Indians was Tangled Hair, were 
 called upon to interpret the treaties to them. Neither 
 of the interpreters could read or write, and the treaties 
 were written in the stately language which is used in 
 documents of this kind which are drawn up between 
 enlightened and civilized nations, Perkins having 
 copied most of the language from former treaties which 
 were on file in Washington. They abounded in legal 
 terms, which would not be understood by the average 
 civilized citizen. Shonnee and Pree-mo, who only knew 
 a few English words, and they of the commonest and 
 simplest kind, did not understand one word in ten. 
 Nevertheless, as Mr. Clark read it to them sentence by 
 sentence, they instantly rattled off something in the In 
 dian language. When they were through, the chiefs 
 
OFFICIAL INFORMATION. 185 
 
 had no idea of its provisions. The interpreters had 
 told them, in substance, that they were to have a big 
 piece of land, one part on the Arickoree and the other 
 on the Baha Taha, which was to be theirs forever, and 
 that every year the Great Father would send them im 
 mense sums of money. 
 
 lied Iron inquired if they were to have teachers and 
 missionaries sent to them, and several other questions, 
 which Mr. Clark answered. Then the papers were pre 
 sented for signature, but the chiefs refused to sign. 
 Red Iron said they would think over it, and come again 
 the next day ; and they retired to their room in the ho 
 tel. There they had a long discussion. They tried to 
 get some idea from Shonnee and Pree-mo of the amount 
 of money they were to get, the number of blankets, how 
 much rations ; wli ether they had to stay on the reserva 
 tion all the time ; if they could go and visit other tribes 
 if they wanted to ; if they were to be allowed to hunt 
 any ; if their horses and arms were to be given back to 
 them, and a hundred other things of like nature, all of 
 which Shonnee answered in the manner which he knew 
 the chiefs wanted the treaty to state. In fact he as 
 sured them that everything they wanted was stipulated 
 in the treaty. 
 
 Perkins was somewhat frightened when he learned 
 that the chiefs had refused to sign the treaty, and that 
 afternoon he, Mr. Clark, and the Representative had a 
 consultation over the matter in one of the committee- 
 rooms of the Capitol. It was concluded that the best 
 thing to be done was to send them some presents. So 
 a purse of five hundred dollars was made up, and a lot 
 
186 WHAT COULD IT MEAN? 
 
 of nice blankets, beads, tomakawks, and such other 
 things as they thought the Indians would like was sent 
 to them. If Perkins had only known it, this was 
 money thrown away, for Shonnee had satisfied them on 
 every point before, and they had already agreed to sign 
 the treaties. The next day the treaties were signed and 
 the Indians hustled off home. In due time the Senate 
 confirmed them, and the appropriations were made. 
 
 Mr. Clark prepared a formal report of the work of 
 the Peace Commission, dilating on its successful issue, 
 portions of which were copied in all the religious 
 weeklies and in most of the missionary journals. He 
 did not say, however, that the whole thing was con 
 ceived in fraud and born in iniquity. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 
 WHAT COULD IT MEAN? 
 
 APTAI1ST JACK got tired staying around 
 the fort during Red Iron's absence, con 
 cluded to go up the country, and he got 
 ready his outfit and started. While on the 
 trail he met several trains hauling supplies to the fort. 
 The Indians were still furnishing a rich harvest for the 
 contractors. 
 
 Arriving at Council Bluffs, he stopped at the 
 Causeland House, and went over to see Mr. Parkman 
 
WHAT COULD IT MEAN? 187 
 
 and his wife. Mrs. Parkman told him that they had 
 been appointed missionaries to Red Iron's tribe, and as 
 soon as they were located on their new reserve they 
 should go to live with the Indians. 
 
 Jennie asked him if he knew who was to be Red 
 Iron's agent, and he said he did not. 
 
 " What will you give to know ?" she asked. 
 
 " I'll give you a bran new pair of moccasins." 
 
 " But I don't wear moccasins." 
 
 " I'll give you an Arapahoe blanket." 
 
 " Oh, Jaok ! I wouldn't take that. They cost too 
 much money." 
 
 (An Arapahoe blanket is worth a hundred dollars. 
 They are perfectly impervious to water, will last a life 
 time, and are made only by the Arapahoe Indians.) 
 
 " What do you want me to give ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " I want you to make me a promise to do some 
 thing." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " I won't tell you until you promise." 
 
 " Well, I won't promise until you tell me." 
 
 " Now, Jack, I thought you would." 
 
 "You might want me to do something awful." 
 
 " You know I wouldn't. It's two things. One is 
 not to do something, and the other is to do something." 
 
 " Well, if it is a thing I oughten to do, and t'other 
 a thing I oughter do, I'll promise." 
 
 " I'll pledge you my word to that." 
 
 " I'll promise, then." 
 
 " On your word of honor, Jack." 
 
 " Yes, on honor." 
 
188 WHAT COULD IT MEAN ? 
 
 " Then, when I tell you the name of Ked Iron's 
 agent you are to get acquainted with him." 
 
 " What a queer notion," said J ack. 
 
 " Will you promise ?" 
 
 " Yes, I'll hunt him up if he lives anywhere in 
 reach." 
 
 " Now, the other thing, the thing you ought not to 
 do." 
 
 " Tell me what it is." 
 
 " You are not to shoot Perkins. Mrs. Parkman told 
 me what you meant by having an interview with 
 Perkins." 
 
 "Look a here, now," said Jack, "that ain't fair. 
 Perkins ought to be killed. If ever a man lived who 
 deserved killing, it's that Perkins. I won't make no 
 such promise." 
 
 " Oh, Jack," said Jennie, and she began to cry. 
 
 " What are you so tender about Perkins for? Are 
 you in love with him ?" 
 
 "No, I ain't," said Jennie, "I hate him," and she 
 stamped her foot. 
 
 " Well, now, if women ain't the queerest creatures 
 on earth." 
 
 " Please do promise me, Jack. Now, won't you ? 
 Please do," and Jennie looked up at him in a most 
 pleading way through her tears. 
 
 " I wish I had of sent him to kingdom come the 
 day he was trying to make a target of me at the 
 Canseland House." 
 
 " Oh ! how I wish you had," said Jennie. 
 
 " Well, if this don't beat all creation," said Jack. 
 
WHAT COULD IT MEAN? 189 
 
 " Please do promise me, Jack. I never asked you 
 to promise me anything before and I will never ask 
 you again." 
 
 " Tell me why you want me to promise." 
 
 " Oh ! I can't. When father comes he will tell 
 you. Do promise me." 
 
 " Is he plotting any deviltry agin you ?" asked Jack, 
 and his eyes began to gleam. 
 
 No." 
 
 " What under heavens is it, then ?" 
 
 "I can't tell you, Jack. If I could I would. I 
 don't know much about it, only I know it would be 
 better for us all if you should kill me than if you killed 
 Perkins." 
 
 Tears were streaming down Jennie's face and her 
 voice was choked with sobs. They sat there in silence 
 for a few minutes. Then Jennie took her handkerchief 
 down. Her face was as white as snow. The tears 
 were all dried up. She tried twice before she could 
 speak. Then she said, in such a tone as Jack had never 
 heard before : 
 
 "Will you promise?" 
 
 "I will," said Jack. 
 
 The next moment Jennie lay in a fainting-fit on the 
 floor. Jack sprang to the door and called Mrs. Park- 
 man, who was out in the yard talking to the next-door 
 neighbor, and the two soon brought her back to 
 consciousness. 
 
 Jack told Mrs. Parkman what had happened, and 
 asked her what it meant. 
 
 " I can't imagine," said Mrs. Parkman. " All I 
 
190 WHAT COULD IT MEAN? 
 
 know is, that she lias received several letters lately, 
 which seemed to excite her very much, and as soon as 
 she reads them, she puts them in the stove and burns 
 them up." 
 
 Jack walked off up-town, and as he passed the Em 
 pire House he glanced in at a window, and there sat 
 Perkins. He gritted his teeth as he looked at him. 
 He said nothing, however, and walked on. When he 
 got to the Causeland House, he sat down and tried to 
 think what had made Jennie so anxious about the per 
 sonal safety of Perkins. Did she know that he had come 
 back ? Were the letters which she had received from 
 him? What possible hold could Perkins have upon 
 her ? Jack could not decide. All at once, he happened 
 to think Jennie had not told him who Hed Iron's agent 
 was to be. How could she know, anyhow ? Jack 
 went right back to Mr. Parkman's. 
 
 Jennie was reclining on her little cot in the small 
 room. 
 
 " See here," said he, " you did not tell me who that 
 man was I was to get acquainted with." 
 
 " Oh, it's Mr. Wilmot." 
 
 " How did you find out ?" 
 
 " Jack, you will never tell who told you, will you $" 
 This was said with so much earnestness that it fairly 
 startled Jack. **, 
 
 " Miss Walker," said he, with great seriousness of 
 tone, " I don't like the way you talk and act about 
 things. Now, you are young, and have 110 relations 
 here to advise you or take care of you. I advise you to 
 tell Mrs. Parkman all about this business." 
 
WHAT COULD IT MEAN? 191 
 
 " I can't tell anybody," said Jennie. " Mrs. Park- 
 man says she has known you for years, and that you 
 could be trusted, and I was going to write a letter to 
 you, but you came walking in. I think it was provi 
 dential. I want you to do two or three little things for 
 me. They are all right and proper, and you may do 
 much good that way. By and by, everything can 
 be explained. Now don't ask me to tell, because I 
 can't. You promised me you would get acquainted 
 with Mr. Wilmot. I know you will keep your promise. 
 I want you to let him know that you know he is to be 
 appointed agent, and then I want you to say two or 
 three things to him, which I will tell you." 
 
 Jack was worse nonplussed than before. He said 
 nothing more, and went off to find Wilmot. He found 
 that gentleman sitting in his office. These two men 
 had often heard of each other but had never met be 
 fore. It was not long until they were in an earnest 
 discussion. Wibnot was surprised at Jack's conversa 
 tion. Sometimes he used as elegant and well-chosen 
 language as any man he had ever conversed with, and 
 again, he talked the regular jargon of the frontier. 
 
 These two men were as unlike each other in every 
 outward appearance as they well could be, but from 
 that hour until death they were ever the closet friends. 
 
 A day or two afterward Jack intimated to Mr. Wil 
 mot that he understood he was to Red Iron's agent. 
 
 " Yes," said he, " I have been pressed to take the 
 place and have agreed to accept it if it is offered to 
 
 me." 
 
 Then he went on to state what he intended to try 
 
192 WHAT COULD IT MEAN ? 
 
 to do for the Indians. He would try to get them to 
 form a regular government, with courts and juries to 
 settle every dispute which might arise. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Parkman were to go as missionaries and he would aid 
 them in their work all he could. He would try to have 
 all the children go to school, and believed that in a few 
 years he would have a self-supporting and intelligent 
 community. 
 
 Jack called on Jennie and told her of his conversa 
 tion with Wilmot. 
 
 "Now," said Jennie, "I want you to go to Mr. 
 Wilmot and beg of him not to accept that appoint 
 ment." 
 
 " How could I do such a thing ? I think "Wilmot a 
 splendid man for agent. 1 had never hoped to get as 
 good a man. No, no, that would not be right to go 
 back on my old friend Red Iron." 
 
 "Jack," said Jennie, " if Mr. Wilmot goes out there 
 as agent he will be ruined. I know he will never do 
 what is expected of him. There now, I didn't mean 
 to say that. You won't ever tell that I said it, will 
 you?" 
 
 Light began to break into Jack's- mind. 
 
 " I wish you would tell me all about this business. 
 What sort of hold has that Perkins got on you ? He's 
 plotting some deviltry, I know. What interest have 
 you got in Wilmot ?" 
 
 Jennie blushed scarlet. " I think Mr. Wilmot is a 
 very fine man. If he stays here and practices law he 
 will go to Congress sometime." 
 
DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 193 
 
 Jack scratched his head and pulled his mustache. 
 More light was breaking in. 
 
 " You'd better tell me or Mrs. Parkman all about 
 it," said he. 
 
 " I wish I could," said Jennie. 
 
 The next day Jack went up to Wilmot's office. The 
 door was closed and locked, and on it was a card. It 
 said, " Absent from the city. Will not return for two 
 weeks," and underneath was the date. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXY. 
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 
 
 ACK made inquiry all over town about Wil- 
 mot. All that he could learn was that he 
 had hired a team at the livery stable, telling 
 the man that he should be absent ten or 
 twelve days, and then went across the river, and 
 started toward the northwest. Another thing that 
 made his conduct more strange was, that it was the 
 week for the session of the circuit court and court week 
 was the lawyers' harvest. Wilmot had gone to an 
 other lawyer, told him that he was unexpectedly 
 called away, and turned all his cases over to him. 
 
 When the grand jury were impaneled, Perkins 
 
 was the first man who appeared before them. After 
 
 him four or five other villainous-looking men, who 
 
 were also stopping at the Empire House, were sent for. 
 
 9 
 
194 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 
 
 The jury was in session two days, and when they had pre 
 sented all their indictments were discharged. Perkins 
 left town a few hours afterward. According to the 
 rule of all courts, the indictments were kept secret 
 until the warrants were served and the persons accused 
 were in the hands of the officers of the court. 
 
 The district attorney, who was a first-class shyster, 
 put on a very wise and mysterious look, but said noth 
 ing. A thousand guesses were made by the attorneys 
 and court attendants concerning what Perkins was up 
 to now, but none of them came anywhere near the 
 truth. 
 
 One morning, not long after court adjourned, Wil- 
 mot drove into town. The team was jaded and worn, 
 and had evidently been driven all night. He ate a 
 hurried breakfast, went to his office, wrote a letter, car 
 ried it to the post-office, and then retired to his room 
 and was not seen until the next day. Jack called upon 
 him early in the forenoon. 
 
 " I was never so glad to see a man in my life," said 
 Wilmot, " as I am to see you." 
 
 " I'm glad to see you too, been waiting for you two 
 weeks." 
 
 " Do you know," said Wilmot, " that that commission 
 of eminent philanthropists who were out here have been 
 planning the worst piece of fraud and swindling ever 
 attempted in this country ?" 
 
 "They were a set of cowards and thieves," said 
 Jack. " Them's the chaps that had me arrested." 
 
 " Had you arrested ! What did they arrest you 
 for?" 
 
DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 195 
 
 " I was trying to shoot a lying half-breed." 
 
 Wilmot laughed and said : " Well, why didn't you 
 shoot him ?" 
 
 " 'Cause old Red Iron knocked my hand up, and 
 the pill that was intended for him went into the 
 ceiling." 
 
 Wilmot then explained to Jack the cause of his 
 absence. What occurred the afternoon before he left 
 and for the next few days was as follows : 
 
 Wilmot was sitting in his office when a gentleman 
 came in. He was well dressed, and had a sharp business 
 look about him. He handed Wilmot the following 
 letter, which was dated at Washington. 
 
 " MY DEAE ME. WILMOT : 
 
 " This letter will be handed to you by Hon. A. 
 S. Parker, who will be appointed trader at the agency 
 which it has been agreed shall be assigned to you. As 
 you will be associated together for some time to come 
 he desired to make your acquaintance as soon as 
 possible, and I have taken the liberty of sending him 
 directlv to you. Truly yours, 
 
 H. O. CLAEK." 
 
 After reading the letter Wilmot extended his hand 
 and said he was very glad to meet him, and asked : 
 
 " Have you come direct from Washington ?" 
 
 " Yes, I stayed until the treaties were confirmed and 
 things were made safe, then I started." 
 
 " Do they intend to move the Indians to the new 
 reservations immediately ?" 
 
196 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 
 
 " Yes, we intend to get up there and fixed up before 
 winter sets in." 
 
 "How soon will I get my appointment," asked 
 Wilmot. 
 
 " It will be along in the course of a month. That 
 is all right. Everything is fixed." 
 
 A pause ensued for a minute or two, and then 
 Parker said : 
 
 " Clark was very anxious for me to see you and get 
 things amicably arranged. Of course you are not going 
 out there to live among the Indians, cut off from all 
 the benefits of society and the comforts of civilized 
 life, for fifteen hundred dollars a year. It is about as 
 bad as going to the penitentiary. So we might as well 
 arrange beforehand how we are to divide, and there 
 won't be any trouble afterward. The annual appro 
 priation is a hundred thousand. After the salaries are 
 all paid there will be eighty-six thousand nine hundred 
 dollars left. The first year we will be forced to spend 
 a good deal, for residences for the agent and employees 
 will have to be built. That will only leave forty-two 
 thousand three hundred dollars to feed the Indians and 
 divide up. It is altogether too small, but it can't be 
 helped, unless Dan (Dan was the Congressman) gets 
 through the additional appropriation for the construc 
 tion of the agency buildings but that's not certain and 
 we must not count on it. Now, what's your offer ? 
 How much do you want ? You see how it is, we've all 
 got to be satisfied with small slices the first year." 
 
 If that speech had been made to Jack he would 
 have knocked the man down before he got half-way 
 
DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 197 
 
 through ; but Wilmot, while he was just as indignant 
 as Jack would have been, simply leaned his head upon 
 his hand as if in deep thought, and in a minute or two 
 said : 
 
 " This matter has not turned out at all as I ex 
 pected." 
 
 " It is rather exasperating," said Parker ; " but next 
 year we will have eighty-six thousand to divide up in 
 stead of forty-two thousand. We might have saved 
 five or six thousand out of the construction of the 
 agency buildings, but the Senator has laid his hands on 
 that. It is just as Dan says, he's a regular hog." 
 
 " I'll have to take this matter into consideration," 
 said Wilmot. " I'm not going to leave a good law 
 practice to go out there for nothing." 
 
 " Well, it will be better next year." 
 
 " Who knows what will happen before next year ?" 
 
 " Well, what's your offer ? How much do you 
 want ?" 
 
 " What do you propose to give ?" 
 
 " Will five thousand dollars do ?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Will seven thousand fiVe hundred ?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " I don't see how we can come to any agreement. 
 Clark ought to have fixed this himself." 
 
 " How do you propose to divide the rest ?" 
 
 " Well, as I have to put in a stock of goods, invest 
 a good deal of ready money, and none of the rest are to 
 put in any money or run any risk, I ought to have at 
 least fifteen thousand. The Senator is to have five 
 
198 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 
 
 thousand, and Dan three thousand. That leaves eleven 
 thousand eight hundred dollars for rations, and we can 
 pull them through somehow on that. You see it is ut 
 terly impossible to make your share more than seven 
 thousand five hundred." 
 
 " As I said before," remarked Wilmot, " things 
 have taken a turn I had not thought of. I will have 
 to take the matter under consideration. If you will 
 call at my office early to-morrow morning, I will be able 
 to say what I will do." 
 
 After Parker left, "Wilmot put his feet up on the 
 table, leaned back in his chair and soliloquized. " Who 
 would ever have imagined this ? A Peace Commis 
 sion, too ! What ever made them offer me the 
 place F 
 
 His thoughts for some time were confused, and led 
 to no solution. Finally he said to himself : 
 
 " I see how it was. The gentlemen on that com 
 mission were honest, good Christian men, with one ex 
 ception, and that is that man Clark. They made this 
 treaty in good faith, and supposed they had provided 
 for the future welfare of these Indians. There was 
 enough money appropriated to have supplied them un 
 til they had raised crops of their own, and then to have 
 educated the whole mass of the children. That is 
 what they intended to do, and thought they had done. 
 I don't blame them for thinking so, for I believed it 
 myself. When I made that speech against large ap 
 propriations to feed and clothe the Indians, I did it on 
 general principles, and that fellow Clark thought I un 
 derstood the whole matter, and was bound to have a 
 
DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 199 
 
 hand in it or make trouble. So lie came around and 
 offered me tliat place to keep me quiet. He's got hold 
 of the wrong man this time. I'll follow this up 
 until I land every one of these scoundrels in the peni 
 tentiary." 
 
 To resolve was to proceed to act with Wilmot, and 
 he set about devising some plan to accomplish his pur 
 pose. He decided immediately that he would not take 
 the agency, but it would not do to let them think he 
 intended to prosecute them. 
 
 The next morning when Parker called, Wilmot 
 said : 
 
 " I have been thinking this matter over. I can't ac 
 cept of any such arrangement as you propose. I am to 
 go out there, according to these fellows' plans, and take all 
 the responsibility of this thing for a mere pittance. The 
 risk is too great for the amount involved. I have a 
 thing to propose, which, if it is accepted, will be satis 
 factory to me. Have you authority to arrange this mat 
 ter for Mr. Clark and the other commissioners ?" 
 
 " I have," said Parker, and he took from an inside 
 pocket of his vest a large pocket-book. From among 
 numerous papers he selected a small slip, and handed it 
 to Mr. Wilmot. Like the other, it was dated at Wash 
 ington, and contained the following words : 
 
 " Any arrangement made by the bearer, A. S. Par 
 ker, will be satisfactory to all parties interested. 
 
 "H. O. CLAKK." 
 
 Wilmot could hardly resist smiling when he read it 
 
200 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 
 
 It was a very ingeniously worded document. There 
 was nothing in it to criminate anybody unless it was 
 made a part of other evidence. Wilmot wanted to 
 keep that paper very much, but he did not want to seem 
 to want to keep it. After reading it he threw it down 
 on the table in a careless sort of way among some other 
 loose papers, and as he talked he took up a large pack 
 age of papers, bound together with a rubber band, 
 turned them over and over in one hand, snapped the 
 rubber up and down until he broke it, and then tossed 
 the loose papers on top of Mr. Clark's note. All this 
 time he was talking, and the whole thing was done as 
 if by accident, arid as though he had utterly forgotten 
 that little scrap of paper. 
 
 The sharp eyes of Mr. Parker had been following 
 that paper. He wanted it too, but did not want to seem 
 to want it. He gave a sharp glance at Wilmot, but 
 nothing was to be learned from that tranquil counte 
 nance. 
 
 " What is your proposition ?" said Parker. 
 
 " I want to name the man who is to have that 
 agency." 
 
 " Is he known to Mr. Clark ?" 
 
 " I don't know whether he is or not." 
 
 " I don't think that will be satisfactory." 
 
 " I know him, and that is enough. That agency is 
 mine, and if I don't want to go myself, I have a right 
 to say who shall. Let Mr. Clark try to interfere if he 
 dares. You came upon me so suddenly that I have not 
 had time to mention the matter to him yet, but he will 
 
DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 201 
 
 be appointed agent to Red Iron's tribe, or I'll know the 
 reason why." 
 
 " You need not get excited," said Parker ; " I did 
 not say that it could not be done, and " 
 
 " And I say it shall be done," broke in Wilmot, with , 
 a good deal of vehemence." 
 
 " If you insist upon it, I suppose we will have to sub 
 mit." 
 
 " Well I do, and most positively too," replied Wil- 
 mot. 
 
 " What is his name ?" 
 
 " His name is Harkins." 
 
 Parker gave a long, low whistle. 
 
 " Do you know him ?" asked Wilmot. 
 
 " I should say I did," said Parker. 
 
 " Have you any objections ?" 
 
 " I don't know that it would do any good to object, 
 as you say you will insist upon it." 
 
 " Where did you ever meet him ?" 
 
 " At Hickman's, the night the outbreak occurred. 
 I was among those who helped put him in command 
 that night." 
 
 " Then you ought to be good friends." 
 
 " Well, we are, I guess." 
 
 " Now then, you will write to Mr. Clark the arrange 
 ment we have made ?" 
 
 " Shall I tell him the matter is finally settled ?" 
 
 " No, you can't tell him that, for I have not seen 
 
 Harkins yet, and it will be some days before I can see 
 
 him. As soon as 1 do, I will write to the President 
 
 and ask him to withdraw my nomination and substitute 
 
 9* 
 
202 DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 
 
 that of Harkins. The gentlemen in Washington will 
 see that it is done, or they will find out there is a here 
 after." 
 
 Parker went away and Wilmot hired a team to go 
 and find Harkins, who was off to the north-west with a 
 surveying party. The two men were old college claims 
 and they entered into league together, the object of 
 which was to protect the Indians and " to send the 
 whole outfit of contractors, Congressmen and everybody 
 else engaged in this fraud, to the penitentiary." Hark- 
 ins's contract of surveying was about finished, and he 
 could not get another before the next season, so he 
 thought he might as well go into this plot of Wilmot's 
 and make a winter's job of it." 
 
 All the time that Wilmot had been telling this to 
 Jack, he sat there getting " madder and madder," as he 
 expressed it. 
 
 " Now, look a here," said Jack, " you'll never git 
 them chaps convicted. The only thing for them is a 
 dose of lead. I'd like to get a bead on that Parker. 
 He'd never pocket any fifteen thousand dollars of old 
 Hed Iron's money, you can bet your life on that." 
 
 " Now, Jack," said Wilmot, " I have relied on you 
 for help, but if you go to shooting anybody it will ruin 
 the whole business. Suppose you should shoot Parker, 
 some one else just as bad would take his place and 
 steal just as much as he would. But suppose I should 
 get him and Clark and Perkins convicted and sent to 
 the penitentiary, it would put a stop to such things. 
 The next one* who comes would be afraid to try the 
 same game. Now, I want you to promise that you 
 
DIVIDING THE SPOILS. 203 
 
 won't do any shooting, but help me work up this 
 case." 
 
 " Say, have you and Colonel Greene and Jennie 
 Walker been putting up a job on me ?" 
 
 " Why, no ! What makes you ask such a question ?" 
 
 "Now, there's that Perkins, that old pious fraud 
 Clark, and that lying, thieving, half-breed Shonnee, 
 who will never get their deserts until some man lets 
 daylight through 'em, and you are all after me, making 
 me promise I won't shoot 'em. Jennie Walker cried 
 and had a fainting fit, 'cause she thought I was down 
 here after Perkins. Colonel Greene made me swear 
 off on Clark and Shonnie, Jennie on Perkins, and now 
 you are awful tender on this thief Parker, who wants 
 to steal all of old lied Iron's money. Hang me, if I 
 can understand it. Just let them fellows come out 
 there once, and I would clear the whole pack out in 
 fifteen minutes, and not take any advantage of them 
 either." 
 
 Wilmot did not hear one word of all the last part of 
 Jack's excited speech. His face had settled into that 
 meaningless look in which he always took refuge when 
 excited or troubled. He made no reply at all. Jack 
 thought he had offended him, so he stretched out his 
 hand to shake hands with him, and said : 
 
 " Don't take it that way, pard. Of course I was 
 joking when I said you were putting up a job on me. 
 I know you and Jennie and Colonel Greene are all my 
 friends and wouldn't no ways put up any sort of a job 
 
204: DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 
 
 " "Why is Miss Walker so very anxious about 
 Perkins \ " 
 
 ;c That's just what gets away with me," said Jack. 
 " She says she hates him, wishes I'd a killed him down 
 at the Causeland House the day he was firing that pop 
 gun off at me, and then says that she had rather I'd 
 shoot her than Perkins." 
 
 " That's very strange." 
 
 " If it was a man who would talk that way, I'd put 
 him down for a lunatic, but there's no accountin' for a 
 woman's ideas. I give it up. But about this 'ere 
 business. If I can help old Red Iron by puttin' day 
 light through these scoundrels, I'm in for it. If I can't 
 do it that way, I'm in for the next best thing." 
 
 " Now you are talking sensibly. If we appeal to 
 the law to punish these men, we must not violate it 
 ourselves." 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 
 
 OLONEL GREENE received an order to turn 
 the Indians over to the agents of the In 
 terior Department. Harkins was on the 
 ground, and took charge of those who 
 were assigned to him ; but Perkins did not arrive, 
 and the others were put under the control of the man 
 who had been appointed farmer, as acting agent. Trains 
 were made up, and the Indians started for their respect- 
 
DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 205 
 
 ive reservations. The Indians had no stock of their 
 own ; so contracts for their transportation had been let. 
 All seemed satisfactory. About the time Perkins's 
 Indians reached their destination, Colonel Greene re 
 ceived an order to send two companies of cavalry to 
 their agency to preserve order. The paper stated that 
 this was done in compliance with a request made on the 
 Secretary of War by the Secretary of the Interior, and 
 the troops were sent. 
 
 One morning Wilmot was greatly surprised to learn 
 that the Judge of the Circuit Court had called a special 
 session, to be held in two weeks. None of the lawyers 
 in town seemed to know anything about the matter, 
 and none could give a reason for holding a special ses 
 sion. The District Attorney said he supposed it was 
 for the purpose of trying the criminal cases on the 
 docket. 
 
 Wilmot suspected that it had some connection with 
 Perkins's appearance before the grand jury, but could 
 not imagine who he could want to prosecute. 
 
 Perkins was still in Washington, he learned, from a 
 letter he had received from Mr. Clark, and did not in 
 tend to leave there for some time. 
 
 Two days before court was to convene, a military 
 escort rode up in front of the county jail, and turned 
 over to the sheriff five Indian prisoners. They were 
 Badger, Meha's uncle, and three others of the same 
 band. They had been arrested for the murder of the 
 passengers in the stage-coach. 
 
 Wilmot was furious when he heard the news, and 
 resolved to offer his services to defend them. When 
 
206 DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 
 
 lie made an effort to see them, lie was informed that 
 they could be seen by no one except their counsel, and 
 the Government had furnished them with counsel. 
 He got the names of these lawyers and went to call on 
 them, to offer them his assistance. On going to the 
 Empire House, he was introduced to two as villainous- 
 looking men as he had ever seen. Both of them were 
 very much under the influence of liquor, and declined 
 his offer of aid in the most insulting manner possible. 
 Wilmot found that he was unable to render the Indians 
 the slightest assistance. The next day Colonel Greene, 
 accompanied by an aid, and the Judge Advocate of the 
 department, arrived, and took rooms at the Causeland 
 House. 
 
 How all this came about may seem very strange to 
 the forty-nine million five hundred thousand people in 
 the United States, who know nothing about our Indian 
 system. So it will have to be explained. 
 
 When Perkins was with the Peace Commission at 
 the fort on the Little Blue, he was very much enraged 
 at the earnest protest made by Badger's band against 
 his appointment as agent. He had a talk with Shonnee 
 about it. Shonnee said, " Injun heap mad. Kill 'em, 
 sure." 
 
 " What are they mad about ?" asked Perkins. 
 
 " Badger say you cheat heap. No play fair. Steal 
 Injun blanket, money, everything. Badger heap mad. 
 Kill 'em, sure." 
 
 Perkins was very badly frightened about this, and 
 took measures to get rid of Badger and the leaders of 
 this movement against him. So he laid the plot to 
 
DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 207 
 
 Lave them arrested for murder, and knowing lie could 
 not carry it out as long as they were under the control 
 of the military as prisoners of war, he had waited until 
 they were turned over to the Interior Department. 
 Then he went down to Hickman's and hunted up some 
 of the gamblers and roughs who infested that neighbor 
 hood, and took them as witnesses before the grand jury, 
 who, on the evidence presented (for these men swore 
 they knew these Indians, and had met them as they 
 were returning from the assault on the stage-coach, 
 having hid in the brush and saw them go by), found a 
 true bill against them. As soon as they were indicted, 
 Perkins went to Washington and laid the matter be 
 fore the Secretary of the Interior. He took a letter 
 from the Senator, and the Representative went with 
 him to the office of the Secretary. 
 
 " This gentleman," said the Representative, " desires 
 to call your attention to a very important matter. He 
 has long been known as a friend to the Indians, and it 
 is owing to his unselfish exertions, more than to any 
 other man, that the troubles on the Little Blue have 
 been satisfactorily settled. I ask for him a patient 
 hearing." 
 
 " What is the nature of your business ?" asked the 
 Secretary. 
 
