THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Bel den.
 
 BRISBIN'S 
 
 STORIES OF THE PLAINS; 
 
 OR, 
 
 TWELVE YEARS AMONG THE WILD INDIANS. 
 
 CHIEFLY FROM 
 
 THE DIARIES AND MANUSCRIPTS 
 
 OF 
 
 GEORGE P. BELDEN, 
 
 The Adventurous WHITE CHIEF, SOLDIER, HUNTER, TRAPPER and GUIDE. 
 
 DETAILING THE 
 
 HABITS, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, COSTUMES, FIGHTS, CEREMONIES, RELIG 
 IOUS IDEAS AND MODE OF LIFE GENERALLY 
 OF THE WILD INDIANS; 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 A BIOGRAPHICAL, SKETCH OF "BELDEN, THE WHITE CHIEF;" FROM 
 
 HIS EARLY CHILDHOOD IN NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO, 
 
 TO HIS TRAGIC DEATH AT THE HANDS 
 
 OF A TREACHEROUS INDIAN 
 
 ON THE PLAINS. 
 
 GEN. JAMES S. BRISBIN, U. S. A, 
 
 ANCHOR PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
 
 8-f. LOUIS, MO., CHICAGO, ILL., ATLANTA, GA. 
 
 A. L, BANCROFT & CO , SAN FRAXCISCO, CAL. 
 1881.
 
 I!.itcrud according to Act of Congress, iu the year ISS!, 
 
 BY J. H. CHAMBERS, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of < engross, at Wnshingicn. 
 
 CHAMBERS' BOOK ND JOB PR'NTINO CO. 
 20O N. 41 H STREET, ST. LOUIS.
 
 L 
 77 
 
 PTJBLISHEBS' PREFACE. 
 
 r~T1HE attention of the Publishers was called to the BELDEN papers 
 something over a year ago, since which time a few of them have 
 been published in the New York Tribune and the Chicago Tribune, and 
 in the Cincinnati Gazette. The papers thus published, although the 
 less important and interesting of the collection, excited a great deal of 
 interest, and were read with a great deal of satisfaction by thousands. 
 In fact, so great was the satisfaction, that the whole series was eagerly 
 sought for publication in serial form before its issuance in book form; 
 but we are happy to state that we secured the entire series, and herein 
 present it to the public, fresh and unhackneyed. 
 
 The illustrations are from original designs, many of them made in 
 outline by Mr. BELDEN himself, and others by Mr. IXKMAN, formerly 
 of New York, but now of the Regular Army. They were ail engraved 
 by the New York Bureau of Illustration, and we can not speak too 
 warmly of the promptness and fidelity with which their engagement 
 was fulfilled. The quality of their work speaks for itself. 
 
 i OH)
 
 iv PUBLISHERS' PREFACE. 
 
 
 
 It will be observed that nearly every chapter is complete in iteelf t eavih 
 presenting a different phase of Indian or frontier life and character, but 
 all so systematized and arranged as to form a connected and com- 
 
 plete whole. 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 ST. Louis, 1881.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Difficulties in Writing a Book My Early Home Ran Away 
 Arrive at Brownsville, Nebraska On the Banks of the Missouri First 
 Impressions of the West Early Settlers My Father Moves Out West 
 Starts the " Nemaha Valley Journal " Growth of the West Thirst foi 
 Adventure Run Away from Home a Second Time Regrets at Leaving 
 The Pony Out in the Open Air Under the Starlight A Last Look at 
 Home Off for the Plains. 
 
 CHAPTER II. Nebraska City Omaha Council Bluffs Laying in Supplies 
 A Surprise Off Again Lost on the Prairies An Alarm The Hunter's 
 Cabin Indian News A Frontier Supper The Peace Pipe Singular Be 
 havior of my Host The Red Devils at Work A 'New Arrival ^Generosity 
 Extraordinary Sioux City La Frombe Joining the Indians Adopted 
 into the Tribe An Indian Sweetheart Married by Order Settling Down to 
 be a Warrior. 
 
 CHAPTER III. Life Among the Indians My Little Wife Washtella The 
 Medicine Lodge A Curious Custom Medicine Arrows What the Indians 
 Eat A Family Man Pleasant Evenings Washtella's Tales The Ancieni 
 Yanktons Indian Amusements The Ball Game How it is Played A 
 Spirited Contest Preparing for the Fall Hunt How the Indians Travel. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Off for the Fall Hunt Washtella and the Pony Indian 
 Songs Camping Out A Stroll in the Wild Woods Sunset on the Prairies 
 Washtella and I An Indian Fairy Tale The Giants of Old Wearer of the 
 White Feather What Chacopee Saw in the Woods The Wooden Man- 
 Battle of the Giants Chacopee's Troubles All's Well that Ends Well- 
 Indian Credulity At the Hunting Grounds. 
 
 CHAPTER V. The Beautiful Lake Killing the First Buffalo on the Hunt- 
 Unexpected Honors The Great Hunt How the Indians Take Buffalo- 
 Jerking the Meat Packing away Winter Supplies Moving Camp Killing 
 Buffalo Calves Other Modes of Capturing Buffalo The Hunt Ended The 
 Buffalo Feast and Dance Return Homeward At Peace with all the World. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. Indian Doctor? Their Ignorance and Vanity Patent Medi 
 cines Indian Girl Bitten by a Rattlesnake The Savage Mode of Trfci- 
 ment An Old Indian Physician A Veritable Ass How the Girl Wai 
 Cured Wonder of the Savages The Council and Explanation Modesty ot 
 the Indian Doctor Practicing Medicine among the Savages A Bore I Givi 
 Up the Doctoring Business. 
 
 H AFTER VII. Indian Horse Races The San tees Get Beaten Another 
 Expedition against the Pawnees Crossing the Missouri Waiting for the 
 Santees The March The Attack Woo-Heo-Yah-Hoo A Disaster The 
 Retreat A Battle The War-Chief Wounded A Terrible Contest Defeated 
 Again The Return Homeward Parting With the Santees Mourning for 
 the Dead. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. Conduct of Galles-Sca In Trouble A Fight with *n 
 Indian New Expedition againat the Pawnees Its Fate Determines t 
 lake ft Journey The Departure On the March Beautiful Scenery An
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 Indian Burying-Ground Talk with Washtella about the Dead Scene in th 
 Grave- Yard Curious Indian Customs How They Bury Their Dead Super 
 stitions A Night Cainp The Journey Continued Far Up the Missouri 
 In the Santee Lands IIow We Cooked and Ate. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. An Indian Village Mirages on the Prairies Their Fata'. 
 Deceptions The Encampment A Surprise A Strange and Beautiful Pic 
 ture The Warning and Welcome Locating a Town Lot The Santees 
 Curiosity of the Women Resemblance between White and Red Women 
 A Noble People The Missionary Pleasant Interview How the Indiani 
 Build their Homes My New Residence. 
 
 CHAPTER X. Indian Arrows How they are Made Cutting the Shafts Dry 
 ing and Smoking them Why they are Wrapped in Rawhide Peeling the 
 Shafts Making the Notch Why the Shaft is Fluted The Arrow-Head 
 Fastening it Putting on the Feather Price of Arrow-Heads Where they 
 are Made Immense Profits of the Traders Prices of Arrows The Indians 
 Bad Financiers Indian Paints Where they are Manufactured A Curious 
 bnt Profitable Business War Arrows A Deadly Shaft The Terrible Poi- 
 toned Arrow How it is Poisoned Disuse of the Poisoned Arrow The Reason 
 Why Signal Arrows How they are Made Their Meaning Indian Cun 
 ning. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. The Bow Its Antiquity Indian Boys Learning to Shoot 
 Power of the Bow The Sioux Bow How it is Made Why it is Carried Un 
 strung Wood for Bows Their Value Difficulty of Drawing them Shooting 
 Buffalo with Bows and Arrows Strengthening the Bow with Sinew The 
 Bow-String Crow and Cheyenne Bows The Elk Horn Bow How it is 
 Made The Value of an Elk Bow Quivers How they are Made and Car 
 ried Names of Indians The Sioux Chief Spotted Tail How to Shoot with 
 the Bow Striking with the Bow Indian Insults and Honor. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. Indian Manufactures The Bone, Stone, and Flint Ax How 
 they are Made Indian Hammers, Mallets, Hatchets, and Hoes Rasps and 
 Files How they are Made, and what Used for War-Clubs, Spears, and Jave- 
 linB Indian Riding-Whips Curious Manner of Making them The Indian 
 Knife A Remarkable Trade Enterprise The Crow Comb" Necessity the 
 Mother of Invention " Illustrated. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. Buffalo Robes Fleshing, Tanning, and Drying them Trade 
 Robes Their Value The "Body Robe The Fur Trade How it is Con 
 ducted Its Profits Indian Prices of Furs Sending them to Market Their 
 Value at St. Louis Articles of Trade What Indians Buy A New Cur 
 rency Labor of Preparing Furs How Much a Squaw Gets for a Full Day's 
 Work Furs the Cheapest Goods in the World. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. Pipes and Tobacco Where did Man Learn to Smoke? The 
 Tobacco Plant Where the English Found it Old Indian Pipes How and 
 of What they are Made The Way an Indian Smokes-*-Ceremonies in 
 Smoking The Tomahawk Pipe Its Use The Phil. Kearney Battle Club 
 A Horrible Instrument Pipe Stones Indian Kinne-kan-nick How it 'M 
 Made Sumach Tobacco The Indian's Acknowledgment of God Tobacco 
 Bags How and of What they are Made Their Value. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. Trapping When the Indians Learned the Art of Trapping- 
 How to Set the Traps A Trapper's Life Hard Work Number of Beaver 
 Usually Taken with a DozonTraps Indian Peculiarities Crow Superstition 
 about the Bear The Crow Chief, Iron Bull Sioux Superstition about the 
 Prairie- Dog What this Animal Really is A Case of Prejudice Bear Claws. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. Scalping Why the Indians Scalp People A Singular Belief- 
 No Bald Heads in Heaven The Scalp-Lock How the Pawnees, Sioux, and 
 Winnebagoea Wear their Hair Other Indians Ornaments fo.r the Hair Th
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 Silver Tails A Sioux Long Tail The Iron Ring Ornnmcnt How U Take it 
 Off Does it Pull? The Scalping-Knifc A Preserved Scalp Mr. Beldei.'s 
 Belt. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. Painting the Face Indian Taste The Lone Pnint Scalp 
 Paint Parting the Hair How Indian Girls Paint Love Paint A. Cause of 
 Excitement Laughable Mistakes The Indian Belle Her Disappointment 
 The Sioux Death Paint Crow and Snake Colorings Louking-Glasse* Nat 
 ural Mirrors A Sioux Beauty Surprised Her Mortification and Modesty. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. Indian Head-DressesHow they are Made The Skull- 
 Cap The Buffalo Head-Dress An Enormous Hat Standing Bull's liead- 
 Dross Warriors Visiting Their Hat-Boxes An Indian Toilet The Bald 
 and Black Eagle Their Use Value of Eagle Feathers Price of an Indian 
 Head-Gear Feather Signs Their Use in War The Sculp Feather An 
 Indian Ensign. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. Moccasins The Indiana as Shoemakers How Moccasins are 
 Made Who Make them Sioux, Cheyenne, Arrapahoe, Crow, and Pawnee 
 Shoes Their Shape and Tracks Imitative Power of the Indian The Win- 
 nebagoes as Manufacturers Winnebago Women Their Comeliness of Per 
 son How they Braid their Hair A Beautiful Custom Shells of Ocean A 
 Sioux Ear-Ring Bead Belt Cost of Sea-shells and their use. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. Indian Women Child-bearing among them Physical Endur 
 ance of the Squaw Her Habits The Pappoose Indian Cradles How 
 they are Made Carrying the Pappoose Indian Education Mourning for 
 the Dead Disfiguration of the Body A Tedious and Barbarous Custom 
 Mourning for the Slain at Phil. Kearney Punishing Dumb Animals for the 
 Dead The Baby Asleep. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. Indian Dogs Their Origin Habits of the Dog His Cow 
 ardice and Treachery What the Indians do with Him Number of Dogs to 
 a Family Raising Dogs for Food Indian Dog Feasts The Author Attends 
 one Dog Soup Manners at an Indian Table How Dogs are Cooked The 
 Prejudice Against Dog Meat How it Tastes Why do n't we E.-it Dogs ? 
 Wild Artichokes and Corn The Author Learns to Like Dog An Enterprise 
 Considered The Enterprise Abandoned. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. The Fall Hunt A New Expedition Planned -fho Start- 
 Camps on the Missouri A Delightful Country Pleasures of Camping Out 
 A Herd of Buffalo The Old Bull An Adventure with a BuffaloThe Pur 
 suit Pursuer Pursued My Pony Terrible Fall Perilous Situation Givei, 
 up for Lost The Deliverance A Lesson to Buffalo Hunters. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. Off for the Mountains Hunting Elk and Antelope A Bear 
 Hunt The Three Grizzlies A Race Looking for the Game More Game 
 Found than Wanted Taking up a Position Skirmishing The Enemy won't 
 Scare The^Battle A She-Bear and Two Cubs Intelligence of the Rear 
 A Dead Monster Skinning a Bear The Return to Camp An Alarm 
 Indians What Frightened them Supper in Camp A Night March Far uf 
 in the Mountains Our New Camp. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. Hunting Rocky Mountain Sheep An Early Start Meeting 
 the Sun on the Mountain-tops The Big Horns in Sight La Frombc Kills a 
 Sheep My Chagrin at a Bad Shot Following the Big Horns A Toilsome 
 Journey The Sheep in Sight Again Killing a Ram His Astonishing 
 Strength A Meal on the Mountain The Return Home Once More. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. Old Buffalo Bulls The Monarehs of the Prairies A Chase 
 After one His Rage and Efforts to Capture me A Trick How he Hid from 
 me Terrible Collision The Result What I Saw Dangerous Situation 
 Death of the Buffalo My Condition Poor Little Pony The Return t 
 CamD Alarm of iny Friends All Right Once More.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. Legend of Crazy Woman Story of the Old Indian in 
 troduction of Ruin among the Crows The White Trader Singular Con 
 duct of the Chief The Crazy Warrior Crow Council The Black Water- 
 Speech of the Young Warrior Peril of the Trader The Confession An 
 Indian Duel Death of the Trembling Hand Murder of the Trader Th 
 White Squaw IIo" Vscape The Crazy Woman How the Stream t<H k ka 
 Name. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. Stealing Ponies from the Indians Nelson, my Compan 
 ion A Short Biography Dangerous Situation Discovery of the Indian 
 Village Nelson's Coolness Watching the Village from the Hills In tin 
 Indian Camp The Old Squaw The Alarm Stampeding the Ponies The 
 Pursuit A Night March Fighting the Indians A Friendly Grove Another 
 Night March The Surprise The Result A Safe Arrival at Homo. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII Legend of the White Buffalo The Crow Chiefs Daugh 
 ter Unreasonable Conduct of her Father The Young Chief His Suit 
 Denied The White Buffalo The Maiden's Shame A Death Council Story 
 of the Girl Another Council The Young Chief and the Maiden Condemned 
 to Death Battle with the White Buffalo Led out to Die Discovery of the 
 White Buffalo Tho Prisoners Saved Death of the White Buffalo A Happy 
 Marriage. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. Story of the Storm-Child A Famine among the Crow 
 Indians The Journey to the Mountains Plenty of Game Arc Threatened 
 with Starvation again The Big Ring Hunt A Storm The Hands in the 
 Clouds The Green Child Death of the Crow Warrior who Touched it Birth 
 of the Storm -Child A Singular Superstition The Storm-Child Lives and 
 Grows to be a Woman. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. The Plum-Stone Game How it is Played Manner of Count 
 ing The Dice How they are Made Shaking them Up A Pair of Old Grum 
 blers Dead Broke Story Telling George Washington The Missionary ani 
 his Books Intelligence of the Indians Their Love of Reading How they 
 Impart Information to each other Familiarity with the Character of Wash 
 ington The Cause Preparations for the Old Man's Story. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. The Old Man's Story His Grandfather's Tale Early His 
 tory of the Sioux Nation Their Power and Glory First Visit of the White 
 Man His Gun Described Astonishment of the Indians at its Power The 
 Council The White Man Allowed to Remain The Buffalo Hunt How the 
 White Man Killed Game Alarm of the Buffalo at the Noise of his Gun The 
 Buffalo all Run Away Another Council The White Man Sentenced tc 
 Death Dea'h of the Squaw Death of the White Man His Prediction 
 Division of the Tribe Whore the Bands Went The Brule, Ogallala, Santee, 
 and Yankton Sioux. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. Indian Pastimes Jugglers and Mountebanks Curiosity 
 of the Savages The Gun Trick Catching Bullets A Dangerous Trick The 
 Triumphant Juggler A Juggler Out-juggled Firing a Gun with Ashes 
 The Trick Successfully Performed Astonishment of the Indians How it was 
 Done Throwing the Pony A Failure The Owner Throws the Pony to Show 
 How it was Done End of an Indian Show. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. A Visit to the Missionary His Anxiety for my Welfare 
 A Proposition to go Home, or become a Missionary I Respectfully Decline 
 A Visit to an Indian School Singular Method of Teaching the Children 
 The Object of it Promise to Visit the Missionary Often French Pets, th 
 Trader Visit to hU "*ore I Relate to him my History, and be Telia 'me ft 
 Story.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. The Trader's Story St. Paul in Early Times Failuie o* 
 the Indian Trade Panic among the Indian Traders Off for the Savagt, 
 Tribes Purchasing Indian Goods Fort Randall Meeting with the La 
 Frombe Brothers What they Said Camping in the Old Ranche Strange 
 Voices A Frontier Supper Singular Noises The Alarm A Head above the 
 Wall Waiting for the Enemy Imagined Security Interviewing the Sav 
 ages Death of the Man on the Wall Preparations for the Battle The In 
 dian War- Whoop. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. The Attack The Repulse Firing the Prairie Strengthen 
 ing our Works Louis is Wounded A Broadside at the Indians Good Effect! 
 of a Double Barreled Gun A Truce Carrying off the Dead Indian Strat 
 egy All Ready again Renewal of the Battle Tomahawked Death of Bap- 
 tiste Escape of Louis Return to Consciousness Kindness of the Indians* 
 I join the Tribe and get back my Goods Trading in the Indian Camp The 
 Profits Off to St. Louis for more Goods End of the Trader's Story. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. Traditions of the Sioux Nation Their Origin and Early 
 History as told by Themselves Division of the Assiniboines from the Sioux 
 The Love of a Faithless Woman causes War. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. The Indian Sweat-LodgeHow it is Built Manner of 
 Using it How the Indians Treat their Sick Old Men and Women of no 
 Account Indian Science of Medicine I get Sick The Missionary's Medi 
 cine I Grow Worse Anxiety of my Squaw She Consults with the Old 
 Medicine Man What they Did A Stubborn Doctor and Wife I am to 
 be Killed or Cured Terrible Sweat I Faint from Exhaustion They try 
 to drown me Rapid Recovery Wonderfully Beneficial Effects of the Sweat- 
 Bath Cases in which the Sweat-Bath is Never Used. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. Night Scenes in an Indian Village Chants of the 
 Medicine Men Smoking, Story-Telling, and Dancing Wild Young Men 
 % A Story-Telling People Good Listeners Preservation of Historical Events 
 among the Sioux Remarkable Correctness of their Narratives What Neil 
 says about Them Wiir Songs Deeds of the Forefathers What the Young 
 Men are Taught Indian Girls Their Coquetry Childhood of the Indian 
 Girl Her Married Life one of Slavery The War Path Consecration of Ani 
 mals War and Chase Dances. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. A Sioux Doctor Derivation of the Term Medicine Man- 
 Superstition about Tails Sucking Disease out of a Patient Sending for the 
 Doctor War Prophets Funny way of Visiting a Patient Symbols and 
 Charms Casting the Bad Spirit out of a Sick Man A Water-Cure The 
 linage Shooting the Image Perilous Posture of a Woman Burying the 
 Image Wa-Kan Ton-Ka Another Kind of Indian Doctor The Prophets 
 Their Functions and Egotism Reception of War Parties Painting and Dye 
 ing Scalps Dancing the Scalps How the Ceremony is Performed Gourd 
 Rattles A Mistaken Theory about Scalp Dancing What Becomes of the 
 Scalp after it is Danced How the Warrior Wears it The Eagle's Feather 
 with a Red Spot The Red and Black Hand The Medicine Men of the 
 M'Dewankantonwan Tribe Freemasonry of the Oanktahee Initiation of 
 a Medicine Man A Severe Ordeal Description of the Ceremony Chants of 
 the Medicine Men' Their Translation An Absurd Conceit What a Medi 
 cine Bag i Made out of The Contents of one Exposed. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. Old Indian Deeds Rascality of White Men Jonathan Carver'i 
 Deed How the Indians are Cheated out of their Lands Indian Signa 
 tures Deeds and Conveyances to Ducharme Cheap Lands Bitter Recol 
 lections Why the Sioux are Distrustful of the White Men.
 
 10 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. How the Indians Compute Time No Months in their Tear- 
 Number and Designation of their Moons A Superstition about the Evil Spiriti 
 Eating Up the Moon How the Great Spirit Replaces it The Dog Dance 
 Why it is Seldom Performed Manner of Performing the Ceremony Eating 
 Raw Dog What Part the Squaws get In whose honor Dog Dances nre Made 
 The Fish Dance Origin of the Ceremony The Sioux Chief A Singular 
 Dream Mode of Conducting the Fish Dance No One but Chiefs Entitled to 
 BO Great an Honor. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIL Ma-To-Sca's Saddle How it was Made My Anxiety to 
 Possess it Ma- To-Sea Refuses to Sell it Efforts to get my Squaws to Make 
 me a Saddle The Result Ma-To-Sca's Gun The Gun Cover How it was 
 Made. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. The Old Man His Ago A Singular Person A Jovial 
 Party Young Men and Women Giving the Old Man his Last Smoke What 
 the Squaw aaid about Him Death of the Old Man. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIVi Sioux Women Their Life Polygamy among the Sioux- 
 Price of Wives Courting a Sioux Girl The Bride going to the Groom 
 Buying a Whole Family to get a Wife What Constitutes an Accomplished 
 Indian Wife Labors of a Sioux Mother Severe Treatment of Indian Wo 
 men An Example of Indian Cruelty Suicide among the Indians. 
 
 CHAPTER XLV. News from the War Startling Intelligence What the Indian 
 Runner Said Determine to Join the Union Army Pack up and Leave for 
 the States Arrival at Fort Randall Part with my Squaws Their Return to 
 their Tribe Reach Omaha Join the First Nebraska Cavalry Col. Brown's 
 Expedition Hostile Sioux Camping on the Republican The Sioux Defeat 
 Lieut. Murie After the Indians Our Camp on the Solomon A Buffalo Bull 
 in Camp He Kills Two Horses Death of the Buffalo Eating dear Beef 
 What Col. Brown Said. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. Five Hundred Dollars Reward Ad venture of Sergeants Hiles 
 and Rolla A Dangerous Enterprise Nelson and I Hunt for an Indian Vil 
 lage Perilous Position The Discovery The Flight An Indian Trail A 
 Race for Life Safe Return to Camp Sergeant Hiles's Story--Death o! 
 Rolla Corralled in a Snow Drift A Narrow Escape A Long tValk All 
 Right Once More. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. Hunting Wild Turkeys on the Medicine The Lost Trail- 
 Waiting for the Command Bag a Fine Elk Hunting for the Trail Two 
 Indians We Camp Out An Adventure with Wolves Cayotes and Buffalo 
 Wolves Nine Dead Wolves The Fatal Leap A Busy Night On the 
 March The Trail Lost Gump out Again More Wolves Cannibals Strik 
 ing for Home The Camp Found In my own Tent Pleasant Reflection? uud 
 Rest. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. Hunting my Pony on the Prairie Caught by Indians- 
 How I Fooled them Waylaying the Stage-Coach" A Nice Occupation for a 
 United States Officer A Disappointment to the Indians, but not to me 
 The Indians become Impatient and Leave Left Behind Running to the 
 Ranche The Coach Its Condition The Attack The Result Safe at the 
 Ranche. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. Capturing Two Sioux Warrion at Oilman's Ranche My Pet 
 Indians War Dances and Songs The Entrapped Ognllalas Escape of the 
 Warrior and Ponies More Dancing An Unpleasant Request The Refusal 
 What Came of it Sj -ringer's Advice Fate of the Two Sioux Their Hero 
 ism and Endurance Terrible Barbarity of Savages What They Had to Sa/ 
 about it.
 
 CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER. L. Guarding Jack Morrow's Ranche An Adventure with Wood 
 haulers Campaigning Along the Platte My Indian Soldiers How we 
 Opened the Stable What the Wood-haulers said About It A Surprise Sad 
 Attempt at Joking Fixing Up Jack Morrow's Property Off for Omaha 
 
 CHAPTER LI. Massacre of Cottonwood Canyon The Scurry among the Troops 
 Lack of Anti-Scorbutics They Arrive at Last The Doctor's Advice 
 The Plum Grove Captain Mitchell's Party The Indian Attack Escape of 
 Wise Death of Rentz A Race for Life Corralled Unfortunate Accidents- 
 Perilous Position of Captain Mitchell Spotted Tail Discovery of Ander 
 son A Desperate Battle Death of Anderson Indian Barbarity Massacre 
 of the Sick Men The Escape and Pursuit A Bootless Chase. 
 
 CHAPTER LIL Captain Hancock's Adventure with the Sioux The Stage Coach 
 Attack Death of Cinnam >n A Western Stage Driver What he did when 
 the Coach was Attacked The Dead Horse A Predicament Amputation 
 of a Leg How to fight Sioux Indians Off for the Ranche A Funeral Pro 
 cession Arrival at Gilman's All Aboard Off Again Burial of Cinnamon 
 Recovery of the Wounded The Sioux Trail The Signs Where they went. 
 
 CHAPTER LIII. General Sully's Expedition against the Sioux The March up 
 the Missouri Arrival at Fort Sully Old Keg, the Guide Inhumanity of his 
 Tribe Scouting for Indians Hot Weather The Indians Found Race for 
 the Battle-field A Desperate Battle Horrible Treatment of the W'ounded 
 Lieut. Levitt His Desperate Encounter with Squaws A Night of Horrors- 
 Death of Lieut. Levitt Escape of the Savages The Pursuit Their Dead and 
 Wounded Loss of the Whites. 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. An Indian Attack Attempt to Rescue the Prisoners Lieul 
 Bayne's Scout The Warning Mistaken Pride Surrounded by Savages 
 A Desperate Situation Bayne's Irresolution A Bravo Sergeant Dreadful 
 Charge Fighting for Life The Command Saved The Sergeant's Horso 
 Wounded He is Left Behind Ingratitude of his Comrades Noble Sacri 
 fice Heroism of the Sergeant He Kills Eight Indians Death of the Ser 
 geant The Return to Camp Bayne's Report Honors to the Dead Sergeant's 
 Body. 
 
 CHAPTER LV. Scouting on the Republican Hiding along the Creeks Sally 
 out to Kill a Buffalo The Wounded Calf Hunting Buffalo with two In 
 dians Race after the Herd Another Frightened Herd The Cause of ita 
 Alarm- Perilous Situation Hiding in the Bluffs Returning to Camp Un 
 expected Game Some Steaks after all A Hasty Supper The Flight Safe 
 in Camp. 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. Appointed a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army Go to 
 Washington Call upon my Old Friends in Ohio Join my Company Hunting 
 Deserters With General Sweitzer Extraordinary Sportsmanship Prairies on 
 Fire A Beautiful Sight Indian Attack on Lieut. M'Carthy's Command The 
 Phil Kearney Massacre Ground Lieut. Shirly's Indian Battle March to 
 his Relief Scouting on the Powder River A Storm Blue Skies again The 
 Crow Indians A Nation of Beggars Noble Chiefs Return to the Fort. 
 
 CHAPTER LVII. Garrison Life Hunting Rocky Mountain Sheep A Chase 
 after Indians How they Carry Off their Dead Siege of McPherson's Train 
 The Relief Joy of the Rescued The Battle-field March Homeward The 
 Deserted Lodge Indians Again Wolves and the Old Buffalo Bull At Phil 
 Kearney Basache, the Runner Her History How She Killed the Bear- 
 Why She Received her Name. 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. Indian Alarms The Sioux Standing to Arms Attack on 
 the Wood-choppers Battle at Piney Death of the Wood-choppers Pursu 
 ing the Indians They Won't Fight the Soldiers Another Alarm Fire
 
 12 CONTENTS. 
 
 Suspicions of Treachery To Fort Reno and Back New Year's in Camp Th 
 Indians on the Hills A Council Speech of Dr. Matthews to the Chiefs 
 Their Reply The Council Ends in Smoke and Bad Blood Trading with the 
 Indians- -A Bridal Robe The Upper and Lower Crows Basache Determine* 
 to Leave Me She Goes to Join net Tribe. 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. Red Clond About Basache Returns She is Tired of being 
 a Chiefs Daughter with Nothing to Eat Indian Articles of Value Their 
 Price Letters from Home Startling News A Curious Ceremony Chris 
 tening an Indian Child Superstition about Crying The Dog Law Indians 
 Eating Dogs An Amusing Occurrence No Favor among Curs The Spring 
 Coming Bird Shooting. 
 
 CHAPTER LX. The Sioux Threaten Fort Kearney Attack on Infantry-men 
 Run into the Fort General Smith's Interview with the Sioux Who they Were 
 and what they Said A Cavalry Scare The Indians Encamp Near the Fort 
 Their Defiance A Train Signaled We Go out to Meet it Corralled by In 
 dians Desperate Situation A Fight Twenty against Two A Struggle for 
 Life The Gates of the Fort Thrown Open Saved Punishment of the In 
 dians Return to Friends A Joyful Evening. 
 
 CHAPTER LXI. My Army Duties Troubles Customs of Service The Written 
 and Unwritten Law Modern Slavery Perplexities of a Young Officer's Life- 
 Guard Mounting Old Army Officers Mildness of their Manners How they 
 Treat Young Officers Venerable Buffers Guard Ceremony The Officer of the 
 Guard Post Adjutants Old and New Guards Relieving the Guard Posting 
 the Sentinels Minuteness of Military Duty Errors The Punishment. 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. The Regular Army Its Use in Settling and Developing th 
 Country How Army People Live, and what they Do Occupation of New 
 Lines of Country The Regular Army on the March Camping Out What ia 
 Carried, and how Soldiering is done in Peace Times Building Forts Get 
 ting Up Supplies Fighting Indians Settling the Country What the Cavalry 
 Does Hardships of a Soldier's Life The Uncertainties of Service What 
 Army Officers are Paid. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIII. Further Account'of how Indians Get their Names Mook-Pe- 
 Lu-Tah Ta-Shunk-Ah-Ko-Ke-Pah-Pe Cin-Ta-Gel-Les-Sca, Spotted Tail'i 
 Daughter Closed Hand White Forehead No Knife Superstition among 
 the Crows about Tails Tickling a Crow Girl, and what Came of it Basache 
 Ba-Ra-We-A-Pak-PeisPen-Ke-Pah Leaving the Powder River Coun 
 tryArrival at Reno, Fetterman, and Fort Steele Return to Fetterman 
 Fine Hunting. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. The Shoshonee Indians Their First Introduction to the 
 Whites Lewis and Clarke's Expedition up the Missouri in 1806 Their 
 Reception by the Snakes Their Early History and Possessions Wars of the 
 Snakes Their Allies : the Bannocks Where the Bands of Snakes Roam 
 Washakie's Band His Reservation How he Keeps his Treaties Good 
 Indians What is Likely to Become of Washakie and his People. 
 
 CHAPTER LXV. The Powder River Country Its Occupation by Troops in 
 1866 The Reasons for Occupying it Cause of the Indian War that Fol 
 lowed Abandonment of the Big Horn Territory Treatment of the Indians 
 What should be Done with Them The Crow Tribe Settling Indians on 
 Reservations How it has Worked Civilization or Starvation the only Re 
 sult Our Duty Contests with Indians in 1866-67 The Phil Kearney Massa 
 cre The Powder River Country Described Climate, Soil, Minerals, and 
 Game The Great Canyon of Big Horn Rocky Mountain Sheep Agricultu 
 ml f!iraniT or' the W Horn 'JcustrT.
 
 CONTENTS. ' 13 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI. The Lands West of Powder River and North of the Snaso 
 Lands The Climate and Grazing in Montana Indians and Hunting Grounds 
 An Indian Battle The Chiefs Daughter Indian Camps along Bowlder 
 Creek How Savages Amuse Themselves The Crow Nation A Tribe of Gour 
 mands and Beggars Pride and Ignorance of the Savages The Roads in Mon 
 tana Some Remarks on Trade, Streams and Forts Trout Fishing No Hard 
 Wood beyond the Rocky Mountains Montana Mountains Gold Fields 
 Their Yield Mines and Mining New Discoveries Characteristic Letters 
 Expensive Living Isolated Position of Montana Her Future Farming 
 Landt Coal Fields The Inhabitants of Montana Their Peculiarities and 
 Habits. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTERS. 
 
 I. AK IXDUX ELOPKMRKT. 
 
 II. THK HCHTKR'B DRJUJI. 
 III. JIM BAKKR. 
 IV. THE MAGIO CIECLK ox TBB PBAIBII. 
 
 V. STBIKIKO THE POST. 
 
 VL LAST DATS OF BBLDEK.
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Ajssinibolue Warrior, ........ 301 
 
 Belden, .......... Frontispiece 
 
 Buffalo Chase, 57 
 
 Bows, Arrows, and Quivers, . *. . . . . . . . 118 
 
 Body Kobe, 12* 
 
 Buffalo Head-Dress, ... 1. 
 
 Beaded Moccasins, ...... . .154 
 
 Bear Band, ...... ..... 156 
 
 Baby Asleep, . . . . . . . . . . .159 
 
 Brt-sache, . . . . . . . . . . . . 885 
 
 Crow Head-Dress, . . . . . . . . . .158 
 
 Capturing two Sioux Warriors, . . . . . . . 383 
 
 Death of Atchafalaya, . . . . . . . . . li 
 
 Eagle Head-Drees, .......... 15t 
 
 Escape of Atchafalaya, ......... 479 
 
 Fine Pipe, , . . . .130 
 
 Flagging the Antelope, . . . . . . . .171 
 
 Fight in the Old Cabin, . . . tfrrt 
 
 Gun Case, . .......... 2txJ 
 
 Indian Village on the March, ........ 41 
 
 Indian Burying-Ground, ......... 85 
 
 Indian Lodges, . . . . . . . . . . .97 
 
 Indian Axes and Clubs, ......... 117 
 
 Indian Warrior with Club, . . ...... 119 
 
 Indian and his Pipe, . . . . . . . . .128 
 
 2 (xv)
 
 Xv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 *ndian Duel, 190 
 
 Indian Saddle, 294 
 
 Jim Baker's Bear Fight, 496 
 
 Keep off, . 203 
 
 Let the Father be Silent and Hear, . . . . 09 
 
 Lieut. Levitt's Adventure with the Squaws, ..... KB 
 
 Mourning for the Dead, ......... 77 
 
 Modern War Club, 119 
 
 Modern Indian Pipe, .......... 129 
 
 Matosca's Saddle, .......... 293 
 
 Murder of Ed. Bentz, ' . . . . 315 
 
 Old Stone Arrow Heads, . . . 108 
 
 Pawnee Spear, ........... 120 
 
 Practicing with Bow and Spear, ........ 121 
 
 Pipe, 129 
 
 Preserved Scalp, .......... 140 
 
 Right-foot Moccasins, 153 
 
 Sioux Warrior with Spear, ..... 130 
 
 Skinning the Buffalo, . . .IS 
 
 
 Sioux Necklace, .......... 138 
 
 Scftlping-Knife and Sheath, . . . . * 140 
 
 Silver Long Tail and Scalp Feather, 142 
 
 Sioux Ear-Ring, 155 
 
 Saved, . 213 
 
 Striking the Post, . 508 
 
 Tomahawk Pipe, ......... 130 
 
 Tobacco Pouch, .......... 134 
 
 Trader and Indian, ........ 185 
 
 Twenty vs. Two, . ....... 406 
 
 Wampum. ... .......'* 
 
 DHth of Belden, 540
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DIFFlOtTLTIES IN WRITING A BOOK MT EARLY HOME RUN AWAY ARRIVH 
 AT BROWNSVILLE, NEBRASKA ON THE BANKS OF THE MISSOURI FIRST IM 
 PRESSIONS OF THE WEST EARLY SETTLERS MY FATHER MOVES OUT WEST 
 
 STARTS THE " NEMAHA VALLEY JOURNAL " GROWTH OF THE WEST THIRST 
 
 FOR ADVENTURE RUN AWAY FROM HOME A SECOND TIME REGRETS AT 
 
 LEAVING THE PONY OUT IN THE OPEN AIR UNDER THE STARLIGHT A 
 
 LAST LOOK AT HOME OFF FOR THE PLAINS. 
 