 " I reside," said Perkins, " near the scene of the re 
 cent war. I know a great many of those Indians per 
 sonally, for they have been in the habit, for a long 
 time, of coming to me for advice and assistance. I am 
 very much attached to some, for they are trusting and 
 childlike, and want to do what is right, but there are 
 
208 DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 
 
 others among them wlio are very desperate characters, 
 blood-thirsty and cruel. They are very ranch opposed 
 to any change in their habits, despise work, and look 
 upon any Indian who is willing to work as degraded. 
 There will never be any chance to do anything with 
 them, until some of them are punished for their crimes, 
 and taught that murder is not a thing to be proud of. 
 This whole war was caused by the cold-blooded murder 
 of the people in the stage. ~Not being satisfied with 
 murder and robbery they scalped and mutilated the 
 bodies of their victims beyond recognition, some of 
 their work being too horrible and indecent to be re 
 lated. Only five Indians were engaged in this. They 
 are well-known, and these are not the only murders 
 they have committed. ~No white settler within a 
 hundred miles of the new agency will be safe while 
 these Indians are at large. The grand jury at Council 
 Bluifs has indicted them in due form. If taken there 
 they will have a fair trial." 
 
 " There is a general demand in that section of the 
 country," said the Representative, " that these Indians 
 should be punished." 
 
 " What do you desire should be done ?" asked the 
 Secretary. 
 
 " Well, if any civil officer should undertake to arrest 
 them, his scalp would be dangling at some of their 
 belts inside of five minutes, so the people there desire 
 that they may be arrested by the military and turned 
 over to the sheriff of the county." 
 
 " I see no reason why this request should not be 
 granted," said the Secretary. 
 
DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 209 
 
 "I am very anxious," said Perkins, "that the 
 Indians, if they are turned over to the civil authorities, 
 should have a fair trial and be well defended. It may 
 be possible that some one of them may not be guilty, or 
 not as guilty as others. They are the wards of the 
 Government, and ought to have counsel to defend 
 them. I think you have authority to appoint such 
 counsel ?" 
 
 " Yes," replied the Secretary, " that is always done 
 in such cases. Have you in mind any lawyer you 
 would like to recommend." 
 
 " I would recommend two smart, active lawyers, 
 who live not far from there. They are partners. The 
 firm name is Bledsoe & Dosier. Perhaps our Repre 
 sentative has some one else to suggest." 
 
 u They are the best criminal lawyers in that section, 
 and would be an excellent selection," said the Repre 
 sentative. 
 
 Then the Secretary wrote a formal request to the 
 Secretary of War, asking that the nearest military com 
 mander be instructed to furnish a detail of soldiers, 
 sufficiently large to arrest these Indians and convey 
 them to Council Bluffs, there to be turned over to the 
 civil authorities and be tried for murder. 
 
 The Secretary of War issued the order, which was 
 forwarded through the regular channels to Colonel 
 Greene. 
 
 When Colonel Greene received that order, he was 
 astonished and chagrined beyond the power of expres 
 sion. More than that, he felt humiliated and disgraced. 
 
210 DYING LIKE BEAVE MEN. 
 
 But Colonel Greene was a soldier, and of soldiers it is 
 said: 
 
 " Theirs not to make reply, 
 
 Theirs not to reason why, 
 
 Theirs but to do" 
 
 When such facts as these have been related it is 
 often asked " Why didn't he resign ?" Colonel Greene 
 had this order. If he did not obey it he would be 
 court-martialed. If he had sent in his resignation the 
 moment he received the order he would not be relieved, 
 if it was accepted, for mouths, and meantime he must 
 do his duty as an officer of the army. If it was 
 accepted what good would it have done? Another 
 officer would take his place, and the same system would 
 still endure. There was but one thing that Colonel 
 Greene could do, for he had taken a solemn oath when 
 he entered the army to obey the orders of his superior 
 officers, and that was to make the detail and send these 
 Indians to Council Bluffs. 
 
 It was with a sad heart that Colonel Greene wrote 
 the necessary orders. He made a detail of only one 
 Lieutenant and three men, and gave them their instruc 
 tions. The Lieutenant went to Badger's tent alone and 
 told him that he had orders to take him to Council 
 Bluffs ; that he was charged with the murder of the 
 people in the stage-coach, and that four others must 
 come with him. Then the Lieutenant went away. 
 Word was sent by the Indians to all the band, and they 
 assembled together. Badger arose and addressed them. 
 After stating the message he had received, he said : 
 
DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 211 
 
 " We will have to obey this order. "We are utterly 
 helpless. All our horses and all our arms have been 
 surrendered on the promise that our lives should be 
 protected. The white officer has violated his promise. 
 We cannot resist. To flee on foot out on the prairies is 
 but to die, with all our women and children. When 
 the white officer sees our dead bodies, perhaps he will 
 be satisfied, and he will let the rest of you live. To 
 morrow morning come to my tent, and we will go to 
 gether with this officer." 
 
 The five victims sat down and drew their blankets 
 over their heads. They spoke not one word, nor made 
 any sign of the woe that was in their hearts. It was 
 not so with their friends and relatives. They wept and 
 wailed aloud for hours. After awhile the men got up 
 and went to their tents, and their wives and children 
 gathered around them. They did not express their grief 
 then in the same form that white women and children 
 would have done, but their sorrow was just as deep and 
 agonizing. Swift Walker, Meha's uncle, took his accus 
 tomed place in his tent. His wife spread out the best 
 robe she had for him to sit on. Then she sat down be 
 side him. For a long time not a word was spoken. At 
 last Swift Walker said : 
 
 " It seems but a little while ago that you came to 
 live with me ; but many summers have come arid gone, 
 and we are now getting old. You have always been 
 good to rne. It would be a little while, not many sum 
 mers, before we must die, if the white men would let 
 us live our full length of days. The Great Spirit 
 seems to be angry with his red children, and takes us 
 
212 DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 
 
 away before our time. We did wrong to give up our 
 horses and our guns to the white officer, and the Great 
 Spirit is angry. He gave us these things to defend our 
 women and children, and we, like cowards, surrendered 
 them up. If we had horses we might flee away. If 
 we had arms we could subsist on the plains ; but now 
 we are at his mercy, and what the white man calls mer 
 cy is to kill the innocent, and break his word to those 
 who have trusted in him." 
 
 The tears streamed down over his wife's face, and 
 she rocked herself backward and forward, but uttered 
 not any sound. 
 
 After awhile the Indian woman got up and went out 
 side the tent. If a stranger had passed by he would 
 never have guessed from her appearance that her heart 
 was breaking. Then she cooked her husband's supper. 
 Every delicacy which she had she spread before h:m. 
 But Swift Walker ate but little. After supper she 
 spread his couch for him and laid down by his side. 
 When he was asleep she arose and sat by his side 
 through the long hours of the night, bending over him 
 and weeping. Early in the morning she prepared his 
 breakfast. Swift Walker did not come out of his tent. 
 When she thought that this was the last time she would 
 ever eat with him it seemed as though she would die. 
 She put her hand on her heart and said, " I have a great 
 pain here." 
 
 Her husband spoke but one word. Translated, it 
 could be rendered only, " be brave," but it had a deeper 
 meaning than that, a religious meaning, which seemed 
 to give her strength to endure with fortitude the great 
 
DYING LIKE BKAVE MEN. 213 
 
 trial of a final parting. About sunrise the doomed five 
 assembled at Badger's tent. Similar scenes had been 
 enacted at each of their homes. They knew that they 
 were going among those who thirsted for their blood, 
 and that they were going to their death, and that death 
 the most ignominious that could be accorded to a red 
 man. The Indians gave one long look at their tents, 
 but 110 word of complaint ever came from their lips. 
 Badger led the way to the place where the Lieutenant 
 was stopping. They were given horses to ride, but no 
 guard was placed over them. They rode into Council 
 Bluffs with heads erect and with the bearing of 
 senators, amidst the jeers of a brutal crowd, to the jail 
 which was to be the last covering they would ever 
 have over their heads. 
 
 The trial came on. The jury was impaneled and 
 they were shown the two villains, called lawyers, who 
 were to defend them. To none of it did they pay any 
 heed. 
 
 At this stage of the proceedings, Wilmot arose and 
 addressed the court. He said that Colonel Greene was 
 present and desired to make a statement through the 
 Judge Advocate of the Department, who was an at 
 torney and entitled to address the court. The Judge 
 said he would hear what he had to say. 
 
 The Judge Advocate then stated that these pris 
 oners were among the number of Indians who had 
 recently surrendered to Colonel Greene as prisoners of 
 war ; that Colonel Greene, being in command of the 
 forces sent to subject them, was authorized by the 
 laws of war, and by direct orders from the General-in- 
 
214: DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 
 
 Chief of the army, to make the conditions of sur 
 render. The arrest of these parties was a violation of 
 the conditions under which they surrendered, and he 
 did not believe that their prosecution by the civil 
 authorities, for acts committed during the progress of 
 the war, was legal. He asked the Judge to dismiss the 
 cases against them, and decree that Colonel Greene 
 was acting legally and in accordance with the laws of 
 the United States, as well as the law of nations, in 
 making these conditions of surrender. 
 
 The Judge said these cases came before him as any 
 ordinary case. An indictment had been found in due 
 form, the cases had been called, a jury impaneled, 
 and the prisoners interrogated as to whether they were 
 guilty or not guilty. They had plead not guilty. They 
 had counsel employed by the Government. He could 
 not see how, at this stage of the proceedings, he could 
 dismiss the case on an ex parte statement. If their 
 counsel desired to make a motion to quash the indict 
 ments on this ground or any other, he would hear 
 argument upon it. 
 
 " We are capable, we think," said Mr. Bledsoe, " of 
 managing this defense without any instructions or inter 
 ference from the military or anybody else. We do not 
 desire to make any such motion." 
 
 " Then," said the Judge, " I see no way but to pro 
 ceed with the trial. The District Attorney will call his 
 first witness." 
 
 " John Hildreth," said the attorney, " come forward 
 and be sworn." 
 
 A low-browed, short-haired, dark-complected, stout- 
 
DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 215 
 
 built man pressed his way through the crowd to the 
 witness-stand. 
 
 " Be sworn," said the judge. 
 
 He held up his hand, and the clerk of the court 
 administered the oath. 
 
 " What is your name ? " asked the attorney. 
 
 "Johnliddreth." 
 
 " Where do you reside 3" 
 
 "In St. Louis." 
 
 " Do you know these prisoners at the bar ?" 
 
 "I do." 
 
 " Tell to the court where you last saw them, and all 
 the circumstances, as far as you can remember them." 
 
 " In the month of June, last year, I was coming 
 up from St. Joe with four other men. We passed by 
 Hickman's " 
 
 Here Mr. Bledsoe arose and said, that as his clients 
 could not speak English or understand it, he asked of 
 the court that an interpreter might be appointed to 
 interpret the evidence to them. 
 
 The Judge said that he would appoint one, if one 
 could be had. 
 
 Mr. Bledsoe replied, that they had made every 
 effort to prepare for a vigorous defense, and had not 
 overlooked this. They had a reliable interpreter 
 present, and he brought forward Shonnee. Then the 
 witness proceeded. 
 
 "As I was saying, we passed by Hickman's the 
 morning after the outbreak. Hearing the news, we 
 kept a sharp look-out for Indians, and where the under- 
 ]brush was thick and likely to be made an ambush by 
 
216 DYING LIKE BKAVE MEN. 
 
 them, we did not keep in the open road. As we were 
 passing carefully through the timber, we heard a noise 
 and concealed ourselves. Shortly after these five 
 Indians passed by, within a few yards of us. They 
 had fresh scalps fastened to their belts, and an extra 
 horse on which was strapped several mail bags. That's 
 all I know about it." 
 
 " Have you anything else to ask him ?" said the 
 Judge to the District Attorney. 
 
 " Nothing," replied the attorney. 
 
 " Take the witness, Mr. Bledsoe," said the Judge. 
 
 " You are certain that these are the same men whom 
 you saw on that June day a year or more ago ?" asked 
 Mr. Bledsoe. 
 
 " Yes, sir," said the witness. 
 
 " Don't all Indians look very much alike ?" 
 
 " Well, they are all red-skins, but there's a good 
 deal of difference in them after all." 
 
 " How can you tell one Indian from another ?" 
 
 " Pretty much in the same way that you tell one 
 white man from another." 
 
 "Was there anything peculiar about those Indians 
 so as to make it possible to recognize the identical per 
 sons when you saw them again ?" 
 
 " Well, yes ; two of them were very tall, and the 
 others short. One was inclined to be fleshy. One had 
 a large, long scar on his right arm. The tall one had 
 a slit in his ear that was next to me, which went almost 
 clear around the whole ear." 
 
 " Mr. Hildreth," said Bledsoe, in a very rough tone, 
 " do you come into court, and pretend to swear posi- 
 
DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 217 
 
 lively, after a whole year has intervened, that these are 
 the same Indians you saw that next day after the out 
 break at Hickman's ?" 
 
 " I do," said Hildreth. 
 
 " Well, you can step aside," said Bledsoc in a dis 
 gusted tone. 
 
 " Mr. Sheriff," said the Judge, " adjourn court un 
 til 6 o'clock," and that ended the first session of the 
 court. 
 
 About half-past one o'clock, Wilmot called on Colonel 
 Greene at the Causeland House. His face was flushed 
 and he was in a towering rage. 
 
 " Do you see what they are doing ?" said Wilmot. 
 
 " I see that they don't intend to pay any attention 
 to the terms of that surrender," said Colonel Greene. 
 
 " I know that," said Wilmot, " but don't you see 
 what Bledsoe and Dosier are doing, while they are pre 
 tending to act as counsel for these Indians ?" 
 
 " No, I didn't see anything wrong. Bledsoe did 
 more than I expected to see him, in cross-examining 
 that witness. I should think that a very doubtful 
 point about identifying these particular Indians." 
 
 " Well, Colonel, you would never make a lawyer, 
 that's one thing sure." 
 
 " I don't think I should. But what is wrong about 
 that defense ?" 
 
 " It's a fraud, a most damnable fraud," said Wil 
 mot, and he brought his fist down on the table with a 
 force that made everything in the room rattle. " Can't 
 you see what that fellow was deliberately doing ? The 
 only ground for a defense which was left was that these 
 10 
 
218 DYING LIKE BRAVE MEX. 
 
 were not tlie persons who committed the ciime ; and 
 lie went to work with malice and deliberation to put 
 that point beyond dispute. When he commenced to 
 question the witness on points not mentioned in the ex 
 amination in chief, he made him, in law, his own wit 
 ness. Now, you can't introduce testimony to impeach 
 your own witness. So what he says, if it is against you, 
 must stand. Now, after he had made him his own 
 witness, he goes to work and proves that these are the 
 identical Indians. He can't impeach that witness now. 
 His testimony must stand. It seals the fate of every 
 one of them. Every question he asked was asked for 
 the purpose of proving that these were the very parties 
 and no mistake. It's a fraud, a most damnable fraud, 
 and Bledsoe and Dosier ought to be hung, drawn and 
 quartered. They have deliberately sacrificed the lives 
 of their clients. Why did not they ask for a continu 
 ance, summon witnesses and prove an alibi ? They 
 never could have convicted these Indians in the world 
 if they had made half a defense. A lawyer who will 
 betray his client well, there is no place in the infernal 
 regions half hot enough for him." 
 
 " I see now," said Colonel Greene, " the object of 
 those questions. I came down here to see if I could 
 aid these poor men in any way, but I guess the case is 
 hopeless. I don't think, though, that these lawyers 
 have betrayed their client. The Secretary of the Interior 
 is their client, and not these Indians. He hired them, 
 and I suppose they are trying to carry out his wishes, 
 and perhaps his instructions." 
 
 " Oh, no," said Wilmot, " it is impossible that the 
 
DYING LIKE BEAVE MEN. 219 
 
 Secretary of the Interior should do such a thing. He is 
 a statesman of national reputation, and that lie has the 
 good of these Indians at heart I have no doubt. It is 
 impossible that he should know anything about the cir 
 cumstances of this case. I have a notion to go to Wash 
 ington and lay the whole matter before him." 
 
 " That would be a waste of time. He knows a good 
 deal more about it than you do. They have all the 
 facts down to the smallest details in Washington. All 
 my official reports have been laid before the Secretary 
 of the Interior for his information, and I have been very 
 careful to make them full and explicit. I sent all the 
 facts about the attack on Hickman's and the robbery of 
 the stage-coach, with the evidence showing that the 
 crime was committed by white men, over a year ago, 
 and it was sent to the Secretary's office the very day it 
 was received in Washington." 
 
 " Is it possible ?" said Wilmot, " you astonish me 
 beyond measure." 
 
 " You see it is only a waste of time and money for 
 you to go there to give him information." 
 
 " What is to be done then ?" 
 
 " There is nothing which can be done that I 
 know," said Colonel Greene. "These men, though 
 innocent, will have to suffer death." 
 
 " It is perfectly awful," said Wilmot. 
 
 " I have seen the same scenes enacted, over and over 
 again, ever since I have been in the army. I only know 
 of two ways that this cruelty can be stopped. One is 
 to make the Indians citizens and treat them like all 
 other persons, and the other to put them entirely under 
 
220 DYING LIKE BRAVE MEN. 
 
 the control of the army. If these Indians who are 
 under arrest here were citizens, they would have the 
 right to choose their own counsel, but as they are 
 4 wards ' of the nation, the Secretary of the Interior is 
 their guardian, and he employs their lawyers for them." 
 
 " Shall you make any further effort to assist 
 them?" 
 
 " No, I shall start for the fort in the morning. I 
 sent a courier the moment I received the order for 
 their arrest, with a report, containing a protest against 
 the violation of the conditions on which these Indians 
 surrendered, to the department commander, but nothing 
 can be done." 
 
 When court was called that afternoon a great 
 crowd was in attendance. Another witness was called 
 and the scene of the morning was re-enacted, and so it 
 went on for two or three days. At last the case was 
 submitted and the jury found them guilty without 
 leaving their seats. 
 
 Long afterward Colonel Greene wrote the following 
 account of the last scene in this tragedy : 
 
 " The trial was over and, of course, the Indians 
 were condemned to be hanged. Without a murmur or 
 sigh of regret, and with a dignity that would have 
 impressed a Zulu with profound pity, these men walked 
 to the gallows and were hung, while a crowd of 
 ' civilized ' Americans, men, women and children of 
 the nineteenth century, looked on and laughed at 
 their last convulsions. 
 
 "We have read of heroes of all times, but never 
 did we read or believe that such heroism as these 
 
COLONEL GREENE DISGRACED. 221 
 
 Indians exhibited could exist. They knew that to be 
 accused was to be condemned, and that they would be 
 executed in that civilized town, just as surely as would 
 a poor woman accused of being a witch have been 
 executed in the civilized town of Salem, in the good 
 State of Massachusetts, two hundred years ago. 
 
 " Many years have passed away since the execution 
 or murder of these Indians. Bledsoe & Dosier still 
 live, and the intelligent jury, no man of whom dared 
 to utter a word of pity or admiration of these poor 
 Indians, with the spectators of that horrid scene, are 
 either dead and damned, or they are sunk in the oblivion 
 that is the fate of those who are born without souls. 
 But while history is read, or men admire that which is 
 heroic, noble and unselfish, will these brave sufferers 
 under a system more cruel and relentless than the iron 
 rule of czar or sultan, be remembered and honored." 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIL 
 
 COLONEL GREENE DISGRACED. 
 
 ARKINS had conducted the Indians to their 
 reservation. He was active, prudent and 
 energetic. The first thing to be done was 
 to build the necessary agency buildings. 
 The spot chosen was on the bank of the river. Near 
 by was a large bottom covered with a heavy growth of 
 
222 COLONEL GREENE DISGRACED. 
 
 timber. The houses for the agency employees were 
 strung along the bank without any regard to order. 
 They were one-story frame houses, except the agent's, 
 which was two-story. Then there was a blacksmith- 
 shop, a carpenter-shop, the trader's house and store, 
 the council-room, and the agent's office. Their erection 
 cost the full amount estimated by Parker. This gave 
 active employment to Harkins for many weeks, but 
 when they were finished a dull monotony settled down 
 over everything. He was, as it were, out 6f the world, 
 no occupation, no kind of amusement. A constant 
 tattle went on between the families which constituted 
 the little white colony. It was, " she said," " he said," 
 " they did this," and " they did that," from morning 
 until night. Nobody had anything to do, so they spent 
 their time in tattling. 
 
 One day Red Iron and two or three leading men 
 appeared at the agent's office, and requested a pass to 
 go down to the fort on the Little Blue. Red Iron said 
 that he had heard that the conditions of the surrender 
 to Colonel Greene had been violated and he wanted to 
 go and see that officer. Harkins granted him permis 
 sion and the chief started forthwith. 
 
 The morning that Red Iron came to Harkins's 
 office, was just three days after the Lieutenant had ap 
 peared at Badger's tent. The agencies were two hun 
 dred and fifty miles apart. Badger had sent a runner 
 and he had traveled that distance on foot. When the 
 runner arrived at Red Iron's tent, he was so much 
 exhausted that he fell at the door as he stooped to 
 come in. The long journey to the fort on the Little 
 
COLONEL GKEENE DISGRACED. 223 
 
 Blue was made by the chiefs on foot, and when they 
 arrived, they found that Colonel Greene was absent. 
 They waited ten da t ys for his return. 
 
 When Colonel Greene was informed of their pres 
 ence, he said, 
 
 " I never was in such a humiliating position in. my 
 life. I don't see how I can meet this old chief or even 
 look him in the face." 
 
 However, a council was arranged and the two men 
 came together. Red Iron spoke as follows : 
 
 "When I came in from the Arickoree to make 
 peace, I did it because I thought it would be best for 
 my people. I then had with me a large number of 
 warriors. They were all well armed and we had many 
 horses. I could have carried on the war for a long 
 time. We did not make peace because we were con 
 quered. In doing so, I stipulated, first of all, that 
 none of my people should be killed. I was particular 
 to mention Badger and his band, for he had had a fight 
 with the soldiers and killed a great many. You prom 
 ised me that their lives should all be spared, that not 
 one of them should be hurt. Now, I have heard that 
 you have arrested Badger and four others and sent 
 them across the river, where the white people are going 
 to hang them. Worst of all is, you have charged them 
 with killing some people in a stage-coach, and they did 
 not do it. All this is a direct violation of the promise 
 you made to me when we surrendered. I have come 
 to talk to you about it. I want to save the life of Bad 
 ger and the others whom you have arrested. I want 
 you to keep your promise. I am as a prisoner now. I 
 
22-1 COLONEL GEEENE DISGRACED. 
 
 cannot go to war to avenge this wrong. My young 
 men have no arms. We have no horses. We are per 
 fectly helpless. You can arrest ns and hang us all, and 
 we cannot resist. I believed what you said. I trusted 
 in your word, and I gave up all my amis and horses. 
 I have come to ask you to keep your word." 
 
 Colonel Greene had felt humiliated before ; now he 
 felt disgraced and dishonored. What reply could he 
 make ? What could an honorable man do under such 
 circumstances ? He bowed his head in his hands and 
 Siit in silence. At last he replied (Jack had returned 
 with him, and was acting as interpreter) as follows : 
 
 " What you have said is true. Every word you 
 have spoken is true. When I made you that promise 
 I expected it would be kept. It is like this : if you 
 sent your head warrior out to light with another tribe, 
 and tell him if they desired to surrender to him that he 
 might promise that you would treat them well, and 
 adopt them into your tribe, and he should go and make 
 such terms with them ; and when they were brought 
 into your camp you should change your mind and kill 
 them all, the head warrior would not be to blame. That 
 is just the way it was with me." 
 
 " But no Indian would do such a thing as that," said 
 Red Iron. " If I sent my head warrior out to make a 
 promise, 1 would keep it." 
 
 " Jack," said the Colonel, " you know how all this 
 came about. I wish you would explain it to him fully." 
 
 " It's no use," said Jack ; u you can't never make an 
 Injun understand why, when the Government, through 
 its officers, makes a promise, that that promise should 
 
COLONEL GREENE DISGRACED. 225 
 
 not be kept. This is the way he thinks about it. Bad 
 ger surrendered, and did everything he promised. He 
 was living peaceably on his reservation with his family. 
 All at once the soldiers come and arrest him, and take 
 him off and hang him. You are the head soldier, and 
 you give the orders. If you did not want Badger hung, 
 you should not give the orders." 
 
 " Does the Great Father know about this?" asked 
 Red Iron. 
 
 " I don't think he does," said Colonel Greene. 
 
 " Then why don't you write a letter and tell him ?" 
 
 " There it is again," said Jack. " How do you sup 
 pose that I can make him understand that the Presi 
 dent can't interfere with the process of the courts and 
 the verdicts of juries ? I tell you it can't be explained 
 to him." 
 
 " Tell him," said Colonel Greene, " that there are 
 millions of white people, and every day there are a 
 great many men tried in the courts, and it would be ut 
 terly impossible for the Great Father to look into all 
 these cases, and it must be left to the courts." 
 
 " How do you suppose I can tell him that ?" said 
 Jack. " In the first place, there is no word in the 
 Indian language for < million.' They can only count as 
 high as ten thousand with certainty, and a hundred 
 thousand is the uttermost limit of their enumeration, 
 and in the second place there is no word for ' court.' 
 He don't know anything about courts." 
 
 " Well, what does he know ?" 
 
 " He knows as much about the eternal principles of 
 10* 
 
226 COLONEL GKEENE DISGRACED. 
 
 right and wrong as any man, and he knows when a 
 promise is broken and when it is kept." 
 
 " Well, can't yon tell him in some simple way that 
 I am his friend, and that I have done all that I conld 
 to have the terms of the surrender kept sacred." 
 
 " Yes, I can tell him that," said Jack, and he inter 
 preted it to Ked Iron. 
 
 " He is a great chief," said Red Iron. " He told 
 me that all the soldiers in this part of the country had 
 to obey his orders. He told me that he had authority 
 to make the conditions of the surrender, and that the 
 Great Father would do what he promised. Ask him if 
 he did not tell me that ?" 
 
 " I did," said Colonel Greene. 
 
 "Now, then, he tells me that somebody has more 
 authority than he has, and that they ordered him to 
 have Badger hung. If he is my friend why did he not 
 tell me that there was a man somewhere who could 
 issue orders that he would have to obey ?" 
 
 " Can you explain to him," asked Colonel Greene, 
 of Jack, " how that, as long as I held them as prisoners 
 of war, I could see that my promise was kept, but when 
 the Secretary of the Interior took charge of them, they 
 passed under the control of another department of the 
 Government, over which the military have no control ?" 
 " Now, Colonel," said Jack, " there ain't more than 
 five hundred white men in the United States who 
 understand the relations existing between the Interior 
 and War Departments in regard to Indians, and I am 
 not one of that five hundred. How can I explain to 
 an Injun what I have been trying to understand for 
 
COLONEL GKEENE DISGBACED. 227 
 
 ten years myself and never could find head nor tail to 
 it. I'll do my best to interpret anything you have to 
 say, but I've got nothing to say myself on that subject. 
 I give you warning though, before you commence, that 
 there ain't no words in the Injun language for such 
 things as departments of government, secretaries of war 
 and the interior." 
 
 " I guess it can't be done." 
 
 "No, I said it couldn't in the first place. This 
 Injun will always think you broke your promise, and I 
 can't help it." 
 
 This ended the council. The next day the chiefs 
 started back to their reservation and Jack accompanied 
 them. One of the chiefs who was with Red Iron was 
 Badger's brother. All hope seemed to have died 
 within his bosom. He longed very much to make a 
 personal plea for his brother's life to Colonel Greene, 
 but the formalities of a council, according to an Indian's 
 idea of etiquette, forbade it. If he could have spoken 
 English he would have gone to Colonel Greene privately, 
 but to plead for his brother's life through an interpreter 
 he could never do. When this fact became known, 
 some of the officers, who had great sympathy for all of 
 of them, collected a little sum of money and gave it to 
 them. They also met at the fort another band of 
 Indians who made them presents of horses, and so Jack 
 and the chiefs returned on horseback. 
 
228 AN AGENCY SCHOOL. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXVIII. 
 
 AN AGENCY SCHOOL. 
 
 S day after day passed away, Jennie Walker 
 grew more and more anxious. She would 
 go to the post-office the moment she saw 
 the stage coming and wait until the mail 
 was opened and delivered. For a while she got let 
 ters about twice a week, and then they ceased to come 
 at all. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Park man were getting ready to go to 
 the new reservation as missionaries. One afternoon 
 Jennie put on her hat and went to the Causeland House 
 and asked for Mr. Harkins. When that gentleman 
 came into the parlor she made application to him for 
 the position of teacher on the reserve, and referred him 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Parkman as to her character and quali 
 fications. Mr. Harkins was very favorably impressed 
 with her, but wondered much why a young lady of her 
 appearance should desire to go and live on an Indian 
 reserve, and asked her what her motives were in desir 
 ing to undertake such difficult and dangerous work. 
 
 " I have felt it my duty," she said. " to become a 
 missionary, and I think it is our duty to teach the way 
 of salvation first to the heathen in our own land." 
 
 "That is so," said Harkins. "I have of ten won 
 dered why it was, that the churches sent missionaries 
 away off to the South Sea Hands, to Africa and India, 
 
AN AGENCY SCHOOL. 229 
 
 while the Indians were almost entirely neglected. I 
 will see Mr. Parkman and let you know in a day or 
 two." 
 
 When Mr. Parkman was ready to start Jennie went 
 along. 
 
 In constructing the buildings at the agency no 
 school-house was built. The treaty said that the money 
 should be expended under the direction of the Secre 
 tary of the Interior, but the orders to Harking came 
 from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and he set 
 apart no money for a school house. The missionary 
 and his family did not have a house built for them by 
 the government. Mr. Parkman had a salary of five 
 hundred dollars a year paid to him by the Missionary 
 Society, and out of that he could not build himself a 
 nice house like the agency employees had provided for 
 them. He had a small tent and the covered wagon in 
 which he had moved, and in these he lived. The In 
 dians often wondered why it was that the man who 
 came to teach them about God did not have a nice 
 house like the other white people. One day Red Iron 
 came to the little tent. Jack was along with him, and 
 he had a pony pretty well ladened. He unpacked 
 the pony and then called to some Indian women near 
 by. After he had spoken a few words to them, they 
 untied the bundle, separated the poles and set up a 
 nice large tent. Then he said to Mrs. Parkman, 
 
 " I have brought you a big tent, one that it will be 
 nice for you to live in. The one you have is too little." 
 
 The tears came into Mrs. Parkman's eyes, and she 
 said: 
 
230 AN AGENCY SCHOOL. 
 
 " Red Iron, I don't see why yon do this act of 
 kindness to us. After all the white people have done 
 to you I should think yon would hate us." 
 
 "I know," he said, "that there are good white 
 people as well as bad ones. You came here to do us 
 good. You did not come because you would have a 
 fine house to live in," and then he went away. 
 
 Mr. Parkman was hard at work in the woods 
 cutting logs to build him a house. The Indians watched 
 him with a great deal of curiosity, and sometimes they 
 would take an axe and try to chop, but they made poor 
 work of it. There was one young Indian who went 
 with him nearly every day. His name was Gray Cloud. 
 Little by little he learned to handle tools, and when the 
 agent let Mr. Parkman have the agency team to haul 
 the logs to build his house, he was of great assistance. 
 It took Mr. Parkman several weeks to build his house. 
 "When finished, it was twenty-four feet long, sixteen 
 feet wide, had two rooms, and was covered with dirt. 
 
 Meantime Jennie had made a school-house out of 
 Red Iron's big tent. She did not have a book, slate, 
 desk, map or any appliance whatever for teaching. She 
 could not understand one word the children said, they 
 could not understand her, and she had no interpreter. 
 She told Jack to tell Red Iron that die wanted some 
 of the children to come and she would teach them how 
 to read. The next day about a dozen carne, accompan 
 ied either by their fathers or mothers. One of the 
 first things Harkins did when he arrived there, was to 
 make estimates for the school-house, furniture and 
 books, and he had written repeatedly to the Commis- 
 
AN AGENCY SCHOOL. 231 
 
 sioner urging that they be sent on, but he never made 
 any reply. Jennie asked him to have a blackboard 
 made for her, and the carpenter made one. This was 
 fastened to two sticks stuck in the ground. Jennie 
 hunted up and down the bank of the river until she 
 found some soft red stone, called " keel," and this she 
 used in place of chalk. 
 
 The children came into the tent ; all sat down on the 
 ground in Indian style, and the first school on the 
 reservation was opened. 
 
 Jennie made a picture, on the blackboard, of a horse. 
 She pointed to it and said, " What is it ? " The children 
 were all silent. Then she put her fingers to her lips 
 and said again, " What is it?" 
 
 One bright little girl said, timidly, " Shonga." 
 
 Jennie did not catch the word exactly, and said, 
 " Shonnee." 
 
 The children looked bewildered. Then she pointed 
 to the picture again, and a boy said out strong and loud, 
 Shon-ga !" 
 
 Jennie pronounced the word just as he did, and 
 three or four of the larger boys said there are no Eng 
 lish letters which will spell it phonetically, but it is 
 usually written " how " being their way of signifying 
 their approval or assent to what is said. Then Jennie 
 said it and they said it two or three times over. After 
 that exercise was over she pointed to the picture again, 
 and said " horse." 
 
 There being no sound of " r " in their language, this 
 word was too hard for them ; several tried it, but did not 
 get it right. 
 
232 AN AGENCY SCHOOL. 
 
 While tins was going on, a little fellow unseen by 
 Jennie Lad crawled out under the edge of the tent. 
 He came in with a handful of sugar. Jennie was some 
 what surprised when she saw him, and was just going 
 to say to him that he must not go out again without 
 permission, when she thought " Why, he can't under 
 stand/' 
 
 The little boy came up to her and pointed to the 
 sugar in his hand, and said, "Shonnee." Then he pointed 
 the picture on the blackboard, and said, " Shonga." 
 
 At first Jennie could not imagine what he meant. 
 All at once she thought, " Why, ' Shonnee ' is sugar, and 
 * Shonga ' is horse." 
 
 Then she said " sugar." They tried that, but there 
 was another " r," and they could not get it quite right. 
 
 An Indian was sitting by the tent door, filling his 
 pipe. Jennie went up to him and took up a small bit 
 of the tobacco and held it up. They all said " nee- 
 nee." Then she said " tobacco." To her surprise they 
 pronounced that long word perfectly correct. There 
 w T as no sound in it which was not in their own 
 language. Thus the lesson went on for two hours. 
 Then Jennie sang a Sunday-school hymn, which very 
 much pleased the children. At the close of the hymn 
 she looked down on the group of little, anxious, 
 upturned faces, and thought how they were shut out 
 from all the knowledge which had made her race rich 
 and happy, and tears came into her eyes. In a 
 moment more she kneeled down, clasped her hands 
 over Her bosom, and prayed. That prayer was full of 
 all the loving and tender sympathy of woman. 
 
THE MIGHTY MONARCH. 233 
 
 Although the children could not understand a word 
 they whispered to one another, " She is talking to 
 God." 
 
 When the children went home they had many 
 wonderful things to tell their mothers about the white 
 teacher. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE MIGHTY MONARCH. 
 
 ILMOT was a strict believer in the maxim 
 " Better travel a thousand miles than write 
 a letter ;" but lie could not always follow 
 it out. In working out his plans to convict 
 this ring of thieves it was necessary that he should keep 
 up a correspondence with Harkins. So he arranged a 
 cipher to be used between them, thinking that if any 
 member of the ring should happen to intercept one or 
 more of the letters, they would be none the wiser. 
 
 In an ordinarily friendly letter Wilmot inclosed a 
 small slip, on which the following words were written : 
 " Fosse bypath privately messuage abacuses corrector 
 anemography accouple offenseless allege expensiveness 
 toadies data, withdrawment nankeens offenseless par- 
 vanu toadies whortleberry moneysworth washdown pain 
 ful, amphribology offenseless annular anemography ra 
 tionality soapstone faring recent. Statement quan 
 daries. Maladministration carelessness inspirable of 
 
234 THE MIGHTY MONARCH. 
 
 fenseless suggestion, (jogged, flow, been anemography 
 porphybitic. Repository firth indict offenseless fraud 
 ulent.'' 
 
 The post-office is always located in the trader's store 
 at every agency. Sometimes he is a regularly appointed 
 Postmaster and sometimes he is not, the letters being 
 directed to the nearest post-office, and forwarded there 
 for distribution to the employees. Parker had been 
 suspicious of Ilarkins from the first, and he had kept a 
 sharp look-out from the time he had opened his store. 
 He had a little round piece of wood, which he could in 
 sert under the sealed edge of an envelope, and by roll 
 ing it along he could open almost any letter without 
 mutilating it in the least. Then by applying a little 
 mucilage he could seal it up, and no one would ever 
 suspect it had been tampered with. He applied his 
 " little joker," as he called it, to Wilmot's letter, and 
 discovered the slip with the cipher message upon it. 
 He copied the words very carefully, and then sealed up 
 the letter again. 
 
 Up to this time Harkins had not discovered even an 
 indication of fraud. It is true that the construction of 
 the agency buildings had cost more than he thought 
 they ought to, but the contracts which had been made 
 were earned out to the letter. The flour, beef, 
 pork, sugar, coffee, in fact everything, had been of fair 
 quality. Harkins began to think that "Wilmot had been 
 mistaken, and an agent of the department had only 
 been testing him, by the propositions which were made 
 to him, to see if he was honest, when one day the cattle 
 fur beef did not arrive. The consequence was that sev- 
 
THE MIGHTV MONARCH. 235 
 
 eral thousand Indians were left almost without food. 
 They had no way to procure food for themselves, for 
 an agency Indian is entirely dependent on the Govern 
 ment. There was no game in the reservation, and they 
 had no arms or ammunition to hunt with if there had 
 been. To stop the rations for one day only was to leave 
 men, women and children without food. 
 
 Harkins sent out scouts to find where the herd was. 
 They came back after two days' absence and reported 
 that they were sixty miles away, and traveling about 
 fifteen miles a day. It would take four days for them 
 to reach the agency. Hungry men, women and chil 
 dren were hanging around the agency, so hungry that 
 they stood around the doors of the houses of the white 
 employees and picked up every bone and scrap that was 
 thrown out, and gnawed at it ravenously. Sickness 
 commenced. Starvation always brings sickness. Har 
 kins found that the medical supplies were exhausted. 
 He reprimanded the physician for not having forwarded 
 his estimates in time, but when he came to look over 
 his own papers he found that the estimates had long 
 since been forwarded, but only one quarter of the 
 amount estimated had been contracted for. The Secre 
 tary of the Interior had exercised his " discretion," in 
 accordance with the terms of the treaty. He thought 
 the estimates were too large and had cut them down. 
 Harkins wrote a most urgent letter to the Commissioner, 
 asking that medical supplies be sent immediately. No 
 attention was paid to it. He then invited Colonel 
 Greene to send a board of army medical officers to in 
 spect affairs at the agency. The surgeons came and 
 
236 THE MIGHTY MONARCH. 
 
 made a report, setting forth the extent of the sickness 
 and suffering for the lack of medical supplies, and this 
 was forwarded. Upon the receipt of this the Commis 
 sioner, representing the Secretary of the Interior, in 
 the exercise of his " discretion," ordered live ounces of 
 quinine to be purchased and forwarded. 
 
 When the beef cattle finally arrived, a portion was 
 slaughtered and six days' rations were distributed. The 
 Indians, being ravenously hungry, ate the most of it the 
 first day, and at the end of three days had none left. 
 Three days of starving ensued, and when the next issue 
 was made the same scenes were enacted again. This 
 alternate gorging and starving produced still more sick 
 ness. 
 
 Hark ins represented things just as they were in his 
 report to the Commissioner. The last herd of cattle 
 driven in were almost gone. Ilarkins feared another 
 repetition of the starving which he had witnessed, and 
 wrote to the Commissioner urging that the contractors 
 be forced to deliver the beef on time. In reply to this, 
 he got a note from the Commissioner saying that he 
 would do all that was possible to push the contractors, 
 but if they should fail again, not to let the Indians starve, 
 but instruct the trader to furnish them such things as 
 they actually needed from the store, keeping an account 
 with each head of a family, and the money could be 
 paid by them when they received their cash annuity. 
 Not a word was said about the medical supplies. 
 
 Ilarkins sent Jack to Council Bluffs with a full re 
 port of the state of affairs, and closed it by saying that 
 he did not believe they intended to furnish the Indians 
 
THE MIGHTY MONARCH. 237 
 
 with any more rations, except through the trader. He* 
 had also discovered that a great many of the Indians 
 had obtained firearms of the most approved pattern. 
 On inquiry he had found that the guns had been sold 
 to them on credit by the trader. The trader had a 
 very large stock of goods on hand. 
 
 The next day after Jack left, an Indian inspector 
 arrived at the agency. An inspector is one of the nu 
 merous officers appointed by law in the Indian service, 
 and is under the control of the Secretary of the In 
 terior. Of course, if he should do anything displeasing 
 to the Secretary he would be instantly dismissed. The 
 salary is a pretty liberal one. All of his acts and reports 
 are in line with the Secretary's " policy." 
 
 Inspector Brown held a long consultation with the 
 trader. He then called at Harkins's office, and exam 
 ined his books and accounts. He left the agency with 
 out making any suggestions or giving any directions. 
 Three days after that a company of troops arrived and 
 camped near the trader's store. They were under com 
 mand of Lieutenant Blake. 
 
 Harkins called upon him, and asked : 
 
 " Why did these troops come here ?" 
 
 " They were ordered here," said the Lieutenant. 
 
 " How long will they remain ?" 
 
 " Until they are ordered away." 
 
 "Everything is peaceful here. What is the object 
 of their coming ?" 
 
 " My object was to obey my instructions." 
 
 That day a detail was sent out, and they made a 
 search through all the tents for arms. Not a gun was 
 
238 THE MIGHTY MONARCH. 
 
 found. That night several of the soldiers got drunk, 
 and made a raid on a tent, captured two Indian girls, 
 and carried them off to the woods. They were allowed 
 to return about daylight. Nobody could tell where the 
 soldiers got their whisky. The four soldiers who were 
 engaged in this outrage were arrested in the morning, 
 by order of Lieutenant Blake, and each of them tied 
 fast to a wagon wheel, in which position, with a few 
 moments of intermission at a time, he kept them for 
 four days. 
 
 This affair created a great uproar among the Indians. 
 When the chiefs called on Lieutenant Blake in regard 
 to the matter, he pointed to the men tied to wagon 
 wheels, and told them that he should take them back 
 to the fort when he went, where every one of them 
 would be shot, by order of the Great Father. The 
 chiefs thought that was sufficient, and were satisfied. 
 The four days tied to a wagon wheel, however, was all 
 the punishment they ever received. 
 
 A few days after this, Inspector Brown returned to 
 the agency. He went direct to Ilarkiiis's house, and 
 summarily dismissed him as agent, and took charge of 
 the agency himself. Half an hour afterward, Harkins 
 found himself under arrest by a deputy United States 
 Marshal, who had a warrant for him. He was informed 
 that Brown had sworn out a warrant for his arrest, and 
 it had been placed in his hands ; and the Marshal po 
 litely put a pair of handcuffs on him. He had been 
 charged, on the information filed by Brown, with steal 
 ing several hundred head of cattle belonging to the In 
 dians. Harkins was marched off to the guard-house, 
 
THE MIGHTY MONARCH. 239 
 
 which he had built himself, under orders from the Com 
 missioner. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon of the same day 
 Harkins was arrested, Wilmot and Jack arrived. 
 Wilmot was instantly arrested. 
 
 Inspector Brown read to him an order from the 
 Secretary of the Interior, dated at Washington, and 
 duly signed by that official. 
 
 " What crime am I charged with ?" asked Wilmot. 
 
 " You are not charged with any crime," said Brown, 
 " but under the Revised Statutes of the United States 
 the Secretary has the power, according to law, to arrest 
 any person he may choose, found upon an Indian reser 
 vation. He has directed your arrest if you came upon 
 this reserve, and I am simply obeying orders." 
 
 Two soldiers, under the command of a corporal, 
 marched Wilmot off to the guard-house. He was 
 handcuffed to Harkins, the door was shut and bolted, 
 and they were left alone. There they stood with the 
 irons upon them, looking into each other's faces. Before 
 they had time to speak, a fiendish face appeared at the 
 little aperture which alone admitted light and air to the 
 dungeon. It was Parker, the trader. 
 
 In a voice full of hatred and malice, he asked : 
 
 " How do you like the working of your little plan 
 to send us all to the penitentiary ?" 
 
 Of course, Harkins and Wilmot, chained together in 
 a cell, were furious with rage. 
 
 " I wonder whether this is Russia or America," said 
 Wilmot. 
 
240 WREAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 They were only suffering a just punishment for try 
 ing to interfere with the u policy " of that almighty 
 monarch, the Secretary of the Inferior. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXX. 
 
 WREAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 ILMOT and Harkins were confined in the 
 guard-house. Early next morning Jack's 
 face appeared at the hole in the wall. Wil- 
 mot and Harkins were walking up and down 
 the cell chained together. 
 
 " What did I tell you ?" said Jack. " Nothing but 
 cold lead will do for these fellows. Perkins is at the 
 bottom of the whole of it, and I know it. How're 
 you going to git out ?" 
 
 " Hang me if I know," said Harkins. " Ask Wil- 
 mot. He got me in here and he must get me out." 
 
 " Jack," said Wilmot, " can you get me some pa 
 per, pen and ink ?" 
 
 " Don't know. All the paper there is around the 
 agency is at the trader's store, and I hardly think Par 
 ker would let me have any. Besides, if I should under 
 take to put anything in at this hole, I'd get a bullet 
 through me. There's a guard out here watching." 
 
 " What do you want with paper, pen and ink ?" 
 asked Harkins. 
 
WKEAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 " I want to write a note to Dawson, he's the best 
 lawyer in Council Bluffs, and have him sue out a writ 
 of habeas corpus" 
 
 " Say," said Jack, " I think I know where I can get 
 some paper. I'll bet Mr. Parkman has some." 
 
 " Well, go and get it quick," said Wilmot. 
 
 Jack had four revolvers stuck in his belt, and car 
 ried in his hand a repeating rifle. He walked down to 
 the trader's store, went in, bought a plug of tobacco, 
 and then walked out. Brown and Parker were stand 
 ing near the door, A little to one side there was a 
 small ground-squirrel. It was running around, stop 
 ping every moment or so, standing on its hind feet and 
 looking about. 
 
 " See thar, stranger," said Jack, to Inspector 
 Brown. " Now see me knock that chap's head off." 
 
 He pulled out his revolver, fired, and the squirrel's 
 head was gone. Jack put another cartridge in his pis 
 tol and walked away. 
 
 " That's a desperate-looking ruffian," said Brown. 
 
 " He is the worst desperado on the plains," said Par 
 ker. 
 
 " Why don't you get rid of him ?" 
 
 " That's easier said than done, you see how he can 
 shoot. Besides that, he is a member of the tribe." 
 
 "I wish I had known about him before I came 
 back. I would have got orders for his arrest too, 
 and sent the military after him. I always go on the 
 principle of letting them take the risks. That's what 
 they are paid for." 
 
 Jack went around to the carpenter-shop, and then 
 11 
 
242 WBEAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 to the blacksmith-shop, giving them all exhibitions of 
 his skill with a pistol. Then he mounted a wild mus 
 tang pony, and rode at full gallop up and down and 
 around the agency, yelling like a demon, and tiring off 
 his pistols. After he got tired of that, he called up an 
 Indian, gave his horse to him, and told him to lariat it 
 out. Then he went over to Mr. Parkman's log-house. 
 The school had been moved from the tent into one of 
 the rooms of Mr. Parkman's house, and there were just 
 as many children present as could well be crowded in. 
 
 Jennie was standing up by her blackboard, with a 
 piece of " keel " in her hand. There were no pictures 
 on the board now, but "words." The children had ad 
 vanced so that many of them could write small words 
 quite nicely. Gray Cloud was there. He had a small 
 blackboard of his own, but his was covered with figures. 
 He had made the board himself. 
 
 Jack sat down on the ground with the children and 
 looked on. He had not been there many minutes un 
 til Jennie asked him if he would please interpret for 
 her a little. 
 
 " I have never been able to talk with them but 
 once," she said, " and then only a few words. I asked 
 Mr. Harkins to send me the Government interpreter, 
 and he did, but he was so rough and insulting to me that 
 I never wanted him to come again. " (The Government 
 interpreter was a half-breed, who had been hired by 
 Harkins by the express order of the Commissioner,) 
 
 Jack said he would with pleasure. Then Jennie 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 " I am so sorry I can't talk with you every day ; but 
 
WREAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 243 
 
 I am trying very hard to learn your language. I can 
 speak a few words now. I want to tell you about 
 Jesus. He was God's son, and he came into the world 
 to teach us what is right. He loved little children, and 
 took them in his arms and blessed them. He said we 
 must love one another, and do good to one another. I 
 read this in his book, and that is why I came to teach 
 you. I love you all very much, and I want you all to 
 be good. By and by, when I can talk to you myself, I 
 will tell you more. I want to talk to your mothers, and 
 tell them how good you have been." 
 
 Jennie then dismissed them, and they went away 
 for their two hours' recess, which she gave them at 
 noon. She found that it was necessary to have short 
 sessions, for they could not endure too much confine 
 ment. 
 
 After the children left, Jack and Jennie went into 
 the other room. Mr. Parkman was seated at a rude 
 table, which he had made himself. Several large sheets 
 of paper were spread out on the table, on which there 
 were lists of words, some in English and some in the 
 Indian language. He was engaged in learning the lan 
 guage, and reducing it to writing. The papers were 
 speedily put away, and the all-absorbing topic of the re 
 moval of the agent and the imprisonment of Wilmot 
 was introduced. 
 
 Jack told Mr. Parkman that "Wilmot wanted some 
 paper and pen and ink, to write to a lawyer in Council 
 Bluffs to get him out of jail. 
 
 " But," said he, " I don't know how I am to get it 
 to him. Brown will never give permission for him to 
 
244: WKEAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 write, and there are two guards stationed there, and 
 you can- 1 get it in without one of them seeing." 
 
 Jennie arose and put on her hat. 
 
 " Where are you going, my dear," asked Mrs. Park- 
 man. 
 
 " I am going to take writing material to Mr. Wil- 
 mot," she replied. 
 
 " How will you do it ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " I don't know," said Jennie. " I can only pray 
 that God will help me." 
 
 She rolled up some paper, took a pen and a small 
 bottle of ink, placed them under her shawl and walked 
 out. 
 
 She went direct to the guard-house. A soldier 
 stood a short distance from the little opening. 
 
 " Good-day," said Jennie. 
 
 " Good-day, mum," answered the soldier. 
 
 " Isn't it very tiresome standing here ?" 
 
 " It's a kind of duty we have to do." 
 
 " How long do you have to stand here ?" 
 
 " Two hours on and four hours off." 
 
 "When do you go off?" 
 
 " At twelve o'clock. That's pretty soon uow." 
 
 " May I talk to the men inside ?" 
 
 " Do you know them ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. I know them both." 
 
 " Yes, you can talk to them through that hole, but 
 you must not give them anything ; that's the orders." 
 
 " You won't look at me all the time, will you ?" and 
 Jennie smiled and blushed. 
 
 " I reckon you don't want me to hear either, do 
 
WREAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 245 
 
 you ?" said the soldier. Think a good deal of them, 
 don't you ?" 
 
 " Yes," said Jennie ; and then, in a lower tone, 
 " That is, one of them." 
 
 The soldier laughed and said, " What will you give 
 me if I turn my back f ' 
 
 " Oh, I'll give you anything !" 
 
 "Well, I won't look." 
 
 " Won't you now P 
 
 " No, 'pon honor I won't. If I was in the guard 
 house, and my girl came to see me, I wouldn't want 
 anybody to be looking. Now, see here, I'll go off to 
 the other end of my beat, and stay there while you 
 talk to him." 
 
 Jennie went up to the opening. She stood on her 
 toes and peeped in. There, sitting on the floor, hand 
 cuffed together, were Wilmot and Harkins. 
 
 " Mr. Wiirnot," said she, timidly. 
 
 " Who's there ?" he answered. 
 
 "It's Jennie Walker. I have brought you the 
 writing materials. Take them quickly and write what 
 you want to. Don't stop to talk, for the guard may in 
 terfere. Don't say a word. Just write." 
 
 She passed the paper, pen and ink inside. She 
 could not see in without standing on her tiptoes. 
 Near where the soldier stood was a block of wood. She 
 went and got it to stand upon. 
 
 "She couldn't quite kiss him standing on the 
 ground," the soldier said to himself, but he kept his 
 word and didn't look. 
 
 It didn't take Wilmot long to write what he wanted 
 
246 WKEAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 to say to Dawson. He handed it to Jennie, and 
 said, 
 
 " Take that to Jack and tell him to put it into Daw- 
 son's hands just as soon as he can get it there." 
 
 " I will do it," said Jennie. 
 
 " Miss Walker, I hope we will meet under more 
 favorable circumstances before long." 
 
 " I hope we may. I have wanted to talk with you, 
 oh ! for so long." 
 
 "Have you?" 
 
 " Indeed I have, but I could never get an opportu 
 nity. I wanted to apologize for the rude manner in 
 which I treated you, just as you were starting off for 
 the Indian war." 
 
 Wilmot began to wish that Harkins was in Halifax 
 or some other place, but there he was, chained to him, 
 with no chance to get away. 
 
 " Miss Walker," said Wilmot, " I will try and see 
 you just as soon as I am released by this writ." 
 
 " I'd like to know how you are going to see her," 
 said Harkins, as Jennie walked away. " If you come 
 out here, there's a standing order of the Secretary of 
 the Interior to arrest you and put you in confinement." 
 
 " That's so. I didn't think of that. What an in 
 fernal thing this Indian system is anyhow. Think of 
 it ! Here we are, two American citizens, chained to 
 gether in a miserable dungeon, never having committed 
 any crime, denied bail. I tell you what, Harkins, this 
 whole thing is unconstitutional. Is the Secretary of 
 the Interior an absolute monarch \ Can he arrest and 
 put in chains any man he sees n't 2" 
 
WREAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 " Well, he lias seen fit to arrest and chain you any 
 how. What are you going to do about it ?" 
 
 " I'll sue this Brown for fifty thousand dollars for 
 false imprisonment. I'll let them know whether an 
 American citizen, who has never committed a crime, 
 can be handcuffed and imprisoned without any process 
 of law whatsoever, at the dictate of some individual in 
 Washington. There is not a monarchical government 
 in Europe to-day that can do such a thing." 
 
 " I don't care anything about the governments of 
 Europe. I want to get this handcuff off, and out of 
 this jail. The next time you get me to go into a plot 
 against the Indian Ring, you'll know it. I've had 
 enough of it." 
 
 As Jennie was going back to Mr. Parkman's, she 
 met Inspector Brown. 
 
 " You have been up to the guard-house ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Jennie. 
 
 " Are you acquainted with Mr. Wilmot ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " How long have you known him ?" 
 
 " I have known him since the beginning of this 
 war." 
 
 " He's a friend of yours ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. He saved my life at the time Red 
 Iron made the raid on the west side of the river." 
 
 " Have you seen him frequently since that time ?" 
 
 " Only once or twice." The Inspector passed on, 
 and no more was said. 
 
 When Jennie came back to Mrs. Parkman's, Jack 
 was still there, and she delivered Mr. Wil mot's letter 
 
248 WREAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 and request that he should take it to Mr. Dawson 
 immediately. 
 
 As he was going out she said : 
 
 " Jack, I wish you would not be so rough. See 
 how you were riding around and shooting this morning. 
 You frighten people half to death." 
 
 "Were you afraid?" asked Jack. 
 
 " No, because I know } r ou, but people who don't 
 know you will think you're awful." 
 
 " If you won't tell anybody, I'll tell you why I did 
 it." 
 
 "I won't." 
 
 " Well, you see there ain't any law or government of 
 any kind here, and these inspectors and agents can do 
 just as they please, arrest anybody they take a notion to, 
 and keep 'em in jail just as long as they want. I 
 knowed one feller an agent kept locked up and chained 
 for nine months, and it so worked on him that he died 
 a little while after lie got away. The fact was, I and 
 some other fellers made a raid on the old pen he was 
 shut up in, tore it down, and let him go. Now, I had 
 a sorter of an idea that this 'ere inspector had his eye 
 on me, and I thought I'd let him know the kind of 
 metal I was made of, and what he might expect if he 
 undertook that sort of a job. I think they'll give me a 
 wide berth." 
 
 " You wanted to scare them," said Jennie. 
 
 " That's just it," said Jack. 
 
 The next day, Jennie was teaching in her school, as 
 usual. Very suddenly, and very much to her surprise, 
 the government interpreter walked in. He said a few 
 
WREAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 249 
 
 words to the children in the Indian language, which 
 Jennie did not understand. They sprang to their feet, 
 and all rushed out of the room, and ran home as fast as 
 their legs could carry them. He then handed Jennie 
 the following letter : 
 
 " Miss J. WALKER : 
 
 " Your services as teacher at this agency will be no 
 longer required. Please call at the office and receive 
 your salary, which will be paid up to last night. 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 "J. YOUNG BROWN, 
 " United States Indian Inspector and Acting Agent." 
 
 For a moment after reading the letter Jennie stood 
 speechless, her face as white as snow. Then she burst 
 into a flood of tears, and sobbed and sobbed as if her 
 heart would break. 
 
 " Oh, my poor, dear little ones," she said, " you will 
 have no one to teach you now." 
 
 She stood leaning her head against the wall for a long 
 time, weeping most bitterly. At last Mr. Parkman 
 came in. 
 
 " Where are the children ? What is the matter 2" 
 he asked. 
 
 " The Inspector " said Jennie, and then she could 
 speak no more for sobs and tears. 
 
 " What has the Inspector done ?" 
 
 " He has broken up my school and discharged me." 
 
 " What reason has he assigned ; what did he do it 
 for?" 
 
 11* 
 
250 WKEAKING VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 
 
 " I don't know. Here is his letter." 
 
 Mr. Parkman read the letter. 
 
 " This is very strange," said he. 
 
 "I don't know what I have done," said Jennie. 
 She sat down on a little stool which Gray Cloud had 
 made for her, and sobbed as if her heart would break. 
 
 Presently they went into the other room. Jennie 
 put her arms around Mrs. Parkman's neck, and tears 
 streamed down over both of their faces in silence. Pres 
 ently Mrs. Parkman reached out her hand, took up a 
 well-worn pocket Bible, and read : 
 
 " Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in God, 
 believe also in me." 
 
 " And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, 
 and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor 
 crying, neither shall there be any more pain." 
 
 " Though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
 of death, I will fear no evil, for thon art with me." 
 
 After reading these words it was silent for some 
 minutes in the missionaries' room. Mrs. Parkman be 
 gan to sing. How many weary, heart-broken ones have 
 found relief in sacred song ! These were the words : 
 
 " Though troubles assail and dangers affright, 
 Though friends should all fail and foes all unite ; 
 Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, 
 The promise assures us the Lord will provide." 
 
 Again it was silent. Finally Jennie's sobs ceased. 
 She raised her head. A calm and heavenly look had 
 come into her face. She sang in her clear, pure voice : 
 
WKEAKINGr VENGEANCE ON A WOMAN. 251 
 
 " There is an hour of peaceful rest 
 To mourning wand'rers given ; 
 There is a joy for souls distressed, 
 A balm for every wounded breast 
 'Tis found above in heaven. 
 
 '* There is a home for weary souls 
 
 By sin and sorrow driven, 
 When tossed on life's tempestuous shoals, 
 Where storms arise and ocean rolls. 
 
 And all is drear but heaven." 
 
 As Jennie sang, a look of joy and triumph came 
 over her. Timid, weak and cowardly as she was by na 
 ture, she would at that moment have walked to the 
 stake and burned, and have counted it a joy, if by that 
 means she could have brought the Gospel to these In 
 dians. The fear of death had been taken away. From 
 this hour she was ready to suffer all things and endure 
 all things. Whatever men may think, whatever ex 
 planation they may give, the fact cannot be disputed, 
 that many missionaries, very cowardly and timid by na 
 ture, live always in this state of mind, and meet death 
 with a calmness, fortitude and courage not excelled by 
 those whom we denominate the bravest of the brave. 
 
 It was decided that Jennie should remain with Mr. 
 Parkman. He would write to the missionary board, 
 represent her case, and request that she be appointed 
 and paid as a missionary. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 JACK'S STRATAGEM. 
 
 HE next morning dawned on the agency as 
 many had before. The fanner, carpenter, 
 blacksmith, miller and other employees were 
 lounging about here and there, some at the 
 trader's store and some in other places. Nothing was 
 to be seen save the dull, listless, lazy life which agency 
 employees led. There was nothing for anybody to do, 
 except the days when rations were issued. During the 
 morning some of them pitched quoits, and a party 
 were in the back room of the trader's store playing 
 cards. About eleven o'clock two naked Indians (save 
 breech-cloth and moccasins), covered with perspiration 
 and out of breath, running at the top of their speed, 
 rushed by the store and up to the agent's office. In 
 spector Brown was sitting there quietly looking over 
 some papers. The Indians gesticulated wildly and 
 talked rapidly, but of course he could not understand 
 a word. He rushed out and called for the interpreter. 
 He was nowhere to be found. After inquiry it was 
 learned that he had gone off to a camp about ten miles 
 away. An employee was put on a horse and started 
 after him. There was great excitement among the 
 Indians. All who were located to the southwest came 
 rushing to the agency. Many of them began to put 
 on their war-paint. The agency employees were 
 
253 
 
 frightened half out of their senses, for nobody could 
 tell what the matter was. Lieutenant Blake had his 
 whole command under arms, and had moved his train 
 to a position on a hill near by. It was three o'clock 
 when the interpreter returned. Then it was learned 
 that the Comanches were coining. Shortly afterward, 
 Indians on horseback could be seen on the hill-tops to 
 the southwest. An hour later great volumes of smoke 
 rolled up toward the sky to the northeast. The prairie 
 was on lire, and the Indians had surrounded them. 
 Lieutenant Blake had taken the soldiers away who 
 were guarding Wilinot and Harkins, and they were 
 left to themselves. He set his men to work throwing 
 up some slight earthworks, and a defense made of brush 
 and pieces of timber found around the agency. When 
 night came, all the white people, except Mr. Parkman 
 and his family, took refuge there. Nothing was heard 
 or seen until about midnight, when the prairie was 
 fired to the south. When daylight dawned, no Indians 
 were in sight except those who belonged to the agency. 
 The white people went back to their houses, and then 
 it was discovered that the guard-house had been broken 
 open and Wilmot and Harkins were gone. 
 
 Scouts were sent out in all directions, but there had 
 been so much running around, it was not possible to 
 discover any trail. The prairie had been burned over 
 in the direction which the Indians on horseback had 
 been seen, and so nothing could be discovered there. 
 An examination of the guard-house showed that some 
 one had furnished the prisoners with a saw, and they 
 had sawed a log out and thus escaped. 
 
254: JACK'S STRATAGEM. 
 
 The agency people had something to talk about for 
 a long time afterward, but no one ever learned what 
 was the cause of the disturbance. It was thought 
 Gray Cloud, who had been a great favorite with agent 
 Harkins, had furnished the saw. 
 