 TT is no very difficult task for me, at one hundred yards, to 
 *- send a rifle-ball against the head of a brass nail, or to cut 
 with an arrow, at half the distance, the string that suspends a 
 squirrel by the tail ; but the pen is a weapon with which my 
 hand has long been unfamiliar. It matters little where a man 
 may have been born in this country, or what his earlier life 
 may have been ; for Americans consider more what men are 
 than what they have been. To those who read these pages, 
 and who may be curious to know, I will, however, say I was 
 born in the good State of Ohio, and, at the age of thirteen 
 ran away from my parents to seek my fortune in the then 
 almost unknown West. 
 
 The wild life I have led, and the many adventures I have 
 passed through, may seem almost incredible to those accus 
 tomed to living in civilized communities ; yet I can assure th 
 
 (19)
 
 ',40 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 reader that, although there is a great deal of romance, there is 
 no fiction in these chapters, and that what I am about to re 
 late is as much every-day life among the wild Indians of the 
 plains as is the business of the merchant or banker, who goes 
 regularly to his counter and desk in the great city. 
 
 How I got from Ohio to Nebraska is my own affair. Suf 
 fice it to say, that I was not yet fourteen years of age when 
 I arrived at Brownsville, then a small hamlet of log houses. 
 Here, on the banks of the murky Missouri, I first saw the 
 "Great* West." Emigrants were pouring in from the States; 
 and, filled with the idea of the future wealth and importance 
 of this broad land, I made haste to write to my father, de 
 scribing the valley, and urging him to move out. That he 
 thought well of what I said, and relied somewhat on my 
 judgment, is evinced by the fact that he came with his family 
 and settled in Nebraska, where now stands the city of Browns 
 ville. 
 
 My father had once learned the printing trade, and our first 
 enterprise was to establish a weekly newspaper, called the 
 " Nemaha Valley Journal" It was a sickly affair, but 
 through its influence many a well-to-do farmer was induced 
 to leave his home in the States to try his fortune in the Far 
 West; and of all who came, not one, I believe, regrets the 
 day he left the East. Many of them now count their herds 
 by thousands and number their acres by miles of land, while 
 all who have labored and practiced economy own beautiful 
 homes, and have abundant wealth. 
 
 In two short years brick houses began to appear; the buf 
 falo, game, and Indians were gone, and I felt Brownsville was 
 no longer my home. I burned for adventure, and when our 
 little weekly paper was announced as a " daily," I knew it was
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 23 
 
 time for me to be off. I wished to see the mountains covered 
 with perpetual snow; I longed to chase the buffalo and wild 
 deer over boundless plains. I wanted to dress as a trapper, 
 and live in the open air. far away from the habitations of 
 men. The case and the setting of type being no longer toler 
 able, I flung down my stick, and, seeking my father, told him 
 of my craving for wild life and adventure. I was a sickly 
 boy, and, naturally, he endeavored to dissuade me from my 
 purpose to cast myself loose on the prairies. Finding I could 
 not gain his consent, I determined to run away once more; 
 *nd, consulting with a friend, I begged him to buy me a 
 horse. In two days I had a stout pony, saddle, and bridle 
 concealed in the stable of a Mr. Hill, and awaiting my order. 
 My rifle and revolvers, which had already become my familiar 
 companions and most trusted friends, were carefully cleaned, 
 oiled, and laid away. I overhauled my shot-pouch, and pur 
 chased a good supply of powder, ball, and caps. All these 
 warlike preparations did not escape the attention of my good 
 mother and sisters, who anxiously inquired what I meant to 
 do. God forgive me for the story I told them, but I desired 
 only to avoid giving them pain, and said I intended taking a 
 short hunt some day on the prairies. It is now many years 
 ago, but that short hunt is not yet ended, and, probably, 
 nver will be until death ends the hunter. 
 
 It was a beautiful starlight night when I stole down the 
 stairs, and, quietly opening the street door, stepped into the 
 open air. For a moment I paused on the threshold, and an in 
 tense desire to go back seized me. I wished to look once more 
 on the faces of my dear mother and sisters. Should I ever 
 see them again? Ah, who could tell? I stood irresolute, but 
 the sound of approaching footsteps on the street aroused me,
 
 22 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 and, crushing down the great lump in my throat, I brushed 
 aside the gathering tears I could not suppress, and hastened 
 to the stable where my horse was concealed. 
 
 To saddle and bridle' him, mount and gallop out of the 
 
 
 
 town, was the work of but a few minutes. On the rising 
 ground overlooking the city I paused for one last look of 
 home. How quietly the houses lay in the moon-light! how 
 peacefully the hundreds slept ! And is it not strange that I, a 
 mere boy, was possessed of a restless spirit that would not let 
 me sleep, that was driving me from home, plenty, and friends 
 to the wilderness, to take upon myself hardships, privations, 
 and dangers that, if foreseen, were well calculated to appall 
 the stoutest hearts? I said, " O, fool, how long?" and turn 
 ing my horse's head to the northward, plunged my spurs into 
 his side*, causing him to rear wildly, and then bound furiously 
 over the broad prairie. 
 
 The die was cast; a life of adventure decided upon, and I 
 was off for the boundless plains, where the buffalo loamed at 
 will; where I could hunt the elk, and trap the beaver; dwell 
 in a wigwam, and make my home with the children of the 
 " Great American Desert."
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 NEBRASKA CITY OMAHA COUNCIL BLUFFS LAYING IN SUPPLIES A BUB- 
 
 PRISE OFF AGAIN LOST ON THE PRAIRIES AN ALARM THE HUNTER'S 
 CABIN INDIAN NEWS A FRONTIER SUPPER THE PEACE PIPE SINGULAR 
 BEHAVIOR OF MY HOST THE RED DEVILS AT WORK A NEW ARRIVAL 
 
 GENEROSITY EXTRAORDINARY SIOUX CITY LA FROMBE JOINING THE 
 
 INDIANS ADOPTED INTO THE TRIBE -AN INDIAN SWEETHEART MARRIED BY 
 ORDER SETTLING DOWN TO BE A WARRIOR. 
 
 TjlAST and furious I rode forward, never pulling rein until I 
 -*- arrived at Nebraska City, then a small village, though 
 now a considerable place. Halting to rest for an hour or two, I 
 suddenly remembered that my parents had friends in the town, 
 and that a telegraph ran from there to Brownsville, and, fear 
 ing lest I should be telegraphed or taken charge of by rela 
 tives, I mounted my pony, and, striking boldly out on the 
 prairie, kept in what I supposed the direction to Omaha, and 
 just as the sun was going down I saw the city, and by dark was 
 in it, having ridden eighty-five miles in less than twenty-four 
 hours. The heat had visibly affected me, and I felt fatigued, 
 though my tough little pony seemed fresh almost as when 
 starting. Opposite Omaha is Council Bluffs, so named from a 
 famous Sioux Indian council once held in the hills above the 
 city ; and feeling I should be more secure there than in Omaha, 
 I crossed the Missouri and put up at a small and obscure hotel.
 
 24 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 UK. 
 
 It was now late at night, and I was completely exhausted. 
 Putting the pony in the stable, and seeing him well supplied 
 with hay, I went to bed and slept for many hours, until the 
 sun shining through the window awoke me, and, hastily dress 
 ing myself, I breakfasted and sallied out to see the town and 
 buy some more ammunition. I had determined to stay several 
 days at the Bluffs, but, while standing in a store, I saw a 
 neighbor from Brownsville pass, and, imagining he was looking 
 for me, I slipped out, and, going to the hotel, saddled my pony 
 and departed in haste. 
 
 I had purchased many shells, beads, ribbons, and pieces of 
 colored cloths, to trade with the Indians, and with great diffi 
 culty managed to carry them along. 
 
 Following up the eastern bank of the Missouri, I passed 
 over high hills, through deep cafions, across wide meadows and 
 prairies, and climbed precipitous bluffs. It was in August, 
 that season of the year when the prairie strawberry is ripe. 
 The ground, at times, for miles was covered with this delicious 
 fruit, and many were the halts I made to rest my pony and 
 gather the luscious berries. 
 
 I was riding to reach a hunter's cabin, forty miles up the 
 Missouri, but the day was hot, and I made slow progress. 
 Night came down upon the prairies, and still no cabin was in 
 sight. It soon became so dark I could with difficulty follow 
 the trail, and was about to give up all effort to go further and 
 camp on the prairies, when my pony pricked up his ears and 
 set off at a gallop. 
 
 I gave him rein, and he traveled rapidly on what seemed to 
 be a well-beaten wagon road. Suddenly halting, so as nearly 
 to pitch me over his head, the little fellow began snorting and 
 exhibiting unusual signs of terror. I held him firmly, and,
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 25 
 
 although I strained my eyes, it was so dark that I could see 
 nothing. While I was endeavoring to force the beast forward, 
 a rough voice close by my stirrup inquired : 
 
 " Who are you, and where are you going ? " 
 
 " A man going to Sioux City, and looking for a cabin hei e- 
 abouts," I answered. 
 
 "All right," replied the voice; "follow me." 
 
 " Do you live near by ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Yes ; come along." 
 
 Thus urged, I rode on in silence, and presently entered a 
 patch of timber, where I saw a light shining among the trees. 
 In a few minutes we were before the door of a hut, and my 
 companion, with a bluif "Get down, stranger," entered the 
 house. 
 
 I did not like the movements of my host; but, dismounting, 
 followed him into a snug room, the walls and floor of which 
 were completely covered with the furs of wild animals. Softer 
 than any carpet were the white wolf skins beneath our feet, and 
 the walls were rich with the beautiful coverings of antelope 
 and red deer, while in the corners were antlers of elk, on which 
 hung clothing, shot-pouches, and Indian bead-work. 
 
 By the light of a rag- burning in a saucer of grease, I saw 
 my host was a large, powerfully-built man, with bushy black 
 oeard, and a big, honest face. In a moment I felt perfectly at 
 ease, for I knew I was in the home of a hardy frontier's-man, 
 than whom no honester or braver men ever lived. 
 
 " Darned if I did n't take you for a half-breed at first," h<? 
 said, laughing heartily ; and then added, " Where on earth are 
 you going to, youngster?" 
 
 " To Sioux City," I replied 
 
 " Got friends there ? "
 
 26 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 " No , only on a pleasure trip." 
 
 " Well, you 're after fun, sure, and if you do n't look out 
 you'll get it," said my host, breaking out into an immoderate 
 fit of laughter. 
 
 "What news have you?" I inquired. 
 
 u Ne\vs enough," said my host, growing serious. " Have n't 
 you heard that the red devils have broke loose again, and are 
 just murderin' every body above here? But hold on till I put 
 your pony up, and get you a bite to eat, and then, while we 
 smoke, I '11 tell you all about it." 
 
 Here he rose to his feet, and, uttering a loud shrill whistle, 
 an Indian squaw came in at the door, and my host, saying 
 something to her in the Indian tongue, went out. 
 
 The squaw, with noiseless tread, moved about the room, 
 making a fire, cutting meat, and putting the coffee on to boil, 
 never once seeming to notice my presence. 'In a few minutes 
 the host returned, and, seating himself, began : " You see, them 
 Sioux of the upper country had a big pow-wow with the Min- 
 neconja Sioux, and they all have agreed to go to war. A party 
 of the dirty, stealin' cusses were down at Randall the other 
 day, and drew all their annuities and ammunition, and then 
 went over to see the Yanktons, and get them to join in the 
 war. I tell you, they are bound to give us thunder this fall, 
 and swear they will clear every white off the Missouri before 
 spring. . They say we must leave ; but I reckon I 'm too old a 
 duck to get skeered at a darned Sioux." 
 
 So he talked on until the squaw had cooked the supper and 
 set it out on the floor, using a white blanket for a table-cloth. 
 The repast was a hearty one of boiled corn, fried elk, 'coon 
 meat, and corn bread. The coffee was poured into tin-cups, 
 and the host, rising, said : " Come and eat." Seating himself
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 27 
 
 opposite to me, on' a corner of the blanket, he drew his knife 
 from a sheath by his side, and, looking at me, inquired if I had 
 any eating tools. I told him I had a knife and fork in my 
 saddlebags, and, with the remark, " Better get 'em," he cut off 
 a large slice of the elk and commenced eating. Having secured 
 my knife and fork, I ate heartily, for I was very hungry. 
 Picking up the tin cup, I took a sup of coffee, and was obliged 
 to spit it out to keep from scalding my mouth. 
 
 " Darned hot, aint it ? " said my host, bursting into a loud 
 laugh. 
 
 Instinctively I looked at the squaw, but not a smile, not 
 even a muscle moved in her stolid face. An Indian, unless 
 addressed, never laughs or notices what happens to others. 
 
 When supper was over, my host filled a long-stemmed pipe, 
 and pointing with the stem toward the sky, turned it to the 
 earth, and ejaculating " How ! Wa-con Tan Ka ! " (Good, Oh 
 God!) handed it to me. Supposing the pipe was for me to 
 smoke, I thanked him, and began pulling away at the fragrant 
 tobacco. Looking at him, I saw an angry scowl on his face, 
 and he said, roughly, " Guess you 've smoked enough." I 
 handed the pipe back quickly, asking, " Did you not fill it 
 for me?" "Yes," he replied, "but it is a peace pipe, and 
 not for much smoke."* I now saw that this white man was 
 
 * Indians, when assembled together in council of friendship, use the 
 peace pipe. They never use but one pipe, all sitting in a circle, and the 
 man on the right smoking first. Each Indian takes three or four puffs and 
 then passes the pipe to the Indian on his left. When it reaches the last 
 Indian on the left, it is passed across to the Indian on the right, and com 
 mences its journey again. No Indian will smoke a pipe coming from the 
 left, unless it is the Indian from whom the pipe started, who receives it 
 from the man on the extreme left of the circle.
 
 28 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 imbued with some of the strange customs of his savage neigh 
 bors, and, fearing to offend him, said nothing. 
 
 The squaw moved about so noiselessly that I did not hear her 
 remove the dishes, but, on looking around, they were all gone, 
 and the blanket taken up. How she had cleared away the 
 things, without so much as jostling a dish, I could not conjec 
 ture, and-I feared to give offense by making inquiries, though 
 I was burning with curiosity to learn more of this strange 
 family. 
 
 " So you are going to Sioux City ? " abruptly inquired the 
 host, after having remained quiet for half an hour. 
 
 " Yes," I replied ; and guessing he wished to know the ob 
 ject of my visit, added : " I 'm going on up to the Yanktons, 
 and, perhaps, as far as the Santee village." 
 
 " What," he inquired, rising to his feet, and eyeing me 
 suspiciously. 
 
 " I 'in going to the Yanktons to live and trade," I answered. 
 
 " You '11 be scalped, as sure as thunder." 
 
 " Tell me all about the Indians' actions." 
 
 " Their what ? " 
 
 " What they have been doing of late." 
 . "Well," he replied, filling up and handing me a pipe, 
 "that's what I was going to do. You see, the brutes came 
 down to the settlement across the river, and after getting 
 something to eat, killed all they could. They said they were 
 hungry, and while one old man was giving an Indian some 
 bread anather one shot him. They went into one man's 
 house, and after eating at his table, shot him dead and carried 
 off his wife. The fact is, they stole all they could, killed all 
 thc-y oould, and then went up to the fort and traded off their
 
 BELDEXt THE WHITE CHIEF. 29 
 
 "What did they do with the woman?" I inquired, all my 
 sympathies aroused. 
 
 " Do with her ! " he exclaimed. " Why, kept her to gamble 
 with, of course. " 
 
 " How *s that? " I pursued. 
 
 " I guess you aint been much on the frontier/' he replied, 
 laughing. 
 
 I admitted that such was the case, and he said : 
 
 "You see, when they take a white woman they gamble her 
 off every day until she gets pretty much passed round the 
 tribe, and then she is turned over to the squaws, who kill her, 
 because they're always jealous of white women." 
 
 I could not help shuddering at the thought of a fate so 
 terrible, and paid little more attention to what he said. 
 
 Feeling tired, I asked where I would sleep, and, my host 
 pointing to a corner of the room, I spread down my blankets 
 and soon fell asleep. 
 
 At dawn of day I was awakened by a loud pounding at the 
 door, and my host, springing from a pile of buffalo robes in 
 the opposite corner of the room, went to see what was the 
 matter. 
 
 He soon learned that a party of miners had come down 
 the Missouri from the Yellowstone, in Mackinaw boats, and 
 seeing his hut from the river, had tied up and came over to 
 find out who lived there, and how far they were from Omaha. 
 
 My host promptly opened the door and cordially welcomed 
 the strangers. After a hearty breakfast, we went to the river 
 and saw the boatmen off. As they shoved out from shore 
 my host looked wistfully after the boat, and said : " How I 
 do wish I had all the robes and beaver skins them fellows 
 have ; I 'd leave this tarnal country if I had."
 
 30 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 " Did you hear any thing more of the Indians ? " I iu 
 quired, 
 
 " No, they did n't see any," he answered ; " but, depend 
 upon it, they 're not far off." 
 
 " Will your pony eat corn ? " he inquired. 
 
 " I do n't know," I replied. 
 
 " Well, we '11 try him." And ordering the squaw to bring 
 him the corn bag, he took from the limited household store 
 about two quarts, and carried it to the stable, where I saw 
 a superb hunting horse and two splendid hounds, who leaped 
 upon their master and licked his hands and face. 
 
 " Do you not feed your own horse with corn ? " I inquired. 
 
 " No, we can't afford it," he replied ; " but if you are goin' 
 to Sioux City, your nag will need something stronger than 
 grass." 
 
 Returning to the cabin, we found the breakfast cleared 
 away and the squaw chopping wood. 
 
 I talked an hour with my new-found friend, and then, sad 
 dling my pony, proposed to be off. I wanted to pay my host 
 for what I had received from him, but the kind-hearted man 
 refused, saying to me : " Keep your money, young man, for 
 you will need it. We never charge here for what little we 
 have to give travelers." 
 
 Cordially thanking him for his hospitality, I spurred up 
 my pony, who sprang down the little knoll on which the 
 cabin was built, and galloped over the prairie. It was a 
 bright morning, and the air was fresh and bracing. Millions 
 of beautiful flowers covered the ground for miles, and their 
 perfume filled the air. It was a glorious sight, and my 
 pony, seeming to partake of my spirits, went forward at a 
 rapid pace.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 31 
 
 It was high noon when I halted for an hour to graze the 
 pony and eat a 'few slices of dried beef the only lunch I had. 
 
 At sundown I reached Sioux City, sixty-five miles distant 
 from where I had started in the morning. 
 
 I remained at Sioux City a day, and learned during that 
 time that the Sioux had been again to see the Yanktons, and 
 it was believed the Yanktons were going to war against the 
 whites. Not a little dismayed at this intelligence, I set for 
 ward, and after two days' hard riding arrived at Fort Randall. 
 I had seen some Indian squaws on the road, going to Yankton, 
 on the Missouri, to trade, but being ignorant of the Indian 
 tongue could not converse with them. 
 
 At Randall I found a Frenchman, named La Frombe, who 
 lived with the Indians, and, joining him, we set out for the 
 Yankton tribe. 
 
 In one month after turning Indian, with the aid of my 
 friend La Frombe, I had mastered the language so I could 
 speak Sioux quite fluently. I liked the wild life of the In 
 dians, and built me a house in the village, composed of nine 
 poles and ten robes. 
 
 I had now been in the village nearly two months, and, as it 
 was drawing near to the time when the Indians would go on 
 their fall hunt for winter provisions, I expressed to La Frombe 
 my determination to join the hunt and remain through the 
 winter. He said it would be best for me to regularly join 
 the tribe, and offered to see the chief about the matter. 1 
 agreed to leave all to my friend, and do as he advised. Two 
 days later Frorabe came to me and said it was all arranged. 
 I was to be received into the tribe at the next full moon, and 
 was to have the squaw, Washtella, for a wife. This was more 
 than I had bargained for, and I told La Frombe that I did
 
 32 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 not want a squaw ; but he said it was best to do as the cLiel 
 wished, if I remained in the tribe. It was two weeks yet 
 until the moon was full, so I promised La Frombe I would 
 think over the matter. 
 
 One evening soon afterward Frombe came to my lodge, and 
 said he would take me to see my sweetheart. I followed him, 
 and we went out of the village to where some girls were 
 watching the Indian boys play at ball. Pointing to a good- 
 looking Indian girl, Frombe said : " That is Washtella." 
 
 "Is she a good squaw? " I inquired. 
 
 " Very," he replied. 
 
 " But perhaps she will not want to marry me," I said. 
 
 " She has no choice," he answered, laughing. 
 
 " But her parents," I interposed ; " will they like this kind 
 of proceeding?" 
 
 " The presents you are expected to make them will be more 
 acceptable than the girl," he answered. 
 
 I did not feel at ease, but determined to follow my friend's 
 advice, and obey the chiefs wishes in all things. The day 
 of the full moon came, and with it my nuptials and adoption. 
 F made the usual presents, and received a wife in return.* 
 
 La Frombe gave me a nice new lodge-cover of tanned elk 
 and buffalo hides; and, pitching my house in the midst of the 
 village, I settled down to the business of a warrior of the first 
 ?lass. 
 
 * The marriage, funeral, baptism, christening, and ether ceremonies of 
 he Indians, will be described in a chapter devoted to that purpose.
 
 BELDEN : TUK WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HPIS AMONG THE INDIANS MY LITTLE Wl*FE WASIITELLA THE MEDIC1VS 
 
 LODGE A CURIOUS CUSTOM MEDICINE ARROWS WHAT TUB IXDlAXS EAT 
 
 A FAMILY MAN PLEASANT EVENINGS WASHTKI.LA's TALKS THE ANCIENT 
 
 YANKTONS INDIAN AMUSEMENTS THE BALL GAME HOW IT IS PLAYED 
 
 A SPIRITED CONTEST PREPARIXG FOR THE FALL HUNT HOW THE INDIANS 
 
 Tit AVI -I,. 
 
 T HAD not lived long with the Indians before I perceived 
 L a jealousy growing up in the tribe against me. Many of 
 the old men were my friends, but the young warriors hated 
 and despised me. There were many reasons for their dislike, 
 for, not only was my squaw the handsomest woman in the 
 nut ion, but I could run, ride, or s l >oot with the best young 
 Indian, and I did much of my own work, and carried wood 
 and water for little Washtella, which the young warriors 
 thought was a degrading thing for a man to do. But Wash 
 tella was one of the kindest and best of women, and I really 
 liked this wild maid of the forest, and, as is common among 
 white men, I was willing to work for my wife. So I pre 
 tended not to see the sneers of the young Indians, and kept 
 close to my lodge, for Washtella was teaching me her lan 
 guage. 
 
 One evening, while lying on the bed in my teepee, I ' ear ; 
 a great beating of drums and rattling of gourds in the lower 
 
 r 
 
 3
 
 S<1 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 end of the camp, and asked Washtella what it all nient. Sli 
 replied : 
 
 'The big medicine man calls the warriors to the medicine 
 teepee." 
 
 "What for, Washtella?" 
 
 "To make arrows; then go on a big hunt; kill heap buf 
 falo," she replied. 
 
 Gathering my blanket about my shoulders (for I had no^v 
 ceased to wear a coat or vest), I strode out of my lodge and 
 made my way to the medicine lodge. Arrived there, I saw 
 a number of old men seated around the walls of the lodge, and 
 looking very solemn. One old Indian made room for me by 
 his side, and I sat down on the ground, crossing my leg. and 
 saying not a word. No women or children are allowed tc 
 enter the medicine lodge, and so none were present. We sat as 
 silent ae Quakers for half an hour, the drums and gourds 
 meanwhile rattling vigorously without. The lodge now was 
 full, and a great crowd of Indians, who could not get in, were 
 assembled about the door. 
 
 Presently, all the chiefs having come, the drums ceased to 
 beat, and the medicine man (there is but one to each tribe) 
 arose and built a small fire in the center of the lodge. Cast 
 ing on some brambles and a few light branches of wood as 
 soon as it began to blaze, he harangued the crowd, telling 
 them it was good time to go on a hunt, and that every sign 
 in the sky and on the earth was favorable to their success. 
 His speech was pretty long, and outlasted the fire, which 
 burned down so low he had to rekindle it at the close of his 
 oration. 
 
 When it burned bright again he began to chant an invoca 
 tion to the Great Spirit, in which he asked b ] essing8 from
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 35 
 
 We-tou-ka (God) on the hunters, the game they killed, and 
 on the guns, bows, arrows, knives, and ponies. He begged 
 most earnestly that the hunters might be permitted to find 
 plenty of buffalo, and that they might be successful in killing 
 tlu in, so that all the Indians would be fat and comfortable 
 durieg the coming winter. The deep solemnity and reverence 
 manifested by the Indians while this prayer was being offered 
 up exceeded any thing of the kind I had ever witnessed 
 among white men. Not a sound was heard within, and the 
 crowd without stood with bowed heads and outstretched necks 
 anxious to catch every word of the great medicine man. 
 
 Taking a bunch of scented grass, he strewed it over the 
 coals, when it emitted a sweet perfume, which completely filled 
 the lodge and almost intoxicated the senses. While burning 
 the grass, he chanted a wild song, keeping time with his foot. 
 At length, sitting down, he tossed blades of grass on the fire, 
 and the chiefs and warriors arose, and, moving to the left 
 around the fire, kept slow time and step to the monotonous 
 beating of the drum, which had struck up again. 
 
 When this had continued for some time, the leading chief 
 laid on the fire a new arrow, which was gaudy with feathers 
 and paint, and had a bright steel point. Then, the next chief 
 in rank selected a fine arrow and threw it in the flames; so 
 every chief and warrior did, when, seeing La Frombe cast in. 
 his arrow, I felt badly, for I had none, having come to see 
 arrows made instead of destroyed. 
 
 I noticed that I was observed by the Indians, who kept 
 going around the ciicle, although every one but myself had 
 cast in his arrow, and I began not only to wish myself eafe 
 out of the lodge, but to wonder how I would get out, when, 
 chancing to look around, I saw the next Indian in the circle
 
 .*} BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 behind me was the old man who had given me a seat wheu 
 entering the lodge. I passed my hand back to him, when, 
 seeming to understand what I wanted, he slipped, unobserved, 
 a new arrow into my fingers, and, drawing it through as if 
 from under my arm, I advanced and threw it into the flames. 
 The pile of arrows was quite high, and a bright red flame 
 leaped up nearly to the roof of the lodge, the dry shafts 
 making a crackling noise as they burned. 
 
 All the time the ceremony was going on, the medicine man 
 sat by the fire, muttering to himself, and casting on scented 
 grass. When each man had burned his arrow he left the 
 lodge, and another warrior entered to Replace him in the circle. 
 Seeing my arrow consumed, I stepped out of the lodge, and 
 went to my teepee, as did the other warriors to theirs. 
 
 It was now quite dark, and I found Washtella waiting 
 supper for me. You may be curious to know how we lived 
 iu a wigwam, and I will tell you. We had no chairs, but sat 
 on skins of wild animals laid on the ground. We had gourds 
 for cups, and platters of both wood and tin. For food we had 
 corn, prepared almost as hominy is in the States; then roast 
 elk, boned buffalo, roast artichokes, flour, biscuit, buffalo tallow 
 and water, fuid fried brains. We never used salt, as the In 
 dians abominate it. At first I could hardly live without it, 
 but soon became accustomed to fresh victuals, and even now 1 
 do not use a pound of salt in a year. Few Americans appre 
 ciate how much salt they eat salt in every thing of food kind, 
 and pounds of it. 
 
 Coffee and tea, Washtella and I had none; but we -hud 
 plenty of pure cold water, and I can assure you it is no bail 
 substitute for the stronger beverage.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 37 
 
 they wore not unpleasant. While I shaved an arrow-shaft, 
 VVashtella made some pretty head-work, or braided a buffalo 
 hide with porcupine quills. Then we talked; and Washtella 
 told me the curious tales of her people; how they had once 
 lived far to the east, and had a great war with a fierce tribe, 
 who drove the Yanktons from their hunting grounds and forced 
 them far up the Missouri. Then she told me how the tribe 
 wasted away from many thousands to a few hundreds, and how 
 their towns had once been seven in number, built of wood and 
 clay, and the buffiilo, deer, elk, and antelope came and grazed 
 within sight of the villages. Once, too, there had been a great 
 chief in their tribe, who was famous in war, and so skillful he 
 slew or defeated all their enemies; and his name was so terrible, 
 that he was feared cvery-where, and his people grew rich, and 
 had many horses and much corn, and gave laws to all the other 
 nations, who made presents and sent horses and corn, so they 
 would not make war upon them. But the chief died, and then 
 the fame of the nation decayed, and nobody feared them any 
 longer or brought them corn or horses, but made war upon 
 them and took away their horses and corn. So my dark-eyed 
 3ompanion, woman-like, rattled on with her tongue, now 
 telling quaint stores of old times or curious Tegends of the 
 lands where they had dwelt. The little maid was always 
 cheerful, and made me tell of the great towns in which the 
 pale faces live, and their tall houses where people slept far 
 above the ground, all of which was very wonderful news to 
 her. 
 
 In the mellow fall days we walked in the wood, or I joined 
 Ihe young men and played at ball. I must tell you how 1his 
 game is played among the Indians, for it is curious. 
 
 A great noise of shouting is heard in the camp, and the
 
 38 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 young men, with bat or club three feet long and crooked at 
 the end, go out on the prairie near the camp. Having found 
 a smooth spot they halt, and two of the youths, by common 
 consent, take opposite sides and pick out the players, first one 
 and then the other, until enough are had. 
 
 One morning I heard the young men shouting for ball, anil 
 t went out with them to the play-ground. The two chiefs, 
 A-ke-che-ta (Little Dog Soldier), and Ma-to-sac (White Bear), 
 were picking sides, and a number of Indians were already 
 seated facing each other, and bantering on the game. As each 
 man was selected he spread down his buffalo robe and sat upon 
 it, facing his opponent. I was selected by A-ke-che-ta, and 
 silently took my place in the line. Presently all the young 
 men who were to play were selected, and then several old men 
 were appointed to act as umpires of the game. These advanced 
 *nd seated themselves between the contestants, and then the 
 warriors rose and commenced betting on the game. First one 
 warrior advanced and threw down a robe before the old men ; 
 then a warrior from the other side came forward and laid a robe 
 upon it; and so all bet, one against the other. Presently there 
 was a great number of piles of stakes, some having bet mocca 
 sins, head-dresses, bead-work, ear-rings, necklaces, bows and 
 arrows, and even ponies. All these were carefully watched 
 over by the old men, who noted each stake and the depositoi 
 on a stick. If you did not wish to bet with any particular 
 warrior you laid your wager on the big pile, and instantly it 
 was matched by the judges against some article of corresponding 
 value from the pile of the other side. Thus I bet a hunting- 
 knife, half a pound of powder, a pair of moccasins, and a small 
 hand-mirror, which articles were appropriately matched with 
 others by the judges. All was now in readiness for the game
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 39 
 
 to begin, p. ml the parties separated. The two lines were formed 
 about one hundred yards apart. In front of each side, twenty 
 feet from each other, two stakes, smeared with paint, are driven 
 firmly into the ground, and the object of the game is to drive 
 the ball between the stakes. Whichever side shall first force 
 the ball through the opposite, stakes wins the game. The ball, 
 nade of rags and covered with buckskin, is carried to the center 
 of the ground between the combatants, and there deposited, by 
 one of the old men, who then returns to his post. The judges 
 then give the signal, and with loud shouts the players run to 
 the ball, and commence knocking it to and fro with their crooked 
 sticks. The ball is about the size of a large orange, and each 
 party tries to prevent its coming toward their stakes. No war 
 rior must touch the ball with his hands; but if it lies in a hole, 
 he may push it out with his foot, and then hit it with his stick. 
 In the game whick I am. telling you about, Ma-to-sac's party 
 reached -and struck the ball first, lifting it clear over our heads, 
 and sending it far to our rear and close to our stakes. Then 
 we all. ran, and Ma-to-sac's and A-ke-che-ta's warriors fell over 
 >ne another, and rapped each other on the shins with their 
 clubs, and there was great confusion and excitement, but at 
 length one of the party succeeded in hitting the ball, and 
 sent it to Ma-to-sac's stakes. Thither we ran, but no one 
 could find the ball. After much search, I discovered it in 
 a tuft of grass, and, bidding one of our men run quickly 
 to the stakes, I hit it and drove the ball to him. Unfortu 
 nately, it fell in a hole, and before our wariior could get it out 
 and hit it, a dense crowd of Ma-to-sac's men were around the 
 8}>ot and in front of the stakes. The contest was violent, so 
 much so, indeed, that no one could hit the ball, though it was 
 
 continually tramped over. At length some -one called out, 
 
 4
 
 40 BELDEN": THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 "There it goes," and the warriors scattered in all direction!-. 
 looking to see where it was; bnt one of Ma-to-sac's men, win 
 had called out, stood fast, and when the crowd had scattered 
 I saw hi in attempting to conceal the ball beneath his foot. 
 Running against him from behind with such force as to throw 
 him on his face, before he could recover his feet, I hit the ball 
 and, seeing all Ma-to-sac's men off their guard, with the aid 
 of a young man, easily drove it between their stakes, only a 
 few yards distant,* 
 
 The judges at once declared the game was ours, and many 
 and loud were the cheers sent up by our party, in token of the 
 victory, while Ma-to-sac's men retired sullen and disappointed. 
 f was declared the winner, and A-ke-che-ta thanked me for 
 my services, while the young warriors gathered around and 
 congratulated me on my success. Then \ve all smoked, and 
 went over to the stakes to receive our shares. As winner, T 
 ',\ as entitled to a general share of the spoils; but I declined 
 in favor of the young Indian who had helped me drive the 
 ball, saying that, as he had last hit it, and actually forced it 
 between the stakes, he was, in reality, the most deserving. 
 This argument was loudly applauded by the old men, and the 
 young warrior, who had not been friendly for some time with 
 me, was so touched by my generosity that he came and thanked 
 me, saying frankly, "You, and not I, won the game." How- 
 
 * In this pime every one must keep his temper, and any stratagem i 
 ii'io-.vofl. so the liall is not touched with the hands. It is not suffered. 
 ri:>%vrver. fur i'.ny one to hit another over the head, or on the body with 
 sticks or the hands, hut if yon can upset a pnnester hy ninninir against 
 him it is esteemed fair. When either parly rl^aK foul is called hy th 
 to party, when the fame ceases until the judges decide the m.'.ttrr 
 II it is a foul play the pi me, is given to the other side. Xo i.ae thinks of 
 disputing the judges' decision and from it there is no appeal.
 
 BELDKN: THE WHITE CHIEfl. 41 
 
 ever, I forced the general stakes upon him, at which lie was 
 much pleased. I found that the stakes had won a* saddle, half 
 a pound of powder, six yards of wampum beads, and a hand 
 somely braided knife-scabbard. When the judges had awardo( ( l 
 all the winnings, among which were fourteen ponies, each took 
 up his trophies and returned to the village, where, for thf 
 reieamder of the day, the game was fought over again an i 
 again in the teepees. 
 
 It was now four days since we had made buffalo medicine 
 (burned the arrows), and the time to go upon the hunt had 
 come. The chief, on the fourth evening, sent a crier through 
 the village to notify all to be in readiness, and we at once begun 
 packing up our lodges, mending bows, and grinding knivef,*" 
 etc. Poles, like shafts, were made for the ponies, and fastened 
 across their backs by broad wampum belts at the small ends, 
 while the large ends dragged on the ground. On the 52, 
 behind the pony, were lashed robes and bedding, and cooking 
 utensils; and on them sat the children. Even the dogs had 
 packs to carry, which were tied on their backs with thongs of 
 buffalo skin. The squaws walked and led the ponies, having 
 charge of all the property and children, while the warriors, 
 mounted on the best animals, rode ahead, behind, and on the 
 Hunks of the column, which, when drawn out, was several miles 
 long each pony following the one in front of him. So, we 
 wont on the great annual buffalo hunt. 
 
 *The knives of Indians are generally ground on one side, like a carport 
 tor's chisel; and this is always done when going on buffalo hunts, as they 
 aie 3e86 liable to cut the skin when sharpened in that way.
 
 42 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 (jfY FOR THK FALL HUNT WASHTELLA AND THE POXY INDIAN SONGS CAMP 
 ING OUT A STROLL IN THE WILD WOODS SUNSET ON THE PRAIK1ES 
 
 WASHTELLA AND I AN INDIAN FAIRY TALE THE~ GIANTS OF OLD WEARER 
 
 OP THE WHITE FEATHER WHAT CHACOPEE SAW IN THE WOODS THE 
 
 WOODEN MAN BATTLE OF THE GIANTS CHACOPEE's TROUBLES ALL 's WELL 
 
 THAT ENDS WELL INDIAN CREDULITY AT THE "HUNTING GROUNDS. 
 