 The true cause of all the trouble was as follows : 
 
 When Jack left Mr. Parkman's, instead of starting 
 for Council Bluffs with the latter, he went off to Red 
 Iron's camp, which was ten miles away. He did not 
 fancy riding back to Council Bluffs, for he had just 
 come from there. He hadn't any faith in a writ of 
 habeas corpus, so he said to himself, 
 
 " I'll serve a writ of habeas corpus on 'em such as 
 no lawyer ever heard of before. I won't file any pa 
 pers, or argue any motions before the court either, but 
 I'll bet it'll fetch 'em." 
 
 Arriving at Red Iron's tent, he explained the situ 
 ation, telling him that the inspector and trader would 
 steal every cent of the money which was coming from 
 the Great Father, unless Wilmot and Harkins could 
 get away. If they could they would tell the Great 
 Father all about this matter, and perhaps he would send 
 Harkins back, or stop the stealing some other way. 
 
 Red Iron, who had not forgotten the days without 
 rations, was willing to do anything he could do, with 
 safety. So the two plotted an Indian raid, to draw the 
 guards away and give an opportunity for them to 
 escape. 
 
 The Indians who were seen on horseback were Red 
 Iron's warriors, who were operating under his instruc 
 tions, and so also were the excited runners who came 
 
255 
 
 into Brown's office. All but about half a dozen Indi 
 ans, however, really thought there was a raid by the 
 Comanches. 
 
 The first thing that Wilmot knew about this plot 
 was when Jack appeared with a saw at the opening in 
 the guard house. 
 
 "Here," said Jack, "I've got a writ of habeas cor- 
 pus. You just file it on that log for awhile." 
 
 " I won't do any thing of the kind," said Wilmot, 
 " I'm not going to break jail." 
 
 " Don't act like a fool," said Jack. 
 
 " Here, give it to me," said Harkins. " I've had 
 enough of this. I'm going to get out if I can. You 
 can stay here if you want to, but I won't." 
 
 "Where's the guard ?" asked Wilmot. 
 
 " Where's the guard !'" said Jack. " Didn't you 
 know the guard had gone ? Good heavens, go to work 
 there and saw out that log, while I watch. Hain't you 
 heard that the Comanches are comin', and the 
 soldiers are all withdrawn to protect the trader's store, 
 and you have been left in here to be scalped. You'll 
 have your hair lifted inside of six hours if you stay in 
 there." 
 
 When they heard this, Harkins and Wilmot went to 
 work with a will, and were soon on the outside. Their 
 fetters were sawn apart, they mounted the horses Jack 
 had in a ravine close by, and rode away. 
 
256 A LEGAL TANGLB. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXII. 
 
 A LEGAL TANGLE. 
 
 ILMOT recognized the trnth of the maxim, 
 that " the lawyer who pleads his own cause 
 has a fool for a client," and so he made np 
 his mind that on his arrival he would 
 engage Dawson to conduct his case for false imprison 
 ment against Brown, and he would manage Harkins's 
 case himself. Harkins, by his advice, upon his arrival, 
 went directly to the magistrate who had issued the 
 warrant for his arrest, surrendered to his jurisdiction, 
 and gave bail in the sum of five thousand dollars for his 
 appearance at the next term of court. Wilmot went to 
 Dawson and laid his case before him. 
 
 " So you want to sue Brown for twenty thousand 
 dollars damages T said Dawson. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " What court will you bring your case in ?'* 
 
 "The United States District Court." 
 
 " Let me see how that will work. That reservation 
 is not in this district. " 
 
 " What district is it in ?" 
 
 " I'll have to look," said Dawson. 
 
 The two lawyers took down the United States 
 Statutes at Large and commenced to search. Not a 
 word was spoken for half an hour. At last Dawson 
 said: 
 
A LEGAL TANGLE. 257 
 
 " That reservation is in the heart of the Indian 
 country, and is not included in the jurisdiction of any 
 circuit or district court of the United States." 
 
 " I believe you are right," said Wilmot. 
 
 " Suppose we bring the case in the Territorial 
 Court?" 
 
 " You can't do that, for Indian reservations are 
 excluded from their jurisdiction by statute." 
 
 "The United States Courts must have jurisdiction," 
 said Wilmot. "Harkins was arrested on a warrant 
 issued by a Commissioner of the United States District 
 Court, served by a deputy United States marshal. If 
 that is so, the court must have civil jurisdiction also." 
 
 " I don't see how a court can have jurisdiction out 
 side of the boundaries of the district as prescribed by 
 law. I don't believe that marshal had any authority 
 for arresting Harkins, At least that is the way it looks 
 to me so far as I have examined it." 
 
 " You must be wrong," said Wilmot. " Congress 
 could never have left millions of square miles of 
 country without any form of government, a place 
 where men can commit murder or any other crime, and 
 they can't be arrested or tried in any court. That sort 
 of a proposition will never do. Suppose I had shot the 
 marshal when he attempted to arrest me, wouldn't I 
 be guilty of crime, and do you mean to say I couldn't 
 be tried in any court for it ?" 
 
 " I say that is the way it looks to me as far as I 
 have been able to examine it. I see this is a very 
 knotty question. I will have to take time to look into 
 
258 A LEGAL TANGLE. 
 
 it. JSTow you go home, study up your own case, and 
 clear Harkins. I will attend to this." 
 
 Five days afterward Wilmot called again. 
 
 " Well, Dawson," said he, " what have you found 
 out P 
 
 "I never studied so hard in my life as I have 
 during the last five days," said Dawson, " and I am 
 about as much in the dark as I was I commenced. 
 That reservation is not in the jurisdiction of any 
 court, State, Territorial or United States. I've settled 
 that. A court can't have jurisdiction outside of the 
 limits prescribed by law, and that country is not included 
 in the limits of any district or circuit. The Supreme 
 Court of the United States has jurisdiction, but you 
 can't commence such an action in that court." 
 
 " Well, how could they arrest Harkins then ?" 
 
 " I said before I don't believe that they had any 
 authority to arrest him, and you can move to dismiss 
 the case on the ground that the crime charged was not 
 committed within the jurisdiction of the court." 
 
 " But I don't want to dismiss the case. I want to 
 try it, and ventilate this whole business." 
 
 " Well, you needn't make the motion then, and go 
 on and try it. But I am not done with your case. 
 I am going to look further. There must be some 
 special statutes which I have not found." 
 
 Three days after this Dawson came into Wilmot's 
 office. 
 
 " I've found it," he said. " There is a statute which 
 extends the jurisdiction of the United States Courts 
 over these reservations in relation to specified crimes, 
 
A LEGAL TANGLE. 259 
 
 and Harkins's case comes under it. It's a peculiar sort 
 of a tiling." 
 
 " Peculiar !" said Wilmot. " In what way 2" 
 
 " Well, I've studied it a good deal. You can arrest 
 an Indian for a crime committed against a white man, 
 but you can't arrest a white man for a crime committed 
 against an Indian, or an Indian for a crime committed 
 against another Indian, and there's several other things 
 somewhat peculiar about it. I've done more reading 
 in the last ten days than in a year before, and the more 
 I look into this legislation affecting Indians, and the 
 decisions which have been rendered by the Supreme 
 Court, the deeper I get into the fog. Some of the de 
 cisions recognize them as nations. If they are nations, 
 then our courts and law officers have no more right to 
 go into their territory than into Canada. Then the in 
 tercourse law of 1838 and other statutes passed since 
 that time, seem to put them completely into the juris 
 diction of the United States. It's too big a question 
 for me. I give it up." 
 
 " You don't mean to give up my case ?" said Wil 
 mot. 
 
 " No, not at all. I can sue this fellow Brown for 
 twenty thousand dollars damages for false imprison 
 ment, providing I can get service on him. How are 
 we going to get service ?" 
 
 " By publication, if no other way." 
 
 " Suppose I commence the suit in the United States 
 District Court, and send a deputy marshal out there 
 to the reservation to serve a notice, and then make 
 notice by publication also." 
 
260 A LEGAL TANGLE. 
 
 " Go ahead. Do anything you like. You're run 
 ning the case." 
 
 " Will you take my advice ?" 
 . " Of course I will. What did I engage you for ?" 
 
 " Well then, I advise you to drop the whole thing. 
 This suit will. cost a good deal of money. Brown may 
 not be worth a cent, arid if you should get judgment 
 against him, what good will it do ? My opinion is, that 
 he will pay no sort of attention to the case, let it go by 
 default, and here you will be with all the costs to pay 
 and never get a cent. I tell you you can't make any 
 thing out of it. 
 
 " Dawson," said Wilmot, " I am an American citi 
 zen, free-born, and I thought I lived in a free country, 
 under a Constitution which guarantees the liberty of all 
 men. Now, I have been arrested, imprisoned, chained 
 like a felon, by the arbitrary order of one man, without 
 any crime being charged against me and without any 
 
 process of law. I'll be d d if I will stand it. Is 
 
 this Government a fraud ?" 
 
 " All that you say is true, but show me the remedy. 
 Tell me the process and I'll, sue it out, and fight it to 
 the bitter end." 
 
 "I say, sue him for false imprisonment. That's 
 your process." 
 
 " All right, if you say so ; I'll make out the papers 
 and file them with the clerk of the District Court to 
 morrow ; but I want to read you a few words from a 
 decision of this same judge before whom your case 
 will come. He says : 
 
 " ' Laws passed for the government of the Indian 
 
A LEGAL TANGLE. 261 
 
 country, and for the purpose of regulating trade and 
 intercourse with the Indian tribes, confer upon certain 
 officers of the Government almost unlimited povier 
 over the persons who go upon reservations without 
 lawful authority. Section 2,149 of the lie vised 
 Statutes authorizes and requires the Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs, with tho approval of the Secretary of 
 the Interior, to remove from any tribal reservation any 
 person being there without authority of law, or whose 
 presence within the limits of the reservation may, in 
 the judgment of tlie Commissioner, be detrimental to 
 the peace and welfare of the Indians.' 
 
 " Now, no person has any legal right upon a reserva 
 tion but the Indians who belong to the tribe and the 
 officers and employees of the Government This being 
 the case, the Commissioner had a legal right to order 
 your arrest." 
 
 " Which side of this case are you arguing anyhow ?" 
 asked Wilmot. "I guess there is some law on the 
 other side. There's another section of the Revised 
 Statutes which says that ' no person shall be deprived 
 of life, liberty or property without due process of law.' 
 I tell you that this whole system of legislation, giving 
 to the Commissioner or Secretary of the Interior 
 absolute control over the life, liberty and property of 
 individuals, is unconstitutional, and if you knew any 
 law at all, you'd know it." 
 
 " It's a good thing that you had sense enough not 
 to try and manage this case yourself. You've got so 
 mad over being arrested that you can't keep cool 
 enough to talk decent to your own counsel. You act 
 
262 A LEGAL TANGLE. 
 
 just like any other client who wants to sue somebody, 
 and when the attorney, for the good of the client, 
 points out the difficulties to be met, he always thinks 
 the attorney is in sympathy with the other side and 
 arguing against him." 
 
 " I guess if you had been arrested, and confined in a 
 dungeon for days, chained to another man, you wouldn't 
 be in a very good humor, either." 
 
 " Perhaps not, but if I had employed an attorney 
 to manage a case, I'd let him manage it." 
 
 " Didn't I tell you I'd follow your advice and for 
 you to go ahead ?" 
 
 " And I, like an honest lawyer, tell you, you will 
 have the costs to pay, and make nothing out of it." 
 
 " I don't care if I do. I want Brown sued." 
 
 " All right. I'll sue him." 
 
 As Dawson passed out he noticed a man standing 
 by the door of the office. He seemed intently reading 
 a newspaper. Dawson gave him a sharp look and 
 passed on. After walking down the street a short 
 distance, he turned and looked again. The man still 
 stood there intently reading. 
 
 Dawson was not superstitious, but he felt there was 
 something wrong about that man. After he got to his 
 office he could not drive him out of his mind. Such 
 things as this happen a great many times. I don't 
 pretend to account for them, but because I cannot ac 
 count for them, I do not think that a good reason why I 
 should deny the fact, for there are a good many things 
 in this world I have never been able to account for. 
 
 Dawson tried to drive this fellow's image out of his 
 
INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 
 
 mind, hut he could not. At last lie got out of temper 
 and called himself a fool. Then he put on his hat and 
 went out to look for the man. He found him sitting 
 at a table in the Empire House, writing. Then Daw- 
 son got intensely interested in a newspaper. The man 
 went 011 writing. After awhile he folded up his letter 
 and, just as he finished, addressing it, Dawson walked 
 behind him and passed out of the door. On the back 
 of that letter was written, " Secretary of the Interior, 
 Washington, D. C." 
 
 Dawson went straight to Wilmot's office and told 
 him about the man and what he had seen. 
 
 " What does it mean ?" asked Wilmot. 
 
 " It's beyond my comprehension," said Dawson, 
 "but I want you to keep a sharp look-out for this 
 fellow. I'll see if I can find out who he is." 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIII. 
 
 INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 
 
 FTER Harkins and Wilmot escaped, Jack 
 spent his time in the camp of Red Iron's 
 band. Both he and the old chief seemed 
 to be in a particular good humor. The 
 camp was on the " second bottom " of a little stream, 
 near by a large grove of timber. The tents were 
 pitched in a semicircle. Four or five horses were 
 
264 INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 
 
 picketed out. Large camp-fires were burning in several 
 places, and the Indians were lounging around, some of 
 them asleep on the ground in the open air, and some in 
 the tents. In one part a lot of young fellows were 
 having a dance, the music being made on a rude drum 
 and by singing. Around Red Iron's fire quite a crowd 
 had gathered, for the old chief was in a story-telling 
 mood. His first story was about a raid which he made 
 on another tribe when he was a young man, when they 
 stole and carried away over a hundred horses. Finally 
 he got on to his favorite topic of what lie had seen 
 among the white people when he went to Washington. 
 He said the white people were always talking about 
 how bad it was to take scalps, but they were the worst 
 scalpers in the world. He saw two or three stores full 
 of scalps (hair stores). They had them hung up, two 
 or three hundred in a window, and sold them for so 
 much each. 
 
 "A great many of the white people," said he, 
 " haven't any hair, and they buy these scalps, and wear 
 them on their heads. All these scalps were scalps of 
 white people. I did not see one Indian's scalp. I said 
 to the man that I thought the white people must go to 
 war a great deal against one another, and then he told 
 me that these scalps were taken from the heads of 
 persons who had died from sickness. Now, what do 
 you think of that? No Indian who ever lived was 
 mean enough to scalp one of his tribe who had died 
 from sickness. I think in some things the white 
 people are the meanest people who ever lived. But 
 they have got lots of nice things. They build great big, 
 
INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 265 
 
 high houses, like one tent above another, and then they 
 put the prettiest cloth you ever saw on the floors to 
 walk on. They have knives and forks and spoons made 
 out of pure silver to eat with. But they are the dirtiest 
 people that ever lived. They eat nasty, slimy bugs 
 (oysters). These bugs grow in a kind of a shell in the 
 water. They are the nastiest-looking things you ever 
 saw, and they taste just as nasty as they look. I tasted 
 of some once. They eat worms too. It's a little white 
 worm. They put great handfuls of them in a pot and 
 make soup of them (vermicelli). I asked a man where 
 they got so many of them, and he said they brought 
 them from across the great water in their big canoes. 
 Everybody eats these worms. I saw the women and 
 children eat them. 
 
 " They always eat their meat raw. They don't cook 
 it at all, they just make it warm, that's all. When 
 they cut it up, the blood runs out of it. Everybody 
 knows that raw liver is good, but just think of eating 
 raw meat! 
 
 " Then they eat snakes. They have a great big 
 store, or rather a great many stores together in one 
 place, where they sell all kinds of things to eat. The 
 man took us down there one morning and I saw a 
 great big box full of snakes (eels). They don't eat all 
 kinds of snakes, but just one kind. It is a water snake. 
 They eat frogs too. I saw a lot of frogs in that same 
 place. The white people are terribly dirty and nasty 
 about some things. 
 
 " Their houses are all like sweat houses. The first 
 thing they do when they want to build a house is to dig 
 12 
 
266 INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 
 
 a big hole in the ground. After they get the house built 
 they have some sort of a place down in that hole where 
 they make a big fire and the heat comes up through a 
 hole, and it is just like a hot wind in the summer time. 
 They make the house just as hot as summer all the 
 time. We used to take off our blankets and leggins, 
 and sit there and sweat just like as if we were in a 
 sweat house. Then when we went out-doors it made 
 it feel awful cold. 
 
 " I think the sides of the white people's houses must 
 be hollow, and filled with water, for they have little 
 hollow pipes which come out of them, with a little 
 handle. When you want a drink all you have to do is 
 to turn the handle and the water runs out. I don't 
 see where so much water comes from. 
 
 " The white people don't know anything about good 
 manners. I used to think that these people we met 
 out here were the worst ones, and that they didn't 
 know much, but they are all alike. There are none of 
 them who know what good manners is. If they see 
 anything strange, they will stop, stand and look at it. 
 They will stop and stare at you when you go along. 
 
 " When any one comes to pay us a visit we give him 
 something to eat, and he eats it all up. When one 
 comes to visit them, they give him something to eat, 
 and when he eats it up they give him more and more 
 and more, just as long as he can swallow. It is enough 
 to kill a man. One of the Commissioners invited me 
 to a feast (took him to dine). The women and men all 
 sat down together. Then they brought some soup. It 
 Was warm soup. I told Shonnee to tell them I didn't 
 
INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 267 
 
 like soup. Then they took everything away and 
 brought fish, and then they took everything away again 
 and brought meat. They kept giving me meat until I 
 couldn't swallow any more. I didn't know what to do. 
 I told Shonnee to tell them to stop. I was afraid they 
 would be insulted. They don't seem to know how 
 much a man can eat at all." 
 
 (Indians give to a visitor just what they think he can 
 eat ; and if he don't eat it all, they take it as a grave in 
 sult.) 
 
 " After that they wanted me to eat a lot of other 
 things, sweet things, and a kind of white stuff as cold 
 as ice (ice cream). Then they brought apples as big as 
 your fist, and some long yellow things and nuts. I 
 thought I should die. The white people are the worst 
 gluttons in the world. Every one of them will eat more 
 than a horse." 
 
 (That was just what the gentleman who took Red 
 Iron out to dine said of him.) 
 
 " But the strangest thing of itall was that they had 
 some men to bring us the things to eat. These men 
 were perfectly black, and had short hair, not as long as 
 my finger-nail." 
 
 " Wah," said Little Duck, " don't tell us any more.| 
 Men perfectly black!" 
 
 "What do you know?" said Standing Hawk.; 
 " There are black men. I saw one once myself." 
 
 Here a great discussion arose, some saying there 
 were black men, and some saying it was a lie, and that 
 these men who brought the things to eat were painted. 
 
 Little Duck said that when he was a young man he 
 went to visit a tribe of Indians, who painted their faces 
 
268 INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 
 
 all black when they went on the war-path, and that the 
 white people had learned this from them. 
 
 " Did you see the Great Council ?" asked one of 
 them. 
 
 " Yes," said Red Iron. " I went in there two or 
 three times. They have two councils, but the Great 
 Father don't go there at all. "When they do anything 
 they write it in a letter and send it to the Great Father. 
 If he don't like it he writes * No ' on it, and then it is 
 no good. They dare not do anything the Great Father 
 don't like. I don't see any use of a council like that. 
 In both councils there is a sort of head chief, and he sits 
 in a high place. Sometimes the chiefs quarrel like 
 everything. I was in there one day when they were 
 quarreling. The head chief had a little wooden toma 
 hawk, and he pounded on a board with it with all his 
 might. After that he made a speech. The man said 
 he was scolding them. They all sat down and quit 
 quarreling." 
 
 " How many chiefs were there ?" asked Little Duck. 
 
 " They have one little council and one big one. I 
 guess there are a thousand chiefs in both of them." 
 
 " Was the Little Great Father there 2" (Secretary of 
 .the Interior.) 
 
 "No. He's a bigger chief than those, and has a 
 big council-house all by himself. These little chiefs 
 have to do what he says. That is what the man told 
 me." 
 
 " Well, he's got to do what the Great Father says." 
 
 " I don't know. They told me that the Great Fa 
 ther had so many things to attend to that he told this 
 
INDIANS DISCUSSING THE WHITES. 269 
 
 man he must attend to the Indians ; and that what 
 ever he said the Great Father always did. The Little 
 Great Father is a very lazy man, for he does not attend 
 to these matters at all. He turned it all over to an 
 other chief. That is the man we made the treaty with. 
 I think the white people have some very queer ways of 
 doing things." 
 
 Just here a runner from the agency came in, and 
 the old crier went yelling around the camp, telling them 
 that there was news to be heard at Red Iron's tent. 
 Soon the whole band assembled. After due formal 
 ities had been gone through with, the runner said that 
 two white men had come to the agency that afternoon, 
 and the Inspector had arrested one of them and put 
 him in the guard-house. The other man went to 
 the Inspector's house, and seemed to be a friend of his. 
 This one was a minister. (Of course the Indians have no 
 word in their language for minister, preacher or clergy 
 man, so they designate them as u men who talk about 
 God," or " the men who teach about God," and some 
 times as the " white medicine man.") The Inspector 
 had said that this man was to take the place of Mr. 
 Parkman and his wife, who were going away. 
 
 Upon the announcement of this news a different 
 mood came upon the Indians. Some of them said there 
 was trouble ahead, but no one could guess what. One 
 by one they went to their tents, and silence reigned in 
 the Indian camp. 
 
270 THE EXILES. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXXIY. 
 
 THE EXILES. 
 
 HE presence of the two men of whom the 
 runner brought news, at the agency, came 
 about as follows : 
 
 Dawson commenced the suit, and a Dep 
 uty United States Marshal had been sent to serve no 
 tice on Inspector Brown. Brown had been informed 
 of his coming, and stationed a guard some miles out of 
 the agency, and the moment he appeared he was ar 
 rested, handcuffed and brought into the guard-house. 
 "When he was safely locked up he was searched, and all 
 his papers taken away. Then Mr. Brown called upon 
 him. 
 
 " I am sorry," said he, " to meet you under snch un 
 pleasant circumstances ; but I have ad opted a set of rules 
 for the good of the Indians on this reservation, which I 
 cannot suffer, under any circumstances, to be violated. 
 One of them is, that no whites shall be allowed upon it ex 
 cept the employees of the Government. You were found 
 within the limits of the reservaiton, and it became my 
 painful duty to order your arrest." 
 
 "I am an officer," said the marshal, "of the 
 United States District Court, and came here on official 
 business. I'd like to know where you get authority to 
 arrest an officer in the performance of his duty in this 
 arbitrary manner." 
 
THE EXILES. 271 
 
 " I am acting agent of this tiibe. I have control of 
 this territory. The safest place for all meddlers is 
 outside of the reservation. I arrested the man you 
 represent, and I will arrest any of them who are med 
 dling with matters which is none of their business, who 
 dare set foot inside of this reservation. Wilmot broke 
 jail and got away. So did that thief Harkins, but I 
 rather think you won't get off quite so easy. Any man 
 who is fool enough to be made a tool of by Wilmot, 
 must expect to suffer the consequences. I know all 
 about your plans. I knew when you started, the route 
 you came by, just where you entered the reservation and 
 what you intended to do. The Government is perfectly 
 capable of taking care of its own interests, and meddlers 
 better keep their hands off." 
 
 "How long do you intend to imprison me here 
 without process of law and without cause ?" 
 
 " Long enough to make you and your thieving set 
 understand that it is not a pleasant business to be 
 meddling with what don't concern them. If I gave you 
 your just deserts I would call in half a dozen Indians 
 and tell them to swing you up to the nearest tree, you 
 low-lived, thieving vagabond you." 
 
 The marshal raised himself up to his full height, 
 took a step or two forward, looked Brown straight in 
 the eye, and said : 
 
 " You have got me here a prisoner, unarmed and 
 handcuffed. Of course you can talk to me just as 
 insultingly as you please, but, sir, no gentleman, no, sir, 
 no one but the most consummate coward would insult 
 and abuse an unarmed prisoner. Now go on, say what 
 
272 THE EXILES. 
 
 you please. I'll meet you in the States some day, where 
 we are on equal footing, and I'll make you wish you 
 had never been born." 
 
 " You will, will you ? I heard chaps talk that way 
 before, but they generally got very humble before I 
 got through with them." 
 
 The Inspector went from there to his office and 
 wrote a short note tp Mr. Parkman, inviting him to call 
 immediately. 
 
 Mr. Parkman went to the In spector's office. 
 
 " I am directed by the Secretary of the Interior to 
 inform you that this reservation," said Brown, "has 
 been assigned to another denomination, and notify you 
 to leave, as a clergyman of the denomination to which 
 it is assigned will take charge immediately. You will 
 therefore leave within five days." 
 
 Mr. Parkman looked at the Inspector in astonish 
 ment. He did not say a word. 
 
 " The ' policy ' of the secretary is to make no distinc 
 tion between the different sects, to treat them all alike, 
 and to prevent any controversy between them about 
 their different creeds, modes of baptism and forms of 
 worship, which might arise if different denominations 
 were allowed to propagate their beliefs upon the same 
 reservation, he has divided the Indians up between the 
 different sects, and this tribe has fallen to another de 
 nomination. You will, therefore, prepare to leave 
 immediately. I have thought that five days would be 
 sufficient time for you to prepare to leave. I therefore 
 give you official notice to leave this reservation within 
 that time." 
 
THE EXILES. 273 
 
 Mr. Parkman turned on his heel, walked out of the 
 office and made no reply. He went back to his little 
 cabin, sat down at his table and wrote a letter to the 
 Secretary of the Missionary Board. He did not men 
 tion the matter to Mrs. Parkman. This is why he did 
 not speak to her about it. 
 
 One day, two Indian women were sitting under the 
 little window of Mr. Parkman's house. One of them 
 heard the crying of a tiny baby. 
 
 " Did you hear that ?" said one. 
 
 " Yes. There's a little white baby in there," said 
 the other. 
 
 " Did you ever see a white baby ?" 
 
 " No. Let us go in. I wonder if they will let us 
 see it " 
 
 " Why wouldn't they ? Do you suppose they would 
 think w r e would want to hurt it ?" 
 
 " I don't know. White people have such strange 
 ways." 
 
 One of the Indian women was old and the other 
 was under middle life. They arose, walked into the 
 room and went up to the side of the bed. They stood 
 in silence for a minute or two and then one made a 
 sign that she wanted to hold the baby. 
 
 Mrs. Parkman turned down the bedclothes and the 
 Indian woman took the little babe in her arms. 
 
 " It is so white, and so fat, and so pretty," she said. 
 
 " Just look at its eyes ! They are not like our 
 babies' eyes. See its hair ! How fine and soft it is. 
 Its hair is almost white, too." 
 
 " It ought to be put on a board. I wonder why 
 12* 
 
274: THE EXILES. 
 
 they haven't put it on a board. I don't see any board 
 around here." 
 
 " Don't you know," said the other, " that the white 
 people don't put their babies on a board ?" 
 
 " Oh ! I forgot." 
 
 " See its little feet. Arn't they pretty ?" 
 
 The younger of the two women pressed the baby 
 to her bosom and rocked herself to and fro. Mrs. 
 Parkman looked at her and saw that tears were in her 
 eyes. Presently she laid it down in the bed and gently 
 covered it over, and her tears fell on its forehead 
 baptizing it with an Indian mother's love. 
 
 She then stood up by the side of the bed and held 
 up her right hand. One finger was gone. Mrs. Park 
 man did not know what she meant. There was no one 
 there to explain the sad sign. The Indian woman's 
 baby was dead. She had loved it with as tender a 
 devotion as any white mother ever did. After it had 
 been buried in the trees, in her great grief she had cut 
 off the finger in remembrance of it. Holding the little 
 white baby in her arms brought it all back to her, and 
 tears, just such tears as white mothers shed, ran down 
 over her face. 
 
 The little baby was only three weeks old when the 
 Inspector informed Mr. Parkman that he must leave 
 within five days, and that is why he said nothing to his 
 wife. 
 
 Mr. Parkman paid no attention to the order of the 
 Inspector, and made no preparations to leave. 
 
 Around every agency there always congregate the 
 very worst members of the tribe. Such men as we 
 
THE EXILES. 275 
 
 would call tramps, bummers or dead beats among us. 
 They pick up a little English, do little jobs for the 
 agent or trader, for which they are given small presents 
 of tobacco, beads or scraps of food. Most of them 
 would sell out the whole tribe for a pair of blankets. 
 Their only aim seems to be to keep in the good graces 
 of the agent. They always call him Major or Colonel, 
 and adopt the same system of fawning and adulation 
 which I have noticed in office-seekers at Washington, 
 when they approach a Congressman, Senator or the 
 head of a department. Nothing pleases these little 
 monarchs of agents better than that sort of servile 
 flattery. It is the height of all human glory to them. 
 These villainous Indians do not hesitate to execute any 
 order the agent gives. Many of them would do any 
 thing he would tell them to do, even if it were to roast 
 a man alive. The trader generally has the same sort of 
 a following. 
 
 "When the five days' notice was up, Brown sent four 
 of these Indians to Mr. Parkman's house, with orders 
 to hitch his horses to the wagon, put his goods and 
 family in, and drive him off the reservation. 
 
 The first thing Mr. Parkman knew of it, he looked 
 out of the door and saw these Indians driving up to his 
 house with his horses and wagon. He went out and 
 asked them what they were doing with his team. They 
 paid no attention at first, and then talked back to him 
 in the Indian language, as if they did not understand a 
 word he said. He knew very well that one of them 
 could understandj and he went up to him and told him 
 
276 THE EXILES. 
 
 to stop, that that was his team, but the Indian only 
 acted more insolent than ever. 
 
 He then went over to the Inspector's office, told 
 him what was going on, and asked his protection. 
 
 " It comes with very poor grace from you," said 
 Brown, " to be asking protection from me. If you are 
 running this agency, you can protect yourself. If you 
 are not, you had better obey orders. There ain't much 
 security for anybody around here who disobeys my 
 orders. I sent these boys after you. I know 'em. 
 They are as true as steel. The first thing you know 
 you'll get handled pretty rough." 
 
 " Mr. Brown, do you intend to force me off from 
 this reservation ?" 
 
 " I gave you an order to leave five days ago. My 
 orders are generally enforced about this Agency." 
 
 " 1 came here to preach the gospel to these Indians, 
 sent by the regularly-constituted authorities of my 
 church. I have harmed no man. I have interfered 
 with no orders of the government. I have violated no 
 law. Aside from the authority of the church, I have 
 the divine commission to go and preach the gospel to 
 every creature. I have a right to point these poor, 
 ignorant, dying men to the cross of Christ. There is 
 no spot I know of in all the world where a missionary 
 is denied the privilege of preaching the Gospel." 
 
 " Well, I know one spot where you can't preach. 
 
 I've ordered you to go, and go you will, or 
 
 you, or I'll know the reason why." 
 
 Brown was livid with rage and trembled from head 
 to foot. Mr. Parkman said no more, but went back to 
 
DAWSON'S DISCOVERY. 277 
 
 his house. His bedding and furniture it was very 
 little the missioifary had was tumbled into the wagon. 
 Mrs. Parkman and Jennie were standing in the middle 
 of the denuded room. Jennie was holding the baby in 
 her arms. Her face was calm and placid, and she 
 seemed unmoved by the rudeness of the Indians or the 
 uproar they created. A wonderful change had come 
 over Jennie during the last year. She was ready to 
 face death with a courage and calmness equal to Mrs. 
 Parkman. The Indians motioned for them to get into 
 the w r agon. Mr. Parkman assisted the two ladies in, 
 took the reins and drove away. 
 
 " The Secretary of the interior," said Mr. Parkman, 
 " is more intolerant than the Sultan. We are exiles in 
 our own country." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXY. 
 DAWSON'S DISCOVERY. 
 
 O persons who have been accustomed to the 
 usages of polite society, who endeavor 
 always to avoid giving pain, and strive to 
 make everybody with whom they come in 
 contact comfortable and happy, the actions of Inspector 
 Brown will appear inexplicable. Let such persons 
 reflect that all history proves that cruelty and selfish 
 ness are the natural outgrowth of unlimited power. 
 An Indian girl, who is now in a boarding-school in one 
 
278 DAWSON'S DISCOVERY. 
 
 of the Eastern States, said to me the other day, " I 
 hate to study the history of the white people. It is 
 nothing but murder, murder, murder, all the time. I 
 read about the murder of two little princes in a tower 
 yesterday. And then there is all that about burning 
 people alive because they wanted to read the Bible. 
 These things are so horrible that I dream about them 
 at night." 
 
 All the cruelties recorded in history have grown 
 out of the exercise of unlimited power by somebody. 
 An Indian agent under our system is an absolute 
 monarch. He can practice any cruelty and there is no 
 appeal as long as he is in favor with the Secretary of the 
 Interior. Absolute unquestioning obedience to his 
 orders is the only safety for either white man or Indian 
 in the limits of his dominions. There is no court and 
 no jury. This breeds fawning sycophancy in those 
 subject to his control. When he has become accustomed 
 to that, then the slightest interference with his wishes 
 throws him into a rage. 
 
 When Mr. Parkman left Inspector Brown that 
 official's rage knew no bounds. The idea that a 
 miserable missionary would dare to talk to him in that 
 manner, was to him unbearable, and his only thought 
 was how he could punish him. If Mr. Parkman had 
 ever done anything that would have given him the 
 slightest excuse to have imprisoned him, he would have 
 ordered him put in the guard -house immediately. The 
 deputy marshal whom he had incarcerated the day 
 before had been released early that morning and 
 marched off the reservation under guard. 
 
DAWSON'S DISCOVEKY. 279 
 
 The next day the trader came to his office. 
 
 "You are getting them pretty well cleaned out," 
 said he. 
 
 " Yes," said Brown, " the last of them have gone, 
 and I don't think they will trouble us soon. I guess 
 they've got enough of it." 
 
 " There is one thing about that Parkman I ought to 
 have told you before." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 " He's been writing letters for Ked Iron and several 
 other Indians to Badger's old band out on the Aricko- 
 ree, without asking permission of anybody."* 
 
 "Why didn't you tell me that before'?" 
 
 " Well, they didn't come exactly under the statute, 
 with the exception of one. And then I thought at that 
 time that Parkman was a pretty good fellow, and did 
 not intend to meddle with our arrangements." 
 
 " He's been writing letters for the Indians, has he ? 
 Now, if I had known that, I needn't have gone this 
 roundabout way to have got rid of him. He's gone 
 off intending to make a row." 
 
 Brown fell into a brown study for a few minutes. 
 Then he sent out for two Indians who w T ere known at 
 the agency by the names of Chisel and Dirty Face. 
 
 * I resolved that in writing this book I would not make one 
 note, for if I commenced to write notes, citing proofs of the in 
 cidents recorded in this story, it would be a book of notes, and 
 not a story at all. But, as Joe Jefferson says : "I won't count 
 this time," and say that letter writing for Indians, under many 
 circumstances, is made a felony by law. See V. S. 
 StatuteslWS, 2111. 
 
280 DAWSON'S DISCOVERY. 
 
 The names were given to them, one because he had 
 been accused of stealing a chisel, and the other because 
 he never washed his face. They had been employed 
 to drive Mr. Parkman off, and had done the job so 
 well, he could trust them with one still more impor 
 tant. He was determined to wreak vengeance on Mr. 
 Parkman. He hated him with a sort of hatred which 
 only dwells in the bosom of tyrants. 
 
 When these two Indians reported to him, he ordered 
 them to take three of the agency horses and follow on 
 after Mr. Parkman, overtake him before he crossed the 
 line of the reservation, and bring him back to the 
 Agency. 
 
 The reservation was a very large tract of country, 
 and Mr. Parkman had driven seventy-five miles when 
 the Indians overtook him. One rode in front, took the 
 horses by the bits and stopped them, the other took 
 hold of Mr. Parkman's arm, and jerked him out of the 
 wagon. 
 
 Both Mrs. Parkman and Jennie thought the hour 
 of death had come. Mrs. Parkman hugged her babe 
 to her bosom and Jennie sat unmoved, closed her eyes 
 and in a short prayer commended them all to God. 
 
 Dirty Face brought the extra horse, put a loaded 
 revolver to Mr. Parkman's head and motioned him to 
 mount. Then they turned their horses' heads toward 
 the agency and rode away with Mr. Parkman. 
 
 It was one hundred and twenty-five miles to the 
 nearest white settlement, and there these two women 
 and little babe were left alone on the wide prairie. 
 _ Jennie kneeled down and poured out her soul in 
 
281 
 
 prayer to Him who numbers the very hairs of our 
 heads, and without whose notice not a sparrow falls 
 to the ground. Then turning to Mrs. Parkman, she 
 said : 
 
 " What shall we do P 
 
 " I am too weak and sick," she replied, " to advise." 
 
 " There are but two things we can do. One is to 
 go back to the Agency, and the other is to try and 
 reach Council Bluffs, and ask for help." 
 
 " I think we had better try to get to Council Bluffs. 
 Perhaps Mr. "Wilrnot or some other friends there can 
 help us." 
 
 Jennie took up the lines and started the team. She 
 had never undertaken to drive a pair of horses before. 
 It took but little skill to drive, however, for the trail 
 was broad, level and very plain, made so by the trains 
 passing over it to the Agency. It was nine o'clock 
 that night when they reached a camping place, where 
 there was grass and water for the horses, and wood for 
 a fire. It took Jennie a long time in the dark to get 
 the harness off the horses, lead them down to the creek 
 to drink, lariat them out, gather wood, make a fire and 
 cook supper. 
 
 As soon as the first streak of red began to shoot up 
 in the eastern sky Jennie arose from her couch in the 
 wagon, made a fire and began to prepare breakfast. It 
 took a long time for both her and Mrs. Parkman to har 
 ness the horses and hitch them to the wagon ; but after 
 many trials they succeeded. All day long over the si 
 lent prairie they pressed on, and just at night reached 
 the river and were ferried over. It was after dark 
 
282 
 
 when they drove into Council Bluffs. They went to the 
 house of a Methodist brother, and were welcomed joy 
 fully. 
 
 Word was sent to Mr. Wilmot, and both he and Mr. 
 Dawson called the next morning. The Deputy Mar 
 shal had returned the day before. The two lawyers 
 got every fact and incident from the ladies, and then re 
 tired to Mr. Wilmot's office for consultation. 
 
 " What is to be done ?" said Wilmot. 
 
 " That is what I am not prepared to say," said Daw- 
 son. "I've made up my mind on one point, and that 
 is, that this Indian system is the most cunningly de 
 vised scheme for permitting robbery and tyranny that 
 the mind of man ever devised. In the last few weeks 
 I have read over the statutes under the title ' Indians,' 
 at least fifty times. At first I saw nothing wrong ; 
 they looked as if they were for the protection and wel 
 fare of the Indians ; but now I see villainy concealed in 
 every line. Taken together, they create a system, and 
 that system puts everybody, whites as well as Indians, 
 entirely within the control of a ring of robbers, mur 
 derers and speculators. I am an older lawyer than you. 
 I have practiced law for fifteen years, but I must con 
 fess that I never dreamed that there were in our stat 
 utes what I have discovered since I took your case. 
 There seems to be a foreign country located out here, 
 nnder a despotic government. It is not a government 
 of Indians (I wish it was, for I had a hundred times 
 rather deal with them than with white savages like 
 Brown) ; but it is a government of a band of white 
 i thieves. In that country no process of our courts will 
 
283 
 
 reach. The only force that can be brought to bear on 
 them is that of the army, and the action of the army is 
 controlled by the head of the ring in Washington. Sol 
 diers arrested Ilarkins ; soldiers guarded you while you 
 were imprisoned. Suppose that you and Harkins and 
 Jack had arrested Brown. Would not the army have 
 been ordered to release him ? But when you were ar 
 rested there was no force which could be called upon to 
 release you. You see there is a power behind these 
 men which will crush any man to the earth who comes 
 in contact with it." 
 
 " What do you propose to do ?" 
 
 " There is nothing which can be done, except to 
 commence at the foundations and overthrow the whole 
 system ; and that, I fancy, is too big a job for two coun 
 try lawyers." 
 
 " I think Jack was about right concerning the proc 
 ess to be used with these men." 
 
 " What did he propose ?" 
 
 " Put daylight through them." 
 
 " Who do you propose to commence on ?" 
 
 Loft." 
 
 Loft was the man whom Dawson caught eavesdrop 
 ping, and afterward writing to the Secretary of the 
 Interior. 
 
 " Is he watching you yet ?" 
 
 " Yes ; everywhere I go that thief is at my heels. I 
 went down to St. Joe the other day. The next morn 
 ing when I went into the office of the hotel, there was 
 Loft." 
 i " Do you think he is a detective ?" 
 
284: DOGGED BY DETECTIVES. 
 
 " I don't know what lie is, but if he don't stop fol 
 lowing me around, he'll get hurt.'' 
 
 Four or five days after this, Mr. Parkman came 
 into Council Bluffs on foot. He said he was taken 
 back to the agency, put in the guard-house and kept 
 over night. The next morning he was set at liberty, 
 and told to go." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYI. 
 
 DOGGED BY DETECTIVES. 
 
 O"W was "Wilmot's plot discovered ?" 
 
 When Parker reported the arrangement 
 between him and Wilmot to Mr. Clark, that 
 gentleman's suspicions were aroused. He 
 sent for Perkins, but Perkins thought that it was all 
 right, that likely he got Harkins to go out for two 
 thousand five hundred dollars, and he would stay at 
 home and pocket the five thousand himself. 
 
 "But no arrangement at all has been made with 
 Harkins," said Clark. " Now I tell you, Perkins, that 
 you have got us into an awful scrape. I can't be fooled 
 in this way. I'm not going to run any risks. Things 
 at that agency must be run straight, until Harkins 
 makes some proposition or we can get rid of him." 
 
 In accordance with this, Parker was ordered to deal 
 " straight " and keep a sharp look-out. The cipher let-, 
 
DOGGED BY DETECTIVES. 285 
 
 ter was the first thing that looked " crooked." He 
 sent it to Mr. Clark by special messenger. Mr. Clark 
 took it to the Indian Commissioner. 
 
 This government has in its employment for its spe 
 cial work, the most skillful and expert scientists, engi 
 neers, engravers, accountants, mathematicians and de 
 tectives in the world. The heads of departments call 
 upon them when their services are needed. The ci 
 pher letter was put into the hands of a detective skilled 
 in those matters. He asked but one question about it. 
 It was : 
 
 " What is it supposed to contain ?" 
 
 "It is something about Indians, Indian agencies, 
 supplies or appropriations." 
 
 The detective took it, went into a library and sat 
 down." 
 
 " This," he said to himself, " is evidently a diction 
 ary cipher." 
 
 Then he read it over very slowly, two or three 
 times. 
 
 " There is likely to be in it something about appro 
 priations." 
 
 Then he studied very carefully all the words which 
 commenced with " a." He took down several diction 
 aries and counted the words backward or forward from 
 the word " appropriation" to the word which he had 
 selected, which commenced with "a," and tried each 
 one as a key to the cipher, but none of them was the 
 right word. 
 
 " It is evidently not appropriations," thought he. 
 ..I'll try { annuities.' 
 
286 DOGGED BY DETECTIVES* 
 
 He then selected the word " annular." He found 
 this word in the dictionary and then counted forward 
 until he came to the word " annuities." After trying 
 that for a key in five or six different dictionaries, he took 
 up the American Pronouncing Dictionary, by Alexan 
 der H. Laidlaw, published in Philadelphia by Crissy & 
 Markley, counting forward five words, from the word 
 " annular," he came to the word " annuities." He tried 
 this and found he had discovered the key. To 
 read the cipher now, all he had to do was to find the 
 word in Laidlaw's Dictionary, count five words back 
 ward and he had the translation. Within twenty-four 
 hours after the cipher was given him, he handed the 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs (without ever imagin 
 ing that he was using his skill to rob a tribe of poor 
 Indians) the following paper : 
 
 "DEABSlR, 
 
 " I have translated the cipher which was submitted 
 to me. It reads as follows : 
 
 " * Forward by private messenger a correct and accu 
 rate account of all expenditures to date, with names of 
 parties to whom money was paid, amount of annuities 
 and rations so far received. State quality. Make 
 careful inspection of sugar, coffee, flour, beef and 
 pork. Report first indications of fraud.' 
 
 ^ I have the honor to be, 
 " Yery truly yours, 
 C. C. AXELL." 
 
 The paper was soon in the hands of Clark and 
 Perkins. 
 
DOGGED BY DETECTIVES. 287 
 
 " There, what did I tell you ?" said Clark. 
 
 " It's a bad job," replied Perkins. 
 
 " Well, what's to be done?" 
 
 " Indict him ; that's the old way and it's as good as 
 any." 
 
 " The grand jury don't meet until fall, and by the 
 time you can get him indicted the whole year's ap 
 propriations will be gone." 
 
 " Arrest him on a warrant." 
 
 " Who'll swear out the warrant ?" 
 
 " Hildreth, if you want him to." 
 
 " That won't do at all." 
 
 " Well, what do you propose ?" 
 
 " I've a notion to give up that agency." 
 
 " You can't do it. What will you do with Parker ? 
 How will you keep him quiet ?" 
 
 " Take him to your agency." 
 
 " You know very well that that can't be done. The 
 places are all full, and I have Walker on my hands 
 beside." 
 
 " Well, suppose we send Brown out there and let 
 him inspect the agency." 
 
 " That's the very thing," said Perkins, " and you 
 needn't give him any instructions either. Just tell 
 him what you want done, and he'll find some way to 
 do it." 
 
 A few days after this, Inspector Brown received the 
 following letter from the Secretary of the Interior : 
 
 " You will proceed immediately to the reservation 
 on the Baha Taha, and make a thorough inspection of 
 the agency, You will summarily remove the agent or 
 
288 DOGGED BY DETECTIVES. 
 
 any employee, if found guilty of fraud, and take 
 charge of the agency until you receive further orders." 
 
 It was in accordance with these instructions that 
 Brown was acting. Besides this he had " verbal instruc 
 tions." It is behind "verbal instructions 5 ' that Indian 
 inspectors always find a safe refuge. 
 
 Brown's first report stated that things had a very 
 " crooked " look, and asked for a detective to assist 
 him in working lip the case. In answer to this, Loft 
 was sent on, and Brown assigned him to the task of 
 watching Wilmot. Loft was a faithful worker, and 
 earned his five dollars a day. He kept a perfect record 
 of every movement of Wilmot. There was scarcely an 
 hour in the day that Loft did not know where he was 
 and what he was doing. He informed Brown of Wil- 
 mot's coming, and sent a messenger ahead of the marshal, 
 so a reception could be prepared for him. He found 
 out Wilmot's friendship for Mr. Parkman and reported 
 that. He looked up Wilmot's past record and could 
 have written an accurate biography of him. 
 
 His constant dogging of Wilmot's footsteps was 
 intensely irritating no one can tell how irritating, until 
 he has himself felt that the eyes of a detective are 
 ever on him. 
 
 One day Wilmot went into Dawson's office and 
 said: 
 
 "You'll have another case on your hands before 
 long, and this time it will be a murder case." 
 
 " Are you meditating murder ?" asked Dawson. 
 
 " Yes," said Wilmot in a half serious tone. 
 
 " Who are you going to kill ? Perkins or Brown 2" 
 
GONE TO THE ARICKOREE. 2S9 
 
 " Neither. I'm going to turn them over to Jack." 
 
 "Clark?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Who is it, then " 
 
 " Loft." 
 
 " I don't see what you have against Loft. Let him 
 watch. What harm will it do ?" 
 
 " It's very easy for you to talk in that way, but if 
 some fellow was constantly on your trail, you wouldn't 
 find it so pleasant. There he is over on the other side 
 of the street looking in at the window now." 
 
 " I'll tell you what to do. Get acquainted with 
 him, invite him to dine, go on a fishing excursion, have 
 a good time." 
 
 " I've a notion to try it." 
 
 Wilmot stood looking out of the window. All at 
 once he exclaimed : 
 
 " Je-ru-sa-lem !" 
 
 " What's the matter ?" said Dawson. 
 
 "There's Perkins himself." 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 GONE TO THE AKICKOREE. 
 
 ILMOT had made frequent visits to Jttr. 
 Parkman's since their return. There had 
 been several quiet evenings spent there. He 
 went to church very regularly on Sunday 
 nights. He always had a headache Sunday morning, 
 13 
 
290 GONE TO THE AEICKOEEE. 
 
 but it always ceased in time for him to escort Jennie to 
 church in the evening. 
 
 " Don't you believe in the Bible ?" said Jennie to 
 l^im one evening. 
 
 " Yes, of course I do. Our system of government 
 and of law are both founded on the Bible." 
 
 " I wish you would join the church and become a 
 missionary. I think you could preach much better 
 than Mr. Parkman/' 
 
 " What makes you think that ?" 
 
 " Oh, I don't know. But people ask Mr. Parkman 
 questions sometimes that he can't answer. Mr. Loft has 
 been coming there pretty frequently lately. He doesn't 
 believe in the Bible. The other day he asked Mr. 
 Parkman what the text meant which said : i He that 
 believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, 
 and greater works than these shall he do ;' and Mr. 
 Parkman could make no satisfactory answer. Mr. Loft 
 said that the Bible claimed that Christ raised the dead, 
 and healed the sick by a touch of his hand, and here 
 was a text which said that anybody who believed on 
 him should do all this, and a great deal more. "What 
 answer would you have made ?" 
 
 " I would have told him that men were doing a 
 thousand times more wonderful things every day than 
 Christ ever did. They take the lightning from the 
 skies and send it with a message around the world in a 
 second. What is stilling a storm on a little lake to a feat 
 like that ? Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. A 
 physician walks into a great city. There is a pestilence. 
 The dead are in every house. They are rotting on the 
 
GONE TO THE AEICKOBEE. 291 
 
 pavements. Old and young lie together in putrid 
 masses. The physician calls the living to him, makes a 
 little incision in their arms, and the plague is feared no 
 more. Is it not greater to save the lives of all the peo 
 ple of a great city than to raise one man from the dead ? 
 Christ was spirited away into a mountain in a night. 
 Men now lie down to sleep in a palace in one city, and 
 the next morning they find the palace in another, and 
 they walk out in the streets, and buy and sell and get 
 gain. Is that not greater than that night scene in the 
 life of Christ ? What nations of men do these things ? 
 The nations in which the truths which Christ taught 
 form the basis of society. The nations who have be 
 lieved on him. I would have said something like that 
 to him." 
 
 " I do so like to hear you talk. It always makes 
 me feel stronger and better. I wish you would join 
 the church." 
 
 "Who ever heard of a lawyer belonging to the 
 church?" 
 
 " Oh, I've read of real good lawyers." 
 
 "Did you ever see one?" 
 
 " Yes, one," said Jennie, timidly. 
 
 " I've read of young ladies who went out as mis 
 sionaries. That was when I was a little boy and 
 went to Sunday-school. I thought they were the no 
 blest people who ever lived ; but I did not know how 
 really good and true and noble they were until I got 
 acquainted with you." 
 
 " I have long wanted to tell you " 
 
 " Mr. Wilmot !" 
 
292 GONE TO THE AEICKOEEE. 
 
 The voice came from behind. He turned and saw 
 Mr. and Mrs. Parkman. They had overtaken them, 
 and from there the two couple walked home together. - 
 
 It was the next day that Wilmot saw Perkins on the 
 street. He intended to call that night at Mr. Park- 
 man's, but just as he was ready to start Loft came into 
 his office. 
 
 " I came," said Loft, " to consult you about a very 
 important case which is to come up at the next term of 
 court. I am not personally interested in it myself, but 
 a friend of mine has written me a letter, and asked me 
 to call upon you. Here is the letter," and he handed 
 it to Mr. Wilmot. 
 
 It proved to be a letter from Mr. Borden, requesting 
 Loft to inquire into the character and trustworthiness 
 of a firm of lawyers by the name of Bledsoe & Dosier, 
 and if there was any doubts about them to put the case 
 into the hands of Mr. Wilmot. The examination of 
 the case occupied the whole evening. 
 
 The next night when Wilmot called at Mr. Park- 
 mans, Jennie was not there. Mrs. Parkman said that 
 Jennie's father had returned with Perkins, and he had 
 taken her, and started at daylight that morning for the 
 Agency on the Arickoree. 
 
DEFEATED. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 DEFEATED. 
 
 FTER the banishment of Harkins, Jennie, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Parkman, there was perfect 
 quiet at Red Irons agency. In a few days 
 the new agent arrived. It was John Hil- 
 dreth, the principal witness against Badger. Inspector 
 Brown turned over everything to him and left, to go on 
 his rounds to " straighten out " other agencies. He was 
 complimented by the Secretary of the Interior for his 
 efficient work. The letter was given to the Associated 
 Press, and printed in all the dailies in the United 
 States. It contained a statement of how he had dis 
 covered fraud at the agency, and had removed Agent 
 Harkins, and prosecuted him in the courts. Then the 
 editors all over the country complimented the Secretary 
 of the Interior, for his energy in prosecuting thieves, 
 and his efforts to break up the Indian Ring. When the 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs made his official annual 
 report, he put into the permanent records of the coun 
 try the statement that Harkins had been removed for 
 fraud, and there it will stand to the end of time. 
 
 Wilmot made every preparation for a thorough de 
 fense of Harkins ; but when the case was called the 
 District Attorney entered a nolle prosequi, and that was 
 the end of it. 
 
 When Wilmot's case for false imprisonment against 
 
294: DEFEATED. 
 
 Brown was reached on the docket, a lawyer from 
 Washington appeared for Brown. lie was a lawyer of 
 eminent ability, employed by the Department of 
 Justice. He moved to dismiss the case for want of 
 jurisdiction, and in the argument on that motion con 
 sumed a whole day. Dawson replied in a speech of an 
 hour-and-a-half, his argument being based on broad 
 constitutional grounds. The judge took the case under 
 advisement and the next day rendered a decision re 
 fusing to dismiss the case. 
 
 Dawson was about to call his witnesses, when the 
 "Washington lawyer arose and said : 
 
 " May it please the Court : I will state that it will 
 not be necessary to consume the time of the Court in 
 examining witnesses to prove the fact of the arrest and 
 imprisonment for four days, as charged in the papers. 
 I will admit all that is set forth." 
 
 " What is the ground of your defense, then ?" asked 
 Dawson. 
 
 " The ground of the defense will be set forth in my 
 argument, and if you will listen, I think I can fully 
 satisfy you, and if not you, the Court, that Inspector 
 Brown had legal authority for all that he did." 
 
 The argument, which lies before me, is too long for 
 insertion here. It was based on the following sections 
 of the Revised Statutes : 
 
 " Section 2,149. The Commissioner of Indian Af 
 fairs, is authorized and required, with the approval of 
 the Secretary of the Interior, to remove from any 
 tribal reservation any person being there without 
 authority of law, or whose presence within the limits 
 
DEFEATED. 295 
 
 of the reservation may, in tlie judgment of the Com 
 missioner, be detrimental to the peace and welfare of 
 the Indians, and may employ for the purpose such 
 force as may be necessary to enable the agent to effect 
 the removal of such person. 
 
 " Section 2,150. The military forces of the United 
 States may be employed in such manner and under such 
 regulations as the President may direct. 
 
 " First. In the apprehension of any person found in 
 the Indian country," etc. 
 
 The result of it all was, the Judge decided that 
 there was "no cause of action," and assessed the costs 
 against Wilmot. 
 
 In making the decision, the Judge remarked, that 
 whether the exercise of such extensive discretionary 
 power which the law vested in the Commissioner was 
 wise and just, was not for him to decide. It was 
 enough for him to know that the power legally existed, 
 and while thus legally existing, the exercise of the 
 power must be upheld by the courts. 
 
 Wilmot went to his office that night sad, dis 
 heartened and discouraged. The thieves had gained 
 a complete triumph. He said to Dawson : 
 
 " There seems to be no recourse for an Indian who 
 is wronged except he appeals to the rifle and the scalp- 
 ing-knife. Who can blame them, when every resource 
 is exhausted, when they are starved and robbed and 
 imprisoned on reservations, if, like brave men, they pre 
 fer to die fighting to being made beggars and paupers, 
 and end a miserable existence by disease or starva 
 tion ? 
 
296 DEFEATED. 
 
 "You undertook too big a job," said Dawson, 
 " when you went into a contest with the Indian Ring. 
 You see they have called to their aid tl'iree of the 
 departments of the Government the War Department, 
 the Interior Department and the Department of Justice. 
 All of them have been forced to do their bidding. No 
 single individual has any chance in such a contest. 
 Back of all that, they control all the avenues of 
 information to the people at large, and thus control 
 public opinion. The public look upon Brown as a very 
 efficient and capable officer, and upon Harkins as a 
 thief. Do you suppose that out of all the millions who 
 read the Secretary's letter to Brown, which was pub 
 lished in the papers everywhere, that there will ever be 
 five hundred who will know that they were forced, for 
 want of evidence, to enter a nolle pros, in his case ? I 
 doubt if anybody outside of the court-room, when the 
 record was made, will ever hear of it. Have you found 
 out what the costs amount to ?" 
 
 " Don't ask me," said Wilmot. " I wish I had 
 taken your advice." 
 
 " Well, I suppose if I had been arrested, as you 
 were, I would have done the same thing." 
 
 " I don't care for losing the case." 
 
 " Don't care for losing the case 1 What is troubling 
 you so, then ?" 
 
 " It's another matter altogether." 
 
 " I'll be glad to render you any service I can." 
 
 " I don't believe you can help me. I'll not talk 
 about it. To drive all this annoyance out of mind I 
 will tell you a story. Here, have a cigar." 
 
DEFEATED. 297 
 
 The two men lit their cigars. 
 
 " Say, Dawson," said Wilmot, " just look out at the 
 door and see if Loft is around anywhere listening." 
 
 " Oh, pshaw ! Go on with your story." 
 
 "It happened about three hundred years ago. 
 That's about the time of what they call the ' dark ages,' 
 isn't it ?" 
 
 " Yes, I guess so," said Dawson, puffing away at his 
 cigar. 
 
 "Well, I don't know how long ago it was, but it 
 was in the time of the i dark ages.' I'm certain about 
 the ' dark age ' part of it." 
 
 " What happened ? Why don't you tell your story ?" 
 
 " I guess I won't tell it." 
 
 " Oh, go ahead." 
 
 " Well, a long time, ago in the ' dark ages ' " 
 
 "Confound your 'dark ages.' Go on with the 
 story." 
 
 " A long time ago, in the dark ages, there was a 
 beautiful young lady. She was riding along in a stage 
 coach no, a diligence. She hadn't seen hei father for 
 a long time, and she was going to meet him. The stage 
 coach no, the diligence was met by a gang of robbers, 
 and everybody in it was killed but her. The horses 
 ran off into a river and she was rescued by a band of 
 savages who lived in that neighborhood. They treated 
 her very well for a while, but finally they went to war 
 and tried to kill her. A young prince, who happened 
 to find her just in time, took her on to his horse and 
 fled away with her. His horse was large and swift- 
 footed, and outrun the horses the savages rode, so lie got 
 13* 
 
298 DEFEATED. 
 
 away in safety. Then another prince came, who was 
 very bad and wicked, and it was said the young lady 
 was to marry him. But she did not like him at all. 
 So she went to church all the time, and at last went 
 back to this very band of savages as a missionary. 
 
 " The young prince who had rescued her was after 
 ward traveling through the country inhabited by this 
 band of savages, and he was taken prisoner and con 
 fined in a loathsome dungeon. When the young lady 
 heard that, she came to see him and planned a way for 
 him to escape. There was another man chained to him 
 in the prison, so he did not like to tell her how much 
 he loved her, before him. After the prince escaped 
 from that country she came away too, and he went to 
 see her. One day, as he was walking along with her, 
 he was just telling her how much he loved her, when 
 her duenna came up and he could not finish the 
 sentence. The next day, her father, who w r as a wicked 
 old man, came and carried her off to another savage 
 country farther away than where she was the first time. 
 The government of that country was very despotic, 
 and whoever went there was always put into a dungeon. 
 So the young prince could not go there at all. This 
 was all in the c dark ages.' ' 
 
 " Why don't you go on ?" said Dawson. 
 
 " That's all there is of it." 
 
 " There's no point to that story." 
 
 " You are blinder than a bat," said Wilmot. 
 
 About a week afterward it flashed over Dawson 
 all at once what that story meant. 
 
A COUKT.MAETIAL. 299 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIX. 
 
 A COUKT-MARTIAL. 
 
 T was not long after Agent Hildreth took 
 charge of aifairs at the Agency until there 
 was no beef and only a very little black 
 flour. The starving process was begun in 
 earnest. Haggard women, with skinny, bony babies 
 on their backs, were hanging about the Agency, some of 
 them with only an old, torn blanket for covering. 
 When the chiefs called on Hildreth he told them that 
 the contractors were not furnishing the supplies as they 
 had agreed. It was not his fault. He had written to 
 the Great Father, and done all he could. After about 
 three weeks of starvation he called a general council. 
 He told them that he had received a letter from the 
 Great Father. The letter said he was very sorry for 
 them. There was fifty thousand dollars due them, 
 which was to be paid in cash. If they were hungry, the 
 Great Father had ordered the trader to let them have 
 all they wanted, and when the money came, they could 
 pay the trader. 
 
 In answer to this Red Iron said he would consent 
 to no such an arrangement. He understood that the 
 treaty he had made with the Great Father provided 
 for rations to be issued to them for thirty years, that 
 they were to have schools, farming implements and a 
 man to teach them how to farm. As yet, he had seen 
 
300 A COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 none of these things. A woman came and taught school 
 for a little while, but the Inspector had sent her away. 
 
 Hildreth told them he could not help them. He 
 had read the Great Father's letter to them. If any of 
 them were hungry they could go to the trader's store 
 and get provisions. It was there for them. The 
 council then broke up. 
 
 After this, Hed Iron got his people together and 
 made a speech to them. He told them if they Were 
 starving to go to the trader's store, but to get just as 
 little as possible, or when the money came from the 
 Great Father they would get none, they would owe it 
 all to the trader. 
 
 No pen can describe the suffering that was endured 
 during the months that followed. The Indians got 
 just as little as possible from the trader. ~No annuities 
 or rations were issued to them at all by the agent. 
 There were no troops at the Agency now. Lieutenant 
 Blake and the detachment under his command had 
 been ordered back to the fort on the Little Blue. 
 
 When Perkins reached the fort on his way to his 
 agency he stopped for a few days. While there he 
 was very intimate with Lieutenant Blake, and the 
 Lieutenant was very glad to have some one to be 
 intimate with, for he was in very bad order at the 
 fort. Permanent quarters had been built, and a good 
 many of the officers had their families there. He 
 was not admitted to the social circles of the garrison. 
 Blake complained to Perkins of the treatment he 
 received, and especially of the commanding officer, 
 
A COUET-MARTIAL. 301 
 
 Colonel Greene. Perkins hated Colonel Greene as much 
 as Lieutenant Blake did. One day Perkins said to him : 
 
 " Has a Colonel any right to communicate directly 
 with the President ?" 
 