 FT was a bright, clear morning when the whole village was 
 -*- aroused by beating of drums, blowing of horns, and the 
 barking of dogs. While the squaws cooked the breakfast, the 
 warriors set about pulling down the lodges, and soon almost 
 the whole village had disappeared. The few wigwams lefi 
 standing were for the sick, the aged, and those who were too 
 infirm to go on the hunt. Bidding good-bye to the Indians 
 who were to remain, we set out, as gay a party as ever was 
 seen seeking pleasure. 
 
 Those lirst packed were first off, and, as I was one of the 
 laggards, when I pulled out, the column was streaming over 
 the hills for miles ahead. 
 
 I had two ponies, one for myself and the other for \Vash- 
 tella and our household goods. The cha-a-koo, or saddle, had 
 been fastened to the little pony's back, and to this were tied 
 our teepee, or lodge poles, three on each side. They we" 
 fastened by the small ends, and the large ends dragged on tK
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 43 
 
 ground. To prevent the poles from spreading apart, a cross- 
 piece of dry wood was lashed with rawhide just behind the 
 pony's hams. On the poles were piled our bedding, lodge 
 covers, and cooking utensils, while the provisions in flesh-bags 
 were slung across the pony's back. Some of the families who 
 had children, slung wicker-baskets between the poles, and in 
 these were put the papooses. The squaws walked and led the 
 ponies, and the dogs and larger children trotted alongside. 
 When tired, the squaws or children rode on the pony by 
 turns, and one was on his back all the time. It is astonish 
 ing what burdens these little beasts can carry, and still keep 
 fat and lively. I have frequently seen them travel hun 
 dreds of miles, loaded down almost out of sight, and thrive 
 every day. "They have greater powers of endurance than 
 the mule. 
 
 My spare pony was led by Washtella, who tripped joyfully 
 along singing her Indian songs. . One of these ran aa 
 follows : 
 
 " Tish-ah, bo moak sa-um 
 Ma-mo, za na geezing 
 Ma-mo zah na ahkee 
 Ma-mo yah na. 
 
 " Bai mo sa yah na geezhigeny 
 Bai mo sa yah na 
 Wa bun ong tuz-ze I^wai 
 Ne wah ween ne go ha za." 
 
 Which might be rendered thus : 
 
 "We are riding to seek the war path; 
 The earth and the sky are before u&. 
 We walk by day and by night, 
 And the evening star ia our guide."
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Another was : 
 
 " We devote our bodies to the fight, 
 And charge with the speed of eagles; 
 We are -willing to lie with the elain, 
 For then oiu % name will be praised." 
 
 Still another : 
 
 " Look how beautiful is my face and form, 
 And hear tho sweet song of my voice ; 
 All my thoughts are of you, darling, 
 And I speak to you with my naked heart." 
 
 It was in vain I urged the little maid to ride; to all my 
 appeals she replied, " Never mind, pony will be tired enough, 
 and I will ride him plenty when we find the buffalo." 
 
 Our first day's journey was only fifteen miles, and early 
 in the afternoon we came to a limpid stream where the 
 chief ordered us. to halt and camp. While the warriors 
 pitched the teepees the squaws brought wood and water, and 
 soon the fires were blazing and the kettles boiling for supper. 
 Leaving the preparation of the meal to the women, we hoppled 
 our ponies and picketed them out on the green grass near the 
 camp. Several warriors remained to guard them, and the rest 
 returned to the village. The Indians never leave their horses 
 or camp without a guard, and, no matter how secure the 
 country may be, they steadily keep out their pickets or 
 runners.- 
 
 After stopper, the warriors played at ball, made arrows, 
 repaired their horse equipments, Wrapped the loose sinews on 
 Iheir bows, or gathered in groups and smoked. The women 
 cleared away the supper, made up the beds in the lodges, and 
 carried wood and water for the morning. 
 
 In the evening I strolled out with Washtella, and, going to
 
 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 46 
 
 the edge of the "woods, saw one of those glorious sights only to be 
 witnessed in perfection at sea or on the prairie, a glorious sunset. 
 A great red globe of fire hung in the west, sinking slowly, and 
 grandly behind the hills, lighting up the horizon and clouds 
 with molten gold. I gazed long and earnestly at the beautful 
 w.-enc, and stood lost in thought until aroused by my com 
 panion, who said, "Let us return to the lodge; it grows late." 
 Through the gloaming we walked back to the village, and, 
 entering my teepee, I bade Washtella bring me my pipe, and, 
 while I smoked, tell me a story. She brought the pipe, and, 
 seating herself by my side, related the following extraordi 
 nary tale : 
 
 Once there were giants on the earth, and they devoured little 
 children. The great medicine man of our nation told the chief 
 he should bet all the little children of his nation on a race he 
 would run with the giants, and, if he beat them, no more chil 
 dren would ever be eaten by the big men. The chief was very 
 anxious to rid himself of the giants, besides it was evident 
 they would eat up all the children at any rate, so they might 
 as well be bet as not. A great council was called, and after 
 three days' debate, it was agreed the children should be put up 
 and the race run with the giants by the medicine man. All 
 the nation was present to witness the contest, but the giants 
 easily won the race ; so they demanded the children should be 
 given up that they might devour them. ^Now, there was onp 
 old man who had a grandchild that he loved dearly, and when 
 the race was lost, he took the child on his back, and traveled 
 for many days to the west, until he came to a great wood, and 
 in the depth of the forest he built a hut, and hid away the 
 child, hoping the giants would not find him. 
 
 The prophets had foretold that a child would be born in the
 
 46 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 tribe, who would wear a white feather, become a mighty mail, 
 a great warrior, and slay all the giants. 
 
 The old man kept his grandson in great ignorance, telling 
 him they were the only people in the world besides the giants, 
 and that if the giants found them out they would kill and eat 
 (hem. The boy was very much afraid, and hid away at every 
 ucise he heard. 
 
 One day, while out hunting, he shot a bird, and, as it had 
 pretty white feathers in its tail, he pulled them out and put 
 them in his hair. When he returned home in the evening, his 
 grandfather saw the white feathers, and, remembering what the 
 prophets had said, he knew at once th-\t his grandson would be 
 a great man and destroy the giants. But the old man was 
 still afraid the giants might kill and pot the boy, for he was 
 yet a small lad; so he did not tell him of what great honor.? 
 were in store for him. 
 
 Not many days after he had shot the bild, the boy was out 
 hunting in the woods, and, as was his wont whm tired, he laid 
 down in the shade of a great tree to sleep; and as he slept, he 
 heard a voice, saying, ".Go home, you wearer of the white 
 feather, and when you sleep, you will dream of a pipe and sack 
 with a great white feather, and when you wake up you will find 
 them, and see that you keep them." When the boy heard thes? 
 words he jumped up and looked whence the voice proceeded 
 and saw a wooden man fixed firmly in the earth. He wa*" 
 greatly astonished, for he did not know there were any men ir 
 the world beside his grandfather. So he ran home and slept 
 and sure enough he dreamed he saw a pipe and sack, and i 
 great white feather in it; and when he waked up the articles 
 *vere there. He had told his grandfather all about his dream 
 in the wood, and at once accused him of putting the sack and
 
 BE! DEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 47 
 
 pipe with the feather by his bed while he slept. But the old 
 man would only answer, "Put the feather in your hair, and 
 you will one day become a great man and destroy all yo'ir 
 enemies." So the boy braided the feather in his hair, and im 
 mediately he felt very strong, and, to see if his strength was real, 
 lie went out and easily overthrew a great tree, and he became 
 very proud of his strength. Next day he said to himself, Now 
 that I am so strong I will go out and pull up the wooden man 
 and bring him home, so that I can talk with him. And he 
 went to the wooden man in the forest, and tried to pull him up; 
 but, although he could uproot great trees, he could not get the 
 wooden man out of the ground; whereat he got very angry, 
 and struck the man in the face, but only hurt himself, for the 
 man had an iron head. The wooden man laughed heartily at 
 his rage, and said to the boy, "See, my son, strength is not 
 the only thing we must have in the world, and, in a man or a 
 nation, it is of little use without wisdom ; now, if you will dig 
 about me, you can easily lift me." Then he dug about the man 
 and lifted him out, and carried him home on his back. "When 
 the old man saw the wooden man he fell to the earth on his 
 face, and was mightily afraid, for he knew it was the god the 
 giants had stolen when they overcome his nation, since which 
 time no luck had come to his people. The boy bade his grand 
 father get up and tell why he was afraid. Then the old man 
 said, "My son, whatever you wish will be so, for this is the 
 all-powerftil god the giants stole and hid away." The young 
 man at once lighted his pipe and wished for some pigeons for 
 his dinner, and immediately great flocks issued from the smoke 
 of his pipe; then he wished for some rabbits, and hundreds of 
 them came jumping out of the woods. He took good care of 
 his pipe and the wooden man, and wore his white feather, and
 
 48 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 lived in the wood with his grandfather until he grew to be t 
 tall man. * 
 
 One day the wooden man said to the boy, who was now called 
 Chacopee, "Yon are big and strong; go, slay the giants, but be 
 not foolish, for wisdom, and not strength, must win the victory. 
 If you think of nothing else until it is done, you will kill all 
 the giants. Go and be wise." 
 
 Early the next morning the young man set off alone, and 
 after traveling a hundred sleeps he came to the land of the 
 giants. When they saw him and observed that he wore a white 
 feather in his hair, they laughed, and scoffingly said, "So this 
 is the little man who has come tojdll us all ! Let the cooks put 
 on some water to boil him in, and we will soon make an end of 
 him by eating him." "Come, short legs," cried one of the 
 giants, "dance us a jig while the water is heating." But Clui- 
 copee only said, " If my legs are short, they are long enough to 
 beat yours, if you will give me a start/' "Agreed," cried the 
 giant ; " go out to yonder tree, and I will catch you before you 
 have run half a mile." Then Chacopee walked out to the tree, 
 and all the way along he thought how he should out-wit the 
 giant. Unperceived he tied the grass across the path, and cried 
 to the giant to come on. So the giant ran, and tripped his foot 
 in the grass, and fell to the ground with great force, which so 
 stunned him, that before he could rise Chacopee hit him on the 
 head with a war-club and beat his brains out. Another giant 
 came running to help his brother; but Chacopee fell flat on the 
 earth, and the giant stumbled over him ; so he beat out his 
 brains. Now, there was still another giant, who was a very 
 wise man, who had the power to take whatever shape he wishrd, 
 and, seeing the fate of his brothers, he immediately -changed 
 himself into a beautiful woman, and came to Chacopee and said,
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 49 
 
 " Come and be my husband, for I love you, and have traveled 
 a long way to marry you." But Chacopee remembered what 
 the wooden man had told him, and at once lighting his pipe he 
 wished himself an elk, and immediately he was an elk. The 
 woman upbraided him, and cried so bitterly that he repented, 
 tor she was very beautiful, and he wished himself a man again. 
 He became a man at once, and kissed the woman's lips and 
 cheeks, and laid his head- on her lap and fell asleep. While he 
 slept, she took the feather out of his hair, and, taking his pipe, 
 the giant at once became himself, when he called in a loud 
 voice to Chacopee to wake up; and, on waking up, poor 
 Chacopee found the woman jjone and himself as weak as any 
 other man. So the giant broke his back with his great club, and 
 then, changing Chacopee into a dog, bade him follow him. 
 Putting the feather into his own hair, the giant and his dog set 
 out for the north, where two famously pretty women lived whom 
 the giant wished to marry* These girls were the daughters of 
 a great chief, who had sworn they never should marry any ont 
 but a great chief who, the prophets foretold, would come from 
 the south and wear a white feather in his hair. When the 
 giant and his dog came to the village the giant went in to stay 
 with the eldest sister, while the dog stole off to the other sis 
 ter's lodge and slept beside her. In the night the younger 
 sister dreamed if she took good care of the dog she would 
 become a great chief's wife, far greater than he of the white 
 feather. Next morning she would not look at the giant, but 
 walked out of the village followed by the dog, and when they 
 were alone the dog ran to the brook and took up a stone in hi 
 mouth, which immediately became a beaver, and the chief's 
 daughter took it home for their dinner. The giant huhlcd 
 every day, but he could kill nothing, so he and his squaw were 
 4
 
 50 BEbDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 nearly starved, and the chief was very angry because the giani 
 Kept his daughter so poorly. The giant, seeing how well the 
 younger sister and her dog lived, watched the dog, and when 
 he had taken a stone from the brook and saw it turn to a 
 beaver, the giant drew out a stone from the water and it also 
 became a beaver. Greatly rejoiced, he tied the beaver Co 
 his belt and carried it home, where he skinned it, and his 
 wife put it in the pot to boil. But when she took off the lid 
 to see if it was done, only the stone was there which her hus 
 band had taken from the brook. 
 
 The dog, finding his secret was discovered, went out ink' 
 the woods and broke a dry twig from a bush that had been 
 burned by the fire, and the black twig at once became a black 
 bear. The giant watched again, and seeing how the dog got 
 his game, he broke a twig off, and immediately it was a black 
 bear. So he tied it to his belt and brought it home. But 
 when his squaw went to get some of the bear, she saw only a 
 charred stick tied to the belt. Then the giant went to the 
 chief and told him of the disgraceful manner in which his 
 daughter was living with a dog; but the chief said it was 
 impossible for a dog to take game as the giant related. How 
 ever, the chief, to satisfy himself about the matter, appointed 
 several young men to go and see about it. When the dog 
 heard this he told his mistress by bow-wows to sweat him as 
 the Indians do sick people. Then she built a pit and left it 
 open at the top, and in the pit she' put the dog, and put 
 several heated stones in with him, and closed the opening. 
 So he sweat prodigiously, and when the young men came and 
 opened the pit, the dog was no longer there, but a nice young 
 man in his stead. 
 
 Then they took him out of the pit and brought him
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 51 
 
 to the chief, but he had no speech, and could tell them 
 nothing The chief called all the wise men togethei, and 
 they took council. All of them smoked, and the giant 
 smoked, but when the young man smoked, behold great flocka 
 of pigeons flew out of the smoke. The wise men knew by 
 this token that the young man was the real Chief of the White 
 Fearer, and the giant an impostor. So the wise men smoked 
 again, and then took the white feather from the giant's 
 head and put it in Chacopee's hair, for it was he, and im 
 mediately Chacopee's speech returned, and he related to the 
 wise men all that had happened to him ; how he had been 
 raised in the wood; how he had got the white feather; 
 how he carried home the wooden man and conversed with 
 him; how he had slain the giant's brothers; how he had 
 been beguiled by the beautiful woman, transformed into a 
 dog by the giant, and brought hither. When lie had 
 made an end of speaking, the wise men rose up and told 
 the chief all they knew, and the chief ordered the 
 giant to be beaten to death with clubs. But when the 
 warriors came near him, he changed himself into a 
 wolf, and ran away so fast that neither the warriors nor 
 the dogs could catch him. Until that day no wolf had 
 ever been seen, and all the wolves now living are die 
 giant's children, and that is why they eat little boys and 
 girls. 
 
 After the giant had run away the chief made a great 
 feast, and married both his daughters to Chacopee, who 
 took his wives to his people, where h'e brought also the 
 wooden man and his old grandfather, who was still living. 
 And Chacopee became a great chief, and had many brave 
 ons and beautiful daughters. And his sons still rule all
 
 5? BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 that country, which is toward the setting sun and along 
 the sea. 
 
 Thus ended "Wusbtella's story of Chacopee, and, when 
 she had done, I asked if she really believed there evei 
 were giants on the earth. 
 
 "Yes," she replied, "hundreds of lives* ago the men 
 and women were all as tall as trees; but they have 
 grown smaller and smaller, until now they are no higher 
 than bushes, and a hundred lives hence they will be no 
 taller than the buffalo grass. Then they will go into the 
 ground and live like rabbits." 
 
 " Washtella, tell me where your people first came 
 from." 
 
 " Long, long ago, " she said, " they lived in the earth, 
 which is hollow ; but one day they came to an opening 
 and came out, when, liking the outside best, they staid and 
 would not return. My own father once saw the hole they 
 came out of, but I never saw it, as it is far down the 
 Missouri, where the white man lives." 
 
 It was now late, and, wrapping ourselves in our blank 
 ets, we lay down and soon fell asleep. 
 
 Early the next morning we resumed our journey, and 
 on the fifth day began to see buffalo warders.f On the 
 
 * An Indian life is sixty-five years. 
 
 f The old bulls that are feeble, and whose horns are dull, are driven 
 away from the herd by the young bulls. They stay near the herd, but 
 not with it. In approaching buffalo these stragglers or warders, aa they 
 are called by the Indians, are always met long befcire you come on the 
 main body. When they see the hunters they run to the 1 erd, and give 
 cotice of approaching danger.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 53 
 
 sixth day we came upon the herds, and pitched our camp 
 on the banks of a pleasant lake. The whole evening was 
 consumed in putting up the lodges, for the winds often 
 blow terrifically on these lakes, and it is necessary to make 
 the teepees very strong. Hundreds of buffalo were grazing 
 within a few miles of us, and every one busied himself in 
 making final preparations for the great hunt which was to 
 begin on the morrow.
 
 64 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Tf.B BEAUTIFUL LAKE KILLING THE FIRST BUFFALO ON THE HUNT UWES 
 PUTTED HONORS THE GREAT HUNT HOW THE INDIANS TAKE BUFFALO- 
 JERKING THE MEAT PACKING AWAY WINTER SUPPLIES MOVING CAMP- 
 KILLING BUFFALO CALVES OTHER MODES OF CAPTURING BUFFALO THK 
 
 HUNT ENDED THE BUFFALO FEAST AND DANCE RETURN HOMEWARD AT 
 
 PEACE WITH ALL THE WORLD. 
 
 "V7"HEN our camp was pitched, I walked out along the 
 banks of the beautiful lake, to see what I could dis 
 cover. Its waters were clear as crystal and full of fish. Not 
 a boat, and perhaps not even a canoe, had ever rippled its 
 bosom, and I could not but imagine, as I gazed across the blue 
 expanse, that one day commerce would spring up, and towns 
 and cities be built upon its green shores. 
 
 Looking to the north, I was. startled from my reflections by 
 seeing a large buffalo cow coming down to the water to drink, 
 Hastening back to the village, I quickly procured my Hawkins' 
 rifle and ran over the little eminence that hid the lodges from 
 the animal. She had approached quite near the water, and was 
 not more than one hundred and fifty yards distant from me, 
 when, hearing a noise in my rear, I looked back and saw 
 several Indians running toward me with their guns. The 
 row at the same moment saw them, and turned to make off , 
 but too late, for I had drawn a bead on her heart, and at one 
 shot dropped her dead. All the village came running and
 
 BELDP:N"; THE WHITE CHIEF. 55 
 
 ehouting, and the squaws gathered around the dead buflalo, 
 jostling and elbowing each other as they tore off the meat. 
 It is the Indian rule that game is common property, and 
 my buffalo was soon reduced to a pile of bones by the knives 
 of the busy squaws. I could not help laughing as I watched 
 them struggling for the choice morsels. First, the skin waa 
 carefully removed, and then the muscles and gristle cut away, 
 when, just as a squaw was about to take the coveted part, she 
 would be rudely thrust aside, and some other .squaw would take 
 it. These exploits were received with loud shouts of laughter, 
 and no ill-temper or quarreling was observed among the ex 
 cited crowd of women who surrounded the carcass. 
 
 On returning to my lodge, I found Washtella in great glee 
 over my good luck, and she explained that it was no small 
 matter to have killed the first buffalo slain in the hunt. Pres 
 ently I received a message from the chief, and was informed 
 by an old Indian that, having killed the first buffalo, I would 
 be entitled to lead the hunt on the first day. Meat was brought 
 me, and the skin or robe, which, according to the Indian cus 
 tom, is always given to the one who kills the animal. Sc 
 proud was Washtella, she did nothing all the evening but talk 
 of my good fortune, and I could not help being amused at the 
 boasts of the little maid. Nothing could possibly have hap 
 pened that would have given her more pleasure. 
 
 The next morning, as soon as it was daylight, I was aroused, 
 and told that the warriors were waiting for me, to lead them 
 in the chase. Assembling all of them before my lodge, I 
 addressed them, saying I was a young man, and lacked experi 
 ence, but if they would allow me, I would name one worthy 
 to lead them in my place. This was received with loud 
 shouts of approval, and as soon as quiet was restored, I
 
 56 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 pointed to a young warrior, and said: "He is a good man, 
 go and follow him." The warrior I had selected was my bittei 
 enemy, and had formerly been a lover of Washtella. Ever 
 since my marriage he had abhorred me, and omitted no oppor 
 tunity to show his dislike. As his animosity was well known 
 in th^ tribe, the honors thus thrust upon him, by one from 
 whom he had expected no favors, surprised and pleased them. 
 For a moment the brave hung his head, and then came for 
 ward, and, amid the shouts of the warriors, gave me his hand. 
 Feeling unwell, I did not go upon the hunt that day, but in 
 the evening, when the party returned, my old enemy came to 
 my lodge, and as a token of his friendship, presented me with 
 two fine robes he had taken during the day. 
 
 On the second day I went out with the hunters, and joined 
 in a most exciting chase. Under the directions of a chief, we 
 deployed at wide distances, and then, closing in, surrounded a 
 herd of buffalo on three sides; and as soon as the herd began 
 to move, the chase began. Our tough little ponies bore us 
 swiftly along, and soon the herd was hard pressed. Presently 
 it began to scatter, and then each Indian, selecting a buffalo, 
 followed the beast up until he had killed it. It is astonishing 
 how fast the great lumbering animals can run, and although 
 they do not seem to go over the ground very rapidly, it takes 
 a good horse to come up with them. Their shambling " lope" 
 is equal in speed to an American horse's gallop, andHhey can 
 climb steep hills and get over rough ground faster than a horse. 
 They run with their heads near the earth, and a hundred of 
 them will make a mighty noise, resembling the rumbling of 
 distant thunder. The hunter approaches from behind, and, 
 when opposite the beast, fires, aiming at the spine or side, im 
 mediately behind the fore-shoulder. One shot in the spine or
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 59 
 
 heart will bring a buffalo down, but it generally takes from 
 three to ten bajls in the vitals to kill one. 
 
 In the second day's hunt I killed seven buffalo, which was 
 considered a good day's work,* only one other warrior killing 
 as many. The warriors do not stop to touch the game afler 
 it is dead, the skinning and packing of the meat being the 
 work of the squaws, who follow in the wake of the hunters. 
 For this purpose they have pack-ponies, and two women will 
 skin and pack three or four buffalo in a day. The meat is 
 brought to the villages, where it is cut in narrow slices, about 
 an inch thick, and three or four inches long. These slices are 
 then hung on poles, or stretched on small willows laid across a 
 frame-work of poles. The meat is frequently turned, and 
 allowed to remain in the sun and air for three days. It should 
 be covered, or brought in at night, and must not be allowed 
 to get wet by rain while it is curing. This is called jerking 
 buffalo, and is a simple and easy process of curing meat. The 
 pure crisp air of the plains soon dries it, and then it has a 
 sweet, pleasant taste. I have known climates on the plains 
 where nearly all the year carcasses could be hung up and left 
 without spoiling until used. Meat, when jerked, is only about 
 half the weight and size it is when in a raw state. If soaked 
 in water it will swell greatly, and then, unless used imme 
 diately will spoil. When the buffalo flesh is dried suffi 
 ciently, it is put into parfleshes, or wrappers, made of raw 
 hide, cut square, and which will hold about half a bushel. 
 They are sewed up at the bottom and sides, the laps at the 
 top being left open until they are filled. The meat is then 
 
 * Mr. Belden has since killed as many as twenty-three buffalo m a 
 single day.
 
 60 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 laid in flat, and packed tightly, like plugs of tobacco. When 
 two or three layers of meat have been put in r hot buffalo fat 
 is brought and poured over it until all the interstices are filled 
 up. Then, more layers of meat are put in, and more fat poured 
 on, until .the parflesh is full, when the laps are folded over 
 each other and tightly sewed up with sinews. The meat is 
 now ready for winter use, and two parfleshes are fastened to 
 gether like a pair of saddle-bags, and slung across the back of 
 a pony when the Indians travel. To prevent these bags 01 
 wrappers from hurting the ponies' backs, the under <side is 
 lined with fur or bear skin. 
 
 We had hunted four days from our camp on the lake, and 
 although we had taken the utmost precaution not unnecessarily 
 to alarm the buffalo, most of them had gone a long distance 
 from the village. A council was called, and it was determined 
 we should go over to the lakes that lay on the Jim River, 
 sixty miles distant. We immediately set out, moving around 
 i he lake to the right of the buffalo, so as not to disturb them. 
 Our route lay across a beautiful level country, through which 
 meandered little streams eight or ten miles apart. These 
 irtreams are unwooded, and we were compelled to use buffalo- 
 tihips for cooking. We traveled leisurely along, however, 
 halting on the creeks, and making about sixteen miles per 
 day, for many of our ponies were already heavily laden with 
 meat. 
 
 On the fourth day we reached the lakes, and again pitched 
 our village. .Here we found plenty of buffalo and a great 
 many calves, which were very acceptable to us, as we wanted 
 some parfleshes of veal. 
 
 We hunted four days, and took a great deal of meat. Each 
 family had from three to six parfleshes, according to its size
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 61 
 
 which was as much as it could use during the winter, ami 
 enough for the infirm besides. So the hunt was announced at 
 an end, and we began to prepare for our return. I had- beer 
 exceedingly fortunate, and had taken no less than nine par- 
 flesher of meat and had twelve robes. 
 
 There are several methods of killing buffalo beside the reg 
 ular chase. One of these, as practiced by the Indians, is as 
 follows : 
 
 The buffalo are watched until they graze near a precipice, 
 when two or three Indians put a buffalo skin on sticks, and 
 concealing themselves under it, approach near the herd slowly, 
 as if grazing. This must be done when the wind is favorable, 
 and blowing from the buffalo. If the decoy is successful, other 
 Indians make a wide circuit, surrounding the herd on all sides, 
 except that toward the bluff. Then they steal up as close as 
 possible, and when the buffalo discover them they shout, shake 
 their blankets and poles, and close in upon the herd. The 
 animals are greatly alarmed, but seeing the mock buffalo (which 
 has managed to attract attention) set off for the bluffs, they 
 rush madly after it. When the baiters reach the bluff, they 
 fling the mock buffalo over the precipice, and betake themselves 
 to holes in the bank or crevices among the rocks. It is in 
 vain the leaders of the herd halt when they see the chasm ; the 
 mass from behind, crazed by the poles and blankets of the 
 Indians, who are now close upon them, rush madly on, and 
 press those in front over the cliff. 
 
 It is exceedingly dangerous to bait buffalo, as the herd fre 
 quently overtake the false buffalo, and trample it beneath their 
 teet, or the great beasts, falling among the rock, crush the 
 Indian baiters to death. Many reckless young Indians, who 
 as baiters have gone too far inland, have, after the chase, been
 
 62 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 found dead on the plain, or their mangled bodies lay at tht 
 foot of the precipice with the carcasses of the animals they 
 had so cruelly deceived. It takes a brave Indian to be a 
 baiter, but there are always plenty of young and foolish boys 
 who are anxious to engage in the dangerous sport. 
 
 After the buffalo have fallen and killed or maimed them 
 selves, a party of Indians who have been concealed near the 
 foot of the precipice suddenly advance and finish them with 
 axes or rifles. As many as a hundred animals are frequently 
 taken in a single day in the way I have related. 
 
 Another method of capturing buffalo is in this wise : When 
 the Indians have been engaged at war, or, for any reason, have 
 
 
 
 not been fortunate in securing, during the fall, a supply of meat 
 for winter, they go to a lake or river where there is game, and 
 crossing the country in a wide circuit, fire the prairie. The 
 buffalo, alarmed by the fire, and finding themselves surrounded 
 by flames, plunge into the water, when the Indians easily kill 
 them. Another way is to drive them on the ice, where they 
 slip and fall, while the Indians can run rapidly in their moc 
 casins on the ice. 
 
 When the Indians get out of provisions in the winter, early 
 in the spring they will fire the grass on the opposite side of a 
 river from where the buffalo are grazing, and the buffalo are 
 tempted to cross the ice in search of the green grass which 
 springs up immediately after the fire. The ice, being already 
 goft, breaks beneath their great weight, and the animals are 
 drowned or killed. Sometimes a large buffalo will get on a 
 great cake of ice and float down the river, when the Indian? 
 will kill him and tow him ashore. It is wonderful how the 
 Indians can run on the floating ice. They will frequently 
 press a piece no more than a foot square, and yet cross in
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 63 
 
 safety. Their moccasins render their footing sure, and they 
 spring lightly from one cake to another, never halting for a 
 moment, for to halt is to go down. 
 
 Our hunt having ended, the chief ordered that the usual 
 feast and rejoicing should take place. A long pole was pro 
 vided, a buffalo head put on the top of it, and a number of tails 
 nailed, at right angles, to the. sides. The pole was then set 
 firmly in the ground, in the center of an open space before the 
 Tillage, nnd buifalo heads were piled up around it. The heads 
 vere set in a circle, and arranged to look as hideously as possi 
 ble. Immense quantities of buffalo meat were now brought, 
 und the feast made ready. Nothing but buffalo meat is eaten, 
 mid every one makes it a point to gorge himself to the fullest 
 extent. Even the dogs are stuffed, and the -women and children 
 persuaded to eat wLile they can force down a bite. The greater 
 I he quantity of meat eaten, the greater the honor ; and some starve 
 themselves for two or three days in advance, in order to do jus 
 tice to the occasion. The meat is prepared in every form 
 l>oiled, fried, broiled, roasted, and raw. When one is full, he 
 goes to the pole, and as soon as a sufficient number have col 
 lected, the dance begins. The warriors sit in a circle around 
 the pole, and the squaws, gaudily dressed and painted, form a 
 circle around the warriors. At a signal the drums beat, and 
 all rise and stand. Then the squaws sing, and the warriors 
 move around to the right and the squaws to the left, each 
 keeping time to the drums with their feet. The dance is a 
 slow, shuffling motion, but soon makes one very tired. When 
 a warrior or squaw gets tired, they step out of the circle and 
 otheis take their places. As soon as it is dark wood is brought, 
 fires made around the pole, and the dancing is kept up all 
 night. The feasting frequently continues for three days, and
 
 64 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF 
 
 at no time is the pole without its set of dancers. The amox.nl 
 of buffalo consumed is prodigious, when we consider that, be 
 sides the vast quantities eaten by the Indians, each family has 
 from six to ten dogs. 
 
 Not to dance on such an occasion would seem to be ungrate 
 ful jr the good luck I had had in taking meat, so I joined iu 
 heartily, but by midnight, was completely worn out. Calling 
 to Washtella, I told her I was so tired I must go to my lodge, 
 and she readily acceded, and went with me. Laying down, I 
 immediately fell asleep, but, on waking at daylight, I was 
 surprised to find Washtella already up and going about her 
 work. I inquired what made her rise so early, and she then 
 confessed that as soon as I was asleep she had stolen out and 
 gone back to the dance, from which she had but just re 
 turned. Poor child! she had done no more than her white 
 sisters often do that is, had a night of it so I readily for 
 gave her. 
 
 The feast over, we began to prepare in earnest for our return. 
 The meat was carefully distributed, so that no pony would bo 
 overloaded, and every thing was neatly packed. It took both 
 my ponies and all my dogs to carry my meat and lodge, so 
 Washtella and I had to walk. We considered this no great 
 hardship, however, as nearly the whole village was on foot. 
 We made only eight or ten miles a day ; but at last, after a most 
 fatiguing march, reached the Missouri, and entered our old 
 camp near Fort Randall. 
 
 I was glad to be at home once more, and I felt very comfort 
 able, for I had made a good reputation as a hunter, formed new 
 friendships, and won over some of my old enemies. Indeed, 
 why should I not be comfortable? My domestic relations were 
 most happy. I had an abundance of winter's food, twelve
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 65 
 
 robes, and Washtella had provided me with a good supply of 
 tobacco.* So I sat down with my favorite pipe and was at 
 peace with all the world. 
 
 * The cha-sha-sha, or Indian tobacco, is made of red-willow bark. The 
 squaws gather great quantities of the sprouts or small limbs, and peel off 
 the bark, which, when dried, is broken into pieces of about the consistency 
 of Killikinick. When properly preserved, red willow is equal to the best 
 Killikinick; and when smoked has a sweet, pleasant taste, and emits a 
 delicious perfume.
 
 G6 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WDIAN DOCTORS THEIR IGNORANCE AND VANITY PATENT MEDICINES IN 
 DIAN GIRL BITTEN BY A RATTLESNAKE THE SAVAGE MODE OF TREATMENT- 
 AX OLD INDIAN PHYSICIAN A VERITABLE ASS HOW THE GIRL WAS CURED 
 WONDER OF THE SAVAGES THE COUNCIL AND EXPLANATION MODESTY OF 
 THE INDIAN DOCTOR PRACTICING MEDICINE AMONG THE SAVAGES A BORK- 
 I GIVE UP THE DOCTORING BUSINESS. 
 
 TNDIANS have the reputation among white people of being 
 -- great natural physicians, and although it can not be denied 
 that they have some knowledge of herbs and simple remedies, 
 yet their claim to extensive medical learning is wholly ficti 
 tious. Among my earliest recollections are pictures on bottles 
 of well-proportioned female Indians receiving from angels 
 herbs which were to cure all the ills of the flesh, and the 
 knowledge of which some venerable chief, while on his death 
 bed, kindly communicated to a missionary. Hence we have 
 Red Jacket's Bitters, when Red Jacket, in fact, never drank 
 any bitters. It would somewhat destroy the efficacy of these 
 nostrums to inquire to what church the missionary belonged 
 who received the information of the medical properties of ihe 
 herbs, and also of what tribe the famous Chief Wliang- 
 doodleds was the head. We shall recur to this subject again, 
 but now give place to the following incident, as illustrative of 
 the character of the Indian doctor. 
 
 There were several young girls who came nearly every day
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 67 
 
 to my lodge to talk with my squaws, and one day one of these, 
 while out gathering brushwood for the fire, was bitten in the 
 arm by a rattlesnake. This I was told by a girl who came 
 running to my lodge crying bitterly, and saying her sister waa 
 going to die. I asked Washtella what the medicine man did 
 in such cases, and she said nothing at all but pray for the 
 spirit of the unfortunate. I told her to run over to the med 
 icine-lodge quickly, where the girl had been taken, and tell 
 the "Great Medicine Man" I could cure her. "Washtelln 
 laughed in my face, and said she would not dare do such n 
 thing, as no women but the immediate relatives of the afflicted 
 were allowed to approach the lodge on such occasions. I 
 threatened to punish her if she did not go instantly, and no 
 doubt thinking my anger was more to be dreaded than that of 
 the medicine man, she ran off, but soon returned to say she- 
 could not gain admittance. I hastened to the lodge, and on 
 approaching saw several poles stuck up over the door with 
 charms and feathers tied to them. I heard a great beating of 
 drums and wailing within, and while others stood at a respect 
 ful distance 1 walked boldly up to the door and entered. 
 Within I saw the old doctor crouched at the head of the girl, 
 who lay extended on a buffalo-robe, her arm bare to the 
 shoulder. Her mother was seated at her feet, moaning bitterly, 
 and rocking herself to and fro. The doctor was singing vig 
 orously and rattling a gourd over the girl's head; then he 
 would take up a drum made of raw hide and beat it indus 
 triously, -raising his humdrum tone to a shrill key, when he 
 would resume his gourd and guttural song. So intently waa 
 this learned doctor engaged in making medicine that he did 
 not notice my intrusion, but kept on with his chaunt. Feel 
 ing that I was standing on forbidden ground, and making
 
 (iH BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF, 
 
 snyself liable to a severe punishment, if not' death, I deter 
 mined to act quickly, not only for my own sake but the girl's. 
 Stepping up to the gray-headed and shriveled doctor, I cried 
 in a loud voice : 
 
 " Let the father be silent and hear." 
 
 For a moment or two the sharp rattling of the gourd 
 continued, and the song rose higher and higher, then sud 
 denly it ceased, and the old doctor, rising to his feet and draw 
 ing up his shrunken frame to its full height, demanded : 
 
 " Why come you here?" 
 
 " In His name I come," I answered, pointing to the sky. 
 
 In a moment the old man was bowed on his knees, and mut 
 tered, "How is this, O God!" 
 
 "Behold," I continued, "the Great Spirit has sent me to 
 eat the poison and cure the girl ; " and so saying I knelt 
 down by the side of the poor sufferer. She had now been 
 bitten some fifteen or twenty minutes, and already the swelling 
 had commenced, and two small purpie-looking circles were 
 formed around the wound. There were two small red spots 
 where the fangs of the reptile had entered the arm, and 1 
 feared it was too late to save the poor creature's life, but de 
 termined to try. I applied my lips to the wound and sucked 
 it vigorously, but nothing came from it; then I bit it 
 gently and a few drops of black looking blood came out. 
 Presently it bled freely, and I sucked it as long as the 
 blood seemed impure. 1 next ran over to my lodge and 
 Hweetened nearly a pint of whisky, which I fortunately had, 
 and gave it to the girl to drink. Then I heated a \vire, 
 and, thrusting it into the wound, cauterized it to the depth 
 the snake's' teeth had p.-netrated. The girl held very still, 
 and never once moved oj complained. Very soon the whisky
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 71 
 
 I 
 
 caused her to fall into a deep sleep, and I left the lodge 
 motioning the mother and doctor to follow. They had 
 looked on with feelings of wonder and awe, and when we 
 were outside I said, " Let the maiden sleep as long as she 
 will, and when she awakes she will be well. " 
 
 I starred toward my lodge, when the medicine man followed 
 me a few steps, and, seizing niy hand, said, with deep feeling, 
 " Farewell, my son ; I am sorry for you." 
 
 I asked him what he meant, and the venerable ass then ex 
 plained, that, having eaten the poison from the girl's arm, of 
 course T would die. I said I hoped not, for I intended to 
 spew it up, and I believed the Great Spirit would not let me 
 die for doing as he had commanded me. He replied, " O God, 
 I guess this is good ! " 
 
 " You bet it is, old donkey," I replied in English, knowing 
 he did not understand a word of that language. He bowed 
 deeply, no doubt thinking I had paid him a great compliment, 
 and departed to his lodge. . 
 
 I hastened home, and found my poor Washtella in great 
 distress, for she had heard already that I had eaten the poison, 
 and of course would die. I bade her be of good cheer, and, 
 drinking nearly a quart of rum, lay down to sleep. In truth, 
 I was a little uneasy lest some of the poison had got into my 
 system, but hoped to neutralize it with the effects of the rum. 
 
 When I awoke, the morning sun was shining, and a great 
 crowd of men and women had collected around my lodge, 
 curious to know if I were dead or alive. My first care was to 
 inquire after my patient, and to my inexpressible delight found 
 she was not only living but well. 
 
 I had slept many hours, but the effects of the liquor were 
 still upon me ; and, after smoking the great medicine pipe, and
 
 72 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 i 
 
 giving thanks to the Great Spirit for my own t*^ well as the 
 girl's safety, I lay down again to rest. 
 
 In the evening I went out, and, knowing the great desire in 
 the village to have the particulars of the cure I had performed 
 made known, I desired all the chief men to assemble, and, when 
 all were present, gave them the following truthful version of 
 the affair : 
 
 " As I lay in my lodge, the Great Spirit came to me and 
 said, ' A young girl of thy tribe, while gathering brush, has 
 been bitten by a rattlesnake, and I desire her to live. Arise, 
 and go to the medicine lodge, and eat the .poison, and you 
 shall not die. Tell the Great Medicine Man, my servant, that 
 I sent you, and he will know I did; for he is very great and 
 very wise.' (Here the venerable ass nodded complacently and 
 smiled benignantly on us all.) So I went to the lodge, and eat 
 the poison, and the Great Spirit did not let the girl die, nor 
 am I dead, my fathers." 
 
 When I closed, the mighty man of medicine arose aud mod 
 estly said : 
 
 " All the brother says is true. When he came, I knew at 
 once the Great Spirit had sent him, and that he would eat th 
 poison and not die, but save the girl's life. Had he not done 
 so, I would have eaten the poison myself; and when any 
 of you are bitten by a rattlesnake, come to me and I will 
 cure you." 
 
 I felt very much like kicking the miserable old liar, buf 
 dissembled, and then we all smoked, gave thanks for an occur 
 rence so wonderful, and adjourned. 
 
 After this I was considered a great medicine man in the 
 tribe, and all the halt, the lame, and the blind in the village
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 73 
 
 iged to get rid of most of my patients by sending them to the 
 medisine man, who had become a firm, fast friend of mine. 
 
 The girl I had cured wished to marry me, but I declined, 
 and so remained a great lion among the young ladies of the 
 village. 
 
 NOTE. Mr. Belden has not overstated the case in the above narrative. 
 The medicine men of the Indians are, as a general thing, among the most 
 ignorant persons in the tribes. The credulity and superstition of the sav 
 ages make them respect these impostors, but it is absurd for them to lay 
 any claim to medical knowledge. 
 
 At Forsyth's battle on the Republican, in 1868, the medicine man of the 
 Cheyennes harrangued the young men, and told them to charge the forB, 
 for the medicine was all right, and the Great Spirit had told him the 
 bullets would not hit them. He also said he could catch a bullet in his 
 teeth, and to show them, he rode down toward the fort, when one of For 
 syth's men shot him through the bowels and he died. It is said that 
 these men, by long continued imposition on others, come to believe their 
 uwn liea ED.
 
 74 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 INDIA V HORSE RACES THE SANTEES GET BEATEN ANOTHER EXPEDITION 
 AGAINST THE PAWNEES CROSSING THK MISSOURI WAITING FOR THE SAN- 
 TEES THE MARCH THE ATTACK WOO-HOO-YAH-HOO A DISASTER THE 
 
 RETREAT A BATTLE THE WAR-CHIEF WOUNDED A TERRIBLE CONTEST 
 
 DEFEATED AGAIN THE RETURN HOMEWARD PARTING WITH THE SANTEES 
 MOURNING FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 C1OON after the incident related in the last chapter the fall 
 ' races began, and we had a lively and exciting time. The 
 Yanktons had pitted a number of fine horses against the San- 
 tees' stock, and the whole village turned out to see the contest. 
 Tlfe Indian races present a gay scene, every body being in their 
 best dress and feathers, and the horses gay with plumage. The 
 running was very fine, and the Yanktons were unusually suc 
 cessful, winning nearly every race over the Santees. I had a 
 horse to enter, but the Santees objected to my running him, so 
 I was not a little gratified to see them so badly beaten. 
 
 Two weeks after the races were over, time hanging heavily 
 on our hands, another expedition against the Pawnees was pro 
 posed. A large number of Santees were to go with us, and the 
 parly was to be larger, better mounted and equipped, than the 
 preceding expedition. All being in readiness, we marched down 
 the Missouri, and crossed over where the river was very wido 
 and shallow. The crossing, however, was difficult, and it was 
 with much labor we effected it. Each Indian tied his amrauni-
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 75 
 
 tion on top of his head, and strapped his gun to the side of his 
 pony's head, with the lock uppermost. Then they drove the 
 ponies intc the water, and taking hold of their tails near the 
 root, with, the right hand, paddled with the other one, guiding 
 the pony toward the opposite shore. We were carried by the 
 current some distance down the stream, but landed safely among 
 ome willows. We marched inland about ten miles to a suall 
 stream and encamped, building fires to dry ourselves. Here we 
 remained all the next day, waiting for the Santees, who had not 
 come up yet. TOAWJJX] night we saw a cloud of dust in the west, 
 and soon the Santee warriors came in sight. Another day was 
 consumed in dividing up the command, and assigning to each 
 warrior his duty. We set out at daylight, and on the following 
 day, at one o'clock, found ourselves within two miles of the 
 Pawnee village. We went into a ravine, and immediately began 
 preparations for the attack. The guns were loaded, forces again 
 divided, and all prepared, when a dispute arose as to whether we 
 should attack them at once, or wait for the cover of night. The 
 Santee chief, who was the senior in command, Avas in favor of 
 an immediate attack, urging that delay would be likely to dis 
 cover us to the Pawnees and defeat our designs. I did not wish 
 the attack^made until night, for fear some of the white men, 
 who 1 knew to be with the Pawnees, would recognize me, and 
 afterward give me trouble. My little party of fourteen war 
 riors was, however, easily voted down, and the old chief ordered 
 the assault to begin. Eight Indians were detailed to stampede 
 and drive off the herd while we held the Pawnees in check. 
 We had no idea of capturing the village, but hoped to steal the 
 herd, which was the object of the expedition. 
 
 The Santees attacked the village on the west side, and the 
 Yanktons on the north, so as to cover the herd, which was
 
 76 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 grazing on that side of the town. The surprise was complete 
 the ravine sheltering our movements until within a few hundrei. 
 yards of the teepees; then we dashed up and commenced firing 
 nir pistols and guns. 
 
 Indians do not fight in line like white men, but scatter out, 
 riding furiously about, and firing as often as possible. The 
 Pawnees, although surprised, were not dismayed, and soon the 
 fire from their lodges was very hot. I saw men and women 
 running from shelter tt> shelter with guns, and was beginning 
 to think about falling back, when I heard tfct long " Hoo! hoo ' 
 I-Yah-hoo!" of the stampeders, and saw the herd going pell- 
 mell over the hill, closely followed by our men. I immediately 
 withdrew, so as to cover the herd, and was soon joined by the 
 Yanktons, who were on my right. We commenced our retreat, 
 and all seemed to be going well, when suddenly, we saw a great 
 commotion in the herd, and our stampeders came riding down 
 the hill, closely followed by a large body of mounted Pawnees. 
 In an instant, the Santee chief called out to us to charge them, 
 and we did so, turning their right and cutting off about one- 
 half of the herd, which we drove rapidly about five miles, wher 
 we saw a cloud of dust rising in our rear, and the Pawnees werf" 
 upon us again. The chief ordered the captured stock to bo 
 driven on as fast as possible to the hills, and halted to give the 
 Pawnees battle. 
 
 We had just crossed a little stream, and took up our position 
 among the brush on its furthest bank from the enemy. AVe 
 saw that all the ponies they had recaptured from us were 
 mounted by warriors, and, thus re-enforced, the original party 
 of Pawnees greatly outnumbered our own. They deployed in 
 a long line, and advancing, began the battle by hurling clouds 
 of arrows against us. Our war-chief was struck in the shouldei
 
 Mourning for the Dead.
 
 : THE WHITE CHIEF. 79 
 
 and disabled early in the fight. He pulled out the arrow with 
 out even a grimace, and, riding up to me, turned over the 
 command, desiring me to hold on as long as I could, and then 
 fall back into the hills near by, where I would find him. The 
 fighting had lasted half an hour, and the firing becoming slack 
 in front, I was about to withdraw, when I perceived a large 
 body of Pawnees on my left and rear, and almost between me 
 and the herd. While one party had been holding us in front, 
 another body had moved down the stream, under cover, and 
 crossed over, completely outflanking my warriors. I saw the 
 Pawnees making for the herd, and mounting my men, we ran 
 for it, but the Pawnees having the shortest distance beat us, 
 and cut off, not only the herd, but our stampeders and war- 
 chief. The jSantees were much concerned about their chief, 
 and cut their way to him. The old man was completely sur 
 rounded by Pawnees, and fighting desperately. It was with 
 great difficulty we extricated him, and, although hardly able 
 to sit on his horse, from wounds and loss of blood, he imme 
 diately resumed command, and with great skill withdrew us 
 from the fight. The Pawnees fought desperately, being deter 
 mined to take the old chief's scalp, but we carried him off, 
 and the enemy, having now recovered all their stock, did not 
 follow us far. 
 
 Sadly we pursued our march homeward, and on the second 
 day reached the Missouri. The expedition had proved a total 
 failure, and we had lost heavily. Bidding Our allies the 
 Santees good-bye (they wishing to keep up the other bank 
 of the river to their tribe), we crossed the Missouri, and soon 
 entered our village, where we were received by the howling of 
 dogs, beating of drums, and wailing of children and women 
 for their dead fathers, brothers, and husbands.
 
 80 BEI.DEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CONDUCT OF GALLES-SCA IN TROUBLE A CONTEST WITH AN INDIAN NB\V 
 
 
 
 EXPEDITION AGAINST THE PAWNEES ITS FATE THE NKW WIFE GRIE!' 
 
 OF WASHTELLA DETERMINATION TO TAKE A JOURNEY THE DEPARTURE 
 
 ON THE MARCH BEAUTIFUL SCENERY AN INDIAN BURY1NG-GROUND 
 TALK WITH WASHTELLA ABOUT THE DEAD SCENE IN THE GRAVE-YARD 
 CURIOUS INDIAN CUSTOMS HOW THEY BURY THEIR DEAD SUPERSTITIONS 
 A NIGHT CAMP THE -JOURNEY CONTINUED FAR UP THE MISSOURI IN 
 THE SANTEE LANDS HOW WE COOKED AND ATE. 
 
 I HAD been in the village but a day or two after my return 
 from the disastrous expedition against the Pawnees, when 
 I was made aware, in more ways than one, of a growing dis 
 like to me among the Yanktons. First, Shan-ka Galles-sca 
 the Spotted Dog who had his lodge close beside mine, pulled 
 it down and moved away. He it was who had told me to 
 take the Santee robes into the council chamber just before the 
 raid. When njy friend Galles-sca abandoned me, I expected 
 to see all the rest of my band follow his example ; but, with the 
 exception of one other old Indian, all remained steadfast. I 
 called my warriors together, and explained to them how it was 
 the fault of the Santees, and no fault of mine, or those under 
 my leadership, that we had been defeated. They seemed satis 
 fied, and advised me to lay the matter before the general 
 council. I attended the council at its next session, but as
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 31 
 
 it had been called for the transaction of special business, 1 
 could not be heard, and I never attended again. 
 
 One day, some weeks later, I was told a party of young 
 men were going out to visit the Poncas, who live on a reser 
 vation near the mouth of the Niobanah River. From the 
 secrecy used in their preparations, I suspected something more 
 than a friendly visit was meant, and sent my brother-in-law, a 
 young warrior of some note, to find out what was going on. 
 He soon returned, and informal me that the party was going 
 ostensibly to visit the Poncas, but in reality to -t.*ack the 
 Pawnees. I was cautioned, however, to say nothing, as some 
 Santees were then in the village on a visit, and the Yanktons 
 did not wish them to know of the expedition. That day, 
 much to the gratification of our warriors, the Sautees took 
 their departure, and the necessity of secrecy being removed, 
 the expedition was then publicly talked of. 
 
 In the evening, as I was returning home, I met a warrior 
 who was going on the raid, and who I knew did not like me. 
 He came .up and asked me if I was going upon the new expe 
 dition, and I said, No, I would not go ; when he fell to brag 
 ging about what they would do, and told me I should go and 
 try to redeem myself in the eyes of the tribe. I became angry 
 at this unjust taunt of the braggart, and made haste to reply. 
 
 "I fought the Pawnees as well as any Yankton, and better 
 than you ever will." 
 
 He laughed, and asked : 
 " " How many Pawnee ponies have you to trade ? " 
 
 " More than you will ever capture," I said. 
 
 "Come, now," he replied, "you can go with -men this tim 
 not squaws" 
 
 " J had rather have Yankton squaVrs than you," I retorted
 
 82 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 at which he became pale with rage, for it is a most deadly in 
 sult to call an Indian a squaw. 
 
 Stepping up to me, he struck me with the back of his hand 
 on the breast, saying, "Go away, boy! Go away, boy!" 
 
 " Stand back ! " I cried, " or I will strike you to the 
 airth." 
 
 " Does the pale face think because the Yankions have been 
 kind to him, he is their equal ?" inquired the warrior, with a 
 contemptuous curl of his lip. - 
 
 " Yes, and the superior of a squaw's man, and a warrior 
 whose mother never allows him- to use pointed arrows, lest he 
 hurt himself," I answered, hotly. 
 
 With a bound, the Indian sprang upon me, but I leaped 
 aside, and gave him a blow on the nose, which made the blood 
 spurt out. Blind with rage, he sought to grapple with mo, but 
 knowing he was much the stronger of the two, I kept out 
 of his clutches, and punished him terribly with my fists. In 
 a short time his face was beaten like a prize-fighter's, and, 
 making a furious bound, I struck him in the stomach, and 
 laid him flat on his back. 
 
 The fight had been witnessed by many of the warriors, who 
 sympathized with me; and when I had knocked my antago 
 nist down, they set up a great shouting, and my friends took 
 me in triumph to my lodge. Next morning I sent for some 
 whisky, killed a dog, and made a great feast in token of my 
 victory. 
 
 The warriors who went on this third expedition against the 
 Pawnees, returned in a few days completely broken down and 
 disheartened. ' They reported that the Pawnees, under the 
 leadership of a white chief, named Frank North, had surprised 
 them, captured some ponies, and killed one Ponca warrior, and
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 83 
 
 captured another. They had had a hard run to save tudii 
 lives, and all the ponies were exhausted, and soraf had died of 
 fatigue before they reached the village. 
 
 I was glad I had not gone on the expedition, and wished to 
 go and taunt the Indian I had thrashed with his misfortunes, 
 but my friends persuaded me not to do so. 
 
 The summer had now come with its sunshine and flowers; 
 the grass was up several inches high, and the birds caroling 
 in the trees overhead. As the tribe had determined to remain 
 in camp all summer and eat up their buffalo meat, I concluded 
 to go on a journey up the Missouri. I had so far overcome 
 my first antipathies to Indian wives as to take a second one. 
 Polygamy is not only one of the recognized, but one of the 
 most honored, practices of the Yanktons. A man may have 
 all the wifres he can keep, after the fashion of Brigham Young 
 and his latter-day saints. As I was a skillful lumter, and 
 might have had half a dozen, whereas I only took two, I claim 
 some virtue and credit on that account. 
 
 My second rib was a pale-faced, slender beauty indeed, a 
 mere child, with a gentle and submissive disposition. Wash- 
 tella evidently did not like this new-comer to the lodge; but 
 she said nothing, and treated the young squaw with respect and 
 kindness. Often I saw the pain and grief even her Indian 
 stoicism could not conceal, and from the bottom of my heart I 
 pitied her, and regretted having brought another to my lodge 
 to vex my patient and faithful Washtella. 
 
 When I had fully determined to leave the camp, I called 
 my wives together, and informed them of the fact. They ut- 
 leied no words of comment, for what has an Indian wife to do 
 o:it obey her master? My warriors were next notified of my 
 intended departure, and they said not a word. The old chief
 
 84 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 spoke kindly to me, and asked whither 1 was going, but I only 
 pointed to tffe northward, and said nothing. 
 
 It was a beautiful morning in the month of June, when my 
 wives pulled down my lodge, and we began our journey. The 
 lodge cover, and all oiy* effects were packed on two ponies, one 
 )f which was led by "Washtella, and the of her by Wacheata, 
 ny second wife. H followed soon afterward, mounted on my 
 horse. 
 
 I could not help pitying the "ladies" as they trudged 
 idong on foot through the sand, for the day was quite hot, and 
 their skirts narrow and heavy. Tilters would have been of 
 great comfort and benefit to them just then. 
 
 At noon we halted in a grove on the river bank, and while 
 the ponies grazed, Washtella set out on the grass a repast of 
 buffalo meat and ash-cake. 
 
 I asked the women where the trail we were then travel 
 ing led to. I cared not, so it went northward, and away 
 from the hostile Pawnees. 
 
 Washtella told me that not far to the north were the 
 lands of the Santees, and that where we were then resting 
 once stood the village of the Yanktons. Not a vestige of it 
 was left, but on the hill beyond the wood I could see the bury- 
 ing-ground. 
 
 I directed Washtella and Wacheata to pack our kitchen 
 furniture on the poles behind the pony, and we would go 
 up to the grave-yard, for I wished to have a look at it. 
 At this their great eyes opened wide with horror, and the? 
 held up their hands to signify that they clid not dare 
 commit such a sacrihge, and so I bade them stay where 
 they were. Not having the fear of Indian gods before me, 
 1 rode boldly up to the hill, and there saw hundreds of
 
 RELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 87 
 
 bodies wrapped in blankets, buffalo robes, and bark, and laid 
 out to dry on scaffolds made of poles and forked sticks. 
 These scaffolds are seven to eight feet high, ten feet long, 
 and four or five wide. Four stout posts with forked enda 
 are first set firmly in the ground, and then in the forks 
 are laid cross and side poles, on which is made a flooring 
 of small poles. The body is then carefully wrapped, so as 
 tc make it water-tight, and laid to rest on the poles. The 
 reason why Indians bury in the open air, instead of under 
 the ground, is for the purpose of protecting their dead from 
 wild animals. In new countries, where wolves and bears are 
 numerous, a dead body will be dug up and devoured, though 
 it be put many feet under the ground. 
 
 An Indian grave-yard is a curious sight, with its silent 
 tileepers. Here was an old fellow, whose scaffold had fallen 
 iJown at one end, and his skeleton rested with its head on 
 the ground, and its bony feet in the air. There the long 
 black hair of a woman, falling through the decaying poles, 
 streamed in the wind. There were skulls and bones all 
 around, and flocks of ravens screamed and wheeled in the 
 air. I saw stout warriors, old men and old women, rest 
 ing as peacefully ar if they slept in the beautiful ceme 
 teries of the East. Maidens lay there, too, all unconscious 
 of the flowers that were springing up on the prairies around 
 them, girls who had died long before my two young wives 
 (who were then praying in the grove for my safety) had 
 opened their seductive orbs on this world of glass beads and 
 buffalo intestines. 
 
 I noticed many little buckets and baskets hanging on the 
 scaffolds, and when I returned to the grove I asked Washtella 
 what they were for. She said that when an Indian dies the
 
 88 BELDEN:.THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 body is carried to the grave-yard, where, amid much smoking 
 and speech-making, it is hoisted upon the scaffold and left to 
 rest. All then return to the village except the immediate 
 friends and relatives of the dead, who remain to howl around 
 I he grave. 
 
 After death the soul goes on a journey to the happy hunting- 
 grounds, where there is plenty of game, clear streams, beautiful 
 groves, pleasant wild fruits, and no wars. While the soul is 
 performing this journey it must be fed and have drink, the 
 same as though it had remained in the body. The buckets 
 and baskets I had seen had contained food and water for the 
 dead. 
 
 I asked Washtella if she was sure the soul ate and drank 
 on its journey, and if the food did not remain untouched in 
 the basket? 
 
 She replied, "Oh, no; the water and food is always gone, 
 for the dead are very hungry." I looked at the hundreds of 
 ravens perched on the scaffolds, and could, account for what 
 became of most of the food and water, still I could not help 
 thinking there were lazy Indians in every village who got the 
 most of their living out of the grave-yards. 
 
 I asked Washtella how long it took a soul to reach the 
 happy hunting-grounds, and she replied : " About one month ; 
 and during all that time the wife or nearest relation must go 
 every day with a fresh supply of bread and water for the jour- 
 ueying spirit. When the dead person is rich, a couple of 
 ponies are killed and buried under the scaffold, so the spirit 
 can ride to the happy home." 
 
 I asked Washtella what the Indians did when there was no 
 timber to build scaffolds, and she replied that they never 
 camped far from timber; and if any one in the village died
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 89 
 
 wnile on the march, the body was packed on the teepee poles, 
 and curried along until they reached a grave-yard, where it 
 was buried. 
 
 Having finished my pipe, and satisfied my curiosity in regard 
 to the mode of burying dead savages, I ordered the women to 
 repack the ponies, and we resumed our journey. 
 
 In the evening, just as the sun was setting, we spied a beau 
 tiful willow grove, and turned off the trail some distance to 
 .camp in it. A stream of pure cold water meandered through 
 the trees, and we pitched our lodge on the green grass by 
 its banks. 
 
 I had shot an antelope, and while Washtella dressed it and 
 prepared the evening meal, Wacheata put the ponies out to 
 graze and erected the lodge. I sat cross-legged on a buffalo 
 robe, and smoked my pipe, having nothing else to do, accord 
 ing to Indian custom, where the women do all the work. 
 
 A more beautiful spot than our camp could not be imagined. 
 The tall, graceful willows, with their yellow arms, shaded the 
 greensward from the sun in summer and broke the wind? 
 in winter. 
 
 After supper I caught some fine fish out of the stream, an 
 when the full round moon came up, I watched its bright rays 
 flit and dance among the trees, making a thousand grotesque 
 pictures on the ground. 
 
 Next day's journey brought us near Fort Benton. All after 
 noon we had been marching for many hours aTong the Mis 
 souri. The valley was wide, covered with luxuriant grass, 
 and dotted with mmny-colored flowers. These flowers, though 
 beautiful to the eye, had no fragrance. The river banks were 
 fringed with a heavy growth of cottonwood, willow, and dog 
 wood trees. 
 
 6
 
 90 . BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 At one time this valley was the resort of vast herds of 
 buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope, and their skulls and bonea 
 still lie scattered thick on the ground between the bluffs and 
 the river. 
 
 All the game is now gone except a few antelope and deer. 
 
 We halted in some cottonwoods by the river, and the squawa, 
 gathering a supply of wood, soon had a supper prepared of 
 dried buffalo meat, corn, 'coon fat, and ash-cakes.* "We all ate 
 out of the same kettle, so the dishes were easily washed. To 
 eat, smoke, sleep, and march was the same to-day as yesterday, 
 and so the journey wore on for nine long, weary suns, when 
 we came in sight of the Santee village, and here our travels 
 ended for the present. 
 
 * Ash-cake is the Indian's bread. It is maae or flour mixed with watei 
 And kneaded into a tough dough. It is then made into little cakes and 
 baked in the ashes. The Indians use no salt in their bread or any of 
 their victuals
 
 JBELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 91 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 iV INDIAN VILLAGE MIRAGES ON THE PRAIRIES THEIR FATAL DECEPTIONS 
 THE ENCAMPMENT A SURPRISE A STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL PICTURE THE 
 
 WARNING AND WELCOME LOCATING A TOWN LOT THE SANTEES CURIOSITV 
 
 OF THE WOMEN RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN WHITE AND RED WOMEN A NOBLE 
 
 PEOPLE THE MISSIONARY PLEASANT INTERVIEW HOW THE INDIANS BUILD 
 
 THEIR HOMES MY NEW RESIDENCE 
 
 ONE can have no appreciative idea of an Indian village, 
 unless he has been permitted to come across the prairie 
 through a hot summer's sun, and suddenly discovers one nestled 
 under the broad shade trees, beside a clear running stream, in 
 a green valley. How pleasant the grass then looks; how re 
 freshing the bright waters, and how cozy the tall lodges, with 
 their shaded verandahs of thickly interwoven boughs. 
 
 All day long we had toiled over the scorching plain, through 
 clouds of grasshoppers that often struck us in the face with 
 sufficient force to make the skin smart for several minutes. 
 Once we had seen a mirage of a beautiful lake, fringed with 
 trees and surrounded by green pastures, which invited us to 
 pursue its fleeting shadows, but we knew all about these decep 
 tions by sad experience, and pushed steadily on over the 
 burning sands. 
 
 These mirages often deceive the weary traveler of the desert. 
 Suddenly the horseman sees a river or lake, apparently, just 
 ahead of him, and he rides on and on, hoping to come up tc
 
 02 BELDEN: THE WHITE- CHIEF. 
 
 it. For hours it lies before his eyes, and then in a moment 
 disappears, leaving him miles and miles out of his way, and in 
 the midst of desert sands. 
 
 Men have ridden all day striving to reach the beautiful river 
 just before them, and then at night turned back to plod their 
 weary way to ^here they had started from in the morning. 
 These mirages often lead to death both man and horse. 
 
 The mirage we had seen was most delightful, representing a 
 clear lake, with trees, meadows, and villages nestling on its 
 shores, but it scarcely equalled the reality of the scene when, 
 late in the afternoon we ascended a rise in the prairie, and saw 
 below us a wide stream lined with green trees, and on its banks 
 a large Indian encampment. 
 
 The ponies pricked up their ears and neighed with pleasure 
 as they smelt the water, and our own delight was unbounded 
 We halted for- a moment to admire the beautiful prospect 
 Through the majestic trees, slanting rays of the sun shivered on 
 the grass ! Far away, winding like a huge silver-serpent, ran the 
 river, while near by, in a shady grove, stood the village the 
 children at play on the green lawns not made by hands. The 
 white sides of the teepees shone in the setting sunlight, and 
 the smoke curled lazily upward from their dingy tops. Bright 
 ribbons and red grass, looking like streamers on a ship, fluttered 
 from the lodge-poles, and gaudily dressed squaws and warriors 
 walked about, or sat on the green sod under the trees. There 
 were maidens, as beautiful as Hiawatha, or as graceful as Minne- 
 naha, wandering, hand in hand, along the stream, or listening 
 
 hj 
 
 under the shade of some wide spreading tree to words of love, 
 us soft and tender as ever were poured into woman's ear.* 
 
 * The warriors have a war-paint which they put on when they go to bat 
 tle, and they have also a oaint which they wear when in love; it is called
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 93 
 
 Near the village were hundreds of horses and ponies, with 
 bright feathers flaunting in their manes and tails as they cropped 
 the rich grass* of the valley.* 
 
 A group of noisy children were playing at a game much 
 resembling teh-pins; some boys were shooting at a mark \vith 
 arrows, and up the stream several youths were returning home 
 with rod and line, and fine strings of speckled trout. 
 
 Scores of men and women were swimming about in the river, 
 now diving, and then dousing each other amid screams of 
 laughter from the bystanders on the shore. Here and there a 
 young girl darted about like a fish, her black hair streaming 
 behind her in the water. 
 
 While we looked, the little children suddenly ceased from 
 play and ran into the lodges ; mounted men surrounded the 
 herd, and the swimmers and promenaders hastened toward the 
 village. We had been perceived by the villagers, and the un 
 expected arrival of strange horsemen at an Indian encampment 
 always creates great excitement. They may be friends, but 
 they are more often enemies, so the villagers are always pre 
 pared for a surprise. 
 
 Soon men were seen running to and fro with guns and bows, 
 and in a few minutes, some mounted warriors left the encamp 
 ment and rode toward us, going first to the top of the highest 
 
 the "love paint," and means that the warrior is "on the path of love, an<l 
 not the war-path." Nothing is more common than to see an Indian maiden 
 seated on a buffalo robe, under a shade tree, beading moccasins for her 
 dusky lover. 
 
 * The buffalo-grass is dry and hard, and seems to have little nutrimen 
 in it, but its stein and roots are filled with a rich sweet, juice. The cattle 
 and li3Ts?s get very fat on it, notwithstanding its brown and parched ap 
 pearance.
 
 94 BELDEU: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 mounds to see if they could discover other horsemen in thf 
 rear, or to the right or left of us. 
 
 No sooner did they ascertain there were but three in the 
 party, than they rode boldly up and asked us our business. 
 I told them who we were, and where we were from, upon 
 which they cordially invited us to the village. 
 
 As we approached, men, women and children poured out of 
 the encampment to look at the strangers, and having satisfied 
 their curiosity, the sports and amusements of the evening were 
 
 renewed. 
 
 \ 
 
 I asked permission to camp of no one, for I needed none, as 
 this was God's land, and not owned by ravenous and dishonest 
 speculators. So I marched right down to the center of the vil 
 lage, and finding a vacant space, pitched my lodge. It was not 
 necessary to purchase a town-lot here, for no one, ss>ve Him who 
 owns all, held real estate. 
 
 A few Santee women gathered about my squaws and chatted 
 with them, anxious to learn the news from down the river. 
 Seeing they were interfering with the unpacking of the ponies 
 and the erecting of the lodge, I unceremoniously ordered them 
 to begone, and they went quietly away. The lodge was soon 
 up; the ponies unpacked and put out to graze. Having seen 
 things put in order for the night, I sauntered out through tho 
 village to learn the news. 
 
 I was agreeably surprised, when I learned there was a white 
 man in the village, who had been sent out to the Indians as a 
 missionary. All the savages spoke of him as a kind-hearted, 
 good man, who was a great friend of the Great Spirit, and the 
 Big Father at Washington. 
 
 I made haste to pay my respects to my white brother, and 
 found him indeed a good Christian gentleman. He had a
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 95 
 
 white wife and child, and he and they were living comfortably 
 and pleasantly with these wild children of the desert. I talked 
 more than an hour with the good man ; it was so delightful to 
 gee and speak with one of my own blood and color. When I 
 left him, I promised I would return the next -.lay and dine 
 \vith him, which I did. It may sound strange to hear one 
 talk of " dining out " in an Indian camp, but I can assure my 
 civilized readers the meal was none the less wholesome or 
 abundant on account of the place in which it was served. 
 
 When I returned to my lodge, I found it surrounded by a 
 crowd of dirty squaws and children, who were intent upon ex 
 amining every thing we had. I ordered them off, and could 
 not help laughing when I compared the curiosity of these rude 
 Indian women with that I had seen exhibited at church in the 
 States by white women. They there go to church, not to hear 
 the Gospel, but to see what their neighbors have to wear, and 
 these Indian women had come to my lodge with the same 
 laudable object. I am not certain that human nature is the 
 same every-where, but I am quite certain woman nature is the 
 same all the world over. 
 
 I found the Santees a most excellent people. I had heard 
 bad stories about them, but was agreeably surprised to learn 
 that all that had been told to their disadvantage was false. 
 The Omahas, Winnebagoes, Pawnees, Otoes, Sacs, Foxes, 
 Crows, Snakes, Arrapahoes, Clieyennes, Blackfeet, Ogallalahs, 
 and Yanktons are all either thieves or beggars, but here was 
 a tribe of Indians who neither begged nor stole. The women 
 were generally neat in their dress, virtuous, and cleanly in 
 their persons. The warriors were men of great pride and 
 bravery. The chiefs of the Santees were men of few worda, 
 but they were dignified, courteous, and truthful in all they
 
 96 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 eaid and did. After all my experiences and disappointments 
 among the Indians of the plains, I could not help admiring 
 and respecting these people, for here at last I had found a tribe 
 such as Cooper had represented, and Longfellow characterized 
 m Hiawatha. The longer I lived among the Santees the 
 more cause I found to praise them. 
 
 I had built a willow awning over the door of my teepee, 
 and shaded it with brush, so it was quite cool and pleasant. 
 
 Every tribe of Indians build their lodges differently. Thus, 
 the Winnebagoes live in huts made of the bark of trees, 
 closely resembling an inverted teacup on the outside. The 
 Pawnee houses are built in the same shape, but are made of 
 mud, sod, or adobes. 
 
 The Santee lodges were tall conical- shaped tents, made of 
 buffalo hide tanned with the hair off, and stretched around 
 twelve poles. These poles are tied together at the top, and set 
 about three feet apart at the bottom, around a circle of one 
 hundred and eight feet. The lodge, when finished, is thirty- 
 six feet in diameter at the ground. The skin or covering is cut 
 bias, the small end being fastened to the top of the poles and 
 the long end wrapped round and round the poles, and finally 
 fastened to the ground with a wooden pin or stone. The poles 
 are not set in the ground, but the edge of the lodge cover 
 is pinned down with short pegs made of hard wood. An 
 aperture is left at the top of the lodge for the smoke to escape, 
 and the fire is built in the center. When the door is open 
 it draws well, and all the smoke goes up and out at the 
 aperture. 
 
 These lodges, although standing on the surface of the ground 
 and apparently very fragile, will withstand the most violent 
 niud and rain storms. I have seen them outlive the strongest
 
 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 99 
 
 modern tents, and stand up when even great trees were blown 
 down. 
 
 Many of the teepees were painted, having grotesque repre 
 sentations of men, horses, birds, turtles, deer, elk, and other 
 animals in red, blue, and black colors on their sides. The 
 village contained about two hundred lodges, and represented a 
 prairie-dog town, being laid out. with little regularity or order 
 as to the streets. 
 
 The village covered a great space, the tents being often one 
 and two hundred yards apart. 
 
 Having improved and beautified my own lodge to my sat 
 isfaction, I sat down to enjoy myself and smoke my pipe in 
 peace among these delightful people, little caring if I nevei 
 saw the Yankton village again.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 IXWAX ARROWS HOW THEY ARE MADE CUTTING THE SHAFTS DRYING AJCI 
 SMOKING THEM WHY THEY ARE WRAPPED IN RAWHIDE PEALING THH 
 
 SHAFTS MAKING THE NOTCH WHY THE SHAFT IS FLUTED THE ARROW 
 
 HEAD FASTENING IT PUTTING ON THE FEATHER PRICE OF ARROW-HEADS 
 WHERE THEY ARE MADE IMMENSE PROFITS OF THE TRADERS PRICES OP 
 ARROWS THE INDIANS BAD FINANCIERS INDIAN PAINTS WHERE THEY ARU 
 MANUFACTURED A CURIOUS, BUT PROFITABLE BUSINESS WAR ARROWS A 
 
 DEADLY SHAFT THE TERRIBLE POISONED ARROW HOW IT IS POISONED 
 
 DISUSE OF THE POISONED ARROW THE REASON WHY SIGNAL ARROWS 
 HOW THEY ARE MADE THEIR MEANING INDIAN CUNNING. 
 
 FT was during my residence in the Santee village that I saw 
 -*- many curious things, and learned much of the mode of life 
 and ceremonies of the Indians. Some of these are well worth, 
 not only reading but remembering, by persons who peruse this 
 volume. 
 