 " No, certainly not. He could be court-martialed 
 for it." 
 
 " I can tell you how you can get even with Colonel 
 Greene. He wrote a letter directly to the President 
 about affairs at this post." 
 
 " You must be mistaken ; he never would do that." 
 
 " No, I'm not mistaken. I've got the letter." 
 
 " Are you sure it is his handwriting ?" 
 
 " Would you know his writing if you saw it ?" 
 
 " Of course I would." 
 
 "Well, then, I'll bring you the letter, and you can 
 judge for yourself." 
 
 Perkins went to his trunk and got the letter which 
 Colonel Greene had written to the President, at the 
 earnest request of the head men of Badger's band. 
 
 When Lieutenant Blake saw the familiar hand 
 writing his eyes gleamed in triumph. 
 
 "Let me have this letter," he said. "I'll settle 
 him." 
 
 " What will you do ?" asked Perkins. 
 
 " I will prefer charges against him, and have him 
 court-martialed. That's what I'll do." 
 
 A court-martial was accordingly convened, and 
 Colonel Greene found guilty. All he could do was to 
 plead extenuating circumstances. He was sentenced to 
 be suspended from the service for six months, and all 
 pay and allowances stopped. 
 
302 A COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 When Wilmot heard of this he remarked : " There's 
 another man who has been made to feel the hand of 
 power for meddling with the arrangements of the In 
 dian King." 
 
 Colonel Coldcraf t took command of the fort after 
 Colonel Greene was removed. He was an entirely dif 
 ferent officer from his predecessor. When it was said 
 of him that he was a soldier, that was all that was to be 
 said. Nothing would put a subaltern out of favor with 
 him quicker than to intimate that he had opinions. 
 Colonel Coldcraft held that no officer, no matter what 
 his rank, had any right to opinions. War was a sci 
 ence. There was no place for opinions for anybody 
 who had entered the army. He should understand his 
 profession, and obey orders. As far as lie was con 
 cerned, he knew every detail, from a linch-pin of a 
 wagon to the exact amount of powder to be used in a 
 siege-gun at two thousand yards to produce the greatest 
 effect. His very religion consisted in obeying orders. 
 For the result he had no concern whatever. Every 
 thing must be done in exact conformity with the orders 
 and the regulations. He had no mercy on any one for 
 the slightest variation from the letter of the orders. 
 
 About a week after he took command, an Indian, 
 belonging to a small tribe located to the south of the 
 fort, was one day standing near the post trader's store. 
 There was a well there, and the Indian drew a bucket 
 of water. As he was holding up the bucket trying to 
 drink out of it, a clerk in the store came up and said he 
 would hold it. As the Indian commenced to drink the 
 clerk poured the cold water all over him. The Indian 
 
A COURT-MARTIAL. 303 
 
 was a quick-tempered man, and, snatching an arrow out 
 of his quiver, stabbed the man to the heart. It was 
 done in a lit of passion, and before he thought. As 
 soon as he saw what he had done lie ran away. 
 
 Colonel Coldcraft made a report of the affair in 
 due form. It was forwarded to Washington through 
 the regular channels, and a copy was furnished the 
 Secretary of the Interior. Shortly afterward Colonel 
 Coldcraft received an order to demand the Indian of 
 the tribe, and if he was not turned over to his custody 
 in fifteen days to make war upon them. In conformity 
 with this order he sent an officer to the tribe, who made 
 the demand, and told them the consequence of a 
 failure to deliver the culprit. 
 
 Consternation seized the Indians when this message 
 was delivered. A council was called immediately. The 
 tribe was a small one, and they very well understood 
 that war meant extermination. The head chief's name 
 was Wajapa. He was a man of about middle life, tall 
 and dignified. He said to his people that every effort 
 must be made to find this man. All their lives de 
 pended upon it. Every man must start out, and not 
 cease to search. If he was not found in fourteen days, 
 they must all return to camp, and another council would 
 be held. He then went to the officer and told him 
 that they would make every effort in their power to find 
 the man, and deliver him, either dead or alive, in the 
 time specified. 
 
 During the days which followed the Indians searched 
 over the whole country, and visited every neighboring 
 
304 A COUKT-MARTIAL. 
 
 band and tribe, but the culprit could not be found. 
 Wajapa went to Colonel Coldcraft and said : 
 
 " We have done all we can do. There are two days 
 remaining yet, and we will search for this man. I 
 pledge you if he is not found in that time we will con 
 tinue to hunt for him. We will watch day and night, 
 and if we ever find him we will bring you his 
 body." 
 
 " My orders were," said the Colonel, " to demand 
 this Indian of his tribe ; and if he was not surrendered 
 in fifteen days, to make war on the tribe." 
 
 " But we can't find him," said Wajapa. " We have 
 hunted everywhere for him. He did not come back to 
 his tribe after he committed this murder." 
 
 " You have heard what the orders were. That is all 
 I have to say," replied the Colonel. 
 
 Wajapa went back to his camp. On the night of 
 the fourteenth day all the Indians returned, and a coun 
 cil was held. After the chief told them the result of 
 his visit to the fort, two or three went to one side, 
 pulled their blankets over their heads, and began to sing 
 their death-song. 
 
 There was silence in the council for some minutes, 
 when an Indian by the name of Two Crow arose. He 
 was a man of medium hight, rather slight, had an intel 
 ligent and mild countenance, and was respected and 
 loved by the whole tribe. His family consisted of one 
 wife and five little children, to whom he was very much 
 attached. He spoke as follows : 
 
 u My friends : This is a sad day for us all. We have 
 met perhaps in our last council. If the white officer 
 
A COURT- MARTIAL. 305 
 
 makes war upon us lie will kill us all. There are but 
 very few of us. He has a great many warriors. It 
 will not take him long to kill us. He will go out one 
 day and come back the next. Our tents will be silent 
 and our dead bodies will lie upon the ground. Now it 
 is better for one to die than that all should be killed ; 
 all our women and the little children. Kill me. Take 
 my dead body and lay it down at the feet of the white 
 officer and save the lives of the women and children." 
 
 Two Crow folded his blanket around him and 
 looked up toward heaven. Not an Indian said a word 
 for a long time. Then the old medicine man of the tribe 
 stood up. He made a long prayer to the Great Spirit. 
 When he had finished, he took a rifle, placed the 
 muzzle against Two Crow's head, and fired. 
 
 All night long the whole tribe, men, women and 
 children, wailed for Two Crow. In the morning they 
 wrapped the body in a blanket, placed it on a litter 
 behind a pony arid took it to the fort. The chiefs 
 waited for the coining of Colonel Coldcraft, laid the 
 body down at his feet, and walked away. 
 
 An hour afterward one of the interpreters, who 
 had a grudge against the tribe, and hated them with 
 all the malignity of an evil nature, came to Colonel 
 Coldcraft and told him that that was not the body of 
 the Indian who committed the crime. When the 
 interpreter told him that, the Colonel came nearer 
 having an opinion than he ever did in all his life 
 before. 
 
 " Why did you tell me that ?" said he. 
 
 " It's the truth. I can prove it by a dozen men." 
 
306 A COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 Before taking any action Colonel Coldcraft made a 
 full report of the whole transaction, and asked for 
 orders. The report was forwarded to Washington and 
 laid before the Secretary of the Interior. 
 
 A short time after this Colonel Coldcraft received 
 orders to make war on this tribe, as it was the opinion 
 of the Secretary of the Interior that the production of 
 the dead body with a bullet wound in the head was 
 only a ruse. They had committed another murder 
 without any doubt, having killed some one of the 
 friendly Indians who had a reservation near them. 
 Colonel Coldcraft obeyed his orders. He made war 
 upon this little band, if war it could be called, and so 
 many of them were killed that they became extinct as 
 a tribe, the few who escaped with their lives being 
 adoptod into other tribes. 
 
 When Wilmot heard of this he said : 
 
 " That's another specimen of our Indian policy. 
 Make a whole community responsible for the act of one 
 man, and shoot them down, men, women and children. 
 If I were a member of that tribe, I would never cease 
 to shoot and scalp, as long as I could hold a gun or 
 handle a knife." 
 
A SECKET COUNCIL. 307 
 
 CHAPTEE XL. 
 
 A SECRET COUNCIL. 
 
 FFAIRS grew worse and worse at Red Iron's 
 Agency. The young men became discon 
 tented, and blamed the chiefs for making 
 such a treaty with the whites. They had 
 always been accustomed to going on long hunts two or 
 three times a year, which furnished them with excite 
 ment and occupation. ISTow, the chiefs told them they 
 must stay on the reservation. An Indian is by 
 nature of a nervous and active temperament. This con 
 finement on a reservation was a good deal like imprison 
 ment to them. They grew, as it is called in the official 
 reports, "restless." Small parties, at different times, 
 ran away and paid visits to other tribes. When they 
 came back they always brought a lot of horses with 
 them. Whenever Indians visit another tribe, it is their 
 custom to give the visitors presents of horses, blankets, 
 or anything they have. A great many of them get 
 arms in some mysterious manner. Nobody has ever 
 been able to find out how Indians get arms. A late 
 Secretary of the Interior has " officially " informed the 
 public that the statement that the traders furnished 
 them was a slander, which originated with the officers 
 of the army. As it would never do to intimate that an 
 " official" statement of a Cabinet officer could, by any 
 possibility, be incorrect, the question how Indians 
 
308 A SECRET COUNCIL. 
 
 get arras, must remain unanswered. But that they do 
 get them, and get the most approved patterns, too, is 
 not denied by even the Secretary of the Interior. 
 
 Having got arms, and a pretty good supply of 
 horses, the young men began to feel very independent. 
 They did not exactly defy the authority of the chiefs, 
 but they did a good deal of talking about what the 
 chiefs ought to do, and a great deal more grumbling 
 about what they had done They operated upon the 
 jealousy existing among the chiefs. Little Wolf had 
 never thoroughly recovered his standing since his defeat 
 in the fight with Wilrnot, and the young men turned to 
 him for a leader. Several of the more venturesome 
 even left their own bands and got adopted into his, so 
 that Little Wolf had the largest band in the tribe. One 
 day he had a council of his band, to listen to what the 
 young men had to say. 
 
 When they got to speech-making, they had all sorts 
 of grievances to relate. The} 7 " blamed the chiefs for 
 agreeing to stay on a reservation. They wanted the 
 treaty altered so that they could go on a visit to another 
 tribe just as often as they wished. They wanted the 
 new treaty to state just how many beef cattle they were 
 to have each week, just how many sacks of flour, bags 
 of coffee, barrels of sugar and pork, and then they 
 could count them themselves, and know whether they 
 got what was due them or not. They were hungry all 
 the time now, and the chiefs would not let them get 
 enough to eat of the trader. The trader would not let 
 them have things sometimes. His store was about 
 empty, arid they didn't believe he was going to get any 
 
A SECRET COUNCIL. 309 
 
 more. What lie let them have was not fit to eat. 
 They did not get any fresh meat at all, nothing but salt 
 pork, and that had a very bad taste. They didn't get 
 any flour. He let them have some black stuff which he 
 called flour, but they did not know what it was. It 
 wasn't fit to eat. The Great Father had broken the 
 treaty anyhow, and it was " no good " any more. They 
 wanted a new one, the right kind of a one. They 
 didn't believe the Great Father would ever send them 
 any money. After this fashion they talked for three 
 hours. Then Little Wolf made them a speech. He 
 was a thorough politician. He commenced by compli 
 menting them very highly. 
 
 " No chief," said he, " ever had such warriors around 
 him as I see here to-day. It is said that young men 
 do not know much, that they ought to listen and not to 
 talk, and they should obey the counsel of the old men. 
 In most tribes that is so. But when I listen to you to 
 day, I look to see if your hairs are gray. You have 
 spoken what is true. You talk like old men. What 
 I have heard are words of wisdom. The treaty is bad. 
 I did not like it when it was m ide, and I was the last 
 one to touch the pen. But the Great Father won't 
 make a treaty with one band. It must be with the 
 whole tribe. I want to go and see my friends, but I 
 cannot go. I am, as it were, a prisoner. My wives and 
 children are hungry, and I have nothing to give them 
 to eat. Unless we make a new treaty we shall soon all 
 be dead. I'm in favor of making a new treaty. What 
 you ask is right. The chiefs ought to do it. I am but 
 one chief. Some of the others must agree to it." 
 
310 ' A SECRET COUNCIL. 
 
 This speech was greeted with tremendous accla 
 mations of approval. The young men declared that 
 Little Wolf was the wisest and greatest chief who ever 
 lived. When the council broke up and the young men 
 from the other bands who were present went back to 
 their tents, they were loud in their praise of Little Wolf. 
 They said if they had him for head chief, instead of 
 Red Iron, they would soon have every-thing just as 
 they wanted it. 
 
 Day by day Little Wolfs influence increased, until 
 he had with him a majority of the tribe. Then a gen 
 eral council was held among themselves. At the time 
 this council was called, the whole tribe was in a terrible 
 condition. The trader had furnished them but very 
 little to eat for some weeks ; many of them were so weak 
 they could hardly walk. For days they had constantly 
 been suffering from hunger. Skinny little children, 
 crawled around the tents. Hollow-eyed and haggard 
 mothers pressed starving babes to bosoms which fur 
 nished no nourishment for them. Many died from 
 disease, engendered by want of sufficient food. When 
 the formal council was convened, the young men kept 
 silent, and the chiefs talked. Red Iron arose and made 
 a long and fervent prayer to the Great-Holy-One. Some 
 mysterious ceremonies were then gone through with by 
 the medicine man, intended to appease the Great Spirit 
 and secure his favor. After this, whatever the decision 
 of this council might be, no man dare oppose it. 
 
 In ordinary councils, when comparatively trivial 
 matters are under consideration, there is generally a great 
 deal of speech-making, but in a weighty matter like 
 
A SECRET COUNCIL. 311 
 
 this, wliere all their lives seem to be at stake, no one 
 seemed to want to speak. The pipe was passed around 
 a great many times, and a solemnity, like the feeling 
 that some awful catastrophe was impending, pervaded 
 every breast. At last, with a gravity that only such 
 circumstances could produce, Red Iron arose. 
 
 " It -seems," said he, " that I stood on the bank of 
 a river, with my people around me, and little by little 
 the bank was falling away, and now it had reached to 
 our very feet. When I turn to flee away, there is a 
 great army of white soldiers, with fixed bayonets and 
 guns that shoot many times, behind me. They say, if 
 you come this way we will kill you. If I stand still, I 
 will fall in. Then I raise my voice to the Great Spirit, 
 and say : Why have you forsaken me ? But he an 
 swers not. When I turn to my young men, they say : 
 Go back from the river's brink. Let us kill the sol 
 diers. The soldiers stand there and laugh. There are 
 many, many, many thousands of them. My young men 
 are so few that I can call all their names at once. Dark 
 ness comes on. The river roars at my feet. The sol 
 diers crowd up closer behind me. Then I look away 
 through darkness, and I see a little path which goes 
 down by the river's side. It is very narrow, and hard 
 to walk in. It goes on and on for many days' journey. 
 Toward the latter end it gets broader, and is smooth and 
 easy to walk in. At the end there is a pleasant place to 
 live. Through the ranks of the soldiers there comes 
 one white man. He takes me by the hand, and says Le 
 is my friend. I ask him where the little path leads to, 
 and if there are any soldiers who will stand across it 
 
312 A SECRET COUNCIL. 
 
 and say : Yon cannot go by this path. My friend says 
 that once his people stood by the bank of a river, and 
 another nation came more powerful than they. They 
 saw a path just like that. They walked in it for many, 
 many years, and finally they came to the great country, 
 where they all became rich. I say to-day to my young 
 men : Let us go down by the river's side. Let us fol 
 low the little path, as the white men have done. But 
 they say no. The Great Spirit made us Indians. He 
 did not intend for us to live like white men. We 
 will not walk in the little path. 
 
 " Then a powerful chief arises. He has a great many 
 warriors, and they are very brave. They do not fear 
 to die. He says the young men are right that the 
 old chief is childish. But the old chief remembers 
 when he talked that way before. He went on the war 
 path with a great many brave warriors. When he 
 came back they were not with him. The old chief has 
 been on the war-path too. But when he came back his 
 warriors came also. I want to make a new treaty, and 
 when I do make one, I want an interpreter who 
 won't lie. I want the Great Father to give us 
 plows. Then we will raise from the ground what we 
 want to eat. Many years ago, when our tribe lived 
 near the great water, we had cornfields so large 
 that you could not see the end of them. Then the 
 Great Spirit was well pleased with us. We had no 
 horses then. We always lived in one place. After 
 the white men came, we got horses and commenced to 
 roam around. The Great Spirit has been angry with 
 
A SECRET COUNCIL. 313 
 
 us ever since, and we growjess and less every year. 
 The path down by the river's side leads to big corn 
 fields." 
 
 I am well aware that the beautiful imagery of Red 
 Iron's speech is but poorly indicated in the above trans 
 lation, the notes having been taken from a hurried 
 interpretation, made years ago. It had a wonderful 
 effect upon the assembled chiefs and warriors who 
 stood in the mass behind them. It was expected by 
 the young men that Little Wolf would make a spirited 
 reply, but he had very little to say. For days Little 
 Wolf had been cogitating over his speech, and he had 
 prepared, in his own mind, what he considered to be the 
 greatest speech of his life. He had supposed that Eed 
 Iron would oppose making a new treaty, but when 
 that wise and wily old chieftain had finished, Little 
 Wolf found that his set speech, if he delivered it, would 
 only strengthen Eed Iron's influence, so he kept silent. 
 Bed Iron had stolen his thunder. 
 
 The decision of the council was, that they would 
 apply to the agent for permission to go to Washington 
 and make a new treaty. When they came to Hildreth, 
 he listened to what they had to say, told them he would 
 write to the Great Father about it, and then went over 
 and saw Parker. The two men had a good laugh over 
 it, and that ended the matter. 
 U 
 
314: A REPORTER AND A PRIEST. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 A REPORTER AND A PRIEST. 
 
 FEW days after this a correspondent of a 
 great New York newspaper came to the 
 Agency. As soon as it was known who he 
 was, the greatest consideration was shown 
 him. He had a letter from Commissioner Clark, 
 introducing him to the agent, and said that he had been 
 requested by Mr. Clark to come to the Agency if he 
 possibly could, make an examination of the condition 
 pf the Indians, and write a full account of it for his 
 paper. Hildreth got out his horses and carriage, and 
 showed him all the places of interest in the neighbor 
 hood. After this he took him to his office and showed 
 him a big bundle of papers, purporting to be vouchers 
 for the money spent at the Agency. A summary of 
 these he had on one sheet. These figures showed that 
 the hundred thousand dollars appropriated had nearly 
 all been consumed in removing the Indians and con 
 structing the Agency buildings. There was nothing 
 left to buy rations, and the Indians were actually 
 starving. 
 
 Hildreth then praised the Indians for their patience, 
 and said that no other people on earth would ever have 
 endured what these Indians had. Yet they were so 
 childlike and trusting, that they had hardly uttered a 
 complaint, after he had told them that the Great 
 
A REPORTER AND A PRIEST. 315 
 
 Father had so many red children to feed, that he had 
 spent nearly all the money he had, but that pretty soon 
 he would have some more and then he would send it. 
 Ever since that they had been patiently waiting. 
 
 " Now," said Hildreth, " before you leave the 
 reserve, I want you to go with me into some of their 
 camps and see the suffering. It is almost enough to 
 break a man's heart." 
 
 The article written by this correspondent was one 
 of the most tender and pathetic stories I ever read. 1 
 have only room to insert one short paragraph. 
 
 "I went," said the reporter, "into one lodge, 
 and saw two small, almost fleshless, children sitting on 
 the ground. Their lips were thin and their cheeks 
 hollow. In each of their little, bony hands they had a 
 few grains of corn, which had just been given to them, 
 and they were eating it ravenously. Lying on a 
 blanket near them was a woman and by her side a 
 little babe. It was very still. The mother laid her 
 hand lovingly on its head. She, herself, was almost a 
 skeleton. She did not seem to notice me. As I stood 
 there, I saw the tears coursing one another down over 
 her hollow cheeks. Her baby was dying. As I came 
 out of the lodge I met a large, bronzed white man. 
 He was dressed in a suit of buckskin. I said to him 
 that these people were sick. ' No,' he replied, ' I wish 
 it was sickness, but it is starvation.' ' : 
 
 No body of men ever received such a terrible up 
 braiding as Congress did at the hands of this writer for 
 its niggardly policy in regard to these Indians. 
 
 The correspondent desired to get at the truth of mat- 
 
316 A REPORTER AND A PRIEST. 
 
 ters, so he asked Hildreth for an interview with the 
 head chief. The agent sent for Red Iron, and he 
 came to the Agency. 
 
 It was explained to Red Iron that this man had a big 
 newspaper (word carrier, the Indians call it), and that 
 if he wished to say anything to the white, people, this 
 man would print it in his paper. Red Iron knew 
 nothing about the man, and he was both suspicions and 
 afraid of Hildreth, so lie did not know exactly what to 
 say. He told him that his people were very anxious to 
 learn the ways of the white people ; he wanted schools 
 where the children could be taught, and he wanted a 
 missionary to tell them what was in the Book which 
 the Great Spirit had given to the white people. He 
 thought he might say that much with safety, anyhow. 
 
 The reporter made this statement very prominent 
 in his letter, and remarked that here was a heathen in 
 our own country, holding out his hands, asking for the 
 Bible and a missionary, and while the churches were 
 sending hundreds to Africa and China, none of them 
 heard his cry. 
 
 This article, which was widely copied and read 
 by many thousands of people, happened to fall into the 
 hands of a poor Catholic priest in the city of New 
 York. The idea of that poor Indian begging to be 
 taught so weighed upon his mind that he went to his 
 Bishop and got permission to go out to him. When he 
 arrived at the Missouri river, he went to the Catholic 
 Bishop having jurisdiction in that part of the country, 
 and obtained his sanction and blessing, and then went 
 on to Red Iron's camp. The old chief did not live in 
 
A KEPOKTEK AND A PKIEST. 317 
 
 a tent lie had built himself a rude house. When the 
 priest arrived he was so delighted that he told him he 
 would move out and let the priest live in the house and 
 teach school, aud he would live in a tent. But the 
 priest said no, he would not do that. So Red Iron put 
 up a tent for him beside his house. 
 
 The next day Hildreth appeared and ordered him to 
 leave the reservation. The priest said he had come 
 there to instruct the children and teach the Christian 
 religion to the Indians. 
 
 " But this reservation has been assigned to another 
 denomination by the Secretary of the Interior," said 
 Hildreth. " 1 cannot allow you to reman. I give you 
 orders to leave." 
 
 " There is no missionary of any kind here," said the 
 priest, " and no school." 
 
 This was correct, for the man who was announced 
 as a missionary when Mr. Parkman was expelled, only 
 remained about a week. The agency pay-roll showed 
 that there was a teacher receiving the salary. It was 
 the wife of one of the employees who signed the pay 
 roll, and the salary was divided with Hildreth. She 
 had not taught a day. 
 
 The priest went on to say that he should interfere 
 with nobody, and that he should not leave. He woiild 
 make no resistance, but he would not go off from the 
 reservation unless he was carried off. 
 
 The next morning a light spring wagon was driven 
 up, the priest was lifted up and put into it and driven 
 off the reservation, a distance of about ninety miles, to 
 the first station outside, and left there. 
 
318 A EEPOETEK AND A PKIEST. 
 
 He got aboard of the first conveyance that was going 
 to the reservation, and started back. Red Iron heard 
 that he was coming. I don't know how he heard it ; 
 the swiftness with which news is spread among Indians 
 always was a mystery to me ; but in some way he heard 
 it in time to go out and meet the priest, just outside of 
 the reservation. He told the priest that it would never 
 do for him to come there, it might make war ; but to stop 
 just over the line, and he would send some of the young 
 men to help him build a house. After the house was 
 finished he would send some of the children to him to 
 be taught. 
 
 When the Bishop at the Missouri river was informed 
 of what had happened, he started immediately to 
 Washington. He went to the Secretary of the Interior, 
 who received him in his most cordial manner. He 
 wiped off his glasses, leaned back in his chair, and 
 smiled his most fascinating smile. To everything the 
 Bishop said, he replied, " Certainly, certainly." He 
 was as " child-like and bland " as the Heathen Chinee. 
 The Bishop was finally informed that while the griev 
 ance of which he spoke was a serious one, nothing 
 could be done without action by Congress. Then the 
 Bishop laid the matter before the Indian Committee of 
 the House. They all agreed with him that it was a 
 great outrage, and a Congressman drew up a bill to 
 grant religious liberty to the Indians. The Bishop 
 was informed that it would be passed immediately. 
 
 The bill lies in a pigeon-hole of the Indian Com 
 mittee to this day. 
 
A "STRAIGHT" TRANSACTION. 319 
 
 CHAPTER XLIL 
 ^ "STRAIGHT" TRANSACTION. 
 
 HE newspaper correspondent's account of 
 affairs at Red Iron's agency created con 
 siderable discussion and accomplished its 
 purpose. It enabled Perkins' congressional 
 friend to get through his bill for an additional ap 
 propriation of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
 for the relief of the tribe. Neither the correspondent, 
 the editor of the paper, nor the general public ever 
 dreamed that they were being used as tools of the 
 Indian Ring. 
 
 Finally, the paying agent of the department arrived 
 at the Agency, and a council was called. All the 
 Indians expected to be paid, and nearly the whole 
 tribe assembled at the Agency. When the council was 
 convened the paying agent of the department, Markam, 
 and two commissioners who accompanied him, took 
 their seats. Hildreth sat by Markam, and Parker, the 
 trader, a little to one side. The latter had a huge 
 bundle of papers on a table before him. 
 
 Markam made a long speech, telling them how the 
 Great Father loved his red children. After about half 
 an hour of such palaver, he came down to business, and 
 told Red Iron that the tribe owed the trader one 
 hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars, and he wanted 
 him and the other chiefs to sign a receipt for that 
 
320 
 
 amount, and then he would pay them the fifteen thou 
 sand which was still due them. 
 
 Just as Markam finished his speech, two full com 
 panies of cavalry marched into the agency, ordered 
 there at the request of the Secretary of the Interior. 
 Major Hodson was in command. 
 
 As soon as Jack fomid that Major Hodson was 
 there he went straight to him, told him what was going 
 on and said that he feared there would be a general 
 uprising of the Indians. It was a little more than human 
 nature could stand. The Indians had been starving for 
 months, patiently waiting for this money to come, and 
 now they were told that the trader was to have it all. 
 
 " I don't see that I can do anything to help them," 
 the Major replied. "My orders are to protect the 
 agent, his employees and the commissioners. I have 
 nothing to do with the settlement of their business. I 
 can only obey my orders. I am practically under the 
 control of Markam." 
 
 In the council-room there was intense excitement. 
 It was not manifested in the way white men would have 
 acted. To one unacquainted with Indian character, 
 nothing to indicate that the Indians were excited would 
 have been noticed ; but Markam was an old hand at this 
 business. The last twenty years of his life had been 
 spent, half of it on Indian Commissions, and the other 
 half in the East, lecturing " in behalf of the poor In 
 dian," telling how badly they had been abused by the 
 army, and how niggardly Congress had been in making 
 appropriations for them. Once he had nearly lost his 
 life at the hands of a chief, whose tribe he had swiii- 
 
A " STEAIGUT " TRANSACTION. 321 
 
 died out of everything they had. He was desperately 
 wounded, but as soon as he recovered he went back 
 East, and told the people how he loved the poor In 
 dian ; and although he had been nearly killed, he did 
 not blame them. They did not mean to kill him at all. 
 They were shooting at some very bad army officers. 
 Markam knew enough about Indians to know that there 
 was serious trouble brewing. So when at last Red 
 Iron arose to speak he was all attention. 
 
 Markam noticed that he did not come forward and 
 shake hands, as is the invariable custom among them. 
 He turned to the interpreter, and said in a stern, harsh 
 voice : 
 
 " Tell that Indian, if he wants to make a speech, he 
 must first come forward and shake hands with me." 
 
 Red Iron paid no attention to this when it was in 
 terpreted to him. He stood there with a dignity and 
 consciousness of right about him that ought to have 
 commanded the respect of any man. 
 
 At last he said : 
 
 "If the Commissioner desires to hear what we have 
 to say, I will speak. If he does not, we will go back to 
 our lodges." 
 
 "Tell him," said Markam, "to go to his lodge 
 and stay there until he can learn not to be so impu 
 dent." 
 
 The Indians all left the council-room. Markam 
 went immediately to Major Hodson and told him that 
 Eed Iron was in open rebellion, and ordered him to be 
 arrested forthwith. When Red Iron saw the file of 
 soldiers coming, and the remainder of the command UP 
 14* 
 
322 A 
 
 der arms, he knew in a moment what to expect. He 
 said a few words to the head men who stood near him, 
 and, folding his blanket around him, stood erect, and 
 awaited their coming. They took him away to the 
 guard-house, put irons on his wrists and ancles, and left 
 him there. 
 
 Late that afternoon word was sent to Little Wolf 
 and some of the young men to come to a council after 
 dark. This was against their custom, as Markam very 
 well knew. Red Iron heard of it, and sent out orders 
 to kill any man on the spot who dared to go. Not an 
 Indian responded to the call. The next morning an 
 other council was called, and when the chiefs began to 
 assemble they found a guard of soldiers, who only per 
 mitted certain ones to pass through. All the leading 
 men of the tribe were excluded, including Red Iron, 
 who had been released from the guard-house that morn 
 ing. Nothing was done worth noting at this council. 
 The next day they were ordered to assemble again. 
 
 Another hand has recorded that day's proceedings 
 and its results. I insert it here. 
 
 The council was crowded with Indians and white 
 men when Red Iron was brought in, guarded by 
 soldiers. He was tall and athletic, about six feet high 
 in his moccasins, with a large, well-developed head, 
 aquiline nose, thin, compressed lips and physiognomy 
 beaming with intelligence and resolution. He was clad 
 in the half-military costume of the chiefs of his tribe. 
 He was seated in the council-room without greeting 
 or salutation from any one. In a few moments, 
 Markam, turning to the chief, in the midst of a 
 
A " STRAIGHT " TRANSACTION. 323 
 
 breathless silence, by the aid of the interpreter, 
 opened the council. 
 
 " What excuse have you," he asked, " for not coming 
 to the council when I sent for you ?" 
 
 Red Iron rose to his feet with native grace and 
 dignity, his blanket falling from his shoulders, and, 
 purposely dropping the pipe of peace, he stood erect, 
 with his arms folded, and his right hand pressed on the 
 sheath of his scalping knife. With a firm voice he 
 replied : 
 
 " I started to come, but your braves drove me back. 
 I have no other excuse to give." 
 
 "At the treaty," said Markam, "I thought you 
 a good man, but since, you have acted badly. I am 
 disposed to break you. I do break you." 
 
 (That is, he deposed him from his chieftainship, a 
 thing that is very frequently done, when chiefs refuse 
 to sign papers, after which some one is substituted who 
 is mean enough, for a small bribe, to do anything. I 
 know, personally, of five or six such instances.) 
 
 " You break me !" said Red Iron. " My people 
 made me chief, and not you. My people love me. I 
 will still be their chief." 
 
 " Why did you get your braves together and march 
 around here for the purpose of intimidating other 
 chiefs and prevent them coming to the council ?" 
 