 Most people have seen the bows and arrows used by boys in 
 the eastern States, and those who have observed them know 
 how feeble they are, not even being capable of killing the 
 smallest animal. Do not be surprised, then, when I tell you 
 that an -Indian, with his bow, will send an arrow entirely 
 through a horse, man, or buffalo. The shaggy-coated bear or 
 Rocky Mountain lion will fall beneath a few shots from the 
 savage's btrong bow, while the fleet, wild deer is not swift 
 enough to escape the flight of his arrow. With unerring aim
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 101 
 
 the hunter sends his deadly shaft, at eighty yards, into the 
 heart or eye of his game, and with ease tips birds from the 
 tops of the highest trees. Of course, it requires long practice 
 to acquire such skill in the use of the bow, but the Indian will 
 tell you that more depends upon the manufacture of the weapon 
 than the skill of the marksman. "With a good Indian bow 
 and arrow a white man can, in a few hours, learn to shoot 
 very well, while with a bow and arrow of his own manufac 
 ture he can hardly hit a tree, the size of a man's body, a 
 rod off. 
 
 Let me teach you how to make a good bow and arrow. And 
 first, we will begin with the arrow : The shoots, or rods, must 
 be cut in the arrow season, that is, when the summer's growth 
 is ended. They must not have any branches or limbs on them, 
 but be straight and smooth. The Indians cut their arrows 
 late in the fall, when the timber is hardening, to withstand the 
 blasts of winter. The sticks are not quite so thick as one's 
 little finger, and they are sorted and tied in bundles of twenty 
 and twenty-five. These bundles are two or two and one-half 
 feet in length, and wrapped tightly from end to end with strips 
 of rawhide, or elk skin. The sticks are then hung up over 
 fire in the teepee to be smoked and dried, and the wrapping 
 keeps them from warping or bending. When they are seasoned, 
 which takes several weeks, the bundles are taken down, the 
 covering removed, and the bark scraped off. The wood is very 
 tough, then, and of a yellowish color. The next process is to 
 cut the arrow shafts exactly one length, and in this great care 
 must be used, for arrows of different lengths fly differently, and, 
 unless they are alike, the hunter's aim is destroyed. Another 
 reason for measuring the length of arrows is to identify them j 
 for no two warriors shoot arrows of precisely the same length.
 
 102 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Each warrior carries a measuring, or pattern stick, and it is 
 only necessary to compare an arrow with the stick to find out 
 to whom it belongs. But should the arrows, by chance, be of 
 one length, then there are other means of identifying them, 
 for every hunter has his own private mark in the shaft, the 
 head, or the feather. Of many thousands I have examined, I 
 never found two arrows exactly alike when they were made h/ 
 different warriors. 
 
 The shafts being made even, the next work is to form the 
 notch for the bow-string. This is done with a sharp knife, and, 
 when made properly, the bottom of the notch will be precisely 
 in the center of the shaft. The arrow is then scraped and 
 tapered toward the notch, leaving a round head an inch long 
 near the notch, to prevent the string from splitting the shaft, 
 and to make a firm hold for the thumb and forefinger in draw 
 ing the bow. 
 
 All the arrows are pealed, scraped, and notched, and then 
 the warrior creases them. To do this, he takes an arrow-head 
 and scores the shaft in zigzag lines from end to end. These 
 creases, or fluted gutters, in the shaft are to let the blood run 
 out when an animal is struck. The blood flows along the little 
 gutters in the wood and runs off the end of the arrow. The 
 arrow-head is made of steel or stone. It is shaped like a heart 
 or dart, and has a stem about an inch long. The sides of the 
 stem are nicked or filed out like saw-teeth. Nearly all the wild 
 Indians now use steel arrow-heads, they being a great article of 
 trade among the savages. There are firms in the East, who 
 manufacture many hundreds of thousands every year and send 
 them out to the traders, who sell them to the Indians for furs. 
 
 When the shaft is ready for the head, the warrior saws a slit, 
 with a nicked knife, in the end opposite the notch, and inserts
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 103 
 
 the stem of the arrow-head. The slit must be exactly in the 
 center of the "shaft, and as deep as the stem is long. When 
 properly adjusted, the teeth of the stem show themselves oc 
 each side of the slit. Buffalo, deer, or elk sinew is then soft 
 ened in water, and the wood is wrapped firmly to the arrow 
 head, taking care to fit the sinew in the teeth of the stem, 
 which will prevent the head from pulling out. ' 
 The next process is to put on the feathers. To do this 
 
 properly great care must be 
 taken. Turkey or eagle 
 quills are soaked in warm 
 water, to make them split 
 easily and uniformly. The 
 feather is then stripped from 
 the quill and put on the shaft 
 of the arrow. Three feathers 
 are placed on each shaft, and 
 they are laid equi-distant 
 along the stem. The big 
 end of the feather is fast 
 ened near the notch of the 
 shaft and laid six or eight 
 inches straight along the 
 wood. The feathers are glued 
 to the shaft, and wrapped at 
 each end with fine sinew. 
 The arrow is next painted, marked, dried, and is ready for use 
 It takes a warrior a whole day to make an arrow, for which the 
 trader allows him ten cents. 
 
 Arrow-heads are put up in packages of a dozen each. They 
 oast the trader half a cent, or six cents per package, and are Bold 
 
 Old Stone Arrow-heads.
 
 104 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 to the Indians at enormous profits. Thus, twelve arrow-heads 
 will be exchanged for a buffalo robe, worth $8 or $9, and three, 
 for a beaver skin, worth $4. Indians often buy arrow-heads at 
 these enormous prices, and then sell the arrow back to the trader 
 at ten cents, in exchange for goods, beads, or knives. The paints 
 used by Indians in ornamenting arrows are purchased from 
 traders. It is put up in small packages, and sold at 500 per 
 cent, above cost. Of late years there has been a house in St. Louia 
 that has made a speciality of Indian paints, and every Indian 
 tribe on the plains knows their brand. These paints are in 
 delible and excellent, the Indians being willing to pay any 
 price for them. Generally, imitation of Chinese vermillion, 
 yellow and green cromes, indigo, lamp-black, and ink are sold 
 to the savages for paints. 
 
 To make war arrows, the Indians manufacture the shafts the 
 same as for game arrows. The head is then fastened loosely in 
 the wood, and when it is fired into the body it can not be got 
 out. If you pull at the shaft the barbs catch and the shaft 
 pulls off, leaving the arrow-head in the wound. Some war 
 arrows have but one barb, and when this arrow is fired into 
 the body, if the shaft be pulled, the barb catches in the flesh 
 and the steel turns cross-wise in the wound, rendering it im 
 possible to extract it. 
 
 Fortunately but few Indian tribes now use the poisoned 
 arrow. This deadly weapon is made like other arrows, except 
 that it has a poisoned point. For years past, in the wars along 
 the Platte, on the upper Missouri, and in all our contests with 
 the Indians, not a single soldier or citizen has been shot with 
 a poisoned arrow. Civilization can never be sufficiently grate 
 ful, to even savages, for having discarded a practice so bar 
 barous.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 A Santee warrior once showed me the method used by Indiana 
 in poisoning arrows, which I will here describe: 
 
 A large, bloated, yellow rattlesnake, the most deadly reptile in 
 the world, was caught, and his head held fast by a forked stick. 
 An Indian then tickled him with a small switch, by passing it 
 along his body from head to tail. The rage of the snake was 
 unbounded; he threshed the ground with his body, hissed, 
 rattled his tail, and his eyes grew bright as diamonds. I could 
 not imagine why so simple a thing should make him so angry, 
 but his rage was as great as it was amusing. A small deer had 
 been brought out alive, and when the snake was most furious, 
 th^ animal was killed, the smoking liver torn out, and, hot and 
 bloody, laid before the reptile. The stick was then removed 
 from his neck, and in an instant he struck it, his teeth sinking 
 deep into the soft flooh. His rage seemed to increase each mo 
 ment, and he hit it again and again. When he tired, and would 
 have gone away, the forked stick was brought, his neck pinned 
 to the earth, and the tickle used until he became enraged. This 
 was kept up as long as the hideous creature could be induced to 
 strike the liver. He was then killed, a sharpened pole stuck 
 into the liver, and it was carried to the village. It soon be 
 came very black, and emitted a sour smell. Arrows were 
 brought, the heads thrust into the liver, and left there for half 
 an hour, when they were withdrawn, and laid in the sun to dry. 
 A thin, glistening yellow scum adhered to the arrow, and if it 
 but so much as touched the raw flesh, it was certain to poison to 
 the death. 
 
 Formerly the Indians always carried their poisoned arrows 
 in the skins of rattlesnakes, and they were very careful of them, 
 selecting and poisoning only such as had long shafts, peculiar 
 points, or different marks. Still, mistakes would occur, warrior's
 
 106 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 horses, dogs, and children, got accidentally poisoned and cited 
 and at last the Indians quit using them, more on account of theii 
 own safety than for any humanitarian reasons. 
 
 A liver prepared in the way I have described, would contain 
 virus enough to poison a thousand arrows. Years ago, each war 
 party carried a poisoned liver, wrapped in a piece of buckskin. 
 and it, with many arrows, was packed on a pony, called the 
 "dead horse." When they found arrows of the enemy, they 
 would poison and throw them on the trails, where they would 
 be picked up and used by th e foe to shoot game. 
 
 Travelers on the prairie have often seen the Indians throw 
 ing- up signal lights at night, and have wondered how it was 
 done. I will tell you all about it : They take off the head of 
 the arrow and dip the shaft in gunpowder, mixed with glue. 
 This they call making fire arrowsl The gunpowder adheres to 
 the wood, and coats it three or four inches from its end, to 
 the depth of one-fourth of an inch. Chewed bark mixed with 
 dry gunpowder is then fastened to the stick, and the arrow is 
 ready for use. When it is to be fired, a warrior places it on 
 his bow-string and draws his bow ready to let it fly ; the point 
 of the arrow is then lowered, another warrior lights the dry 
 bark, and it is shot high in the air. When it has gone up a 
 little distance, it bursts out into a flame, and burns brightly 
 until it falls to the ground. Various meanings are attached to 
 these fire-arrow signals. Thus, one arrow meant, among the 
 Santeos, " The enemy are about ; " two arrows from the same 
 point, " Danger ;" Three, " Great danger ; " many, " They are too 
 strong, or we are falling back ; " two arrows sent up at the same 
 moment, " We will attack ; " three, " Soon ; " four, " Now ; " if 
 shot diagonally, " In that direction." These signals are con 
 stantly changed, and are always agreed upon when the party
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 107 
 
 goes out, or before it separates. The Indians send their signals 
 very intelligently, and seldom make .mistakes in telegraphing 
 each other by these silent monitors. The amount of informa 
 tion they can communicate, by fires and burning arrows, is 
 perfectly wonderful. Every war party carries with it bundles 
 of signal arrows. 
 
 Every tribe of Indians make their arrows differently. The 
 Snakes put but two feathers on their shafts ; the Sioux, when 
 they make their own arrow-points, or buy them, always prefer 
 long, slim points; the Cheyennes, blunt points, sharp on the 
 edges; the Pawnees, medium points; and the Crows, Blackfeet, 
 Utes, Omaha's, Ottoes, and Winnebagoes, long points. The 
 Pawnees wrap their arrow-heads with elk sinew, the Crows 
 with deer, and the San tees, with sinew taken from the inside 
 of the shoulder-blade of a buffalo bull. Not many years ago, 
 the hunters and frontiersmen could tell to what tribe the 
 Indians who attacked them belonged by their arrows, but now 
 that is impossible. Many tribes trade and exchange arrows, while 
 others pick up and keep all the arrows they find. It is a 
 practice among the Pawnees, to carefully collect all the arrows 
 of their enemies and keep them to shoot again, or trade, while 
 many wily Indians, when they wish to attack the whites, or 
 commit an outrage, purposely use arrows belonging to other 
 tribes. To find a white man dead, with a Pawnee arrow stick 
 ing in him, is no longer, as in former days, evidence that, a 
 Pawnee killed him, for, most likely, the deed was done. by a 
 Cheyenne or Sioux, and the blame thus sought to 'ie thrcwu 
 on the poor Pawnees. 
 7
 
 i,08 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 4 
 
 THE BOW ITS ANTIQUITY INDIAN BOYS LEARNING TO SHOOT POWRB Of 
 THE BOW THE SIOUX BOW HOW IT IS MADE WHY IT IS CARRIED CX- 
 -8TRUNG WOOD FOR BOWS THEIR VALUE DIFFICULTY OF DRAWING THEM 
 SHOOTING BUFFALO WITH BOWS AND ARROWS STRENGTHENING THE BOW 
 WITH SINEW THE BOW-STRING CROW AND CHEYENNE BOWS THE ELK 
 HORN BOW HOW IT IS MADE THE VALUE OF AN ELK BOW QUIVERS HOW 
 THEY ARE MADE AND CARRIED NAMES OF INDIANS THE SIOUX CHIEF 
 SPOTTED TAIL HOW TO SHOOT WITH THE BOW STRIKING WITH THE BOW 
 INDIAN INSULTS AND HONOB. 
 
 bow the weapon so long in use among the different 
 Indian tribes of this continent, so typical of Indian life, and 
 the mere mention of which always associates our ideas with the 
 red men is made of various kinds of wood, and its manu 
 facture is a work of no little labor. Even at this day the 
 bow is much used, and although an Indian may have a gun, 
 he is seldom seen without his long bow, and quiver well filled 
 with arrows. The gun may get out of order, and he can not 
 mend it ; the ammunition may become wet, and there is an end 
 of hunting ; but the faithful bow is always in order, and its swift 
 "arrows ready to fly in wet as well as dry weather. Thus 
 reasons the savage, and so keeps his bow to fall back upon in 
 case of accident. 
 
 Until the invention of breech-loaders, it is a fact well known 
 to frontiersmen that the bow was a far more deadly weapon at 
 close range than the best rifle. A warrior could discharge his
 
 BEI.DEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. ICW 
 
 arrows with much greater rapidity and precision than the most 
 expert woodsman could charge and fire a muzzle-loading 
 rifle. 
 
 The antiquity of the bow is so great that its origin is- per 
 haps coincident with war and the necessities of mankind. It 
 is painted on the ruins of Nineveh ; it is mentioned in the first 
 l>ook of the Bible, and it is known to have been used on the 
 eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, where the human race 
 probably first had its origin. 
 
 The Indian boy's first lesson in life is to shoot with a bow. 
 He is furnished with a small bow and "beewaks," or blunt 
 arrows, so he will hurt nobody, and with these he shoots at 
 marks. By and by, when he has acquired some skill in hand 
 ling his .weapon, he is given small arrow-points, and with 
 these he shoots birds, squirrels, and small beasts. As he grows 
 older he receives the long-bow, and at last the strong-bow. 
 
 These strong-bows are powerful weapons, and I have seen 
 them so stiif that a white man could not bend them scarce four 
 inches, while an Indian would, with apparent ease, draw them 
 to the arrow's head. A shaft fired from one of these bows will 
 go through the body of a buffalo, and arrow-heads have been 
 found so firmly imbedded in the thigh bones of a man that no 
 force could extract them. 
 
 The parents take great pride in teaching young Indians to 
 shoot, and the development of the muscles and strength of 
 their arms is watched with much interest. A stout arm, orna 
 meuted with knots of muscles, is a great honor to an Indian, 
 and no one but those who can handle the strong-bow are 
 deemed fit for war. 
 
 Of all the Indians of the West, the Sioux and Crows make 
 the best bows. The Sioux bow is generally four feet long, one 
 
 10
 
 110 BELDES : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 and a half inches wide, and an inch thick at the middle. It 
 tapers from the center, or "grasp," toward the ends, and is 
 but half an inch wide and halt' an inch thick at the extrem 
 ities. At one end the bow-string is notched into the wood and 
 made permanently fast, while at the other end two notches are 
 cut in the wood, and the string at that end of the bow is uiade 
 like a slip-knot or loop. When the bow is to be used, the 
 warrior sets the end to which the string is made fast firmly 
 ou the ground, and then bends down the other end until 
 the loop slips into the notch. This is called "stringing" the 
 bow. The bow is never kept strung except when in actual 
 use, as it would lose its strength and elasticity by being con 
 stantly bent. When unstrung, a good bow is perfectly 
 straight, and, if properly made and seasoned, will always retain 
 its elasticity. 
 
 The wood generally used in manufacturing bows is ash, 
 hickory, iron-wood, elm, and cedar. Xo hickory grows west of 
 the Missouri, and it is very difficult to get; and an Indian will 
 always pay a high price for a piece of this wood. 
 
 When the bow is made of cedar, it need not be seasoned 
 but all other woods require seasoning, and are not worked 
 until perfectly dry. Every teepee has its bow-wood hung up 
 with the arrows in the smoke of the fire, but well out of reach 
 of the flames. A warrior with- a sharp knife and a sandstone, 
 or file, can make a bow in three days if he works hard, but 
 it most generally takes a week, and sometimes a month, to 
 finish a fancy bow. When done, it is worth three dollars in 
 trade. 
 
 All the bows differ in length and strength, being gauged foi 
 the arms of those who are to use them; but a white man 
 would, until he learned the slight of it, find lr nisei f unablf to
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. Ill 
 
 bend even the weakest way -bow. This has given rise to the 
 impression that the Indians are stronger than white men, which 
 is an error; for, although only a slight man myself, I learned, 
 after some practice, to bend the strongest bow, and could send 
 9 shaft as far or as deep as any savage. On one occasion I 
 shot an arrow, while running, into a buffalo so that the point 
 came out on the opposite side ; another arrow disappeared in 
 the buffalo, not even the notch being visible. The power of 
 the bow may be better understood when I tell you that the 
 most powerful Colt's revolver will not send a ball through a 
 buffalo. I have seen a bow throw an arrow five hundred 
 yards, and have myself often discharged one entirely through 
 a board one inch thick. Once I found a man's skull trans 
 fixed to a tree by an arrow which had gone completely through 
 the bones, and imbedded itself so deep in the wood as to sus 
 tain the weight of the head. He had probably been tied up to 
 the tree and shot. 
 
 The Sioux and Cheyenne bows are generally strengthened 
 on the back by a layer of sinew glued to the wood. This 
 sinew, as well as the bow-string^ is taken from the back of the 
 buffalo. It starts at the hump and runs along the spinal 
 column to the tail, and is about six feet in length. 
 
 The surface of the bow is made perfectly flat, then roughened 
 with a file or stone, the sinew being dipped in hot glue and 
 laid on the wood. The sinew is then lapped at the ends and 
 on the middle, or grasp of the bow. The string is attached 
 while green, twisted, and left to dry on the bow. The whole 
 outside of the wood and sinew is now covered with a thick 
 solution of glue, and the bow is done. Rough bows look like 
 h'ukory limbs with the bark on, but some of them are beauti 
 fully painted and ornamented. I once knew a trader J o glue
 
 112 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 some red velvet on a bow, and the Indians paid him an iru 
 mense price for it, thinking it very wonderful 
 
 The Crows make bows out of Elk horn. To do this they 
 take a large horn or prong, and saw a slice off each side of it, 
 these slices are then filed or rubbed down until the flat sides 
 fit nicely together, when they are glued and wrapped at the ends. 
 Four slices make a bow, it being jointed. Another piece ot 
 horn is laid on the center of the bow at the grasp, where it is 
 glued fast. The svhole is then filed down until it is perfectly 
 proportioned, \vhen the white bone is ornamented, carved, and 
 painted. Nothing can exceed the beauty of these bows, and it 
 takes an Indian about three months to make one. They are 
 very expensive, and Indians do not sell them; but I once 
 managed to get one from a friend for thirty-two dollars in gold. 
 
 In traveling, the bow is carried in a sheath attached to the 
 arrow quiver, and the whole is slung to the back by a belt of 
 elk or buckskin, which paases diagonally across the breast, and 
 is fastened to the ends of the quiver. The quiver and bow- 
 sheath is generally made of the skin of an ox or some wild 
 animal, and is tanned with the hair on. The quiver is orna 
 mented with tassals, fringe of buckskin, and the belt across 
 the breast is painted or worked with beads. Each Indian has 
 his sign or name on his belt, bow, sheath, or arrow quiver. 
 The celebrated Sioux chief, Spotted Tail, or "Sin-ta Galles- 
 sca, " had his bow-sheath made from the skin of a spotted 
 ox he had killed in a train his warriors captured, and as the 
 tail was left dangling at the end of the sheath, the Indians 
 ever afterward called him Spotted Tail, or " The man with the 
 
 Spotted Tail."* You may be curious to know what this In- 
 
 \ 
 *Mr. Beldcn is likely mistaken as to the origin of Spotted Tail's 
 
 name. 1 have often been told by soldiers and old frontiersmen that when
 
 Bows, Arrows, and Quivers.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 135 
 
 diaii's name was before be was called Spotted Tail, and I must 
 tell you many Indians never have a name, while others have 
 half a dozen. Some act of bravery, or an article of clothing, 
 generally fixes an Indian's name, but a new deed, or a new 
 head-dress, may change it. 
 
 To shoot with the bow properly, it must be held firmly in 
 three fingers of the right hand; the arrow is fixed on the bow 
 string with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and the 
 other three fingers are used to pull the string. The shaft of 
 the arrow lays between the thumb and forefinger of the right 
 hand, which rest over the grasp of the bow. To shoot, the 
 bow is turned slightly, so ,one end is higher than the other, and 
 the arrow is then launched. 
 
 Not only is the bow used as a weapon, but it serves as an 
 implement with which to disgrace a man. Thus, an Indian 
 who is struck with a bow is as much disgraced and insulted as 
 a white man who has been cowhided. To strike one with a 
 bow means in the Indian language, " Go, coward ; " or, " You 
 are not worthy of being killed by arrows ; " or, " I do not 
 consider you a brave or honorable man," which is the worst of 
 all insults to a savage. 
 
 Spotted Tail was a young man he wore a coon's tail in his hair, and from 
 thin took his name of Spotted Tail, or "The man with the spotted tail." 
 Our soldiers have often seen him wearing this coon tail in battle, and I 
 think it was from it he derived his name. EDITOR.
 
 116 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INDIAN MANUFACTORIES THE BONE, STONE, AND 'FLINT AX HOW THEY ARH 
 
 MADE INDIAN HAMMttRS, MALLETS, HATCHETS, AND HOES RASPS AND FILM 
 
 HOW THEY ARE MADE, AND WHAT USED FOR THEIR POWER AND ENDUR 
 ANCE WAR-CLUBS, SPEARS, AND JAVELINS INDIAN RIDING-WHIPS CURIOU8 
 MANNER OF MAKING THEM THE INDIAN KNIFE A REMARKABLE TRADE EN 
 TERPRISE THE CROW COMB "NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION* 
 ILLTJSTRATEE 
 
 ~\/|"OST of the Indian tribes of the west, have obtained 
 -L"-*- from traders, many articles of civilization, but among 
 the Santees, I found they relied almost wholly upon their own 
 skill to produce tools and household utensils. These were 
 generally manufactured by old men and squaws, except axes, 
 hammers, mallets, files, rasps, and hoes, which were made by 
 the warriors. 
 
 The axes were of three different kinds stone, bone, and 
 3int. The stone ax is made from a large pebble, or river 
 stone. It is first split in two parts, which gives each section 
 a sharp edge and a flat side. The stsne is then enveloped in 
 rawhide, except the edge. The hide is put on when green, 
 and strongly sewed with sinew, and when dry, it is almost as 
 hard and tight as the stone. While the hide is still soft, a 
 handle covered with rawhide, and having a long slip projecting, 
 is laid on the flat side of the stone, and strongly- sewed to tlie 
 skin covering the ax. The slip is then wrapped around tlie
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 117 
 
 a.x-head and handle, and sewed fast, after which the whole is 
 lapped with sinew, and set away to dry. As soon as it is 
 thoroughly dried, the ax is brought out. the edge filed up, 
 or sharpened by rubbing it against a sandstone, and it is ready 
 for use. It is astonishing how firmly the contracted rawhitte 
 nnd sinews hold this rude ax on its handle ; the stone ofteu 
 br?aks, however, and the ax can only be used for cutting soft 
 wood and brush. Three or four of these axes can be made by 
 an Indian in a day, so they are of no great value, and are 
 thrown away as soon as they break. 
 
 The flint axes are more difficult to make, but are manu 
 factured in the same manner, except that a notch is sawed in 
 the handle, and the ax set in the notch to give it greater 
 firmness. " 
 
 Indian Axes and Clubs. 
 
 The bone ax is the best as well as the hardest to make. 
 Buffalo bones (generally the leg or shoulder-blade) are taken, 
 split in two, and trimmed down to the right thickness. A sap 
 ling, young tree, or limb, is then split near a knot, and the 
 bone shaved through, where it is left to grow fast. This is 
 
 done iu the spring, and by fall the sap will have filled up 
 
 11
 
 118 BEJLDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the interstices, and the wood become firm around the bone 
 The wood is then cut at the right length, and the handlt 
 shaved out. The whole is next covered with rawhide sewed 
 and lapped with sinew, the bone ground up, and the implement 
 is ready for service. One of these axes will last a year and 
 tarry fair edge, but the great objection to them is, that they 
 lire too light for effective chopping. Elk ham-bone makes a 
 very good ax head. 
 
 Mallets, hammers, and hatchets, are made in the same man 
 ner as described for axes, except that the big mallet, used for 
 driving stakes and tent-pins, is made of a round stone, in the 
 side of which a trench has been pecked, into which the handle 
 is laid. The whole is then covered with rawhide, and wheii 
 dry, the hide is pared off one end of the stone, and it is flat 
 tened by rubbing it against a rock, or dressing it as a miller 
 does his millstone. 
 
 Hoes are made of flat stones and bones, covered with raw 
 hide, and a handle is fastened with buffalo sinews. These hoes 
 are used to dig earth, wild artichokes, and for scraping tl/v hair 
 off hides when tanning. 
 
 The most curious process was making files and ra^/s To 
 do this, an alderberry stick was taken and split in *wo The 
 pith was then scraped out, and in the grove thus 'crrned, was 
 poured glue, mixed with Dounded flint. When dry, the parti 
 cles of flint formed the teeth of the rasp, or file. If the file 
 became dull, it was only necessary t< wash it in hot water, 
 when the glue and old pieces of flint washed out and new 
 teeth appeared. These files were very handy, aud of vast use 
 to the Indians. What steel is to iron, they are to the wood 
 and stone used by the Indian. When ponies hoofs became too 
 long, 01 splintered, they were trimmed down by these rasps;
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 119 
 
 also, ax handles, teepee poles, and iron, even, were rubbed down 
 
 with them. 
 
 War clubs are made with han 
 dles three feet long. A sharp flint 
 stone is found, and dressed ofl into 
 an oblong shape. A sapling !E 
 then split, the stone heated and 
 placed in the split. This is re 
 peated until the crack is almost 
 closed, when it is left to grow fast. 
 It is then cut, the handle trimmed 
 out, the whole, except the point of 
 Modem War ciub. stone, covered with rawhide, and 
 
 sewed with sinew, when it is beautifully painted and orna 
 mented. 
 
 Spears are made of hard wood, and pointed with stone or 
 
 iron. If an Indian can 
 
 get an old bayonet, or 
 
 sword- blade, he is de 
 lighted, as it makes a 
 
 splendid head for his 
 
 spear. If no iron can 
 
 be obtained, the wood 
 
 is charred in the fire; 
 
 (he burnt particles are 
 
 then scraped off, leaving 
 
 it very hard and sharp. 
 
 The bult end of the 
 
 pole is always used for 
 
 the head of the spear, 
 
 and the whole length of Indian Warrior and Club.
 
 BKLDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the instrument is twelve 
 to fifteen feet. The 
 Sioux, Cheyennes, and a 
 few other tribes still use 
 these weapons, but they 
 are fast disappearing. 
 They -are clumsy, but 
 very dangerous when 
 skillfully handled, and 
 can be thrown a great 
 distance with considera 
 ble accuracy. 
 
 Riding whips are 
 made in great numbers 
 by the Indians. They 
 are of various kinds and curious 
 
 Sioux Warrior with Spear. 
 
 Pawnee and Spear. 
 
 patterns. Some are twisted 
 out of horse-hair, and 
 wrapped with fine 
 sinew, to make them 
 stiff and elastic ; others 
 are woven of buffalo 
 fur, and others of grass 
 or bark. 
 
 The regular Indian 
 riding whip is made 
 of leather, fastened to 
 a wooden handle. A 
 bone, or piece of round, 
 hard wood, about six 
 inches in length, is 
 taken, and through each
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 121 
 
 end a small hole is bored across the grain. Another longer hole 
 is then bored in the end of the stick along the grain, until it 
 intersects the first hole. The lash, with a loop on its end, is 
 next inserted in the end of the whip, and a peg driven through 
 the small hole and loop, to keep it from coining out. A loop, 
 or wrist-strap, is then put in the other end of the handle, and 
 the whip is ready for use. The lashes of these whips are two or 
 three feet long and very heavy, being made generally of buck- 
 
 Indians Practicing with the Bow and Spear. 
 
 skin, elk, or buffalo hide. They are frequently not plaited, but 
 knotted every five or six inches. These knots are called " bel 
 lies," and are intended to make the punishment more severe 
 than it would otherwise be. 
 
 The elk-horn whip is very pretty, being usually beautifully 
 carved and painted many colors. Sometimes the long prong 
 of a blacktail deer is used, studded with brass tacks, or pieces
 
 122 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 of silver. Frequently, the handles are covered with fur, 01 
 buckskin, which is ornamented with bead- work. 
 
 The Santees could make a rude knife when they could got, 
 hoop-iron, but nearly all the Indians have knives made by white 
 men. These knives are branded Samson & Goodnow, J. W.'I- 
 son, Clement & Hawks, though how these manufacturers got 
 fheir knives among the Indians, I never could learn. 
 
 The Crow Indians are the only ones who make combs. They 
 are very simple, and consist of a hedgehog's tail, the bristles 
 serving as teeth. When the hog is killed, the tail is skinned 
 off the bone, and a wooden handle inserted. When dry it is 
 ready for use, and is by no means a bad substitute for the 
 bone, or horn comb we use. A hedgehog comb is an indis 
 pensable article to every Indian girl, as it enables her to keep 
 h*r long black hair in order.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE JHIEP. {23 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BUFFAIC ROBES FLESHING, TANNING, AND DRYING THEM TRADE ROBES 
 THEIR VALUE THE B' DY ROBE THE FUR TRADE HOW IT IS CONDUCTED 
 ITS PROFITS INDIAN PRICES OF FURS SENDING THEM TO MARKET THEIR 
 VALUE AT ST. LOUIS ARTICLES OF TRADE WHAT INDIANS BUY A NEW 
 CURRBNCY-^LABOR OF PREPARING FURS HOW MUCH A SQUAW GETS FOR A 
 FULL DAY'S WORK FURS THE CHEAPEST GOODS IN THE WORLD. 
 
 robes used by the Indians in winter for wearing as 
 protection against the weather, are made of the skins of 
 smail buffalo bulls or cows. The skin is dressed down or 
 thinned by means of chipping and scraping of the flesh side 
 with an adze or hoe made of bone. When it is as thin as it- 
 can be cut with the adze, it is rubbed down to the right thick 
 ness with a sandstone. This done, the robe is well soaked in 
 buffalo brains and grease, after which it is dried. It is then 
 washed in clear water, and re-washed, until all the grease and 
 brains are. taken out. The skin now only has to be rubbed 
 dry, and the tanning process is complete. 
 
 Squaws and men all wear buffalo robes about their person? 
 in winter. They -are always worn with the fur side inwards, 
 or next the skin, and the flesh side is painted with stars, 
 squares, stripes, or whatever strikes the fancy of the wearer. 
 The paint is seared in with a hot iron, and is generally black, 
 red, or blue, in color. 
 
 The robes made for trading purposes are entirely different
 
 124 
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 from those worn by the Indians themselves. A private, ot 
 body-robe, as it is called, is worth a dozen trade-robes. The 
 trade skins are never painted, but merely fleshed, brained, 
 washed, and rubbed. Once in a while a painted robe finds ill 
 way into the market, but 
 only as old family jewels 
 find their way to the pawn 
 broker's shop among civil 
 ized people. An Indian will 
 not part with his painted 
 robe unless pressed with hun 
 ger, or to obtain powder and 
 bullets. A new body-robe 
 is seldom or never sold, and 
 those seen in the East are 
 'mostly old robes, that the 
 Indians have parted witlr 
 because they were about to 
 got new ones. 
 
 The trade-robes, or bull- 
 hides, usually cost at the tribe grounds from $1.25 to $^.00. 
 The traders pack them in bales of ten robes each, and ship 
 them East, where they are sold at $70 to 90 per bale. What 
 it costs to transport them, I am unable to say j but it ii /air to 
 presume, that the trader 'clears from $4 to 6 on each i jbe. 
 
 When I lived with the Santees it was not yet the trading 
 season; but I have often seen the Crows and Pawnees frade on 
 a large scale. This is generally done in the fall ; and not un- 
 frequently a single trader will secure as many as 'one thousand 
 n.bes. These cost him only $1,250 in goods, and hj can sell 
 them in the East for $5,000 to $6,000 in cash. Tie Indiana 
 
 Body-robe.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 12 
 
 do not want money, but goods; and the trader keeps con 
 stantly on hand a large assortment of Indian traps. The arti 
 cles generally sought for by the savages are the following: 
 
 Red, white, blue, black, and green Mackanaw blankets. 
 
 Rod and blue " squaw-cloth/' which is a flannel of various 
 colors, and costs $4 per yard. 
 
 Red, white, blue, black, green, yellow, and purple worsted, 
 ia one pound skeins. This is used for making tassels and rib 
 bons. 
 
 Cotton thread, flax thread, and needles. 
 
 Blue and striped bed-ticking, used by the squaws for making 
 dresses. 
 
 Cotton and worsted shawls ; very small, and worn over the 
 shoulders, and around the neck. 
 
 Balmoral skirts of the most brilliant colors. I have also 
 seen crinoline and hoop-skirts readily sold to the squaws. 
 
 Red, blue, and various colored handkerchiefs, both silk and 
 cotton. 
 
 Lampblack, indigo, Chinese vermilion, green and yellow 
 chrome, and all kinds of paints. 
 
 Gunpowder, bullet molds, bullets, and percussion caps. 
 
 Brass, copper, and iron wires. 
 
 Wire worms, for extracting charges from loaded guns. 
 
 Brass hawk-bells and brass tacks. 
 
 Brass finger-rings, jewelry, and buttons. 
 
 Butcher knives, lead, ax helves, handles, saws, files, and 
 hatchets. 
 
 Pipes and stems of all kinds. 
 
 Silver and gold ear-rings. 
 
 Brass wristbands. 
 
 Sugar, tea, coffee, flour, tobacco, candy, raisins, and figg. 
 8
 
 126 
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Chip hats, calico, paper collars, and whisky. 
 
 Wampum beads, a string, one yard long, being worth fifty 
 cents. The trader both sells and receives them at that price, 
 and they pass as currency among the In 
 dians, the standard value being fifty cents 
 per yard ; if white or pink, and if purple, 
 seventy-five cents per yard. A wampum 
 moon, which is a small sea-shell, out of 
 which the wanipuin beads are made, will 
 sell for $1. 
 
 These are the principle articles found in 
 every trader's store, and for them the Indi 
 ans exchange buffalo robes, elk, deer, ante 
 lope, beaver, muskrat, mink, fox, bear, and 
 many other kinds of skins. 
 
 The flesh or meat of the animals they kill 
 is dried, put away in caches, for winter use, 
 and the hides go into the traders' bales. 
 
 The average value of skins among the 
 [ndians is: for a buffalo robe, $1.25; for an 
 elk skin, $1 ; deer and antelope skins, 75 
 cents each; beaver and otter, $1 each; 
 wolf cayote, 25 cents ; muskrat, 10 cents ; 
 mink, $1. 
 
 Oreat labor and a vast deal of time is expended in tanning 
 these skins, and I may safely say that, considering the amount 
 )f work put upon them, they are the cheapest articles of trade 
 in the world. A squaw frequently toils a whole day on a skin 
 that will only bring her husband ten cents worth of goods, 
 which are really worth no more than five cents in cash. 
 
 Wampum.
 
 BELDENi THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PIPES AND TOBACCO WHERE DID MEN LEARN TO SMOKE? THE 10BACCO PLAKT 
 WHERE THE ENGLISH FOUND IT OLD INDIAN PIPES HOW AND OF WHAT THET 
 ARE 5IADF. THE WAY AN INDIAN SMOKES CEREMONIES' IN SMOKING- THK 
 TOMAHAWK PIPE ITS USE THE PHIL. KEARNEY BATTLE-CLUB A HORRIBLB 
 INSTRUMENT PIPE STONES INDIAN KINNE-KAN-NICK HOW IT IS MAOE 
 
 SUMACH TOBACCO THE INDIAN'S ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOD TOBACCO BA8 
 
 HOW AND OF WHAT THEY ARE MADE THEIR VALUE. 
 
 HERE and when did men first learn to smoke ? The 
 sacred Scriptures make no mention of this practice. 
 Neither Abraham, Isaac, nor Jacob smoked, and none of the 
 old fathers offered their guests the pipe, though the Old and 
 New Testament make frequent mention of food entertainment. 
 Job set a good table, but there is no evidence he smoked. God 
 speaks of " a smoke in my nose," but this is the smell of meat 
 offerings, and not tobacco or pipe fumes. 
 