 " I did not get my braves together," replied Red 
 Iron, "they got themselves together to prevent boys 
 from going to the council to be made chiefs by you, to 
 sign papers, and to prevent single chiefs going to 
 council at night, to be bribed to sign papers for money 
 
324 A 
 
 we never got. I have heard how you have served other 
 tribes ; that by secret councils you get names on paper, 
 and took away their money. We don't want to be 
 served so. My braves wanted to come to council in 
 the day time, when the sun shines. We want no 
 councils in the dark. When we signed the treaty, the 
 traders threw a blanket over our faces, and made us 
 sign papers we did not understand. I want a new 
 treaty, and I want the Great Father at Washington to 
 know what has been done." 
 
 " Your Great Father has sent me to represent him, 
 and what I say is what he says. He wants you to pay 
 your old debts, leave the money in my hands to pay 
 your debts. If you refuse to do that I will take the 
 money back with me." 
 
 " You can take the money back," said Red Iron. 
 " We sold you our land and you promised so pay us for 
 it. If you don't give us the money I will be glad 
 and all my people will be glad, for we will have our 
 land back if you do not pay us for it. I am told that 
 that paper you want me to sign gives more than a 
 hundred thousand dollars of our money to the trader. 
 I don't think we owe him so much. If the Great 
 Father will send three honest men here to examine the 
 trader's accounts, whatever they say we owe the trader" 
 (an offer of arbitration) "I will sign for. All our 
 chiefs and all our people will agree to this." 
 
 All the Indians present responded "How ! How!" 
 
 " That can't be done," said Markara. "You owe 
 morenow than your money would pay, but I am willing 
 to pay you the fifteen thousand dollars." 
 
325 
 
 " I will receive the fifteen thousand dollars," Red 
 Iron replied, " but I will sign no papers. We have 
 been waiting a long time to get our money. We are 
 poor ; you have plenty. Your fires are warm. Your 
 tepees keep out the cold. We have nothing to eat. 
 A great many of our people are sick, for being hungry. 
 We may die because you won't pay us. We have sold 
 our hunting grounds and the graves of our fathers. 
 We have sold our own graves, and you will not pay us 
 the money for our lands." 
 
 The council broke up and Red Iron was again taken 
 to the guard-house and loaded with chains. Between 
 thirty and forty of Red Iron's warriors were present at 
 the council. When he was led away, they departed 
 in sullen silence, headed by Lean Bear, his Head Sol 
 dier, to a hill-top a quarter of a mile distant, where 
 they uttered a succession of yells the war-cry of the 
 tribe. Ere the echoes had died away hundreds of In 
 dians hurried toward them prepared for battle ; Lean 
 Bear was a resolute man, and had great influence in the 
 tribe. He recounted the brave deeds of Red Iron, the 
 long list of wrongs inflicted on them, and proposed 
 that they should make a general attack on the whites. 
 
 It took all the weight of Jack's influence and all 
 the power of his eloquence to persuade Lean Bear to 
 give up his project. Late at night the Indians dispersed 
 and went to their lodges. 
 
 Markam did not attempt anything further for three 
 or four days. Then one night he got Little Wolf and 
 several of the hangers-on about the agency together, 
 the four scoundrels who drove Mr. Parkman away being 
 
326 
 
 among the number, and held a formal council, the 
 proceedings being taken down in due form, and certified 
 to by the agent, clerk and interpreter. The first thing 
 they did was to depose Red Iron and install Little Wolf 
 as head chief. Being duly declared head chief of the 
 tribe, and the fact recorded in the minutes of the council, 
 he then signed all the papers, by making his mark, 
 which Markam presented. The next day the fifteen 
 thousand dollars was paid over to the Indians, and the 
 " paying agent" left. 
 
 I never knew how the proceeds of this transaction 
 was divided. Hildreth shortly afterward invested about 
 ten thousand dollars in a herd of cattle. But the papers 
 were signed, the accounts were balanced, and the books 
 of the Department of the Interior show, " officially ," 
 that the transaction was honest and " straight." 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 MEIIA'S FATE. 
 
 FEW days after Markam left, Major Hod- 
 son was ordered back to the fort on the 
 Little Blue. Before he left, Jack had two 
 or three long talks with him, after which 
 he fell into a chronic melancholy. One day he came 
 to Red Iron and told him that he was going away and 
 would be gone several weeks, and that before he came 
 
327 
 
 back lie should visit Badger's old band on the Arickoree. 
 He then saddled his horse, strapped on his blankets and 
 started for the fort on the Little Blue. Arriving there, 
 his first inquiry was made of Captain Belfor. 
 
 " Where is Lieutenant Blake ?" 
 
 The Captain looked into Jack's eyes, and said : 
 
 " I wish you had come two weeks sooner. Then I 
 think there would have been a pretty good prospect 
 for him to have got his just deserts. But it's too late 
 now. Colonel -Coldcra ft court-martialed him, and he 
 was dishonorably dismissed from the service. I wish 
 we could get rid of a few more just like him." 
 
 " Where is Meha ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " She is staying with one of the laundresses who has 
 taken her since she was abandoned. You will find her 
 over on the north side, in the rear of the bake-house 
 there." 
 
 When little Meha saw Jack she was delighted be 
 yond measure. It was so good, she said, to talk to some 
 one iii her own language. It was two days before Jack 
 could nerve himself to tell her that Lieutenant Blake 
 had been dismissed from the army, and that he had 
 abandoned her forever, and when he did she would not 
 believe one word of it. She said that he had gone 
 away on some expedition, like he had many times 
 before. She said he had told her he would be gone a 
 good while this time, but he was coming back again. 
 
 " Don't you want to see your mother and your little 
 sister ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Oh ! very much," she said. 
 
328 JACK'S OPINION OF INJUNS. 
 
 " Well, a train is going to start for the Agency, and 
 I am going there too. Will you go with us 2" 
 
 " I want to sec my mother and dear little sister very 
 much, but Lieutenant Blake might come back while I 
 was gone, and I don't know what he would think." 
 
 Jack tried every way he could think of to persuade 
 her to go, but she would not consent. She had perfect 
 faith that Lieutenant Blake would soon come back. At 
 last he brought a paper, which he told her was an 
 order from the Colonel, for her to join her tribe, 
 and to remain there until Lieutenant Blake came back. 
 If he ever came he would order him to come to her right 
 away. She went back to her tribe, and years after 
 ward I saw her. She was still patiently waiting him 
 to come, who had long before forgotten her. She had 
 refused offers of marriage from several of the young 
 chiefs, and was still true to him. 
 
 " The Great Father," she said, " has sent him far 
 away, perhaps beyond the great water, but some day he 
 will come back to Meha." 
 
 CHAPTER XLIY. 
 JACK'S OPINION OF INJUNS. 
 
 ACK made inquiries of some Indians who 
 came in with the train and were going back 
 with it, about the place where Badger's 
 band was located. Two of these Indians 
 had their wives with them. He told them of his in- 
 
JACK'S OPINION or INJUNS. 329 
 
 tended visit, but that lie did not want the Agency people 
 to know he was there. He learned that old Hairy 
 Bear had been made chief of the band by the agent, 
 after Badger had been hung by the whites. Hairy 
 Bear was located on the Beaver, about fifteen miles from 
 the Agency. It was very easy for Jack to find the place. 
 He rode over to the Republican, crossed it, and went 
 up the south side until he came to the Beaver, and 
 followed that until he came to Hairy Bear's camp. 
 
 Things had been managed at Perkins's Agency in an 
 entirely different way from the plan pursued with Red 
 Iron's tribe. 
 
 Perkins commenced by proclaiming his absolute 
 honesty, and to prove it he asked for a military officer 
 to inspect his supplies before they were delivered to the 
 Indians. An officer was accordingly sent. He inspected 
 ten thousand sacks of flour, and some other articles. All 
 of them were found to be fully up to the grade speci 
 fied in the contracts. A few weeks afterward he asked 
 for an officer to inspect supplies again. This time the 
 officer found nine thousand sacks of flour of exactly the 
 same grade as that of the previous lot. 
 
 The inspection of flour is made by thrusting an in 
 strument, hollow on one side, into the sack, and when 
 it is withdrawn the hollow is full of flour. As each 
 sack is inspected, a brand is put upon it. The whole 
 transaction was perfectly " straight," to all appearance, 
 and the Indians were charged with nineteen thousand 
 sacks of flour. The empty sacks, nineteen thousand in 
 number, were piled up in the warehouse, each one hav 
 ing the United States Army Inspector's brand upon it. 
 
330 JACK'S OPINION OF INJUNS. 
 
 "When the Indians complained that they had only 
 received half rations of flour, Perkins showed the sacks, 
 to prove what liars they were. Notwithstanding all 
 this, the contractors had only furnished, and the Indians 
 had only received, ten thousand sacks of flour. The 
 flour had been, what is called in the Indian Ring par 
 lance " double sacked." The army officer had inspected 
 ten thousand sacks and branded each one. "When he 
 went away, the outside sacks had been pulled off. 
 When he came back, he inspected exactly the same 
 lot over again, save the thousand sacks which had 
 been issued in his absence. A plan very similar to this 
 was successfully carried out in regard to the beef cattle. 
 The contract specified that the cattle should average 
 eight hundred and fifty pounds. A great herd of fine 
 cattle were driven to the agency, and herded on a range 
 near by. During the course of two or three months 
 most of them had been driven away, and the number 
 supplied with thin old cows, and oxen which had been 
 broken down hauling freight, and turned out to die. 
 The flesh of such cattle is black, and about the tough 
 ness of good sole leather. Notwithstanding all this, 
 Perkins was a good agent, for he only stole half, while 
 Parker and Hildreth stole about nine-tenths, and it was 
 very wicked in these Indians to act the way they did. 
 When Jack arrived, he found that there was trouble 
 brewing. Old Hairy Bear and his medicine man were 
 holding orgies every two or three nights, in which the 
 cruelties practiced upon them by the whites was told 
 over and over. It was with difficulty Jack found out 
 what was going on among the other bands and tribes 
 
JACK'S OPINION OF INJUNS. 331 
 
 belonging to this agency, for some of them spoke a 
 different language. He &oon learned, however, that 
 they were plotting an extensive outbreak, as scon as 
 they could conclude treaties with some tribes to the 
 west, into whose territory they would have to go in 
 case of a war. These negotiations would require some 
 time, even if they were successful, of which there 
 seemed to be some doubt. He also found that most of 
 them had arms and horses. The Indians were still 
 more enraged just when Jack arrived, for they said the 
 beef was less in amount and blacker and tougher than 
 ever before. Jack told them they were fools to talk 
 about going to war. The Great Father would send an 
 army of soldiers larger than the biggest herd of buffaloes 
 they ever saw, but if they did go to war, the first man 
 they were to kill was Perkins. If they didn't kill him, 
 he would come down with some of Red Iron's warriors 
 and scalp every one of them. 
 
 Jack was accustomed to tough fare, but this beef 
 was a little tougher than anything he had ever found 
 before. He got a piece one morning and put it on the 
 fire to boil. After he had kept the fire blazing hot for 
 about six hours, he took it out, cut off a mouthful with 
 his hunting-knife and chewed on it until his jaws gave 
 out. The mouthful was stili intact and about as elastic 
 as a piece of caoutchouc. Then he put the beef back 
 and boiled it until sundown. When he took it out of 
 the camp-kettle, it was blacker and tougher than ever. 
 An Indian wman who was watching his performance 
 laughed at him, and said he ought to know how to 
 cook the white people's beef, as he was a white man. 
 
332 
 
 "I'll take pity on yon," she said, " and give you 
 something to eat." 
 
 She brought him some thick, black soup. 
 
 "What is this made of ?" said Jack. 
 
 " That's made of the white people's beef too, but I've 
 learned how to do it." 
 
 " How do you fix it ?" 
 
 "I cut the beef into thin slices, and roast it on the 
 coals until it is cooked clear through. When it is 
 dried, it is brittle. Then I pound it fine between two 
 stones and make soup of it. That's all the way we can 
 eat this black beef." 
 
 The next day the Indians went in to the Agency and 
 drew a week's rations. When they <?ame back to camp 
 there was a general uproar. Threats were made by 
 some of the young men, and they were not rebuked by 
 the elder ones, of going to the Agency and killing every 
 body there. The cause of the trouble was, that in 
 addition to black beef, they had received black flour. 
 The ration thus made up was not fit for any human 
 being to eat. Jack was fearful that they would break 
 out into open war immediately, but after a day or two 
 the excitement somewhat subsided, and as the next 
 issue was a little better, they settled into their old way. 
 The only action taken was to send another delegation 
 to the tribes west of them, to hurry up the negotiations. 
 
 One day Jack concluded he would go into the Agency 
 and see what Perkins would do about his presence on 
 the reserve. He was well armed, and rather wanted 
 Perkins to try to arrest him. He rode up to the trader's 
 store, hitched his horse and walked in. Perkins was 
 
JACK'S OPINION OF INJUNS. 333 
 
 there, but he did not seem to recognize him. As Jack 
 came out he met Jennie Walker face to face. 
 
 u Oli, Jack !" she said, and then, looking around, she 
 spoke in a lower tone, " I want to talk to you so bad. 
 How can I see you alone ?" 
 
 " If you will walk down to that grove, yonder by 
 the river," said Jack, " I will be there in about an 
 hour." Then he turned and sauntered off in a different 
 direction. 
 
 At the appointed time he met her there. 
 
 " How in the world did you ever get here ?" said 
 Jack. 
 
 " My father brought me." 
 
 " What does your father do here ?" 
 
 " He helps the trader in his store." 
 
 u What made him come here ?" 
 
 " Mr. Perkins owes him ever so much money, and he 
 said if he would come out here he would soon pay him, 
 but I don't believe he ever will." 
 
 " What do you do here ?" 
 
 " I don't do anything. I wanted to teach school, 
 but they wouldn't let me." 
 
 " How long is your father going to stay here P 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Would you like to get away from here ?" 
 
 "I have no place to go to. If Mr. Perkins would 
 pay father the money he owes him, I think he would go 
 right away." 
 
 For a few moments there was silence. Then Jennie 
 said. 
 
 " Jack, would you do one little thing for me ?" 
 
334 
 
 " Sartinlj I would. Jest tell me what it is and it 
 shall be done." 
 
 Jennie took a tiny little letter out of her pocket, and 
 said : 
 
 " You won't tell any body, will you, Jack ? I wrote 
 a letter to Mr. Wilmot when I first came here, but I 
 don't think Mr. Perkins let it go. I want you to take 
 this letter and send it to him." 
 
 Jack took the letter and then looked at the fair- 
 haired girl, as she etood there under the trees. She 
 had taken off her hat. Little rays of sunlight played 
 through her golden hair, as they found their way through 
 leaves, stirred by the wind. 
 
 " Can you ride pretty well on a horse ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Yes," she replied. " I have ridden a good deal 
 since I came out here. But why do you ask ?" 
 
 " 'Cause I thought that the best thing I could 
 do was to take the letter and you both to Mr. Wilmot." 
 
 " Oh, Jack, I could not do that." 
 
 " Well, I didn't mean that. I meant I'd take the 
 letter to Mr. Wilmot and you to Mr. Parkman's." 
 
 "Jack, you ought not to talk that way to me." 
 
 " I don't like to leave you here. There's no danger 
 at present, and won't be for some time, but I'd feel a 
 good deal better if you were at Council Bluffs." 
 
 "Oh, the Indians wouldn't hurt me. I know a 
 good many of them." 
 
 " Injuns is Injuns," said Jack, dropping uncon 
 sciously into the frontier dialect ; " and they has their 
 ways. Some of 'em is mighty good ways, and some of 
 'em mighty bad. Now, thar's their religion. Part of 
 
OF INJUNS. 835 
 
 it's jest like old Father Abraham's, and part of it is a 
 sort of an improvement on it m the wrong direction. 
 You see, when an Injun gits a religious fit on him he 
 don't know what he's doing. "When they git a notion 
 the Great Spirit is calling on 'em to avenge their 
 wrongs, they Idll anything. Little babies, women and 
 children is all the same to 'em then. It's mighty bad, 
 but I've knowed 'em to do it. White people have done 
 worse things, and thought they was serving God. I 
 read when I was a boy about their breaking every 
 bone in a woman's body, one at a time, one of their 
 own race, too. I've knowed Injuns to do some mighty 
 mean things, but nothing as bad as that. Now them 
 Injuns is gitting up what you might call a revival. 
 'Tain't like one of Mr. Parkinan's revivals. Them kind 
 makes men better this kind makes 'em worse. The 
 fact is, these Injuns need some kind of improvement in 
 their religion. I've been thinking of it considerable. 
 If they'd quit holdin' these pow-wows, believing in 
 them old medicine sticks, and the prophesyin's of them 
 old frauds of medicine men, I think their religion 'ud 
 be about right. If they didn't have faith in the old 
 medicine man's charms against their enemies, they'd 
 never go to war. There's lots of 'em that don't believe 
 in 'em, but they pretend to, to control the others ; 'cause 
 you see they can hire the old medicine man to proph 
 esy anything, or make a big medicine for them, for a 
 blanket any time. Now, as I said, them Injuns is git- 
 ting up a revival. Among Injuno that means war ; 
 among white men it means peace. They are pow-wow- 
 ing around in the tents every night, workin' themselves 
 
336 
 
 into a frenzy, tellin' over the crimes committed against 
 'em by the whites (and the Lord knows there's enough 
 of 'em to keep 'em talking a year), prayin' to the Great 
 Spirit, twistin' themselves into a thousand shapes, an' 
 carryin' on worse than a nigger at a camp meetin', and 
 some of these days, when they don't issue them any 
 rations, they'll all git crazy mad at once, and cut up 
 jack generally around here. Of course, if they issue 
 them decent rations it'll spile the revival. These old 
 Injun preachers allers have to have some present griev 
 ance to work on. Now, I've told you the whole thing, 
 and why I thought you'd better go to Council Bluffs." 
 
 " Suppose you see father and tell him." 
 
 " I couldn't exactly do that. I'd be accused right 
 away of workin' up a war, or something else. Every 
 thing is all safe for a month or two. Medicine sticks 
 are mighty powerful things among Injuns, but they 
 haven't quite faith enough in 'em to go to war, with the 
 soldiers on one side and hostile tribes on the other." 
 
 " Suppose you tell Mr. Wilmot all about it," said 
 Jennie." 
 
 " Of course I will ; but he can't do anything." 
 
 Jennie had perfect faith in Mr. Wilmot's ability to 
 do almost anything, and told Jack if he would only 
 give him that letter, he would take such measures as 
 would be best for them all. 
 
 " Let me see," said Jack. " It 's three hundred 
 miles from here to Council Bluffs. I can make it in 
 six days. "Wilmot shall have your letter in six days 
 from to-morrow." 
 
 Jennie extended her hand and said " Good-bye." 
 
MES. PAKKMAN TRANSLATES A CirHER LETTER. 337 
 
 Jack went back to Hairy Bear's camp and told them 
 lie must now go back to Ins tribe. 
 
 They made him a great many presents, and among 
 other things two horses, and the next morning he de 
 parted. 
 
 CHAPTER XLY. 
 
 MKS. PARKMAN TRANSLATES A CIPHER LETTER. 
 
 ACK stopped at the fort on the Little Blue, 
 on his way to Council Bluffs, and had an 
 interview with Colonel Coldcraft, being in 
 troduced by Major Hodson. He told him 
 the conditions of affairs at the Agency, the quality of 
 the rations and the probability of an outbreak. The 
 Colonel thanked him for the information, asked him 
 where he could likely be found in the event of war, but 
 made no other remark. 
 
 Corning away, Jack said to Major Hodson : 
 " This Colonel seems to be a mighty crusty sort of 
 a fellow." 
 
 " Yes, he is a different man from Colonel Greene, 
 but he is an excellent officer. Colonel Coldcraft never 
 has any opinions to express to anybody." 
 " What do you suppose he will do ?" 
 " He'll forward the information you gave him to 
 the department commander, and await orders." 
 " What do you think of it f 
 15 
 
338 MRS. PARKMAN TRANSLATES A CIPHER LETTER/ 
 
 " The army can't interfere unless requested to do so 
 by the Secretary of the Interior. He has absolute control 
 of the Indians. His men out there are concocting a 
 war. They don't care how many wars they get up. 
 The more the better, as far as they are concerned. 
 They know very well they don't have to fight them 
 out. Now, if the Colonel had authority, he could 
 send a battalion of cavalry out there, get after 
 those contractors, make them furnish supplies as they 
 have agreed and been paid for doing, and there would 
 be no war. As it is, the Indians will first be half- 
 starved and then we will be sent to kill them, because 
 they are so impudent and rebellious that they won't 
 stay there and die peaceably and without grumbling." 
 
 Jack did not delay longer than was necessary at the 
 fort, but pressed on to Council Bluffs and delivered the 
 tiny little letter. Mr. Wilmot opened it and read : 
 
 " DEAR MR. WILMOT, 
 
 " I was so sorry I had to leave without seeing you. 
 I did not know I had to go until nine o'clock the night 
 before we started, and we left before six o'clock in the 
 morning. When I arrived here I wrote you a letter, 
 but I remembered that the other letter I wrote to you 
 never reached you, and I thought you had never re 
 ceived it, so I write again. Plow is Mr. and Mrs. 
 Parkman ? I am very lonely here, but I hope Mr. 
 Perkins will soon pay father and then we can come 
 away. I don't like Mr. Perkins a bit. I wanted to 
 teach sclxool here and he would not let me. 
 " Very truly, 
 
 "JENNIE WALKER." 
 
MES. PAEKMAN TRANSLATES A CIPHER LETTEE. 339 
 
 " Anything important ?" said Jack. 
 
 " Yes," Wilmot replied, as lie folded up the letter 
 and put it in his pocket. " She says she wants me to 
 come out there and marry her forthwith." 
 
 "I don't believe it," said Jack. "That 'ere girl 
 would never write that way." 
 
 " Well, then, look at it and see," said Wilmot, 
 handing him the letter. 
 
 " I knowed she never said any such thing," said 
 Jack, after reading the letter. 
 
 " You can't read it, because it's written in cipher, 
 and a cipher to which no Washington detective would 
 ever find the key." 
 
 " I don't believe that thar's any cipher about it." . 
 
 <4 You take it over to Mrs. Parkman and ask her if 
 that is not what it means. She understands that kind 
 of a cipher." 
 
 Wilmot had no idea of sending the letter to Mrs. 
 Parkman, but Jack rose up and strode out of the office 
 saying, " I'll do it. Hang me if I don't." 
 
 After giving Mrs. Parkman all the news, Jack took 
 the letter out of his pocket and handed it to her, saying : 
 
 " Now, I want you to tell me honestly what that 
 letter means. Wilmot says it means one thing. I say 
 it don't." 
 
 Mrs. Parkman read the letter, and then said, in a 
 somewhat excited manner : 
 
 " Mr. Wilmot ought to go right out there and see 
 Jennie. I'll think he's real mean if he don't." 
 
 Jack took the letter and went back to Wilmot's 
 office, saying to himself : 
 
340 BEYOND CONTROL. ' 
 
 " Well, if that don't beat all creation. I didn't be 
 lieve that was a cipher letter at all." 
 
 " What did she say ?" asked Wilmot, as Jack came 
 in. 
 
 " I give it up," said Jack. " I guess it is a cipher, 
 but I wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't been for 
 Mrs. Parkman. She says you ought to go right straight 
 out there." 
 
 " That's a poser," he said, unfolding the letter and 
 looking at it again. " Who'd ever thought of that in 
 nocent-looking letter meaning something else entirely 
 from what it says. All the ciphers I ever saw didn't 
 mean anything when you read them straight along. 
 How did Mrs. Parkman learn to read it ?" 
 
 " Oh ! she learned that a long time ago ; before she 
 was married." 
 
 CHAPTER XLYI. 
 
 BEYOND CONTROL. 
 
 EVERAL long conversations between Wilmot 
 and Jack resulted in an agreement that 
 they would both go out to the reservation 
 on the Arickoree. Jack was to return to 
 Red Iron's camp, Wilmot to go via the fort on the 
 Little Blue, and the two to meet on a day specified at 
 the forks of Turkey Creek. 
 
 Jack did not tell Wilmot why he desired to go first 
 
 to Red Iron's camp, but simply said he must go there. 
 
 At the appointed time Wilmot rode up on a hill- 
 
BEYOND CONTROL. 341 
 
 top, overlooking the place of rendezvous, and was 
 astonished to see a camp of about fifty Indians. He sat 
 in his saddle hesitating about what he had better do, 
 when some one in the camp mounted a horse and came 
 galloping toward him. As he came near, Wilmot saw 
 that it was Jack. 
 
 "What does this mean?" said Wilmot. "What 
 are all those Indians doing here ?" 
 
 " I kalkerlated there might be trouble over here, 
 and in case there was, I wanted a few fellers along with 
 me I could rely on. And then, if Jennie wanted to 
 come back with us, it would be well to have some 
 women along. As I couldn't git any white ones, I've 
 got four or five Indian women. Two of 'em knew 
 Jennie when she was in Red Iron's camp before the 
 war, so I let 'em come with their husbands." 
 
 " I haven't any idea that Jennie will come back with 
 us. I am going out there to see her, and .have a talk 
 with her father. I think he would come down as far 
 as the fort on the Little Blue." 
 
 " Suppose Perkins tries to arrest you ?" 
 
 "I don't think he'll do that. I'm out of the fight 
 now." 
 
 " Well, I think if he does he'll have a warm time of 
 it afore he gits through. I'm going to camp these 
 Injuns right by the side of his house. These agents 
 have a respect for a shooting-iron." 
 
 "I don't know but it is a pretty good plan," said 
 Wilmot. 
 
 The next morning the party was on the move. It 
 was understood where the camp was to be made that 
 
342 BEYOND CONTROL. 
 
 night, and the Indians scattered off each one to his own 
 fancy. Some of them reached the camping-place by 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, and some did not get in 
 until after dark. They had killed, during the day, 
 three antelopes and several jack rabbits. There was 
 great good humor in the camp that night. They felt 
 like they were free men once more, and they had plenty 
 to eat. 
 
 About nine o'clock three of the young men came 
 riding in. They were the last of the party to arrive. 
 One of them came directly to Jack and handed him a 
 piece of paper. He said, about ten miles above where 
 they were camped, on the same stream, they had come 
 upon the trail of two white men. They had stopped 
 at the crossing but had made no fire. Their horses had 
 been ridden very hard, and were very hungry. Their 
 trail led over toward the Platte. 
 
 (I suppose that some persons will think it very 
 strange that Indian could know that those horses had 
 been ridden very hard and were hungry, but it was a 
 very easy thing for him to tell that. The horses were 
 lariated out, had laid down on the grass and rolled, and 
 being covered with sweat had rubbed it off. The tracks 
 showed how long they had been allowed to feed, and 
 the grass that they had not wasted any time standing 
 still.) 
 
 But the scrap of paper, that was the greatest mystery, 
 and entirely beyond the reach of Indian lore. It was 
 part of an envelope, and on it was written : " II. L. 
 Perkins, Arickoree Agency." "Was this Perkins and 
 some one else ? If not, who could it be \ It made 
 
BEYOND CONTEOL. 343 
 
 Jack feel extremely uneasy. He broke camp early in 
 the morning and gave orders to halt at the mouth of 
 the Red Willow, a very hard day's march. 
 
 To understand what follows, it will be necessary to 
 relate what had happened at Perkins's Agency since Jack 
 was there. The delegations to the tribes to the west 
 had returned with a favorable report. A treaty of 
 friendship had been made, and a league formed to re 
 sist the encroachments of the whites. The principal 
 chief at Perkins's Agency was a man named Little 
 Warrior. He was a hereditary chief, and what is rather 
 rare among that class, a man of great natural ability. 
 He did not desire to go to war, if war could be avoided. 
 Between starvation and fighting he would fight without 
 any hesitation. He made this league so that in case of 
 war he would not be perfectly helpless, with an army 
 on one side and a hostile tribe on the other. When 
 the result of the negotiations became known, there was 
 great excitement among all the bands belonging to the 
 agency, and old Hairy Bear was for 'war immediately. 
 His medicine man prophesied all kinds of evil if they 
 did not go to war, and great victories if they did. Just 
 at this time the rations were worse than ever, and 
 before Little Warrior was aware of the fact, his people 
 were beyond his control. 
 
 The Indians around the agency, the hangers-on, the 
 sycophants, became first sullen, and then insolent. The 
 agent's power was broken, and they, as all such men of 
 every race, forsook him for the favor of those who were 
 to soon take control of things. 
 
 Perkins saw that there was trouble near at hand, 
 
344 BEYOND CONTROL. 
 
 and held a consultation with Cox, his trader. That 
 night, about midnight, without giving the least warning 
 to any of the employees, they mounted two of the best 
 horses and fled. In the morning, when the Indians 
 found they were gone, they sacked the trader's store, 
 broke open the warehouse, raided the employees' dwell 
 ings and took everything they could lay hands on. 
 
 The next day old Hairy Bear came dashing up to 
 the Agency at the head of his warriors, all in their war 
 paint. The employees had all gone into the guard-house 
 and prepared to defend themselves as best they could. 
 The Indians, from an eminence near by, shot burn 
 ing arrows into it and set it on fire. As the defenseless 
 people were flying from it, they rode down on to them 
 with their tomahawks to brain them as they ran. 
 
 At this juncture Jack and Wilrnot, at the head of 
 their band of Indians, dashed down on the Agency. As 
 they came over the hill they began to shout their war- 
 cry, and Hairy Bear and his band of warriors fled, car 
 rying with them Jennie's father, Jennie, and two other 
 women as prisoners. They fled down the bank of the 
 river, with Jack, "Wilmot and young Gray Cloud 
 in hot pursuit. Hairy Bear, seeing they were hotly 
 pursued, tomahawked Jennie's father as he rode by 
 his side. As he fell from his horse, an Indian tried to 
 scalp him, but he fell dead from a bullet from Jack's 
 unerring rifle. They were so hotly pursued that, in 
 dashing by the mouth of a ravine, Jennie was able to 
 turn her horse behind the bank and up the ravine. 
 One of the Indians who was riding beside her fired 
 twice at her, but dared not stop his own horse for a 
 
BEYOND CONTEOL. 345 
 
 second. Neither Jack nor Wilmot saw this, some 
 bushes intervening just at that moment, which hid the 
 Indians from their view. Gray Cloud, who was a little 
 to one side, saw it, and when he came to the mouth of 
 the ravine he turned up it and went after Jennie. The 
 whole band of Jack's Indians soon swept by in hot 
 pursuit. 
 
 Jack had gone up this stream when he went to the 
 Agency, and he knew every turn in it. The Indians 
 kept along the bank, and, there being a place where it 
 made a sharp turn, Jack took fifteen or twenty men 
 who were nearest, dashed across the point and came, out 
 ahead of Hairy Bear's band. Instead of capturing them 
 between the two forces, as he expected, Hairy Bear 
 forded the river, and he only captured the hindmost 
 ones ; but among them were the two w T hite women. 
 But Jennie ! Where was she ? Wilmot was nearly 
 crazy, and wanted to press on. But Jack said : 
 
 " That's no sort of use. Their horses are fresh and 
 ours worn out with two days of hard marching. We'll 
 have to circumvent 'em some other way." 
 
 " They'll murder her or do worse. I am going on. 
 How many men here will follow me ?" cried Wilmot to 
 the Indians, forgetting in his excitement that they could 
 not understand one word that he said. 
 
 " Keep cool," said Jack. " It don't do no good to 
 git excited. I'll " 
 
 Just then they saw, coming down over the top of 
 the hill, Gray Cloud and Jennie. 
 
 "Wilmot leaped from his horse, ran to her and clasped 
 her in his arms. 
 15* 
 
34:6 OH! FOR THE MILITARY. 
 
 . Jack looked on for a moment and then said : 
 " There ; I've got you together agin. JSTow stick." 
 
 CHAPTEE XLYII. 
 