 The tobacco plant belongs to North America, and has been 
 used by the Aztecs and Indians, from time immemorial. It 
 was a luxury in Powhatan's sylvan camp, in the days of Poea- 
 hontas. Sir Walter Raleigh first carried it from America to 
 England, in 1588, and to the English belong the responsibility 
 of introducing this weed to the civilized world. 
 
 As far back as we can trace the savage, the pipe has been his 
 pride, the solace of his leisure and weary hours, and the emblem 
 of his friendship. The story-tellers of the Indians say, 'they
 
 1-23 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 first received the tobacco plant from an angel, sent by the Great 
 Spirit. They smoked the leaves in their pipes, that the angela 
 might smell the fumes and be pleased. It was also an oblation 
 to the Great Spirit, and hence, the custom, to this day, of pre 
 ceding all solemn occasions by much smoking. 
 
 The earliest Indian pipe was curved like an ox's horn, and 
 had no stem. There was a hole through it, and the tobacco 
 was put in the large end. 
 In smoking this pipe, 
 ihe Indian laid- on his 
 back. The next form 
 of pipe used, was that 
 of the body of a man, 
 the stem of the pipe 
 being placed in the small 
 of the back. This de 
 sign was got from the 
 idols, which the Indians 
 cut out of stone. The 
 first attempt at orna 
 menting the pipe was, 
 
 to make it in imitation An Indian ftnd bis 
 
 of the snake. The tobacco was placed in the mouth of the reptile, 
 the tail answered for a stem, and the body was carved to represent 
 the scales. The highest art ever attained in carving an Indian 
 pipe was to cut a rude imitation of a lizard on the front of the bowl. 
 
 The warrior's pipe, of the present day, is made of red clay, or 
 soap-stone, which is found in nearly every part of the American 
 continent. There are some stones that are held in great esti 
 mation by the Indians, for making pipes. The quarry, four 
 exiles below the falls of Sioux River, between Dakota and the
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 129 
 
 State of Iowa, is held in high repute. The soft red clay, or 
 eoap-stone, on the Iowa shore of the Missouri, and found on the 
 Yellowstone Make, also makes beautiful pipes. This stone is soft 
 when taken out, but- rapidly becomes hard when exposed to the air. 
 Indians make their pipes with the common jack-knife. The 
 bowl is long, deep, and eight square, or round. The shape of 
 
 the pipe is a rectangle, and the 
 hole for the stem is bored with 
 an iron rod, or sharp piece of 
 stone. The pipes are of all sizes, 
 some of them being very large, but 
 all have the same elbow. 
 
 :; & ' ^sap. jll^ "S>- t < 
 
 BP*"^^ : VV^ The stems are of various lengths 
 
 > isffiL^gls'^ :^S*7 
 
 and shapes, but those most com 
 monly in use are made of a hollow 
 stick, or one through which a hole 
 
 has been drilled. They are fully three feet long, an inch in 
 
 diameter, and ornamented with brass 
 
 tacks, wife wrappings, and paintings. 
 
 The Santees, Ogallalas, and Yank- 
 tons usb a flat stem, very long and very 
 
 thick. They are sometimes three inches 
 
 broad, and ornamented at both ends 
 
 with bright feathers. Rows of ver 
 milion, green, duck, and gold^-colored 
 
 eagle quills, are split and fastened with 
 
 glue, by their flat surfaces, to the stem 
 
 of the pipe, and the ends are then 
 
 wrapped with wire. Carvings of birds. 
 
 beasts, fishes, and men, are cut on the 
 
 bowls and ^tems, and filled with paint. 
 
 Pipe.
 
 130 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Besides the red-stone pipe, the Indians use the hammer a; 
 tomahawk pipe, made of iron. Nearly all the tomahawks sc 
 in civilization are made by blacksmiths, employed by the go 
 ernnvnt, and sent out to the Indians. The friendly savag 
 
 for whom they are rnanu. 
 tured, trade them to their war 
 like brethren, and thus they 
 become scattered far and wide. 
 These tomahawks,though often 
 
 Fine Pipes. carried in their belts, are sel 
 
 dom used by Indians as weapons, and, notwithstanding they 
 have passed into history as a deadly instrument, they are more 
 lor ornament than use. It frequently happens, however, that 
 I he tomahawks made at the agencies, for friendly tribes, are 
 captured by hostile Indians, and these savages, in their contests 
 with the whites, sometimes use their toma 
 hawks to brain captives, hence, the dread of 
 them, an<i the bloodv name they bear. 
 
 The instrument generally used by Indians 
 in killing captives, is the war-club, made of 
 oak or iron wood, and fully described in 
 another place. An oaken club of this kind 
 was once shown me, that had been used by 
 the Indians, at the massacre of Fort Phil. 
 Kearney, in the Powder River country, in 
 1866, to break the skulls of ninety-six soldiers Tomahawk Pipe, 
 and citizens. The club was a rough stick, and the knots and 
 end were still clotted with blood, brains, and human hair. This 
 deadly instrument was made of burr oak, was .three feet long, 
 shaped like a bat for ball playing, and driven full of nails, sonw 
 of which were bent over to form a loop, or hook.
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 13] 
 
 To return to our subject, the Indian pipe is not valued by its 
 possessor so much on account of the material it contains, as its 
 history. Thus, a little, dirty-looking pipe, which I saw in the 
 hands of a Santee squaw, was valued at three ponies, or one 
 American horse, three squaws, or their equivalent, $150.00, 
 because it had been owned by her grandfather, and her great- 
 giandfather, who was a great medicine man. 
 
 The Sioux women smoke, though a young woman is seldom 
 seen with a pipe, and most of the smoking is confined to the 
 men. Warriors smoke as a part of their religious duty, and an 
 acknowledgment of an all-wise Creator. All treaties and acts 
 of friendship are preceded by smoking, which calls God to wit 
 ness the sincerity of the Indian's heart. No important trade can 
 be made, or message delivered, until the parties have smoked ; 
 and when Indians meet together, for pleasure or business, the 
 first thing done is, to fill the pipe, hand it to the eldest man 
 present, when another seizes a fire-brand, holds it to the 
 bowl, and the father smokes. The Indian who holds the 
 pipe in his mouth can seldom light it, on account of the great 
 length of the stem, and hence he requires the aid of some 
 one else. When the father has drawn in a mouthful of smoke, 
 he forces it out through his nose, turning his face to the east, 
 then the west, north, and south. He thus makes a smoke-offer- 
 ing to the Great Spirit, and having done *so, passes the pipe 
 to the Indian next on his left. Each warrior takes but two or 
 (liree whiffs, before passing the pipe to his neighbor. One pipe 
 is sufficient for five or six smokes. And not only do five or six 
 Indians smoke from the same pipe, but they inhale the smoke, 
 and pass it through their noses, instead of blowing it away, as 
 white men do. An Indian says a white man does not know 
 
 now to enjoy a smoke. Indians do not talk while smoking, but 
 
 12
 
 132 BEI*EN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 chat gayly while others are -passing the pipe. When the pipe is 
 exhausted, it is refilled, and the first smoker of the new pipe 
 always makes a smoke-offering to the deity. 
 
 The Indians make much of their wild tobacco, made from the 
 bark of trees. The Sioux, Omahas, "VViunebagoes, Cheyennes, 
 Arrapahoes, and Ottoes, use willow bark. The squaws gather 
 a bundle of the largest-sized shoots, and carry them to the tee 
 pee, where the wind does not blow, and there scrape off the bark 
 with a knife. First the outside coating is taken off, which is 
 thrown away ; the soft inner- bark is then scraped into a piece of 
 rawhide, and left to dry. It is of a greenish color, and emits 
 a pleasant smell. The fall of the year is the season for gather 
 ing the willow bark, as the sap is then going down, and the 
 bark is mild and more pleasant to smell than if peeled in sum 
 mer. When dry, the squaws grease their hands with buffalo 
 fat, and then crush the bark until it is pulverized fine enough 
 for the pipes. The grease adhering to the particles of bark 
 makes it burn freely. Each squaw puts up several pounds of 
 this bark, for the use of her warrior, and I have known Indiana 
 to travel a hundred miles for the purpose of gathering charn- 
 pa-sha. 
 
 The Pawnee Indians use the red leaves of the sumach bush 
 for tobacco. It abounds on the plains, in the Rocky Mountains, 
 and on many streams east of the Missouri. This kind of to 
 bacco is called " Lup-pitch," and the Pawnees greatly prefer it 
 to the " Lup-pa-hot," or " Cham-pa-sha," which is the Sioux 
 Kinnc-kan-nick. 
 
 The Crows, or Absaracks, use a grean leaf, which grows on a 
 running vine, in the mountains. This leaf is found above the 
 perpetual snow line, and is called O-pe-sha by the Indians, and 
 Lambre by the whites. The vine runs on the ground, has a
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 133 
 
 pear-shaped leaf, and resembles the pig- weed of the north. Il 
 is an evergreen, blossoming in the winter, on beds of snow, sincl 
 bc:>rs bright red berries, of the size of a pea. The berries are 
 sour, very hard, and always retain their color. 
 
 The Q-pe-sha is mixed with tobacco, when the Indians can 
 get it, and is smoked, half and half of each. 
 
 The Sioux have three substitutes for tobacco ; first, the leaves 
 of the wild rose bush ; second, the leaves of a bushy weed, which 
 grows in the cations, or valleys of the west ; and third, the small 
 curled leaf of the dwarf sumach. These leaves are rolled up 
 like minute rolls of tobacco, and when crushed, it is impossible 
 to tell them from cut and dry. Indians, whether alone or in 
 company, always observe the solemnities of smoking. Never 
 .Iocs a Sioux Indian light his pipe but he draws a great puff 
 of smoke, and blows it out of his mouth toward the skv, ejacu 
 lating, How- wa-con-ton-ka, meaning, " I remember thee, O God," 
 or " To thee, O Great Spirit," at the same time pointing with 
 the stem of the pipe upward. 
 
 The Winnebagoes blow two puffs toward the sky, two to the 
 i^ast, two west, two south, and one down, following each with 
 lie stem of the pipe pointing in that direction. At the same 
 time they mutter " O God, propitiate the winds of the east, thr 
 west, and south, and bless the earth." 
 
 The Crows blow a buff of smoke to the sky, one east, and one 
 west, meaning, " O Great Strength, I remember thee, from the 
 rising to the setting of the sun " (How-ba-tsa-ka). The Chey- 
 ennes make the same offering as the Sioux, but use a different 
 speech. There is no set term, but generally such expressions aa 
 " O thou God, keep me." " God defend me from all harm." 
 " O God, see me," are used. When on the war path, they pray. 
 u God send us our enemies." The Arrapahoes blow a puff of
 
 134 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 smoke upward, and pointing with their pipes, say, "God, re 
 member us on earth," or " God and us." 
 
 The tobacco for their pipes is carried by 
 the Indians in pouches, or bags, made of the 
 skills of wild animals, buckskin, or calico, 
 ornamented with porcupine quills. The pouches 
 are sometimes five inches wide, and eigh 
 teen to twenty inches long. They are carried 
 with tne mouth of the pouch under the belt, 
 and hang down, generally having the tail dang 
 ling, if the bag is made of the skin of an animal. 
 Nearly all the pouches are ornamented with 
 fringe, or bead pendants, four or five inches 
 long. The value of a tobacco bag, of course, 
 depends on its workmanship; a fine buckskin 
 bag, ornamented with beads, and fifteen days' 
 labor, -is worth $3.00 ; a mink-skin pouch is 
 worth $4.00 ; an elk-skin, worked with porcu 
 pine quills, $5.00, and an otter kitten as much 
 as $6.00. 
 
 Tobacoo i'oucl)
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE cuiEir. 135 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 28ATPING WHEN THE INDIANS LEARNED THE ART OF TRAPPING HOW TO 
 
 SjST THE TRAPS A TRAPPER'S LIFE HARD WORK NUMBER OF BEAVEK 
 
 USUALLY T.VKEN WITH A DOZEN TRAPS INDIAN PECULIARITIES CROW SU 
 PERSTITION ABOUT THE BEAK THE CROW CHIEF, IRON BULL SIOUX SUPER 
 STITION ABOUT THE PRAIRIE DOG WHAT THIS ANIMAL REALLY IS A CASH 
 OF PREJUDICE BEAR CLAWS. 
 
 STRANGE as it may seem, it is none the less true, that 
 the Indians learned the art of trapping- from white men. 
 Long ago they stole along the banks of the creeks, and, hiding 
 in the brush, waited patiently. for the beaver to show himself 
 in the shallow water or on the banks, when they shot him. 
 This process was very tedious, however, and they longed for 
 some other manner of capturing the smooth-haired little animal, 
 so it was with much satisfaction that they saw the white men go 
 along the streams, and set a curious instrument in the ground, 
 to whioh the beaver came, and which held him fast until the 
 trapper saw fit to take him out. 
 
 Sly Indians watched the process from their bushy cover, and 
 when the trapper had gone away, they stole the trap and car 
 ried it off to their camps. It was a long time before the In 
 dians could set their traps, and not until the white men taught 
 them, that they learned how to sit in the still moonlight and 
 watch the beaver work ; how to walk on the ice and see if there
 
 136 BEI.DEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 were beaver holes or houses, and then, when having ascertained 
 the presence of the coy little fellow, how to put the trap down, 
 grease it with the oil of his own tail, and leave it to snare him. 
 
 A trap weighs about five pounds, and it is considered a good 
 load to carry twelve. It will require a walk of ten or twelve 
 miles, and all of one day, to set a dozen traps properly. If 
 three beavers are caught each night for every dozen traps set 
 the trapper considers he is doing a good business. The skins, 
 untanned, are worth about one dollar each. During the winter 
 season the hunter will average not over four beavers per week, 
 for there are many days he can not trap. I had one hundred 
 traps worked hard for three months, often floundering through 
 the ice, getting wet to my waist, and having to build fires to 
 keep from perishing, and at the end of ninety days had but 
 fifty beaver skins, worth fifty dollars, for my labor. Still there 
 is something jolly about a trapper's life, a wild, roving excite 
 ment that strangely aljures and fascinates one. Why it is I 
 jan not tell, but most frontiersmen love trapping, and will pur- 
 ue it, even though they take but a dozen beaver per month ; 
 just as I have seen sportsmen go, day after day, in the East, 
 to angle in a little stream, when they knew there were not 
 twenty trout from its mouth to its source. 
 
 The setting of the trap is a delicate job, and every trace of 
 it must be concealed, or the cunning little animal will not fall 
 into it. Each Indian saves the musk of all the beavers he 
 takes, and with this rubs his traps, so that the beaver may 
 Hindi them, come up, and fall a prey. When a beaver smells 
 another, he has great curiosity to know where he is, and so runs 
 about looking for him, until he treads on the fatal spring and 
 is caught. 
 
 After an Indian has set his traps, he becomes very morose,
 
 BEL1/EN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 137 
 
 and goes to his tent and smokes a great deal. He does not run 
 about the village or talk, but sits alone, endeavoring to think 
 of his traps all the time, for thereby he believes lie will dra\v 
 the beaver tc them. When he lays down to sleep, he recalls alJ 
 the battles and skirmishes in which he has been engaged, an 1 
 tries to dream of them. If he dreams that he is victorious; tlen 
 he rises and goes confidently to his traps, but if he sees a tlcaJ 
 or live beaver in his dream, he will not visit his traps next day 
 for he knows by his vision that there are no beaver in them 
 Should he imagine he is fighting five men and whip them, there 
 are five beavers in his traps, but if only two men, then there 
 are but two beavers. Should he meet men who run away from 
 him in his dreams, it is unlucky, for the beaver have run away 
 with his traps into their holes. 
 
 The otter does not abound along the Missouri, in Nebraska, 
 where I trapped, but sometimes we caught one in the traps set 
 in the edge of the water for beaver. The otter's skin is much 
 more valuable than that of the beaver. I never saw an Indian 
 trapping for any other animal than the beaver, though they 
 often shoot otter, mink, and rnuskrat with the bow. The arrow 
 will generally prevent them from getting into their holes, being 
 shot with sufficient force to pierce the animal. 
 
 The Crow Indians will neither trap nor hunt the bear. They 
 believe it is bad luck to kill a bear, and will not touch the food. 
 A party of hunter , who induced the Crow chief, Iron Bull, to 
 eat bear meat by representing to him that it was roast beef, 
 came near paying with their lives for the deception, for the old 
 chief found out the trick that had been put upon him, became 
 very wroth, and it took a present of several ponies to get the 
 bad medicine out of him. The Crows say the bear has a spirit 
 in him, and to kill it offends the great Wa-cotf Ton-ka. If a
 
 138 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Crow meets a bear, when out hunting, he will go around him, 
 and if the bear attacks him he will run away. 
 
 The Sioux both hunt and kill the bear, and are very fond of 
 the meat. They use the 
 skin for robes, and wear 
 the claws strung around 
 their necks as orna 
 ments. What the Crows 
 believe of the bear, the Sioux Necklace. 
 
 Sioux do of the prairie dog. They will not kill or allow any 
 one to hurt this little animal, and if they see any person kill 
 one, they run away lest it makes them have bad luck. The 
 prairie dog is nothing more or less than a prairie squirrel, and 
 runs on the ground instead of climbing trees, as does the black 
 and gray squirrel of the North. I have often eaten the prairie 
 dog, and his flesh is precisely like that of the squirrel. There is 
 a prejudice against eating this little animal on account of its 
 name, but in this case, unlike most others, every thing is in 
 the Aarne.
 
 BU>EN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 139 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ALPiNr- WHY THE INDIANS SCALP PEOPLE A SINGULAR BELIEF NO BALD- 
 HEAPS N HEAVEN THE SCALP-LOCK HOW THE PAWNEES, SIOUX, AND WIN- 
 NEBAGOES WEAR THEIR HAIR OTHER INDIANS - ORNAMENTS FOR THE HAIR 
 THE SILVER TAILS A SIOUX LONG TAIL THE IRON RING ORNAMENT 
 HOW TO' TAKE IT OFF DOES IT PULL? THE SCALPING-KNIFE A PRESERVED 
 SCALP MR. BELDEN'S BELT. 
 
 V\7~HEN the ludians first began to scalp pt-ople, or where 
 " ' they got the idea of cutting off the scaJp-lock, it is 
 impossible to tell, but it has been practiced among all tribes 
 ever since the discovery of America, in 1492. The savages be 
 lieve that no one can make a respectable appearance in the 
 spirit land baldheaded. It is remarkable, but I never saw a 
 baldheaded Indian, nor did I ever hear of one. To scalp an 
 Indian is to debar him from the happy hunting-grcrands, and 
 hence it is they scalp white people, believing they can not get 
 into heaven without their hair. 
 
 The Indians do not all scalp people alike; nor do they wear 
 their own hair alike. The Sioux warrior has a three-strand 
 braid or plait of hair taken up on the crown of his head, over 
 a space of three inches in diameter and nine inches in circum 
 ference , and this it is that his enemies cut off wheu they cap 
 
 ture hinj- 
 
 18
 
 140 
 
 BKLDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 A Preserved Scalp. 
 
 The Winnebagoes wear six or seven braids, and it is neces 
 sary to cut the skin around three or four inches on the crown, in 
 
 order to get a full scalp. The Paw 
 nees have but one braid, the Chey- 
 ennes one, the Crows one, and the 
 Arrapahoes one. The Sioux part 
 the hair in the middle of the fore 
 head, and then down to the ear 
 from the scalp-lock ; this they weai 
 with the hair behind, made into 
 rolls, and tied with red flannel 01 
 ribbon. I have seen the hair 
 wound about strips of flannel or 
 buckskin, and made into a roll as 
 thick as one's wrist, and over three feet long. 
 
 Many of the Pawnees cut the hair close to the skull all 
 around, leaving a ridge or shock 
 of hair three inches wide running 
 from front to rear over the top of 
 the head. This strip of hair grad 
 ually lessens in width, until it 
 reaches an edge in rear near the 
 back of the neck. It gives the 
 warriors a fierce and unnatural appearance. In the center of 
 the ridge of hair grows the long scalp-lock, which is plaited and 
 falls down the back. I speak now of the custom when the 
 Pawnees were savages. Since they have become friendly, they 
 seldom shave the head, but wear their hair long and unplaited. 
 This is done, however, as much from policy as for any other 
 reason, for they are still rascals and thieves; and they found 
 wearing their hair unlike any other tribe on the plains raused 
 
 Scalping-knife and Sheath.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 1 il 
 
 tl)3m often to be detected in their depredations, when they 
 might otherwise have escaped and avoided punishment. 
 
 The Crows, except the scalp-braid, wear their hair long, and 
 hanging down. To keep it from blowing about their eyes, 
 they take little balls of pitch, such as ooze out of the pine- 
 tree, and stick it in their hair in belts an inch wide, until it is 
 matted together all around their heads. 
 
 Nearly all Indians have black hair; the hair of the Chey- 
 ennes, Sioux, Snakes, Pawnees, Omahas, Arrapahoes, and Win- 
 'nebagoes is jet black, and very coarse. The Crow Indians, 
 however, have hair of every color. I have seen full-blooded 
 Crows with auburn, red, gray, brown, and black hair. Many 
 of their old men are white-headed, and their long hair gives 
 them a very venerable appearance. 
 
 The Winnebagoes are the only Indians who can, at the 
 present day, be distinguished by means of their scalp-locks. 
 They still persist in wearing the six or seven long plaits around 
 their heads. 
 
 Nearly all tribe& wear some ornament in the scalp-lock next 
 to the head. These are made of wood, copper, iron, brass, sil 
 ver, and gold, but most generally of silver. I have seen a 
 piece of thin german silver, as large as a man's hand, in the 
 scalp-lock, the hair having been drawn through two holes 
 in its center. It is also tied to the hair \vith strings, and 
 not unfrequently has a long feather attached, called the scalp- 
 feather. This feather can be taken off and put on at pleasure; 
 it is nearly always taken off at night, as the warrior would un 
 doubtedly break or soil it in his sleep if left in the hair. In 
 war times, if this feather is stolen or snatched off by an enemy, 
 the warrior is irreparably disgraced. 
 
 Some wild Indians wear a steel or iron ring in the scalp-
 
 142 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 lock, the hair being plaited around the ring in such a way that 
 
 it ran not be removed, un- .^ 
 
 loss the hair is unbraided 
 
 or the scalp-lock cut off. I 
 
 Lave often removed the 
 
 ring by taking off a piece 
 
 of the scalp, which is the 
 
 simplest form of getting it. 
 
 To the ring the feather is 
 
 tied with a buckskin string, 
 
 so that it be removed at 
 
 will. 
 
 The Sioux have long had 
 the name of "long tails/' a 
 distinction given them by 
 frontiersmen and emigrants, 
 on account of their wearing 
 a strap six, or even seven, 
 feet long attached to their 
 scalp-lock and hanging 
 down their backs. This 
 trails on the ground when 
 they walk, or sails in the wind behind them when they ride at 
 full speed. The scalp-lock, as well as the strap, was generally 
 covered with tin or silver plates, made round, and fastened on 
 six or seven inches apart. Most of these circular plates were 
 made of silver dollars, beaten out thin. % 
 
 A Sioux is very proud of his scalp-lock and tail ; and I have 
 soen as many as twenty dollars on the hair and strap. The 
 whole weight of the tail is borne by the roots of their hair, 
 and, as it sometimes weighs several pounds, it must pull a 
 
 Silver Long Tall and Soalp-Feather.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. . 143 
 
 little at first.* To tramp on a Sioux's long tail, or pull it ; 
 would be a mortal offense, and demand the shedding of blood 
 to wipe out such an insult. When one Sioux pulls another 
 one's scalp-lock, it is equivalent to the sending of a challenge 
 among white men. 
 
 * Mr. Belden showed the editor of these papers a magnificent belt, made 
 from the silver he had taken off a Sioux "long tail." The silver weighed 
 one pound, and the strap to which it had been fastened three-fourths of a 
 pound. The whole weight had been sustained by a small wisp of hair in 
 the top of a warrior's head.
 
 144 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PAINTING THE FAOH INDIAN TASTE THE LONE PAINT SCALP PAINT PARTINb 
 THE HAIR HOW INDIAN GIRLS PAINT LOVE PAINT A CAUSE Of EXCITE 
 MENT LAUGHABLE MISTAKES THE INDIAN BELLE HER DISAPPOIN1MENT 
 THE SIOUX DEATH PAINT CROW AND SNAKE COLORINGS LOOKING-GLASSES 
 NATURAL MIRRORS A SIOUX BEAUTY SURPRISED HER MORTIFICATION AND 
 MODESTY. 
 
 rilHE painting of the face and body is a very ancient custoit 
 .-- among the Indians. The early discoverers of the continen 
 found the Indians using paints, made of clay and stone, to beau 
 tify, as they thought, their persons ; and none were more hide 
 ously painted than the Caribbean Indians, who were among 
 the earliest savages known to Europeans. There is not, to my 
 knowledge, a tribe in the West, however civilized, that does not 
 yet use paints. 
 
 The Yanktons, Sioux, Santees, and Cheyennes use a great 
 deal of paint. A Santee squaw paints her face the same as a 
 white woman does, only with less taste. If she wishes to 
 appear particularly taking, she draws a red streak, half an inch 
 wide, from ear to ear, passing it over the eyes, the bridge of the 
 nose, and along the middle of the cheek. When a warrior 
 desires to be left alone, he takes black paint, or lamp-black, 
 and smears his face; then he draws zig-zag lines from his hair 
 to his chin, by scraping off the paint with his nails. This is 
 a sign that he is trapping, is melancholy, or in love. There
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 145 
 
 is, however, no general meaning attached to the painting of 
 the head or body by many Indians any more than there is by 
 white men parting their hair on the side of the head, instead 
 of in the middle. All Indians, both men and women, part 
 their hair in the middle ; the men paint red that part of the 
 scalp exposed by parting the hair. 
 
 The sign paints used by the Indians are not numerous, but 
 very significant. When the warriors return from the war-path, 
 and have been successful in bringing back scalps, the squaws, 
 as well as ihe men, paint with vermilion a semicircle in front 
 of each ear. The bow of the arc is toward the nose, and the 
 points of the half circle on the top and bottom of the ear; 
 the eyes are then reddened, and all dance over the scalps. 
 
 A warrior who is courting a squaw, usually paints his eyes 
 yellow and blue, and the squaw paints hers red. I have known 
 squaws to go through the painful operation of reddening the 
 eye-balls, that they might, appear particularly fascinating to the 
 young moii. A red stripe drawn horizontally from one eye to 
 the other, means that the young warrior has seen a squaw he 
 could love, if she would reciprocate his attachment Of course 
 such an advertisement naturally creates a flutter in the village, 
 and sets every young feminine heart to aching, and tongue to 
 inquiring, if its possessor is the person meant. Some laughable 
 mistakes have occurred with this paint, and many bitter disap 
 pointments. I once heard of a famous Indian belle, who loved 
 a young warrior, and employed every feminine art known in 
 savage love, to entrap his affections. One day the young 
 man mounted the love paint, and the Indian girl was so sure 
 her charms had been effective, that she told her friends she 
 would soon be married, and even went so far as to hint the 
 same to the young warrior. Imagine her chagrin and die-
 
 146 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 appointment, when he politely and frankly informed her, that; 
 not she, but a very plain girl in the village, was the person 
 meant by his paint. 
 
 The Sioux have a paint with which they smear their faces, 
 when about to pass sentence of death on any one, but as this 
 paint is put on in the council chamber, I have never been 
 able to learn what it was like, or in what form it was used. 
 
 The Crow and Snake Indians paint their faces red, and 
 leave them so for days, renewing the coloring as fast as it 
 rubs or wears off. Every Indian who can get one, carries a 
 small looking-glass, slung to the wrist by a buckskin strap. 
 This, and the paint-bag, are inseparable companions of both 
 Indian men and women. The girls often go to clear streams 
 and lakes, for the purpose of looking at their reflections in the 
 water. I once accidentally surprised a maiden entirely naked, 
 gazing at her fair proportions in the lake and she could never 
 afterward look at me without blushing.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 147 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 \ 
 
 IXD;A\ HEAD-DRESSES HOW THEY ARE MADE THE SKULL-CAP THE BUFFALO 
 
 HE4D-LRESS AN ENORMOUS HAT STANDING BUI.I/S HEAD-DRESS WARRIORS 
 
 VISITING THEIR HAT-BOXES AN INDIAN TOILET THE BALD AND BLACK 
 
 EAGLE THEIR USE VALUE OF EAGLE FEATHERS PRICE OF AN INDIAN 
 
 HEAD-GEAR FEATHER SIGNS THEIR USE IN WAR THE SCALP-FEATHER 
 
 AN INDIAN ENSIGN. 
 
 fTHHE head-dress is an indispensable article in the outfit oi 
 -*- every first-class warrior. They wear them at all great 
 feasts, dances, councils, and when on friendly visits of ceremony 
 to neighboring tribes. They are generally made out of the 
 skins of elk, deer, buffalo, or bear. Most of them are round 
 skull-caps, ornamented with eagle, crow, or duck feathers 
 Take the half cover of a ball, and you have the exact idea of an 
 Indian warrior's cap. The feathers are fastened on in bunches 
 with sinew, and the bunches are sewed close together. They 
 are put on in rows or layers, the feathers all lying one way. 
 Fasten a dozen feathers by their middles to a piece of leather, 
 then break them, so that both the top and butt end will stand 
 up, and put another bunch on beside it, and so on until the 
 whole piece of leather is covered. Next trim oft' the feathers 
 evenly, leaving them about three inches long, and you will have 
 made an Indian head-dress. The butts of the quills must bo 
 cut out so they will not show; but, the better way is to take 
 only the tops or small ends of the quills, cut them off the right
 
 148 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 length, and then fasten them by the thick .end to the cap. 
 These, when trimmed a little, will make a beautiful head 
 gear. 
 
 Most Indian caps have a long tail hanging down behind, 
 which is ornamented with little bells and bright feathers. The 
 bells rattle when the warrior dances, walks, or rides, and the 
 feathers, being fastened loosely by their quill ends, swing about, 
 giving him a picturesque appearance. At the end of the tail 
 are fastened tufts of hair, colored blue, red, or yellow. 
 
 A very popular style of Indian cap is made of buffalo hide and 
 horns. It consists of a piece of hide taken from across the fore 
 head of a buffalo, over the top 
 of his head along the back of 
 the neck and down the spine, 
 including the tail. The bone 
 is taken out and the tail 
 stuffed, when the piece is one 
 unbroken strip from the head 
 to the end of the tail. On 
 each side of the head are set 
 horns, and frequently horns 
 are fastened along the strip 
 hanging down the back. The 
 head-dress of the Sioux chief, 
 Standing Bull, recently killed 
 by Lieut. Mason, near Fort 
 McPherson, was over six feet 
 long and carried twelve horns. 
 As the whole horns would be 
 very heavy, they are split from 
 , Head Dress. top to base by saw'ng, and the
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 149 
 
 thick part so hollowed out as to make them comparatively light. 
 The horns are highly polished and set six or seven inches apart. 
 ISesides the horns, a great deal of bead-work, and eight to ten 
 bells are put on the head-dress. I have seen four or five large 
 sleigh-bells fastened to the tail, and not unfrequently the tails 
 are as much as nine feet long. 
 
 When the warriors are en route to visit another tribe, or are 
 on the war path, they carry their head-dresses with them, neatly 
 done up in a cylindrical bandbox, made of buffalo skin or raw 
 hide. These bandboxes are highly ornamented and fancifully 
 painted. They are not so symmetrical and elegant as the hat 
 and bandboxes of Eastern ladies and gentlemen, but resemble 
 more exactly the old-fashioned churn, with the dash taken 
 out. 
 
 To roll up an Indian head-dress, and put it in the drum so 
 the feathers will not get broken or spoiled, requires as much skill 
 as to pack away the wardrobe of a fashionable white woman. 
 When traveling, the drum is strapped to the back of the saddle, 
 tind carried as the old-fashioned valise used to be. Before en 
 tering the village they are to visit, the warriors dismount, put 
 on their head-dresses, paint their faces, and arrange their hair. 
 When their toilet is complete, they remount and ride through 
 the town. An Indian always tries to accomplish one of two 
 things, either excite the admiration of the women or fear of 
 the men. 
 
 The American bald eagle and the great black eagle are fre 
 quently found in the Rocky Mountains and on the plains, but 
 they soar very high, and it is extremely difficult to kill them. 
 Twelve feathers from the crown of a full-grown eagle will buy 
 a good pony among the Indians. These birds are much sought 
 after in all tribes, and their feathers are used to ornament va-
 
 150 
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 rious articles, as well as make head-dresses. It is exceed ingl) 
 
 difficult to buy an eagle head 
 dress from an Indian, and a 
 good one can never be had 
 for less than two hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 The white feather of the 
 eagle's tail is worn attached 
 to the manes and tails of the 
 war ponies. When return 
 ing from the war path, the 
 warriors attach black feath 
 ers to the eagle feathers, and 
 when riding through the vil 
 lage, every one has only to 
 count the black feathers to 
 know how many scalps and 
 by whom they have been 
 taken, the black feathers in 
 dicating success are always 
 tied in the pony's tail, near 
 the crupper, and to the white 
 eagle feathers. If the white 
 eagle feathers are gone, and ^nly a black feather there, it in 
 dicates that the warrior fell, but killed an enemy before dying. 
 If the white feathers are there and no black feathers, it means 
 tne warrior still wears his own scalp, but has taken none from 
 the enemy. When the expedition has failed and returns, the 
 black feathers are worn in the forelocks of the ponies. These 
 feathers, fluttering in the wind from the heads of the horses, 
 cau be seen at an astonishing distance, and often long before 
 
 Eagle Head-Dresa.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE. CHIEF. 151 
 
 the M'arriors reach the village the ill-success of the enterprise 
 is known. 
 
 The feather worn by Indians in their scalp-locks is usually 
 very long and symmetrical. It is ornamented with small 
 wrappings of porcupine quills at the butt end, and the edges 
 of thti feathers are sometimes painted green, red, and yellow, 
 iL bars or stripes, according to the fancy of the wearer.
 
 152 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MOCCASINS THE INDIANS AS SHOEMAKERS HOW MOCCASINS ARK MADE WHC 
 MAKE THEM SIOUX, CHEYENNE, ARRAPAHOE, CROW, AND PAWNEE SHOES 
 THEIR SHAPE AND TRACKS IMITATIVE POWER OF THE INDIAN THE WIN 
 NEBAGOES AS MANUFACTURERS WINNEBAGO WOMEN THEIR COMELINESS OB 
 PERSON HOW THEY BRAID THEIR HAIR A BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM SHELLS OP 
 OCEAN A SIOUX EAR-RING BEAD BELT COST OF SEA-SHELLS AND THEIE 
 USE AMONG INDIANS FINE MOCCASINS. 
 
 HHHE Indians are their own shoemakers, and, with the lira- 
 -- ited means at their command, manage to manufacture an 
 excellent protection for the foot, that does away with all fear of 
 such modern torments as corns and bunions. The moccasin is 
 made to fit the foot, and not the foot to fit the moccasin, as is 
 the practice among civilized shoemakers. 
 
 Indian shoes are made by the women and old men. The 
 sole is first cut out of rawhide, and then the uppers are cut 
 from buck, antelope or elk skin tanned very soft and smooth. 
 Buckskin is preferred when the moccasin is to be ornamented 
 with beads, and the upper is always worked before it is at 
 tached to the sole. 
 
 The uppers are sewed to the soles with . a strong thread 
 made of twisted buffalo sinew, and sometimes a double sole 
 is sewed on to protect the thread. To the sides and back 
 parts, flaps or ears are fastened, which come well up on the
 
 THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 15? 
 
 ankles, and are tied with strings. Frequently the flaps cover 
 the calf of the leg, and are fastened at the top by two long 
 strings, in the same manner as a woman ties her apron. This 
 is done when the moccasin is made for hunting or perform 
 ing long journeys in, as the high tops not only brace the leg, 
 but prevent the moccasin from slipping on the foot, and keep 
 out the dust, brambles, gravel, cold, and snow. 
 
 It is no very difficult job to make a moccasin, and a squaw 
 will cut out and sew up a plain pair in half a day. If they 
 are beaded, however, it takes a week or more to finish them, 
 and those ornamented with porcupine quills require a mouth of 
 patient labor. 
 
 In the" winter season the moccasins are made of buffalo 
 hide or the skins of fur-bearing animals, the hair being 
 turned inward. The Indians never wear stockings, but leg 
 gings, which are an excellent substitute when one has fur shoes 
 to cover the feet. 
 
 Each tribe of Indians make their shoes a different shape 
 "A" is the moccasin worn by the Sioux, "B" the Cheyeunes, 
 "C" the Arrapahoes, "D" the Crows, and "E" the Paw 
 nees. 
 
 Right Foot. 
 
 It will be observed that they are all different in shape, and will 
 make a different track. An expert frontiersman can readily
 
 154 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 tell to what tribe Indians belong by seeing their tracks in the 
 sand. Unlike their arrows, they seldom or never change their 
 moccasins. The follow 
 ing will serve to show 
 the imitative faculty 
 and ingenuity of the In 
 dians : One day, while 
 in camp, I saw a Win- 
 nebago squaw weaving 
 cloth in a kind of loom. 
 She had many threads 
 strung to little sticks" 
 fastened in a frame, and 
 through these threads 
 she passed a string of 
 beads, pressing the 
 whole together compactly, after the manner of a weaver. The 
 different colors of the beads were ingenious!^ arranged to give 
 a brilliant effect. I examined a purse this girl had made for 
 the trader in the Santee village, and it was really beautiful. 
 Soon afterward I aw another purse in the trader's store made 
 by her, and it had on the side "James Buchanan" neatly 
 worked in many-colored beads. I asked if she could read, and 
 she said no, but showed me a medal which had been given by 
 President Buchanan to one of the tribe during his visit to Wash 
 ington, and from the letters on the medal she had copied the name. 
 The Winnebagoes are the only Indians I have ever met with 
 who have any knowledge of the manufacture of cloth, and they 
 can only weave such things as garters, armlets, purses, leggingb, 
 and long, beautiful, white bead-bands, which the women wear 
 around their hair. 
 
 Beaded Moccasins.
 
 BEKDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 155 
 
 The Winnebagoes are very light in complexion, and many 
 of their women might be called beautiful, if they would keep 
 themselves clean. These women are tall, well-formed, have 
 bright black eyes, and long, shining black hair. They take 
 great pride in plaiting up their hair, 
 winding it in coils, and ornamenting 
 it with bead-bands. These bands are 
 often five or six feet long, and fringed 
 with many-colored beads. They wind 
 them about their heads in an ingenious 
 way, and the effect among their jet-black 
 Hair is very charming. 
 
 The Sioux, unlike the Winnebagoes, 
 never put up their hair, but always al 
 low it to hang down. They sometimes 
 tie the ends of the plaits with ribbon, 
 or wind them with red flannel, but 
 further than this they attempt no orna 
 mentation of the hair. The Sioux, how 
 ever, are passionately fond of ear-rings, 
 and I have seen as many as a hundred 
 small rings in a Sioux ear, a slit being 
 cut the whole length of the ear to make 
 room for them. Many of their ear-rings 
 are very heavy, being made of square or 
 cllong pieces of California sea-shell, Bead-band, 
 
 which is a regular article of trade among all the 'Rocky Moun 
 tain tribes of savages. The shells are about one-fifth of an 
 inch in thickness, five or six inches long, and four inches broad. 
 They are shaped like a saucer, and the outside is prismatic, the 
 
 colors often merging into blue, green, pink, and gold. Near 
 
 14
 
 156 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the edge the shell is very thin and delicate, but hard to break. 
 
 The Indians saw the shell into pieces, some round, others square, 
 oblong, or pendant, and these they string 
 together by means of wire passed through 
 little holes bored in the pieces. Brass 
 beads are often strung on the wires, as 
 a sort of washer between different parts 
 of the ear-ring, and beads strung on 
 sinew form the pendants. A large 
 brass ring for the ear generally begins a 
 Sioux ear ornament, and to this are hung 
 five or six pendants made of beads 
 btrung on wire; to these pendants are 
 attached a cross-piece of rawhide or wood : 
 then another column jf ' pendants, to 
 M'hich are hung one Hrge and two small 
 beads; then another cross-piece, and next 
 three large wampum beads, beneath which 
 is suspended the piece of shell that gives 
 the ornament its value. A shell will 
 make one pair of rings, and it generally 
 costs two robea, or about six dollars in 
 cash. It will be observed that the ac 
 companying illustration represents only 
 one-third 'the actual size of these ear 
 ornaments. In fact, they are frequently 
 eighteen inches in length, and from three 
 to four inches in breadth in the widest 
 part. What the ears of the wearers are 
 made of is a mystery, but pride and 
 (One-third actual* size.) vanity tell the story with the untutored
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 157 
 
 savage, as well as with the more cultivated, but no less proud 
 and vain dweller in civilized communities. 
 
 The accompanying cut shows the prevailing style of dressing 
 ihe head for state occa 
 sions among the Crows, 
 and it must be acknowl 
 edged that it is much 
 more light and airy and 
 wore sensible withal, than 
 Ihe immense chignon, and 
 the frizzles and frazzles of 
 ihe pale faces. Once in- 
 Iroduced among the ladies 
 of fashion, I have no 
 doubt of the immense 
 popularity of the Crow 
 head-dress, and I would 
 seriously recommend it to 
 their earnest consideration. 
 10 
 
 Crow Head-Drew.
 
 158 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 INDIAN WOMEN CHILD-BEARING AMONG THEM PHYSICAL ENDURANCE OF TUB 
 SQUAW HER HABITS THE PAPOOSE INDIAN CRADLES HOW THEY AKH 
 MADE CARRYING THE PAPOOSE INDIAN EDUCATION MOURNING FOR THTi 
 DEAU DISFIGURATION OF THE BODY A HIDEOUS AND BARBAROUS CUSTOM^ 
 MOURNING FOR THE SLAIN AT PHIL KEARNEY PUNISHING DUMB ANIMALS 
 FOR THE DEAD THE BABY ASLEEP. 
 
 /^HILD-BIRTH among Indians has long been supposed to 
 V^ be attended with less pain and danger than among other 
 races. This is a mistake, for human nature is very much the 
 same the world over, and the Indian women, in bringing forth 
 their children, suffer no less than their white sisters. The 
 same stoicism which enables the warrior to bear without com 
 plaining the torture of his enemies, enables the Indian mother 
 to endure in silence her labor-pains. The education in this 
 direction begins the moment a child is born. First, it is laslu-d 
 to a board, and then left for days and days, being suckled with 
 out being untied. If it cries, no attention is paid to its mur- 
 mu rings further than to ascertain that it does not suffer from 
 pain or hunger, and it soon learns that crying does no 
 good. 
 
 When it can walk, it is allowed to romp and indulge in the 
 most violent exercise. If it lives to grow up, it is taught to
 
 BKLDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 159 
 
 bear heavy burdens, walk long distances, and brave summer's 
 heat and winter's cold. In this way all the muscles are 
 thoroughly developed, and the maiden becomes healthy and 
 strong. 
 
 But besides a healthy frame capable of bearing suffering, the 
 Indian woman is taught trat to complain is weak and unwo 
 manly. And again, menstruation and child-bearing are a mutter 
 of shame and not to be published to the world. Hence it is 
 that the Indian woman, finding her time of labor come, will 
 often leave her home and go into a swamp or woods, and 
 there remain until her child is brought forth, and she able to 
 return to her lodge. With no eye save God's to pity her, and 
 no hand save her own to help her, she endures the most terrible 
 pain to which humanity is subjected. 
 
 The papoose in camp or 
 on the march is always car 
 ried on a board. It is made 
 of sufficient length to allow 
 it to rest its head and feet, 
 and the board is wide enough 
 to wrap the child snugly, 
 and have the strings press 
 on the chest and legs instead 
 of the sides. The bottom of 
 the wrapping is stuffed so as 
 to make a firm support for 
 the feet, and prevent the 
 child from slipping down 
 and becoming wedged in, 
 which would misshape its 11 
 feet and legs. "Baby AsTeep."
 
 160 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The strings that hold it are fastened to the board, and 
 are tied in bow knots on its breast and belly. Little or no 
 compression is made of the lower limbs, they being loose in a 
 sort of sack formed by the wrapping. The mother removes the 
 child from the board as often as necessary for the purposes of 
 nature, and no oftener. A willow is bent and fastened to the top 
 of the board, which serves as a handle to lift it by, and also as 
 a frame upon which to hang a cloth or skin to protect its face 
 from the weather and flies. The mother carries the board on 
 her back, it being held in its place by a band which passes 
 from the top of the board over her forehead. 
 
 The practice of disfiguration prevails extensively among 
 nearly all the -western tribes. One day an Indian boy was 
 thrown from his pony and dashed against a cottonwood-tree 
 with such violence that he died next morning of his injuries. 
 His mother and sisters, as a sign of their grief, cut off a finger 
 each at the first joint. I have seen the Crows gash their arms, 
 legs, bodies, and faces when their friends died. The women 
 cut several gashes on the forehead near the roots of the 
 hair, and the blood was allowed to remain until it dried and 
 wore off. 
 
 To tie up a wound inflicted as a sign of grief is consid 
 ered cowardly. It must not be noticed for at least twenty- 
 four hours, and then only to stop the blood. Many Indians 
 bleed almost to death- from their self-inflicted wounds, but it 
 is considered justifiable to take any position to staunch tlic 
 flow of blood, and Indians not unfrequently, after severing a 
 finger, hold the hand above their heads, or stand all night 
 holding to a pole until the twenty-four hours are up, when 
 the wound may be tied up in rags. 
 
 It is said that at the Fort Phil Kearney massacre, in
 
 BKLDEN: TUE WUITfi CHIEF. 461 
 
 1866, over three hundred Indians were killed, and that 
 hundreds of fingers were cut off and gashes innumerable 
 made on their persons by the friends of the dead. A chief, 
 two years after the massacre, said, in council, " The Sioux, 
 Arrapahoes, and Cheyennes have not done mourning for our 
 braves who fell at Phil Kearney/' 
 
 When a warrior is killed, his pony is gashed in the sides 
 and on the legs with knives, to make him feel sorry for the 
 death of his master. 
 
 Travelers have often noticed the gashes in the j>onies' 
 sides and the missing fingers of Indians' hands, and attrib 
 uted them to accident or war, but in nine cases out of ten 
 these disfigurations are traceable to the causes mentioned 
 above.
 
 162 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 [NDIAN DOGS THEIR ORIGIN HABITS OF THE DOG HIS COWARDICE AND 
 TREACHERY WHAT THE INDIANS DO WITH HIM NUMBER OF DOGS TO A 
 FAMILY RAISING DOGS FOR FOOD INDIAN DOG FEASTS THE AUTHOR AT 
 TENDS ONE DOG SOUP MANNERS AT AN INDIAN TABLE BOILED DOG HOW 
 
 THEY ARE COOKED THE PREJUDICE AGAINST DOG MEAT HOW IT TASTES 
 WHY DO N'T WE EAT DOGS WILD ARTICHOKES AND CORN THE AUTHOR 
 
 LEARNS TO LIKE DOG AN ENTERPRISE CONSIDERED THE ENTERPRISE 
 
 ABANDONED. 
 
 DOGS and Indians are inseparable companions. Where 
 you find an Indian you are pretty sure to find a dog; 
 and, if you enter a village you will see hundreds on hundreds 
 of these animals running about. The first question one asks 
 himself, on arriving at an Indian town is, What can all these 
 dogs be kept for? but a short residence will soon convince 
 him that there are none too many. 
 
 The Indian dog resembles the cayote, or prairie-wolf, and 
 his bark is so much like this animal's, it is often difficult to 
 distinguish the two apart. There is.no doubt but that the wild 
 dog is a cross between the domestic, or house dog, and the wolf. 
 
 The flesh of the Indian dog is very fine, and resembles the 
 flesh of a calf or antelope. There is none of that blackness, 
 or coarseness, found in the meat of the domestic dog. Each 
 Indian family keeps from six to sixteen dogs, and they are
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 16? 
 
 very useful for many purposes besides eating. They can be 
 made to draw water, carry or haul wood, and when the village 
 moves, they are put into little shafts and made to drag burdens 
 of camp equipage. They are excellent watch dogs, and nothing 
 can approach the camp without their seeing, or hearing it. 
 They are very cowardly, but always give the alarm by bark 
 ing when a strange animal or man approaches. They are fierce 
 looking brutes, and hundreds of them will run toward a 
 stranger as though about to tear him to pieces, but a club 
 shied among them will set them scampering in all directions. 
 If you run from them they will bite, but if you rush at them, 
 scores of them will take to flight, and never stop until safely 
 ensconced in or near the teepees of their owners. Their terror, 
 in times of attack, is extreme, and they are, undoubtedly, the 
 most cowardly brutes in the world. They are ravenous, and 
 will bite, or throw down a child to get a bone, or piece of 
 meat out of its hand. They are constantly on the watch, and 
 if you lay down any food for a moment, some villainous cur 
 will be sure to snatch it and run away with it. The cayote 
 is not more sneaking or treacherous in his disposition than a 
 wild dog. What Indian dogs live on, no one can tell, for 
 the Indians take no pains to feed them, unless it be a favorite 
 that they wish to eat, and then he is tied up by the teepee to 
 fatten. I have often seen them out hunting on the bottoms, 
 and along the creeks for mice, prairie-squirrels, and rabbits, 
 which they devour with avidity. 
 
 When any great event happens, srcl as a victory or suc 
 cessful hunt, the Indians make a great dog-feast, and old and 
 young partake of the savory food. Dog meat is considered a 
 great delicacy, and an old country woman in the East is not 
 moro proud and careful of her pullets, than is AU Indian of 
 
 15
 
 154 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 liis young dogs. I have often eaten dog, though I can't sa) 
 I am partial to that kind of food now. 
 
 Soon after I joined the Indians, I was invited to two dog- 
 feasts, and feeling that it would not be courteous to refuse, 1 
 -.vent to one. I did not intend to eat any of the meat, but 
 changed my mind, on being* informed by a friend, that it would 
 b downright ill-manners not to partake, at least, of the soup. 
 The dog had been boiled well, and was fat, which did not help 
 the matter or make the dish more palatable. I had a foolish 
 notion that I could eat lean dog, but dog-fat-was positively 
 repulsive to me. When I arrived at the feast, I was given a 
 huge wooden bowl that would hold about three quarts, and 
 invited to come up and have it filled. I went to the great 
 kettle where the dog had been boiled, and was helped to the 
 under-jaw and a part of the fore-quarter. The teeth of the 
 jaw looked white and wolfish, and, as I imagined, gave me a 
 grin when they came from the pot. Corn and wild artichokes 
 had been boiled with the dog, and I was given two huge ladle- 
 fulls of these vegetables. I retired to my place in the circle, 
 and taking up my spoon of buffalo-horn, endeavored tt> keep 
 up appearances. I pretended to scrape off some of the meat, 
 but as it stuck tight to the bone, I took up some of the corn 
 and soup, and tasted it. To my surprise, it was very palatable, 
 and if I could have forgotten it was dog soup, it would really 
 have been good. I was conscious that the Indians were watch 
 ing me, and did the best 1 could to swallow as much soup as 
 possible. Unluckily, as I dipped down deep in the bowl for 
 corn, I brought up a piece of meat which had become detached 
 by the boiHng. I wished to throw it back, but saw two Indians 
 looking directly at me, and I boldly raised it to my mouth. As 
 it passed between my lips, I felt an involuntary shudder seize
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 165 
 
 me, as though I were cold, and I expected to be instantly nau 
 seated, but as I masticated it, I found the meat sweet and 
 savory. I tried some more, but despite my resolution, I could 
 only eat sparingly. Candor compels me to say, however, that 
 but for my prejudice, the food would have been pleasant and 
 wholesome. 
 
 After this, I attended many dog-feasts, and soon learned to 
 eat as neartily as any one. At one time, I had got so far along 
 as, to seriously think of trading for some dogs, that I might 
 have a supply of the meat on hand for my use at all seasons, 
 but I gave it up, more because I wished to appear respectable in 
 my own eyes, and retain some semblance of civilization, than 
 because I had any longer a repugnance to dog wiled, roasted, 
 stewed, or fried.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE FALL HUNT A NEW EXPEDITION PLANNED THE START CAMPS ON THB 
 MISSOURI A DELIGHTFUL COUNTRY PLEASURE OF CAMPING OUT A HERD 
 OF BUFFALO THE OLD BULL AN ADVENTURE WITH A BUFFALO THE PUR 
 SUIT PURSUER PURSUED MY PONY TERRIBLE FALL PERILOUS SITUA 
 TION GIVEN UP FOR LOST THE DELIVERANCE A LESSON TO BUFFALO 
 HUNTERS. 
 
 fTHHE summer was drawing to a close and the autumn days 
 -- coming on when the annual hunt would begin. Before 
 the fall hunt I determined to go on an adventure of my own, 
 and, on communicating my intention to several of the Santees, 
 they expressed a desire to accompany me. It was all soon 
 arranged as to who would go, and we made preparations fo* ."* 
 special hunt in the Big Horn country. 
 
 First, we were to fall down the river a distance of one 01 
 two hundred miles, and having drawn- as near the mountain? 
 as possible, and supplied ourselves with buffalo meat, strike 
 across the country. 
 
 Our trip along the Missouri was delightful, and our stock 
 improved every day. We had all the game we needed, and a 
 night camped in delightful spots by clear, running streams 
 Ftsh, deer, and antelope abounded, and the weather was mild 
 and refreshing. Nothing could have been more pleasant than 
 this mode of traveling on the broad, wild 'prairies of the 
 West.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 167 
 
 One evening, just as we were thinking about going ink 
 camp for the night, I spied a buffalo bull lying on a little hill 
 side, and I determined at once to capture him. La Fixunbc, 
 who was with me, and one of the Santee warriors, moved out 
 so as to get on the wind side of him, and then we ran for tl.e 
 beast. On looking to the west, I saw -at a short distance a 
 whole herd, and, leaving La Frombe and his compani< (o 
 manage the bull, made for the herd. I was soon up with it, 
 and, singling out a bull, fired a ball into him. The herd 
 made off as fast as possible, the wounded buffalo following 
 rapidly. In jumping a small ravine ray pony fell, and so 
 badly sprained his shoulder he was unable to keep up with the 
 game. While I was chafing at my disappointment, and urg 
 ing my little pony to do his utmost, La Frombe and the Santee 
 came up witKjne, having finished their bull, and followed to 
 see what had become of me. As soon as La Frombe noticed 
 the condition of my horse, he cautioned me against going far 
 ther, and said it would be unsafe to attack a bull with the 
 pony in his present disabled condition. Just then, however, 
 a fine young bull separating from the herd, I called to La 
 Frombe to head him, and as he turned give the buffalo a shot. 
 La Frombe did as I desired, and then rejoined the chase after 
 the herd. Having my game now going toward the camp, 1 
 rode along leisurely for some distance, and then dashed up and 
 gave him another ball. Instantly, as it seemed to me, the beast 
 wheeled, lowered his head, and charged. I spurred my pony 
 sharply, and barely escaped his horns. In the surprise and ex 
 citement of the moment, I had dropped my gun while trying to 
 reload it, and before I could recover it the buffalo was again upon 
 me. I plunged the rowels into the pony's flanks, and he dashed 
 forward, but the bull kept close in his rear. I now saw that
 
 168 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the animal was only enraged and not disabled by the shots 1 
 had given him, while my pony began to show evident signs of 
 exhaustion. 
 
 On we went over the prairie, my pursuer with his head 
 close to the ground, and intent on plunging his horns into 
 the pony's flanks. I looked back as we were ascending a 
 *ittle slope, and the bull was within eight feet of me. When 
 I reached the crest of the slope, I saw before me a steep 
 descent, full of rocks and holes. I hesitated to risk my pony 
 on such' uneven ground, for he was not sure-footed, but the 
 frightened little fellow plunged down the ridge, and I let him 
 go. Suddenly I felt him sinking under me, and the next mo 
 ment I rolled headlong among the rocks. I looked up, and 
 saw the buffalo, with lowered head, plunging at me, and 
 scarcely twenty feet distant. Every instant I expected to feel 
 his sharp horns in my side or be trampled to death beneath 
 his feet, and closed my eyes. While I lay waiting for ray 
 death, the sharp crack of a rifle rang out on the air, quickly 
 followed by another shot. A sharp pain thrilled me, and I 
 felt myself flying through the air. The confuted sound of 
 voices near by caused me to open my eyes, and there sat La 
 Frombe and the Santee on their ponies. 
 
 They had followed me, and arrived just in time to give the 
 bull two fatal shots as he was about to gore me to death. I 
 was so sore from the effects of my wouuds that I could not 
 rise, but they dismounted and lifted me up, when I saw the bull 
 lying dead scarcely a doxen feet distant. An examination 
 showed that the beast hud struck me with the side of his horn 
 mi the shoulder, and although he had sent me spinning like a 
 top, the horn had not entered the fle^h. 
 
 In a little while I was able to walk, and, witb the assist-
 
 BELDEN; THE WHITE CHIEF. ] (^ 
 
 auce of La Frombe, to mount my pony, who had not been 
 hurt by his fall, and was quietly grazing near by. I rode 
 slowly back to camp, fully resolved to be more careful in 
 future when I hunted buffalo. It was many a day before I 
 recovered from the effects of my bruises, and never, until the 
 day of my death, shall I ever forget how I felt when I imag 
 ined that buffalo's horns driving through me.
 
 170 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 OFF FOR THE MOUNTAINS HUNTING ELK AND ANTELOPE A BEAR HUNT THM 
 
 THREE GRIZZLIES A RACE LOOKING FOR THE GAME MORE GAME FOUND 
 
 THAN WANTED TAKING CP A POSITION SKIRMISHING THE ENEMY WON'T 
 
 SCARE THE BATTLE A SHE-BEAR AND TWO CUBS INTELLIGENCE OF TUB 
 
 BEAR A DEAD MONSTER SKINNING A BEAR THE RETURN TO CAMP AN 
 
 ALARM INDIANS WHAT FRIGHTENED THEM SUPPER IN CAMP A NIGHT 
 
 MARCH FAR UP IN THE MOUNTAINS OUR NEW CAMP. 
 
 "VTTE now had all the buffalo meat we needed, and at once 
 set out for the mountains. After reaching them, we 
 skirted along their base, looking for deer and elk, and suc 
 ceeded in capturing a number of fine animals. 
 
 A pleasant temporary camp was located, where we rested for 
 a day or two, and then set out for any adventure that might 
 come in our way. We had left the base of the mountain one 
 morning, soon after daylight, and were moving across the 
 plain, when we noticed three objects going in the direction of 
 a canon a mile in advance. Whipping up our ponies we 
 were not long in coming upon three huge grizzly bears. ID 
 f. moment all was excitement, and we dashed forward, endeav-* 
 oring to head them off from the caflon, where we surmised 
 they had a den. We knew that to attack them on the open 
 plain would lessen the danger of the conflict greatly, so we 
 rode hard, but despite our efforts they reached and entered the 
 canon ahead of us.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 17] 
 
 My horse had outstripped those of my companions, and 
 seeing the bears about to escape, I spurred on until I passed 
 the grizzlies, and then turning, fired a shot, hoping to turn 
 them back or bring them to a halt. They, however, came 
 steadily on toward me, and I rode to the side of the cation 
 and attempted to climb its steep bank. I succeeded, and for a 
 time lost sight o the animals. I waited several moments, ex 
 pecting to hear the guns of my friends in the conflict below, 
 when I would ride down and join them. All remained quiet, 
 however, and, becoming impatient, I dismounted, and leaving 
 my horse, walked to the edge of the cafion. I could see 
 nothing of the bears or horsemen, and ventured down the 
 bank. I was straining my eyes in all directions, when I heard 
 a noise above me, and, looking up, saw on the top of the ridge, 
 not more than fifty yards from me, the three bears. They had 
 followed me up the bank, and skirted along the crest, until 
 they came near my horse. I heard the pony snorting and 
 trying to break his lariat rope, and a moment afterward he 
 was dashing along the ridge, dragging the rope behind him. 
 I had hoped the bears would follow him, but, instead of doing 
 so, they sat down to watch me. The hill-side was thickly 
 strewn with shaggy little pines, blown down by the wind, 
 and among these I took up my position. The bears, seeing 
 me apparently moving off, followed, and one came within 
 forty feet before he saw me. Hoping to frighten off the 
 brute as well as attract my friends, I fired my revolver in the 
 air. The bear gave an angry growl, and came still nearer. 
 Glancing up the cafion, and seeing nothing of my friends, I 
 concluded to fire, and raising the hammer of my Henry rifle, 
 I took a steady aim at the beast's heart, and pulled the trigger. 
 With a roar that made the hill shake, she fell to the ground
 
 172 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 and rolled over. In a moment more she got up and, shaking 
 herself, fixed her blood-red eyes upon me. My heart sank in 
 my breast, for I saw I had missed the vitals of the animal, and 
 only enraged by wounding her. The other two bears, vhich 
 I now saw were large cubs, lay crouching near their mother, 
 and apparently warning the battle. Seeing the old bear 
 about to rush upon me, I hastily threw the exploded shell out 
 of my Henry, and raising the hammer sent a ball at her, but, 
 owing to her sudden change of position, missed her, and hit 
 one of the cubs that was just behind her. The cub bellowed 
 lustily, and the dam ran to him. This was most lucky for me, 
 and I lost no time in putting three more shots into the old 
 bear. Once more she came bounding toward me, and I 
 plumped a shot into the cub that made him yell with agony. 
 The old beast was within a few feet of me, when, unable to 
 withstand the piteous cries of her cub, she turned and went to 
 him. I now pumped the shot into her as fast as possible, but 
 presently she came on again, when again I hit her cub, and 
 sent her back to lick his wounds. She had received thirteen 
 balls, when she made off, followed by the cubs, one of which 
 was so lame he could hardly walk. 
 
 I was debating in my own mind, whether I should pursue 
 and finish the bears or let well enough alone, when I preceivod 
 my companions coming riding down the caftan, and directly 
 in front of the grizzlies. I hallooed to them to head off the 
 bears and attack them in front, while I followed up my attack 
 in the rear. I ran as fast as I could, and coming up to the hind 
 most cub, laid him out at one shot. I next shot the other 
 cub, and fired twice at the old bear, but she was getting too 
 far ahead for my balls to be effective. La Frombe and the 
 Santee headed her, when she came running back to her dead
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 cub, sat down, and howled most piteously. Then she took her 
 paw and rolling him over and over, shook him as if to wake 
 him. Smelling his nose, she seemed to understand he was 
 dead, and cried as if her heart would break. Suddenly she 
 saw me, and, standing on her hind feet, looked at her perse 
 cutor. She made no attempt to come at me, but seemed to be 
 waiting fpi her death. Never did I see so magnificent a beast, 
 as she stood there, with ears flattened against her head, her 
 eyes blazing like coals of fire, her" neck stretched out, and her 
 mouth wide open, disclosing four rows of immense white teeth. 
 I did not long keep her in suspense, but fired at her heart, and 
 she fell down ani rolled over, catching her cub, and seemingly 
 trying to embrace it as she died. 
 
 This bear would certainly have weighed over one thousand 
 pounds, and after my severe contest with her I had a desire 
 to possess her skin. La Frornbe helped me skin her, while 
 the Santee went to hunt up my pony. We left on the claws 
 and skin of the head. Just as we had finished our job, the 
 Santee came back with my pony, and taking the entrails out of 
 the smallest cub, we lifted him upon La Frombe's horse, and 
 all set out to return to our camp. 
 
 We had gone but a mile or two, when we saw several horse 
 men riding furiously across the plain, apparently with the 
 design of heading us off. It needed no second look to con 
 vince us they w r ere hostile Crows, and, dropping the bear, we 
 broke for the hills. It was a ride for life, as there were fuTIy 
 fifteen Indians in the other party, and we knew if we were 
 caught they would burn us at the stake, for they were at war 
 with the Sioux, and, what was worse for us, we were hunting 
 game on their hunting-grounds. 
 
 Suddenly the Crows halted, and, apparently without any 
 11
 
 174 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 cause, put back as fast as they had come. On ascending a 
 little knoll, we saw the cause of their alarm, for there stood 
 our camp, half hid away among the trees. The Crows had seen 
 the camp, and thinking our party was strong, and that we 
 were decoying them to the camp, they began their hasty 
 retreat. 
 
 In a few moments not a Grow was to be seen, and we rode 
 quietly into camp, laughing heartily at the needless alarm of 
 our enemies. After a hearty supper, we packed up, and, 
 fearing the Crows would return and discover our weakness, 
 when we should all be killed, we determined to move off at 
 once. All night long we rode briskly forward, and when the 
 sun rose, gilding the mountain peak with silver and gold, we 
 were nearly fifty miles distant from where our camp had been. 
 
 "We breakfasted on fresh antelope, and rested until noon, 
 when we again set forward, and continued our j6urney for two 
 days. Being now far in the mountains, we felt safe, and 
 pitched our camp, intending to hunt for a season.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 a ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP AN EARLY START MEETING THE S0N OM 
 THE MOUNTAIN TOPS THE BIG HORNS IN SIGHT LA FROMBE KILLS A SHEEP 
 MY CHAGRIN AT A BAD SHOT FOLLOWING THE BIG HORNS A TOItfiOMK 
 JOURNEY THE SHEEP IN SIGHT AGAIN KILLING A RAM THEIR ASTONISH 
 ING STRENGTH A MEAL ON THE MOUNTAIN THE RETURN HOMB <UNCE 
 MORE. 
 
 "VTTE had been at our new camp several days, and taken 
 ' * all the game we wanted when, one morning, I deter 
 mined to climb the mountain peaks and have a hunt after -the 
 famous mountain sheep. My companions liked the idea of a 
 dash at the " hard heads," and we all three set out together. 
 The sun met us as we toiled up the steeps, and it was scarcely 
 half an hour high, when La Frombe, who was in advance, 
 halted, and pointing to a cliff half a mile distant, said, "There 
 they are." We looked in the direction indicated, and saw a 
 group of four sheep walking along the edge of the precipice. 
 They had not yet discovered us, and we stood still until they 
 passed out of sight behind some projecting rocks, and then ran 
 as fast as we could along the mountain side until we were 
 directly under where we had seen our game. Carefully ascend 
 ing from crag to crag, we were not long in coming upon their 
 fresh tracks, and now we crept along, looking carefully ahead at 
 every turn. Presently, La Frombe pointed to the right/and 
 there, standing on a rock, scarcely two hundred yards f^om-us,
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 were three large sheep. We each selected a sheep La Frombe 
 taking the one on the left, the Santee the one in the middle, and 
 I the farthest on the right. At a signal from La Frombe, we 
 fired together, and when the smoke cleared away saw one sheep 
 lying on the rock. I ran as fast as I could up the rocks, and 
 arrived in time to see the other two big horns going around the 
 bluff a quarter of a mile off. La Frombe had killed his game, 
 but the Santee and I had missed our mark. I, however, noticed 
 blood on the stones, and knowing that one of the other two wass 
 wounded, determined to follow them. Leaving La Frombe ana 
 the Santee to skin and dress the dead animal, I climbed from 
 ravine to ravine, and rock to rock, for nearly an hour, and had 
 began to despair of seeing my game again, when I unex 
 pectedly came upon some blood and tracks. I saw where the 
 sheep had laid but a few moments before, and as there was 
 some soft soil at this point so I could follow the tracks, I 
 crawled carefully along. I paused often to watch and listen, 
 but could see nothing, and all was silent, as only the vast 
 solitudes of a mountain can be. I had began to descend a 
 little, with a view of getting among some scrubby pines near 
 by, in order the better to shield myself from observation, and 
 just as I reached them, I saw a stately ram walking slowly 
 along a ledge of rocks, closely followed by a small ewe. I 
 was as yet too far away to shoot with precision, and as they 
 were moving slowly, and had not seen me, I stood still unti 1 
 they turned the rock. They were moving parallel with me, and 
 I now hastened, under cover of the pines, to get ahead of 
 them, if possiole. After getting one or two falls, and nearly 
 breaking my gun and neck over the stones, I perceived the 
 sheep nearly above me, and not over two hundred yards dis 
 tant. I crawled to the edge of the rocks, and selecting an
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 177 
 
 open spot, where I knew the sheep would pass, rested my gun. 
 In a moment they appeared, and when the ram came opposite 
 the end of my rifle, I fired. The old fellow dropped, rolled 
 over, turned upon his horns, and fell over forty feet, lighting 
 on his head.* He was desperately wounded, but still able to 
 rise. As he steadied himself for another jump, I put a third 
 ball hit 3 him, and he lay down on the rocks. I scrambled up 
 to him, and when he saw me, he made desperate efforts to get 
 upon his feet. He lay upon his side, his great red eyes roll 
 ing fiercely. When I went near him he bleated piteously, and 
 struck with his forefeet, at the same time tossing his great 
 horns savagely about. I tried for some time to get hold of 
 him, not wishing to shoot him again, as I had but two charges 
 left in my gun, and I had left my ammunition-belt behind, in 
 order to climb the better. Every time I approached, he struck 
 at me, until finally, losing my patience, I pounced upon him 
 from behind, and seizing hold of one of his horns, attempted 
 to draw my hunting-knife across his throat. Throwing back 
 his head with a strength that surprised me, he struck me with 
 his horn on the knee and almost broke my leg. It was only 
 after a severe struggle that I was able to drive my knife into 
 his neck and finish him. 
 
 When I had killed the ram, I looked up, and there stood the 
 
 
 
 * Hunting the Rocky Mountain sheep is the only sport that approximates 
 to any thing like the famous Chamois hunting of olden times. The flesh 
 of these sheep is very good, but they are exceedingly difficult to kill. 
 When pursued by the hunter, or wounded, they will frequently throw 
 themselves over precipices fifty feet high, and light on their horns, appa 
 rently without hurting themselves in the least. 
 
 Mr. Belden gives, in the above sketch, a perfectly natural and correct 
 
 account of a Rocky Mountain sheep hunt. 
 
 16
 
 J78 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 doe, hardly fifty yards distant. She had been looking at tht 
 death of her mate, and now, even as t looked at her, bounded 
 nimbly away over the rocks. I fired a shot after her, but it 
 did not hit her, and I sat down perfectly satisfied with my 
 ram. 
 
 I was not long in signalling my companions, and presently 
 I heard the long " talla-ho ! " of La Frombe, who was coming 
 up the steeps below me. 
 
 I had my sheep skinned and dressed by the time they came 
 up, and the pines affording a favorable place,. we cut off some 
 of the choice bits, roasted them on the coals, and dined. 
 
 We were all three very tired, and having had enough of 
 sheep-hunting for one day, we rested for a couple of hours, and 
 then, packing our meat on our backs, began the descent. It 
 was quite late when we reached our camp, and as we were weary 
 and bruised by many a fall, received during the day, we soon 
 went to bed.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 OLD BUFFALO BULLS THE MONARCHS OF THE PRAIRIES A CHASE AFTER ON 
 HIS RAGE AND EFFORTS TO CAPTURE ME A TRICK HOW HE HID FROM ME 
 
 TERRIBLE COLLISION THK RESULT WHAT I SAW DANGEROUS SITUATION 
 
 DEATH OF THE BUFFALO MY CONDITION POOR LITTLE PONY THE RETURX 
 
 TO CAMP ALARM OF MY FRIENDS ALL RIGHT ONCE MORE. 
 
 'VTTE were now out of the buffalo range, but occasionally we 
 met an old bull, who, having been driven away from 
 the herd by the sharp horns of his younger brethren, had 
 wandered far up into the mountains, to graze and live out the 
 remnant of his days in peace. 
 
 These old fellows, disturbed by our presence, would, on being 
 approached, throw up their heads defiantly, and then trot off 
 to other pastures. 
 
 One day a desire seized me to have a battle with one of 
 these monarchs of the prairies. Saddling my pony, I rode out, 
 and was not long in coming upon an old soldier who was graz 
 ing in a little grassy valley. He was monarch of all he sur 
 veyed, but nevertheless thought it proper to acknowledge my 
 superiority by shaking his head, as a sort of negative admis 
 sion, and then gallop off toward the hills. 
 