 OH ! FOE THE MILITARY. 
 
 | HE first thing Jack did, was to get away from 
 there as soon as possible, taking with him 
 the five Indians he had captured. Gray 
 Cloud and two or three others soon had 
 them mounted, with their feet tied together under the 
 ponies, and in that manner dashed away to the north 
 east. They traveled as fast as they could, until about 
 sundown, when they halted on a little stream. 
 
 Jack tied the five prisoners to trees, and let them 
 remain there until morning. Then he told them he was 
 going to have a big scalp dance, and roast them all alive. 
 He said : 
 
 " I'd adopt you into the tribe, but you are no war 
 riors at all. You are cowards. I told you, when I was 
 here, to kill the agent when you went to war. He is 
 the man who has been stealing everything you have, 
 but you were too big cowards to do anything until the 
 agent was gone. "When there was nobody left to fight, 
 you got very brave. You are a set of cowards." 
 
 Not a muscle moved on one of their faces. They 
 looked as imperturbable as if they had no concern about 
 
OH! FOK THE MILITARY. 347 
 
 the matter at all. After a few minutes Jack came back 
 again and said that they did not amount to enough to 
 go to the trouble of scalping them. He could whip a 
 thousand such warriors as they were, with the braves he 
 had with him ; and then he told one of the Indian 
 women to give them something to eat, which was a 
 sign that they were to be set at liberty ; and, being set 
 at liberty, the Indians of Jack's band were bound by 
 their custom to make them presents, which they did. 
 When they departed, Jack sent a message to Hairy 
 Bear, that he intended to come down some day and scalp 
 the whole band, because they had not killed Perkins. 
 He took all their arms from them, for he did not want 
 to run the risk of their following after him to revenge 
 themselves, and recover their lost standing in their 
 tribe, for being captured alive. 
 
 Jack resumed his march. Just before night, one of 
 the Indians in advance returned and reported that a 
 large body of troops was in their front. Upon the 
 receipt of this news, Jack halted his band and camped. 
 He then rode forward. When he came upon the sol 
 diers he found that it was a force under the command 
 of Colonel Greene, going to the Agency, to restore 
 order. 
 
 Perkins had done as all his predecessors and all his 
 successors have done, starved his Indians into rebellion, 
 and then rushed to the military for a force to whip 
 them into subjection. Colonel Greene went on to the 
 Agency. There was not an Indian to be found on the 
 whole "reserve. As his orders left the settling of this 
 matter largely to his discretion, he sent a messenger 
 
34:8 OH ! FOE THE MILITARY. 
 
 after Little Warrior, asking him to come in and hold a 
 consultation, assuring him of a safe conduct back to his 
 people. Little Warrior came. When the two men 
 stood face to face, Colonel Greene said : 
 
 " Do you want to go to war, or do you want to have 
 peace ?" 
 
 " I want peace," said Little Warrior, " but I can't 
 stay here on this reservation. JVIy people are all 
 starving. What the agent gave us was not fit to eat. 
 I have brought some of it to show you." 
 
 Here the chief took from a pack a sample of the 
 beef and the flour which Perkins had issued. The 
 flour was what is known in the West as " shorts " or 
 " middlings," such as is fed to horses and COW T S. The 
 beef was black, and as tough as sole leather. 
 
 " The Great Father," said Little Warrior, "wants 
 ine to live here. I think it would be better for me to 
 stay where I am. There I can make my own living. 
 Why am I forced to live on the Government ? If the 
 Great Father intends always to feed all the Indians, 
 I should think it would take all the money he has. I 
 seem to be blind, I cannot understand these things. If 
 the Great Father wants me to come back here, arid 
 will give us enough to eat, so we will not be hungry all 
 the time, I will come." 
 
 Colonel Greene told him to come and he would 
 issue rations to them for a while, anyhow. In a few 
 days they were all back again. The Colonel summoned 
 the contractors before him and forced them to deliver 
 the supplies according to contract. 
 
 One day, Little Warrior appeared at his head-quarters 
 
THREE MILLION DOLLARS. 349 
 
 with old Hairy Bear as his prisoner. He said to Colonel 
 Greene : 
 
 " This is the man who killed the white man at the 
 Agency. I have brought him to you, to turn him over 
 to the whites for punishment. I promised, in the treaty 
 which I made with the Great Father, that if any of 
 my people killed a white man, I would give up those 
 who did it." 
 
 CHAPTEE XLVIII. 
 
 THEEE MILLION DOLLAES. 
 
 BANCROFT 
 
 HE little party which we left on the open 
 prairie returned, the Indians to their reserva 
 tion, Captain Jack, Wilmot and Jennie to 
 Council Bluffs. Mr. Borden had been wait 
 
 ing some days for Wilmot. The regular term of court 
 was soon to convene, and the case which he had put 
 in Wilmot's hands would come up for trial. He had 
 also engaged Dawson. One afternoon the two lawyers 
 explained to Mr. Borden the whole inside history of the 
 transactions which resulted from the treaty that he arid 
 the other commissioners had made with Indians. Mr. 
 Borden was stunned at the revelations they made, and 
 the condition of the two Agencies at that time. 
 
 " Why," said Mr. Borden, " I saw the Annual Ee- 
 ports of Perkins and Hildreth, just before I started 
 West, in the office of the Secretary of the Interior 
 
350 THKEE MILLION DOLLAES. 
 
 They represent the Indians to be well contented and 
 making great advancement toward civilization." 
 
 " I have in my office," said Dawson, " the reports of 
 the Commissioners on Indian Affairs ever since they 
 were published. I took the trouble to look up the 
 representations of their agents, and according to their 
 official reports, one tribe, whose present condition I 
 happen to be acquainted with, has been making wonder 
 ful progress toward civilization every year for about a 
 hundred years. General Wayno wrote a letter to the 
 Secretary of War, describing the condition of these 
 Indians nearly a hundred years ago (it was in August, 
 1794), in which he said they had i highly cultivated 
 fields and gardens' and 'I never have beheld such 
 immense fields of corn in any part of America, from 
 Canada to Florida.' Now, after nearly a century of 
 Government civilizing and advancing, I know that 
 these Indians are ten times worse off than they were 
 when General Wayne described their condition. Indian 
 agents have been advancing them, according to their 
 official reports, toward self-support, ever since, and now 
 I find them in utter poverty and destitution." 
 
 "What -is to be done?" asked Mr. Borden. 
 
 " Give them civil rights. Extend over them the 
 jurisdiction of our courts," said Wilmot. 
 
 " You would not extend over them our laws without 
 their consent, would you ?" asked Mr. Borden. 
 
 This question provoked Wilmot so much he lost his 
 temper, and lie arose hastily and walked out of the 
 room, muttering to himself : " You're an old blockhead. 
 I don't see how you can take care of yourself." 
 
THREE MILLION DOLLAKS. 351 
 
 Mr. Dawson, who had not had so much to irritate 
 him in regard to the present policy, replied as follows : 
 
 "The proposition you seem to reason from is, that 
 we have not extended our laws over the Indians. 
 That was done very many years ago. We have imposed 
 upon them, by superior force, the most infamous code 
 of laws ever enacted for the government of any people. 
 Just get a copy of the Re vised Statutes of the United 
 States, and read the sections under the title, Indians. 
 It is the enforcement of these laws which has caused 
 all the cruelty and wrong which they have suffered. 
 Had it not been for these statutes, "Wilmot could have 
 saved Badger and his companions. It is under cover of 
 them that Clark, and Brown, and Ilildreth have been 
 able to rob Red Iron. They stand there, an impregnable 
 fortification, behind which the thieves of the Indian 
 King defend themselves, and any attack made upon 
 them, until these, their defenses, are demolished, will 
 end in total defeat. No wrong to Indians has ever 
 been righted since they have been enacted, and none 
 ever will be while they are in force." 
 
 " Do you suppose you could get Congress to repeal 
 them?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " What can be done, then ?" 
 
 " If ever a case is taken to the Supreme Court of 
 the United States, involving their constitutionality, 
 they will be swept out of existence." 
 
 " I doubt that very much." 
 
 " Many of the best lawyers in this country have 
 long held that opinion. This code of laws is perfectly 
 
352 THREE MILLION DOLLARS. 
 
 infamous. At every term of the United States courts 
 whose districts border on these reservations, there are 
 Indians tried and convicted for conviction almost in 
 variably follows, as the Indians are taken hundreds of 
 miles from their homes and the scenes of the alleged 
 crimes, to be tried, where it is next to impossible to 
 secure the presence of witnesses, or make a successful 
 defense. You see the utter absurdity of talking about 
 not extending our laws over them. What is needed is 
 the total abolition of this infamous ' black code ' of 
 laws governing Indians, and the application to them of 
 the same laws upon which white men rely for the pro 
 tection of their lives, liberty and property. Give them 
 an unincumbered title to their lands, perfect and abso 
 lute, and a chance to defend that title, as white men 
 defend theirs." 
 
 " What about the annuities or money due them P 
 
 " Let them be distributed through the quarter 
 masters and paymasters of the army. They would 
 get them then." 
 
 "I never could consent to that," said Mr. Borden, 
 " and I think you and Mr. Wilmot are both very un 
 just to Mr. Clark." 
 
 " You do," said Wilmot, who had returned to the 
 room. " J ust read that," and he handed him the note 
 which Parker had brought to him from Mr. Clark, 
 authorizing him to make arrangements. 
 
 " 1 see nothing wrong in this note. How could Mr. 
 Clark make anything out of this ?" 
 
 "You know that he is one of the committee to 
 supervise the purchase of Indian supplies." 
 
THKEE MILLION DOLLARS. 353 
 
 " Yes, I am on that committee myself." 
 
 "You know that a bid was accepted from one 
 Anthony Bluxhome, for a certain article which goes to 
 all Indian reserves." 
 
 " Really, I don't remember it. In fact, I paid very 
 little attention to the examination of the bids. Mr. 
 Clark did that." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Clark awarded the contract for those 
 supplies to himself, under the name of Anthony Blux 
 home, and goods with the brand of his firm upon them 
 can be found on every reservation east of the Rocky 
 Mountains." 
 
 "I cannot believe that Mr. Clark would do any 
 thing dishonorable. He is known as an eminent phil 
 anthropist through all the East." 
 
 " I know that he is a scoundrel," said Wilmot, in a 
 somewhat excited manner, " and rotten and corrupt 
 from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet." 
 
 " We won't talk about the matter any more," said 
 Mr. Borden. 
 
 " There's Perkins," said Wilmot, looking out of the 
 window. " The last time he was here he thought he did 
 a very smart thing in carrying Jennie Walker off to his 
 Agency, and she was forced to submit. He didn't 
 gain much by it. All his advances were repulsed and 
 he was beaten for once. I wonder what he is after 
 now?" 
 
 " He is after the remainder of his money. Haven't 
 you noticed that Congress has passed a bill appropria 
 ting six hundred thousand dollars to re-imburse the 
 State for expenses incurred in resisting an incursion of 
 
354 THREE MILLION DOLLARS. 
 
 the Indians. Perkins raised a company, you know, and 
 he will have a big slice of that." 
 
 "Dawson," said "VVilmot, "how much do you 
 suppose that gambling scrape of Perkins's down at 
 Hickman's has cost the people of the United States." 
 
 " About three million dollars, as near as I can figure 
 it up." 
 
 X- * X -5f w * 
 
 The little Methodist church stood just under the 
 brow of the bluff. It would not seat to exceed one 
 hundred and twenty-five people. One evening about 
 half that number gathered there. After they were seated 
 Wilmot and Jennie walked up the only aisle, and Mr. 
 Parkman arose, and in accordance with the ritual of 
 his church, pronounced them man and wife. 
 
 On a little knoll, pushed out from the main hills 
 into the bottom, covered with a beautiful grove of 
 trees, was a cottage. Here Wilmot took his bride. 
 Walking in, he stood in the center of the room and 
 said : 
 
 " This is our home. Here is our place of refuge 
 our castle. Though the sun might shine in at a 
 hundred crevices and the wind find ingress through 
 countless apertures, the king cannot enter here without 
 permission. Around it is thrown up a fortification 
 for our protection, stronger than was ever made of 
 stone and mortar. Armies cannot scale it. Time will 
 not wear it away. Year by year it will grow stronger 
 and higher." 
 
 " I see no fortifications," said Jennie. 
 
 " All the great forces of the Universe are invisible, 
 
THKEE MILLION DOLLAKS. 355 
 
 and while the parapets around our home cannot be seen 
 by the eye, yet they are here, substantial, impassable. 
 The best blood of a hundred generations has been 
 poured out like water in the defense of their founda 
 tions. Armies have melted away before the fire of the 
 enemy as they guarded the workers who laid them. 
 Finished, impregnable, invisible, eternal, they stand 
 around us to-night. All the gates open outward before 
 him who approaches from within, but to the one com 
 ing from the outside they are locked, and the key to 
 that lock is in our hands. Even God himself has for 
 ever relinquished control of that key. It is our voli 
 tion." 
 
 " I do not understand," said Jennie. " What is it 
 of which you speak ?" 
 
 " I speak of the * law.' May the time soon come 
 when the Indian, long without its pale, shall find 
 refuge and protection behind its defenses !" 
 
 The next morning Jack stood in the door of the 
 little cottage. His revolvers were in his belt. He 
 held in one hand the bridle rein of his horse, and ex 
 tended the other with the words : 
 
 " Good-bye." 
 
 " Where are you going ?" asked Jennie. 
 
 " Back to old Eed Iron. I'm going to stand by 
 him so long as there's a hair in his scalp-lock." 
 
 " Good-bye." 
 
 ***** 
 
 Ten years afterward I saw old Red Iron. He was 
 sitting in the door of his tent. He had given up try 
 ing to live in a house. He had built two in that time, 
 
356 THEEE MILLION DOLLARS. 
 
 but soon- after they were finished the government had 
 changed his reservation, and he was forced to leave 
 everything and go. 
 
 " What are you doing here ?" I asked. 
 
 " Waiting for the Great Father to civilize me," he 
 
 replied. 
 
 ***** 
 
 The reader may say, "These things happened a 
 long time ago. Nothing like it occurs now." A mo 
 ment ago I took up a New York daily paper, and my 
 eye fell upon this telegram : 
 
 " CINCINNATI, May 15, 1881. 
 
 " A special from Sante Fe, New Mexico, reports im 
 pending trouble with the Navajo Indians. A military 
 force will be sent. The rations for the Navajos are 
 exhausted. The younger Indians want war, while the 
 older ones oppose it." 
 
 THE END. 
 
1881. 
 
 1881. 
 
 iNEW BOOKS 
 
 AND NEW EDITIONS, 
 
 RECENTLY ISSUED BY 
 
 G-. W. CARLETON&CO., Publishers, 
 
 Madison Square, New York. 
 
 The Publishers, on receipt of price, send any book on this Catalogue by 
 
 All handsomely bound in cloth, with gilt backs suitable for libraries. 
 Mary J. Holmes' Works. 
 
 Tempest and Sunshine $i 50 
 
 English Orphans 
 
 Homestead on the Hillside 
 
 'Lena Rivers 
 
 Meadow Brook 
 
 Dora Deane 
 
 Cousin Maude 
 
 Marian Grey 
 
 Edith Lyle 
 
 Daisy Thornton 
 
 Chateau D'Or (New) 
 
 Alone $ 
 
 Hidden Path 
 
 Moss Side 
 
 Nemesis 
 
 Miriam 
 
 At Last 
 
 Helen Gardner 
 
 True as Steel (New) 
 
 Charles Dickens 15 
 
 Pickwick, and Catalogue $ 
 
 Dombey and Son 
 
 Bleak House 
 
 Martin Chuzzlewit 
 
 Barnaby Rudge Edwin Drood. 
 Child's England Miscellaneous 
 Christmas Books Two Cities. . . 
 
 Sets of Dickens' Complete Works 
 
 Augusta 
 
 Beulah J 
 
 Macaria 
 
 Inez. .. 
 
 Marion Harland's "Works. 
 
 Darkness and Daylight j 
 
 Hugh Worthington 
 
 Cameron Pride 
 
 Rose Mather 
 
 Ethelyn's Mistake 
 
 Millbank 
 
 Edna Browning 
 
 West Lawn 
 
 Mildred 
 
 Forrest House (New) 
 
 Sunnybank 
 
 Husbands and Homes.. 
 
 Ruby's Husband 
 
 Phemie's Temptation.., 
 
 The Empty Heart 
 
 Jessamine , 
 
 From My Youth Up 
 
 My Little Love 
 
 Vols.-" Carleton's Edition." 
 
 David Copperfield 
 
 Nicholas Nickleby 
 
 Little Dorrit 
 
 Our Mutual Friend 
 
 Curiosity Shop Miscellaneous. 
 Sketches by Boz Hard Times.. 
 
 Great Expectations Italy 
 
 Oliver Twist Uncommercial... 
 
 in 15 vols. [elegant half calf bindings]... 5 oo 
 
 J. Evans' Novels. 
 
 St. Elmo $ 
 
 Vashti 
 
 Infelice .(New) 
 
G. W. CARLE TON & COSS PUBLICATION'S. 
 
 May Agnes Fleming's Novels. 
 
 Guy Earlscourt's Wife $ 50 
 
 A Terrible Secret 50 
 
 Norine's Revenge 50 
 
 Silent and True 50 
 
 Heir of Charlton 50 
 
 Lost for a Woman New 50 
 
 The Game 
 
 Pole on Whist The English stand 
 
 glisn stand 
 
 Miriam 
 
 Rutledge $ 
 
 Frank Warrington 
 
 Louie's Last Term, St. Mary's.. 
 
 A Perfect Adonis 
 
 Missy New 
 
 Julie P. 
 
 Widow Goldsmith's Daughter, $ 
 
 Chris and Otho 
 
 Ten Old Maids 
 
 His Young Wife 
 
 Lucy New 
 
 A Wonderful .Woman $i 50 
 
 A Mad Marriage i 50 
 
 One Night's Mystery i 50 
 
 Kate Danton i 50 
 
 Carried by Storm i 50 
 
 A Wife's Tragedy... (New) 150 
 
 of Whist. 
 
 rd work. With the " Portland Rules.". ... 75 
 Coles Harris. 
 
 50 The Sutherlands ................ $i 50 
 
 50 St. Philips ........................ i 50 
 
 50 Round Hearts for Children ...... i 50 
 
 50 Richard Vandermarck ......... i 50 
 
 50 Happy-Go-Lucky.. .(New). ..... 150 
 
 Hill's Cook Book. 
 Mrs. A. P. Hill's New Southern Cookery Book, and domestic receipts. ..... $2 oo 
 
 Smith's 
 
 50 | The 
 
 vels. 
 
 ower. 
 
 50 
 
 Victor 
 
 The Married Belle 150 
 
 Courting and Farming. i 50 
 
 Kiss and be Friends i 50 
 
 Hugo. 
 
 Captain Mayne Re: 
 
 Iy co 
 id. 
 
 The Scalp Hunters $i 50 
 
 The Rifle Rangers i 50 
 
 The War Trail 150 
 
 The Wood Rangers i 50 
 
 The Wild Huntress i 50 
 
 A. S. Roe's 
 
 True to the Last $i 50 
 
 The Star and the Cloud i 50 
 
 How Could He Help it ? i 50 
 
 Child's History of England Carleton's TXevt~^>chool Editio^" Illustrated.. 
 Hand- Books 
 
 The White Chief. $i 50 
 
 The Tiger Hunter i 50 
 
 The Hunter's Feast i 50 
 
 Wild Life i 50 
 
 Osceola, the Seminole i 50 
 
 elect Stories. 
 
 A Long Look Ahead $i 50 
 
 I've Been Thinking 150 
 
 To Love and to be Loved i 50 
 
 Uickens. 
 
 "Tew " School Edition*" Illustrated. . $i oo 
 of Society 
 
 The Habits of Good Society The nice points of taste and good manners $i oo 
 
 The Art of Conversation for those who wish to be agreeable talkers i oo 
 
 The Arts of Writing, Reading and Speaking For Self-Improvement i oo 
 
 New Diamond Edition Elegantly bound, 3 volumes in a box 3 oo 
 
 Carleton's Popular Quotations. 
 
 Carleton's New Hand-Book Familiar Quotations, with their Authorship $i 50 
 
 Famous Books Carleton's Edition. 
 
 Arabian Nights Illustrations ...$ioo I Don Quixote Dore Illustrations.. $i oo 
 
 Robinson Crusoe Griset. do... i oo | Swiss Family Robinson, do... i oo 
 
 Josh Billings 
 
 His Complete Writings With Biography, Steel Portrait, and 100 Illustrations. $2 50 
 
 Old Probability Ten Comic Alminax, 1870 to 1879. Bound in one volume i 50 
 
 Allan Pinkerton, 
 Model Town and Detectives i 50 | Spiritualists and Detectives $i 50 
 
 Strikers, Communists, etc ..... i 50 
 
 Criminal Reminiscences, etc i 50 
 
 Gypsies and Detectives i 50 
 
 A New Bqok I 50 
 
 Celia . Gardner's 
 
 Stolen Waters. (In verse) $i 50 
 
 Broken Dreams. (Inverse) i 50 
 
 Compensation. (Inverse) i 50 
 
 Terrace Roses i 50 
 
 Mollie Maguires and Detectives i 50 
 
 Mississippi Outlaws, etc i 50 
 
 Bucholz and Detectives i 50 
 
 Novels. 
 
 Tested : $i 50 
 
 Rich Medways Two Loves 150 
 
 A Woman's Wiles i 50 
 
G. W. CARLETON & CO? S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 "New York Weekly" Series 
 
 rown on the World $ 50 I Nick 'Whiffles... 
 
 Th 
 
 A Bitter Atonement 
 Love Works Wonders 
 Evelyn's Folly 
 Lady Darner's Secret 
 Peerless Cathleen 
 
 $i 50 
 
 Lady Leonora i 50 
 
 The Grinder Papers i 50 
 
 Faithful Margaret i 50 
 
 Curse of Everleigh i 50 
 
 A Woman's Temptation i 50 
 
 Brownie's Triumph 
 
 Artemas Ward. 
 
 Complete Comic Writings With Biography, Portrait and 50 illustrations $i 50 
 
 Charles Dickens. 
 
 Dickens' Parlor Table Album of Ilustrations with descriptive text $2 50 
 
 M. M. Pomeroy ("Brick"). 
 
 Sense. A serious book $i 50 
 
 Gold Dust. Do i 50 
 
 Our Saturday Nights i 50 
 
 Nonsense. (A comic book) $i 50 
 
 Brick-dust. Do i 50 
 
 Home Harmonies i 50 
 
 Magic Mother Goose 
 
 Magic Transformation Pictures Six books, 25 cents each. Bound in one...$i 50 
 Ernest Kenan's French "Works* 
 
 The Life of Jesus. Translated... $x 75 I The Life of St. Paul. Translated. $i 75 
 
 Lives of the Apostles. Do i 75 | The Bible in India By Jacolliot.. a oo 
 
 G. W. Carleton. 
 
 Our Artist in Cuba, Peru, Spain, and Algiers 150 Caricatures of travel $i oo 
 
 Miscellaneous Publications* 
 Hawk-eyes a comic book by "The Burlington Hawkeye Man." Illustrated.. .$i 50 
 
 Among the Thorns A new novel by Mrs. Mary Lowe Dickinson i 50 
 
 College Tramps Yale College students on a trip. By F. A. Stokes i 50 
 
 Our Daughters A talk with mothers, by M arion Harland i oo 
 
 Redbirds Christmas Story An illustrated Juvenile. By Mary J. Holmes.... 50 
 
 Carleton's Popular Readings Edited by Mrs. Anna Randall-Diehl i 50 
 
 The Culprit Fay Joseph Rodman Drake's Poem. With 100 illustrations a oo 
 
 L'Assommoir English Translation from Zola's famous French novel i oo 
 
 Parlor Amusements Games, Tricks, and Home Amusements, by F. Bellew .. i oo 
 
 Love [L'Amour] Translation from Michelet's famous French work i 50 
 
 Woman [La Femme] Do Do Do i 50 
 
 Verdant Green A racy English college Story. With 200 comic illustrations i oo 
 
 Laus Veneris, and other Poems By Algernon Charles Swinburne i 50 
 
 Birds of a Feather Flock Together By Edward A. Sothern, the actor i oo 
 
 Beatrice Cenci from the Italian novel, with Guide's celebrated portrait i 50 
 
 The Two Brides A new novel by Rev. Bernard O'Reilly ; Laval i 50 
 
 Morning Glories A charming collection of Children's stories. By Louisa Alcott. i oo 
 
 Some Women of To-Day A novel by Mrs. Dr. Wm. H. White i 50 
 
 Cashier's Scrap-BookAnecdotes of Banks and Bankers. By H. C. Percy.. . 2 oo 
 
 From New York to San Francisco By Mrs. Frank Leslie. Illustrated i 50 
 
 Why Wife and I Quarreled A Poem by author "Betsey and I are out." ... i oo 
 
 West India Pickles A yacht Cruise in the Tropics. By W. P. Talboys I oo 
 
 How to Make Money; and how to Keep it By Thomas A Davies i 50 
 
 Threading My Way The Autobiography of Robert Dale Owen. i 50 
 
 Debatable Land between this World and Next Robert Dale Owen 2 oo 
 
 Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism By D. D. Home, the Medium 2 oo 
 
 Yachtman's Primer Instructions for Amateur Sailors. ByT. R. Warren. 50 
 The Fall of Man A Darwinian Satire, by author of "New Gospel of Peace. .. 50 
 The Chronicles of Gotham A New York Satire. Do. Do. .. 25 
 
 Tales from the Operas A collection of stories based upon the Opera plots i oo 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen's Etiquette Book, of the best Fashionable Society. . i oo 
 
 Self Culture in Conversation, Letter- Writing, and Oratory i oo 
 
 Love and Marriage A book for young people. By Frederick Saunders i oo 
 
 Under the Rose A Capital book, by the author of " East Lynne." i oo 
 
 So Dear a Dream A novel by Miss Grant, author of "The Sun Maid" i oo 
 
 Give me thine Heart A Capital new Love Story by Roe i oo 
 
 Progressive Petticoats A Satirical tale, by Robert B. Roosevelt i oo 
 
G. W. CARLETON & CO:S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Miscellaneous Works. 
 
 Dawn to Noon By Violet Fane ..$ 50 Victor Hugo Autobiography \ 
 
 o * _! T?-*- -r,. __ Orpheus C. Kerr 4. vols. in one. . 
 
 Fanny Fern Memorials 
 
 oo Parodies C. H. Webb (John Paul). 
 
 50 My Vacation. Do. Do. 
 
 Constance's Fate Do. 
 
 H. M. S. Pinafore The Play.... 
 
 A Steamer Book W. T. Helmuth. 
 
 Lion Jack By P. T. Barnum 
 
 Jack in the Jungle Do .... 50 
 
 Gospels in Poetry E. H. Kimball. 50 
 
 Southern Woman Story Pember 75 
 
 Madame Le Vert's Souvenirs.... oo 
 
 Care of Children Gardner 50 
 
 Border War T. B. Peacock 50 
 
 Comic Primer Frank Bellew 25 
 
 He and I Sarah B. Stebbins 50 
 
 Annals of a Baby. Do 50 
 
 Me Mrs Spencer W. Coe 50 
 
 Trump Kards Josh Billings 10 
 
 Little Guzzy John Habberton oo 
 
 Offenbach in America 50 
 
 Rural Architecture M. Field.... oo 
 Coney Island and and the Jews. 
 
 Miscellaneous No 
 
 Sub Rosa Chas. T. Murray $ 50 
 
 Hilda and I E. Bed,ell Benjamin.. 50 
 
 Madame Frank Lee Benedict.... 50 
 
 Hammer and Anvil Do. ... 50 
 
 Her Friend Lawrence Do. ... 50 
 
 Sorry Her Lot Miss Grant 
 
 Two of Us Calista Halsey 75 
 
 Spell-Bound Alexandre Dumas . 75 
 
 Wired Love E. C. Thayer 75 
 
 Cupid on Crutches A. B. Wood. 75 
 
 Doctor Antonio G. Ruffini 50 
 
 Parson Thome Buckingham 50 
 
 Marston Hall L. Ella Byrd 50 
 
 Ange Florence Marryatt oo 
 
 Errors Ruth Carter 50 
 
 Heart's Delight Mrs. Alderdice.. 50 
 
 Unmistakable Flirtation Garner 75 
 
 Wild Oats Florence Marryatt ... 50 
 
 Widow Cherry B. L. Farjeon... 25 
 
 Solomon Isaacs Do. ... 50 
 
 Led Astray Octave Feuillet 50 
 
 She Loved Him Madly Borys.. 50 
 
 Thick and Thin Mery 50 
 
 So Fair yet False Chavette 50 
 
 A Fatal Passion C. Bernard 50 
 
 Woman in the Case B. Turner. 50 
 
 Marguerite's Journal For Girls. 50 
 
 Milly Darrel M. E. Braddon oo 
 
 Edith Murray Joanna Mathews.. oo 
 
 Doctor Mortimer Fannie Bean.. 50 
 
 Outwitted at Last S. A. Gardner 50 
 
 Vesta Vane L. King. R 50 
 
 Louise and I C. R. Dodge 50 
 
 My Queen By Sandette 50 
 
 Fallen among Thieves Rayne.. 50 
 
 San Miniato Mrs. Hamilton oo 
 
 Peccavi Emma Wendler 50 
 
 Conquered By a New Author 50 
 
 Shiftless Folks Fannie Smith 50 
 
 I Drifted Together 75 
 
 Sandwiches Artemus Ward 
 
 Watchman of the Night 
 
 Nonsense Rhymes W. H. Beckett 
 
 Sketches John H. Kingsbury 50 
 
 Lord Bateman Cruikshank's 111.. 25 
 Northern Ballads E. L. Anderson oo 
 
 Beldazzle Bachelor Poems oo 
 
 Wood's Guide to N. Y. City.... 
 
 Only Caprice Paper covers 75 
 
 Was it Her Fault. Do 
 
 Fashion and Passion. Do 
 
 His Idol. Do 
 
 About Lawyers Jeffreson 
 
 About Doctors. Do 
 
 Window Spriggins-Widow Bedott 
 
 All For Her A tale of New York.. J 
 All For Him By All For Her.... 
 
 For Each Other Do 
 
 Janet An English novel 
 
 Saint Leger Richard B. Kimball. 
 Was He Successful ? Do. . 
 Uudercurrents of Wall St.Do. . 
 Romance of Student Life. Do. . 
 To-Day. Do. . 
 
 Life in San Domingo. Do. . 
 Henry Powers, Banker. Do. . 
 Baroness of N. Y.-Joaquin Miller. 
 One Fair Woman Do. Do. 
 Another Man's Wife Mrs. Hartt. 
 Purple and Fine Linen Fawcett 
 Pauline's Trial L. D. Courtney.. 
 The Forgiging Kiss M. Loth... 
 Flirtation A West Point novel. . . 
 
 Loyal into Death 
 
 That Awful Boy 
 
 That Bridget of Ours 
 
 Bitterwood By M. A. Green 
 
 Phemie Frost Ann S. Stephens.. 
 
 Charette An American novel 
 
 Fairfax John Esten Cooke 
 
 Hilt to Hilt. Do 
 
 Out of the Foam. Do 
 
 Hammer and Rapier. Do 
 
 Warwick-^By M. T. Wai worth ... 
 
 Lulu. Do 
 
 Hotspur. Do. . . 
 
 Stormcliff. Do 
 
 Delaplaine. Do 
 
 Beverly. Do 
 
 Kenneth Sallie A. Brock 
 
 Heart Hungry Westmoreland.... 
 
 Clifford Troupe. Do 
 
 Silcott Mill Maria D. Deslonde.. 
 
 John Maribel. Do. 
 
 LOT 
 
 >ve's Vengeance 75