 My little pony soon overtook him, however, and I gave the 
 old fellow a shot that made him grunt, and set every nerve in 
 him quivering. I did not desire to kill him at once, but exer 
 cise the agility of my pony and the skill of myself. Seeing
 
 180 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 him making for a ravine, I spurred by, and, swinging m> 
 buffalo robe before his face, sought to turn him. He ran back 
 at once, and when he was on the open prairie, I gave him a 
 shot through the hams. This made him switch his tail and 
 cut dirt for a mile, but he presently made signs of battle. 
 This was precisely what I wanted, and I gave haste to shoot 
 him again, this time in the neck. He now turned and charged 
 upon me, but my little pony wheeled and was off like the 
 wind. Away we went over the prairie, the pursuer and pur 
 sued. I zigzagged the pony, and, as the old buffalo could not 
 turn on less than an acre of ground, he had to run more than 
 twice as far as the little horse. It would take him some time 
 to bring himself to bear upon us, but, having got himself in 
 range, he would come on like a steam engine, sure that he had 
 us, but only to be zigzagged out of line again, and find he was 
 charging the air. In a little time he gave it up and started for 
 the ravine, near which we had been maneuvering. He had a 
 good start before I perceived what his object was, and, although 
 I rode hard, I could not head him in time to prevent him 
 from entering it. I dashed down into the cafion, and, not 
 seeing my game, was about to pull rein, when my horse, in 
 turning the sharp butt of a little bluff that run into the ravine, 
 came suddenly upon the buffalo lying down, and, before I 
 could check his speed, stumbled and fell headlong over him. 
 I rolled over and over on the ground, and was so stunned and 
 bruised, that for several minutes I could neither rise to my 
 feet nor collect my senses. An indistinct idea of danger 
 thrilled me, and still, half blinded and choked with dust, 1 
 got upon my knees, and, feeling for my revolver, which was in 
 the soabbard strapped to my waist, I drew and fired it twice 
 at a black-looking mass before me. Whether it was the smell
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 181 
 
 of the powder or the noise of the explosion that brought back 
 my recollection and sense, I can not tell, but in a moment I 
 saw the buffalo close by me, and attempting to rise to his feet. 
 I aimed at his side and fired twice, and, to my inexpressible 
 relief, saw the great brute roll over and die. I was still so 
 dizzy I closed my eyes and laid down on the ground. Pres 
 ently, by remaining still, I felt better, and, rising, I examined 
 to see if any bones were broken. I was terribly bruised, but 
 still whole, and I felt so delighted at this discovery, I walked, 
 or pother hobbled, to the buffalo, and, cutting his throat with 
 my great butcher-knife, sat down upon the carcass. It was 
 fuHy half an hour before I could realize what had occurred, 
 and then I found my poor little horse standing in a pocket 
 of the canon, and so lame he could hardly walk. My gun 
 was broken and my hat lying near it, torn almost in two. 
 
 An examination proved that the buffalo had run into the 
 caflon, and, thinking himself free from his tormentor, had laid 
 down behind the butt, when a moment afterward I came along 
 at full speed, and both rider and horse tumbled over him. 
 The collision had rolled the buffalo over, and the blow neces 
 sary to do this had nearly dislocated my horse's shoulder. I 
 made haste to mount and work my way back to camp, where 
 I arrived in sad plight, long after dark. My companiras had 
 become so uneasy about me that they were just starting out tc 
 hunt me up, when I came in and related to them rny adven 
 ture and miraculous escape.
 
 182 BELDEN: THE WHITE 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 LEGEND OP CRAZY WOMAN NARRATIVE OF THE OLD INDIAN INTRODUCTION 
 
 OP RUM AMONG THE CROWS THE WHITE TRADER SINGULAR CONDUCT 0* 
 
 THE CHIEF THE CRAZY WARRIOR CROW COUNCIL THE BLACK-WATER 
 SPEECH OF THE YOUNG WARRIOR PERIL OF THE TRADER THE CONFESSION 
 
 AN INDIAN BATTLE DEATH OF THE TREMBLING HAND MURDER OF THB 
 
 TRADER THE WHITE SQUAW HER ESCAPE THE CRAZY WOMAN- -HOW THE 
 STREAM TOOK ITS NAME. 
 
 THRESH pony-tracks, seen in a gorge, warned us that the 
 -- hostile Crows were about, and hastily packing up, we de 
 camped to a more safe locality. 
 
 After many days travel, we came in sight of a broad, rolling 
 Btream, shaded by cottonwood, and pitched our camp on its 
 oank. The valley along the river was wide and fertile, and 
 flocks of prairie hens and ducks rose from the long grass and 
 flew away in all directions. Deer, antelope, and elk, bounded 
 over the hills, and far in the distance could be seen a drove 
 of wild horses. I could not help wondering how soon this 
 wild scene would be changed, and the smoke of the white man's 
 cabin ascend all along the rich valley. Already, I saw, in 
 imagination, corn growing on the slopes, farm-houses nestling 
 among the trees, a village in the great bend of the stream, and 
 I thought I could hear the tinkling of cow-bells, the laugh of 
 children, and the solemn tolling of church-bells. 
 
 La Frombe said the stream was called Crazy Woman, and
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 183 
 
 the valley had long been known to the Crows as Crazy "Woman's 
 Valley. I asked him how it could have obtained such a singu 
 lar name, and he related the following story : 
 
 Many years ago, I visited this spot with a band of Crows, 
 and one evening a venerable Indian told us this legend of 
 Crazy Woman : Years ago, when my father was a little boy, 
 there came among us a man who was half white. He said he 
 wished to trade with our people for buffalo-robes, beaver, elk, 
 and deer skins, and that he would give us much paint, and 
 many blankets and pieces of cloth in exchange for furs. We 
 liked him, and believed him very good, for he was rich, hav 
 ing many thousands of beads and hundreds of yards of ribbons. 
 Our village was then built on the river, about twenty miles 
 above where we now are, and game was very plentiful. This 
 river did not at that time have the name of Crazy Woman, but 
 was called " Big Beard," because a curious grass grows along its 
 banks that has a big beard. What I am about to relate caused 
 the name of the river to be changed. 
 
 The trader built a lodge of wood and stones, and near it a 
 great, strong house, in which he kept all his immense wealth. It 
 was not long until he had bought all the robes and furs for sale 
 in the village, and then he packed them on ponies, and bidding 
 us good-bye, said he was going far to the East, where the pale 
 face lives, but that he would soon come back, bring us many 
 presents, and plenty of blankets, beads, and ribbons, which he 
 would exchange as before for robes and furs. We were sorry 
 to see him go, but, as he promised to return in a few moons, 
 we were much consoled. It was not long until our spies re 
 ported something they could not understand coming into our 
 country, and the whole village was in a great state of alarm. 
 Somn of the boldest ventured out, and returned with the joyful
 
 184 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 intelligence, that the strange objects our young men had seen, 
 was the trader and his people. All the village ran to meet him, 
 and the sight was strange enough indeed. The Crows had in 
 those days never seen a wagon-horse or ox, and the trader had 
 brought all these things. The wagons they called teepees on 
 rollers ; the horses were giants, beside the little ponies, ^nd the 
 oxen, all believed were tame buffaloes. There, also, was a squaw 
 who was perfectly white, and who could not understand any 
 thing that was said to her. She wore dresses down to her feet, 
 of which she seemed to be ashamed, and our women said she 
 tied cords tightly about her waist, so as to make it small. She 
 had very long hair, and did not plait, but rolled it, and, in 
 stead of letting it hang down, wrapped it tightly about her 
 nead. 
 
 It was not long until the trader had all his wagons un 
 loaded, and his store open. He had brought all the women 
 oeads and ribbons, and the men brass rings. Besides what he 
 sold, he made many presents; so every body loved him, for no 
 one had ever before seen so rich and generous a man. 
 
 One day, he told the Big Chief to come into the back part 
 of the store and he would show him something wonderful. 
 The chief went, wondering what it could be, and when they 
 were alone, the trader drew out a very little barrel, and taking 
 a wooden cup, poured out some black-looking water, which he 
 told the chief to drink. The chief did as desired, and imme 
 diately felt so jolly he asked for more. The trader promised, 
 if he would never tell any one where he got the black water, 
 he would give him all he wanted. The chief promised, and 
 the trader gave him another cupful. Now the chief danced 
 and sang, and went to his_ lodge, where he fell down in a deep 
 sleep, and no one could wake him. He slept so long, the war-
 
 BELDE> T : THE WHITE CHIEF. 187 
 
 riors gathered about the lodge wondering what could ail him, 
 and they were about to go to the trader and demand to know 
 what kind of medicine he had given the chief to make him 
 behave so strangely, when the chief woke up and ordered 
 them all to their lodges, and to ask no questions. 
 
 Next day the chief went to the trader, and said he had had 
 great dreams; that he thought he had slain many of his ene 
 mies, and that the black medicine must be very good to make 
 him have such pleasant visions. He begged the trader to give 
 him some more, and he did so. Thus the chief did every day, 
 and all the village wondered, for they believed the trader had 
 bewitched him. In former times the chief had been a quiet 
 and very dignified man, but now he sang, danced in the 
 streets, and publicly hugged the women, so every one thought 
 him crazy. The Crows disliked the conduct of the chief very 
 much, and began to grumble against the trader, for they 
 thought he was to blame for the great change that had come 
 over their chief. Some said he was bewitched, others that the 
 trader had an evil spirit in one of his -boxes, and thus they 
 talked, some believing one thing and some another, but all 
 blaming him. One of the young warriors called a secret coun 
 cil, and the matter was discussed, and it was finally decided that 
 the trader must leave or they would put him to death. A 
 warrior, who was a great friend of the trader, was sent to tell 
 him of the decision of the council, and when he did so the 
 trader laughed, and said if he would come into the back of the 
 store, and never tell any body, he would show him what ailed 
 the chief. The warrior went, and the trader gave him a ladle 
 full of the black water to drink. Presently he began to sing 
 and dance about, and then went out into the street and sang, 
 which greatly surprised every one, for he had never done so
 
 188 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 before. The young men gathered about him, and asked him 
 what ailed him, but he only said, " Oh, go to the trader and 
 get some of the black water ! " So they went to the trader, 
 and inquired what kind of black water he had that affected 
 people so strangely; and the trader told them he had only the 
 same kind of water they drank, and brought out his pail, that 
 they all might drink. Each warrior took up the ladle and 
 drank some, and made the trader drink some, and then they 
 eat down to wait and see if it would affect them like the chief 
 and their brother warrior; but it did not, and they rose up 
 and said, "The trader or our brother lies, and we will see who 
 is the liar." They went to the warrior's lodge, and found him 
 sound asleep, nor could they wake him. Two remained to 
 watch by him, and the others went to their teepees. When 
 the sun was up, the warrior rose, and, seeing the others sitting 
 in his tent, said, "Why are you here, my brothers?" And 
 the eldest of the two warriors replied, " You have lied to us, 
 for the trader has no black water." The warrior, recollecting 
 his promise not to tell, said, " It is true that the trader has no 
 black water, and who said he had ? " They explained to him 
 his conduct of the day before, at which he was greatly aston 
 ished, and he declared if such was the case he must have been 
 very sick in his head and not known what he had said. There 
 upon the warriors withdrew and reported all to their brethren. 
 The warriors were greatly perplexed, and knew not what to 
 do or think, but decided to wait and see. 
 
 The chief and warrior were now drunk every day, and the 
 young chief called another council. It was long and stormy 
 in its debate, all the wise men speaking, but no one giving 
 such counsel as the others would accept. At last a young war 
 rior rose and said that he had watched, and that it was true
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 189 
 
 the trader had a black water which he gave the chief and 
 warrior to drink, for he had made a hole in the wall of the 
 trader's store, and through it saw them drinking the black 
 water. He advised them to bring the trader and warrior be 
 fore them, and he would accuse them to their face of what he 
 had seen, and if they denied the truth he would fight them. 
 
 This speech was received with great satisfaction, and the 
 young chief at once sent some warriors to fetch the trader and 
 their brother. 
 
 When they were come into the council and seated, the young 
 warrior repeated all he had said, and asked if it were not true 
 that they would* fight him. The warrior who was first asked 
 rose up and said the young warrior lied, and that he was ready 
 to fight him; but when the trader was told to stand up and 
 answer, he, seeing there was no use in denying the matter, con 
 fessed all. 
 
 He said the black water was given him by the white people, 
 a great many of whom drank it, and it made them behave as 
 they had seen the chief and the warrior do. He also told them 
 that after a man drank of it he felt happy, laughed and sang, 
 and when he laid down he dreamed pleasant dreams and slew 
 his enemies. 
 
 The curiosity of the warriors was greatly excited, and the 
 young chief bade the trader go and bring some of his black 
 water, that they might taste it. He was about to depart, when 
 the young warrior, who had before spoken, rose and Desired 
 him to be seated, when he said : 
 
 "The warriors heard my speech, and it was good. The 
 brother, however, when I asked him if-he would tell th coun 
 cil the truth, said I lied; and he would fight me. Let ns now 
 go out of the village and fight."
 
 190 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The young chief asked the drunkard if he had any thing tt, 
 say, when he arose and addressed the council as follows : 
 
 "Oh, my brethren, it is true that I have drank of the black 
 water, and that I have lied. When the trader first ^ave it to 
 me to drink, he made me promise I would never tell what it 
 was or where I got it, and he has many times since said if 1 
 told any one he would never give me any more to drink. Oh, 
 my brethren, the black water is most wonderful, and I have 
 come to love it better than my life or the truth. The fear of 
 never having any more of it to drink made me lie, and I have 
 nothing more to say but that I am ready to fight." 
 
 Then the council adjourned, and every one. went out to see 
 the warriors fight. They were both men of great skill and 
 bravery, and the whole village came to see the battle. He 
 who had drank the black water was the best spearsman in 
 the tribe, and every one expected to see the other warrior 
 killed. 
 
 The spears were brought, and when they were given to tht 
 combatants it was seen that the hand of him who had lied 
 shook so he could hardly hold his spear. At this his friends 
 rallied him, and asked him if he was afraid. He replied that 
 his heart was brave, but that his hand trembled, though not 
 with fear, for it had shook so for many days. 
 
 Then the battle began, and at the second throw of the 
 spears, he with the trembling hand was clove through the heart, 
 and killed instantly, while the other warrior did not even re 
 ceive a wound. 
 
 After the fight was over, the warriors all went to the trader's 
 lodge, and he brought out in a pail more than a quart of the 
 black water, which he gave in small quantities to each warrior. 
 When they had swallowed it, they began to dance and sing
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 193 
 
 and many lay down on the ground and slept as though they 
 were dead. 
 
 Next day they came again and asked for more black water; 
 and so they came each day, dancing and singing, for more than 
 a week. 
 
 One monrng the trader said he would give them no more 
 black water unless they paid him for it, and this they did. 
 The price was at first one robe for each sup sufficient to make 
 them sleep, but, as the black water became scarce, two robes, 
 and finally three were paid for a sleep. Then the trader said 
 he had no more except a little for himself, and this he would 
 not sell; but the warriors begged so hard for some he gave 
 them a sleep for many robes. Even the body robes were soon 
 in the hands of the trader, and the warriors were very poor, 
 but still they begged for more black water, giving a pony in 
 exchange for each sleep. The trader took all the ponies, and 
 then the warriors offered their squaws, but there was no more 
 black water, and the trader said he would go and fetch some. 
 
 He packed all the robes on the ponies, and was about to set 
 out, when a warrior made a speech, saying that now that he 
 had all their robes and ponies, and they were very poor, the 
 trader was going away and would never return, for they had 
 nothing more to give him. So the warriors said he should not 
 depart, and ordered him to unpack the ponies. The trader 
 told them he would soon return with plenty of black water, 
 and give it to them as he did at first. Many of the warriors 
 were willing he should depart, but others said no, and one de 
 clared that he had plenty of black water still left, and waa 
 going off to trade with their enemies, the Sioux. This created 
 great excitement, and the trader's store and all his packs were 
 searched, but no black water found. Still the warrior asserted 
 12
 
 [94 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 he had it, and that it was hidden away. The warriors de 
 clared that they would kill him unless he instantly told them 
 where he had hid it, and upon his not being able to do so, they 
 rushed into his lodge and murdered him before the eyes of his 
 squaw, tearing off his scalp and stamping upon his body. This 
 so alarmed the white squaw she attempted to run out of the 
 lodge, and, as she came to the door, a warrior struck her on the 
 head with his tomahawk, and she fell down as though she were 
 dead. 
 
 The chief made a great speech, saying that now, as the trader 
 was dead, they would burn his lodge and take back all their 
 robes and ponies. So the lodge was fired, and as it burned a 
 Crow squaw saw by its light the white squaw lying before the 
 door, and that she was not dead, and she took her to her lodge, 
 sewed up her wounds, and gave her something to eat. The 
 squaw lived and got well, but she was crazy, and could not 
 bear the sight of a warrior, believing every one who came near 
 her was going to kill her. 
 
 One day the white squaw was missing, and the whole village 
 turned out to look for her. They followed her tracks far down 
 the river, but could not find her. Some women out gathering 
 berries a few days afterward, said the white squaw came to 
 them and asked for food, showing them, at the same time, 
 where she was hiding in the bluffs near by. She begged them 
 not to tell the warriors where she was, or they would come and 
 kill her. The squaws tried to dissuade her from a notion so 
 foolish, but they could not get her to return to the village. 
 
 Every day the squaws went and took her food, and she lived 
 for many months, no one knowing where she was but the 
 women. When the warriors came about she hid away, and 
 would not stir out until they were gone.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 195 
 
 One day, however, a warrior out hunting antelope came sud 
 denly upon her, and she fled away, but he followed her, wish 
 ing to bring her to the village. All day she ran over the hills, 
 and at night the warrior'came back, being unable to catch her. 
 She was never seen again, and what became of her is not 
 known, although it is likely she died of hunger, or that the 
 wild beasts destroyed her. 
 
 Ever after, when the Indians came here to camp, they told 
 the story^of the crazy woman, and the place became known as 
 * the place of the crazy woman, " and the name of " Big 
 Beard " was almost entirely forgotten. * 
 
 * The moral pointed in this tale, and the language that adorns it, are, in 
 my judgment, both admirable. The story is probably entirely true, and an 
 actual occurrence. The " Big Beard " grass mentioned still grows in the 
 tralley, and the stream, though yet far beyond {he most remote cabin of the 
 white man, is known to all frontiersmen, and is laid down on all maps as 
 " Craxy Woman. " 
 
 The conduct of the chief and warriors after drinking the black water, 
 he fate of him of the " unsteady hand," and the dath of the trader, arc 
 *11 thrillingly told by Mr. Belden, and with a naturalness a: i adherence 
 to truth that is quite surprising in an Indian tale. EDITOR.
 
 196 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 WEALING PONIES FROM THE INDIANS NELSON, MT COMPANION A SHORT 
 BIOGRAPHY DANGEROUS SITJLIATION DISCOVERY OF THE INDIAN VILLAGE 
 NELSON'S COOLNESS WATCHING THE VILLAGE FROM THE HILLS IN THB 
 INDIAN CAMP THE OLD SQUAW THB ALARM STAMPEDING THE PONIE8 
 
 THE PURSUIT A NIGHT MARCH FIGHTING THE INDIANS A FRIENDLY 
 
 GROVE ANOTHER NIGHT MARCH THE SURPRISE THE RESULT A SAFB 
 
 ARRIVAL AT HOME. . 
 
 "I3EFORE returning home, I made up my mind to steal 
 -*-^ some ponies from our enemies, who had given us so much 
 annoyance. Nelson, whose name I have not before mentioned, 
 was a white man, and had accompanied us for the purpose of 
 hunting, and having a share in such adventures as might fall 
 to the lot of our party. He had a Sioux wife and two chil 
 dren, but was a roving, reckless, dare-devil sort of fellow, who 
 always needed to be led, and who could never be intrusted to 
 lead in any expedition, on account of his rashness an(J indis 
 cretion. 
 
 Nelson and I set out alone to steal some ponies from our In 
 dian foes, little caring whether they were Pawnees, Cheyennes, 
 Arrapahoes, or Sioux, so we got their horses. We rode on for 
 eeveral days, and finally halted one evening by a clear running 
 stream. While I fixed up the camp, Nelson took a jog down 
 the creek to see that all was clear, and, if possible, shoot a deer 
 for our supper. He soon returned with plenty of game, re-
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 197 
 
 marking he had seen no Indian signs, but thought he had, from 
 the top of a hill beyond the stream, discovered smoke rising, 
 tar down to the east. We made but little fire, and, then putting 
 it out after supper, circled around the adjacent hills once, and 
 seeing nothing, returned and lay down to rest. 
 
 1 was up before daylight, for I felt uneasy, and rousing 
 Nelson, told him to go out on the hills and keep a lookout while 
 I kindled the fire and cooked breakfast. He soon disappeared 
 over the bluif with his pony, and I hurried to prepare the morn 
 ing repast of fresh antelope, broiled over the coals. The 
 breakfast was ready, but no Nelson was there. I ate heartily, 
 and waited for him an hour, but still he did not come, and I 
 was preparing to mount my pony and follow his trail when, 
 just as the first rays of the sun were streaming over the hill 
 tops, he came riding leisurely into camp, and reported that he 
 had gone over to the hill from which he thought he saw smoke 
 the night before, and sure enough, he saw it again rising dis 
 tinctly against the sky, not more than three miles distant. He 
 rode down the creek-bottom, and was soon able to discover a 
 large party of Indians preparing their breakfast; and, leaving 
 them to enjoy their meal in peace, he had returned to tell me all 
 about it, and get his own breakfast. The coolness of the fellow 
 nettled me not a little. One would have thought, to have looked 
 at him, that he was dining in a first-class restaurant in a peace 
 ful town, instead of eating within a few miles of a band of 
 hostile Indians, who might at any moment dash down upon us 
 and put a stop to our ever eating again. I said to him, " Hurry 
 up, Nelson, and let us get out of this, for a straggling Indian 
 mav, at any moment, discover our camp, and lead the whole 
 band down upon us." " Well, 'Squire," he replied, as was his 
 custom to call me, " I reckon you would n't turn a fellow out to
 
 198 BELPEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 such hot work, as we are likely to have, without givin' him a 
 square meal, would ye?" I bade him again hurry, but was 
 forced to wait until he gorged himself to his heart's content. 
 Then we rode out into the hills to reconnoiter, and consult what 
 was best to be done. 
 
 We crawled along behind the bluffs, until we got sight of the 
 
 * 
 
 Indian encampment. It was quite large, and evidently per 
 fectly at rest. All day we lay in the bluffs, keenly scrutinizing 
 every party of warriors that left the camp. Once a party struck 
 out in a direction that we knew must cross our trail, and we felt 
 much anxiety, but as hour after hour wore away, and we heard 
 nothing of them, we concluded they must have crossed with 
 out observing it. During the day, we discovered that the 
 encampment was a temporary one, and that from the scarcity 
 of men, most of the warriors were out hunting, or on the war 
 path ; intelligence not a little gratifying to us, and favorable 
 to our design. From the signs, we also concluded, the village 
 was composed of the families of warriors, and that they had 
 been left behind with a very small guard. 
 
 As soon as it was dark, Nelson and I crept down from the 
 bluffs and crawled to the village. This we did early, to pre 
 vent the dogs from noticing us, for it is a peculiarity of Indian 
 dogs, that they seldom become vigilant until some horns after 
 dark. We lay for some time, and then began to move about 
 among the ponios. Nelson went to the right and I to the left. 
 Several times warriors passed and repassed, but whenever they 
 came near me, I wrapped my blanket closely about me, and 
 pretended I was asleep, when, no doubt thinking I was one 
 of the warriors who had been out hunting all day, and waa 
 tired, they passed on, leaving me to my repose. Every oppor 
 tunity I got, I cut a lariat, or hopple, and after working
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 199 
 
 industriously for an hour with my butcher-knife, I had 
 loosened some twenty ponies. Nelson had, meantime, been 
 busy, and having a side of the town that was not subject to 
 interruptions from strolling warriors or squaws, he had suc 
 ceeded in severing some forty horses from their pickets. We 
 were succeeding admirably, when an old squaw came out to 
 change the grazing-ground of her pony and found him gone. 
 She ran to the picket-stake, and picking up the end of the rope, 
 fell it, and finding it had been cut, set up a howl, that brought 
 the warriors tumbling from their lodges. Nelson gave me the 
 signal to " run," and springing on a little black pony that- 
 stood near me, I swung my blanket around my head, flirted 
 it in the faces of the ponies, and shouting, " Hoo-yah-hoo ! " 
 at the top of my lungs, started some twenty of them toward 
 the bluffs. Nelson was equally lucky, and in the confusion 
 that ensued in the village, we managed to get together. All 
 was noise and excitement throughout the town; children 
 Bcreamed, women shouted, men whooped, while the dogs set 
 up a dismal howling. Shots fell thick and fast around us, 
 but we succeeded in reaching the bluffs unhurt with all our 
 ponies. 
 
 We pushed along smartly for a mile or two, each moment 
 getting deeper into the hills. Turning now to the right, then 
 to the left, we kept very quiet, hoping in the darkness to 
 throw the pursuers off our trail, and before daylight be far to 
 the eastward. Just as we began to hope we were not to be 
 followed., we heard the Indians directly behind us, and, judging 
 by the clatter of the ponies' hoofs, the party was a strong one. 
 They, however, approached with great caution, not knowing our 
 strength, and fearing an ambush. Twice they made ineffectual 
 attempts to stampede the herd by sending warriors ahead and
 
 200 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 concealing them on the line of our march, but the extreme 
 cowardice of the savages caused them to run away almost as 
 soon as they shouted at the ponies. So we jogged along until 
 near daylight, hoping each moment that our pursuers would 
 turn back, for we did not wish them to know our weakness 
 and it was evident the first streaks of morning would disclose 
 to them our numbers. Having kept remarkably quiet for 
 nearly an hour, the Indians had become quite bold, when sud 
 denly Nelson and I turned and charged them. They were in 
 a gulch at the time, and, believing they were cut off, rode 
 furiously for the mouth of the gorge, nearly a mile in their 
 rear. We did not pursue them, but returned to the herd, 
 leaving them to continue their flight until their fears should 
 subside. We had not gone far, however, until we heard them 
 coming on again close behind us. Nelson said he knew of 
 some timber not far to the north, and we drove hard, hoping 
 to reach it before day would break, but as we were crossing 
 tl.e prairie, streaks of red shot up the eastern sky, and soon ob 
 jects were distinguishable all around us. We saw we had lost 
 many of the ponies in the darkness during the night, but still 
 had some twenty left. Telling Nelson to drive these on, 1 
 halted on a rise in the prairie to wait for our enemies to come 
 up. They soon appeared over a bluff, and I saw they num 
 bered twelve by actual count. The odds were fearful, but 1 
 felt relieved, for I had thought not less than twenty were in 
 the pursuit, and I now sincerely regretted Nelson and I had 
 not ambushed them during the night. They continued to fol 
 low cautiously, until, seeing there were but two of us, they sel 
 up a great shout, and came on whooping and howling like 
 demons. I dismounted behind a little hill, and. Baking delib 
 erate aim with my Henry rifle, as the foremost Indian came
 
 BEL.DEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 201 
 
 around the turn of the hill, I dropped him from his pony. I 
 now pumped the shot at them as fast as I could, until I had 
 nearly emptied the chamber of my gun, and had the satisfac 
 tion of' seeing them turn back, carrying two of their wounded 
 companions with them. 
 
 Rejoining Nelson, we pushed on for the timber, which waa 
 now only a few miles distant, and had nearly succeeded in 
 reaching it when the Indians charged down upon us again. 
 There were but eight left in the pursuit, and, taking my shot 
 gun, I loaded each barrel with a powerful charge of powder 
 and nine buckshot ; then, waiting until the Indians were quite 
 close, and as much together as possible, I wheeled and fired 
 both barrels at them. The shot raked them like grape and 
 canister, and I could see three or four of them were slightly 
 wounded. They could not understand where so many balls had 
 come from when they saw but one man fire, and so became 
 more cautious than ever. At sunrise we reached the friendly 
 shelter of the grove, and driving in the tired ponies, left them 
 to graze, while Nelson and I sallied out, and, boldly attacking 
 the Indians^ chased them over the plain, firing as rapidly as we 
 could with our Henry's. We succeeded in wounding one fel 
 low, but Nelson got a ball through the arm, nearly disabling 
 him, and we returned to the grove. 
 
 We lay all day in the woods resting, but saw nothing more 
 of the Indians. Nelson's wound was quite painful, but not 
 dangerous, and we dressed it with green leaves and cold 
 water. 
 
 As soon as it was dark we set out again, and drove along 
 cautiously, fearing the Indians were up to some devilment, as 
 they had been so quiet all day. The night wore away, how 
 ever, and we began to feel assured there would be no attack, 
 
 18
 
 202 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 when, while we were driving along a narrow caflon, a shout 
 
 
 
 ing arose in front, followed by a few rapid shots, and the ter 
 rified ponies, turning suddenly, nearly ran over us. We suc 
 ceeded in keeping seven in the canon, but the rest escaped to 
 the open prairie, where we saw the Indians driving them 
 off. We made no attempt to pursue them, contenting ourselves 
 with the seven we had left, and finding it all we could do to 
 keep them, as the little fellows were disposed to escape and fol 
 low the rest of the herd. 
 
 We now drove rapidly to the east, hoping the Indians would v 
 be satisfied with what they had got, and leave us to pursue our 
 way in peace; but, elated by their success, they came on again, 
 and charged the herd, apparently determined to get the remain 
 ing seven. My blood was now up, for I thought they were 
 acting a piggish part in wanting all, and riding over a little rise 
 in the prairie, I dropped from my pony, and as the first In 
 dian came on the crest of the divide, I shot him dead as a 
 door nail. His companions ran to him, and I gave them a 
 round dozen of Henry balls, causing them to dodge and scatter 
 in all directions. After this they came on again several times, 
 but when I turned and presented my Henry, as much as to 
 say, " Keep off, " they would run fit to break their necks. All 
 day the red devils followed us, but at sundown gave up the 
 chase, and in the twilight we saw them galloping over the hills 
 far to our rear on their return to the village. We were not 
 again disturbed, and on the evening of the seventh day en 
 tered our own village, bringing in safely all Our seven ponies, 
 and finding our friends, whom we had left on the " Crazy 
 Woman, " at home to welcome us.
 
 BELDEN : TUE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 LBGFND OF THE WHITE BUFFALO THE CROW CHIEF'S DAUGHTER UNREASON 
 ABLE CONDUCT OF HER FATHEE THE YOUNG CHIEF HIS SUIT DENIED THH 
 WHITE BUFFALO THE MAIDEN'S SHAME A DEATH COUNCIL STORY OF TUB 
 GIRL ANOTHER COUNCIL THE YOUNG CHIEF AND THE MAIDEN CONDEMNED 
 TO DEATH BATTLE WITH THE WHITE BUFFALO LED OUT TO DIE DISCOV 
 ERY OF THE WHITE BUFFALO THE PRISONERS SAVED DEATH OF THE WH1TK 
 BUFFALO A HAPPY MARRIAGE. 
 
 DURING the dull days we lay in camp, waiting for the 
 buffalo season to begin. I heard many curious tales and 
 legends related by the Indians, and some of these I will 
 repeat. 
 
 Once there lived on the Big Horn River, at the place where 
 Fort Smith was afterward built, a Crow chief who had a most 
 beautiful daughter. Many of the young men in the tribe 
 courted her and were anxious to marry her, but lit/ father 
 would not part with her unless he received a hundred ponies ; 
 and, as no warrior was able to give so much for a wife, she 
 vras obliged to remain single. A young chief, who loved the 
 maiden dearly, and desired to possess her, urged the old chief, 
 tier father, to reduce the number of ponies, 4>ut he only became 
 more morose, and finally declared no one should marry his 
 daughter unless he had a hundred ponies that had been cap 
 tured in battle. As such a thing was impossible, the young 
 warrior despaired, and shut himself up in his tent and refused
 
 206 BELUEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 to eat. The girl, who loved him dearly, sent him word to be 
 of good heart and persevere, for she would be faithful to him, 
 and die rather than marry any other warrior. Greatly encour 
 aged by this message, the young man ate again, and all went 
 along smoothly for several months. 
 
 The lodge of the maiden was pitched close beside that of her 
 father's, and occupied by her alone. Often at night the wily 
 old chief thought he heard strange noises in his daughter's 
 lodge, but, when questioned, she always denied that she had 
 beard any noise, or that any thing unusual had occurred. 
 
 One day, however, she could no longer conceal her shame 
 from her mother, and confessed that she was about to bear a 
 child. When the old chief heard of it he was greatly enraged, 
 and assembled his council, that measures might be taken for 
 putting her to death, and thus wiping out the disgrace of his 
 family. 
 
 "When the council was assembled, the girl was brought before 
 it, and her father sternly commanded her to explain the cause 
 of her disgrace. To the astonishment of every one, she came 
 not as a guilty wretch, but with head erect, and a clear, flash 
 ing eye. When any of the old men questioned her, she looked 
 disdainfully at them, and bade them hold their peace, for she 
 was a chief's daughter, and would answer only to her august 
 father. Her conduct greatly pleased the chief, and he said, 
 aside, that whatever might be her fault she was a real Crow, 
 and fit to be his daughter. When commanded by her father 
 to relate all that had happened to her, she arose and said : 
 K Venerable fathers, and you, my noble chief, some moons ago, 
 one night, a strange thing happened to me, such as perhaps 
 never happened before to any maid in the world. I was sleep 
 ing in my lodge, by the side of my noble father there, wheu
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 207 
 
 suddenly I heard a most peculiar noise as of hoofs and some 
 animal walking. I became conscious of something being in my 
 teepee, and, being greatly frightened, I lay still. Presently 1 
 heard the coals being scraped together on the hearth, and 
 blown into a flame. When it was light I looked, expecting to 
 see a man, when I would have called my father, but, strange 
 to relate, I saw, not a man, but a white buffalo. He walked 
 upon his hind feet, and I was so terrified I could neither 
 speak nor move. He came to my bed and sat down, and I 
 fainted away. When I awoke, he was gone. So he came 
 every night to see me, and each time I was as much frightened 
 as before, and entirely unable to call out for help. The animal 
 was very careful not to hurt me with his hoofs or horns, and 
 how it came about I can not tell, but in a few months I found 
 myself in the condition you now see me, and I have no one to 
 blame for my misfortune but the white buffalo." 
 
 The chiefs had listened to this harangue with great patience, 
 and when she had done, the chief asked her when the white 
 buffalo had last visited her, and she replied, " When the moon 
 was full, and that he would come again the first full moon." 
 
 When her story was finished, she was conducted back to her 
 lodge, and the old men fell to debating about the matter. Most 
 of the chiefs did not believe the story, for they said that such 
 a thing as a white buffalo they had never seen in all their 
 lives. An old man rose, however, and said there was once a 
 white buffalo on the plains, and that he did strange things, 
 often being soen in the clouds and walking on water. This 
 statement greatly confused the council, and they fell to debat 
 ing anew. At last a chief, who was very old and wise, said 
 that it must be possible for a woman to bear children without 
 being with a man, for many years ago, when he ivent to see
 
 208 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the Great Father at Washington, the whites took him to heai 
 their great medicine man, and the medicine man told of a 
 woman who had brought forth a child without lying with any 
 man, and this all the white people believed. The child was 
 not only born, but had lived many years, and became a very 
 great medicine man. 
 
 At last it came the turn of the young warrior, who had 
 wished to marry the girl, and he rose and said : 
 
 " I do not doubt the story of the girl, nor question her chastity. 
 Undoubtedly a most extraordinary thing has happened, but all 
 things are possible to the Great Spirit, and if he came and vis 
 ited our daughter in the form of a white buffalo, it is no more 
 than was related by our brother about the daughter of the 
 white chief." 
 
 This speech was received by all with much favor, and the 
 great chief, who had not spoken a word, adjourned the council, 
 stating he would call them together at some future day, to talk 
 further concerning the matter. 
 
 The next council had little talk, and almost unanimously 
 agreed the young girl should be put to death, when the young 
 chief, 1ier lover, rose and said, as it was near the full of the 
 moon, when the white buffalo would come again, he begged 
 that the execution of the sentence of the council might be 
 delayed until after the full moon, when, if nothing occurred to 
 corroborate the girl's story, she should die. This was readily 
 agreed to, and the pipe was passed around, to see in whose 
 hands it would go out, that he might be selected to mount guard 
 over the girl's teepee, and watch for the white buffalo. The 
 pipe went out in the young chief's hands, and the council 
 adjourned. 
 
 When the moon was at its full, the chief took up his position
 
 BEL.DEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 209 
 
 , I 
 
 so he could see the door of the girl's lodge, but could not be 
 seen himself. He also instructed her, if she saw the buffalo, 
 to call out, and he would immediately rush to her assistance. 
 On the third night of the watch, he heard her scream, and 
 rushed into the lodge with his battle-ax, when, sure enough, 
 there was a white buffalo standing on his hind legs. As the 
 chief came up, the beast raised its forefoot to strike him, but 
 the chief brought his ax down with such force that it com 
 pletely severed the hoof from the leg. The next moment 
 however, the chief was struck senseless by the other forehoof, 
 and when he recovered his senses the buffalo was gone. The 
 old chief, who had heard the noise of the conflict, had risen and 
 was dressed, when the young chief, who was still suffering from 
 the blow he had received, came to him, and said that the 
 white buffalo had indeed appeared, and that he had fought with 
 him, and cut off one of his hoofs, which was produced, and an 
 examination of the maiden's teepee showed a pool of blood, 
 where the buffalo had bled from the effect of his wound. Great 
 excitement spread in the village when the news was made 
 known, and nearly all remained up, being afraid to sleep. 
 
 Early next morning the old chief assembled the council, and 
 the debate began. The father of the girl was greatly exas 
 perated, and pronounced the whole affair a lie, a fraud, and 
 swindle. He said he had examined the ground around his 
 daughter's lodge, but could find no footprints of a buffalo, yet 
 every one must know that, if so heavy an animal as a buffalo 
 had passed that way, he must have left deep hoof-marks in the 
 soft soil. It was also absurd that the buffalo could have 
 got into the girl's lodge without being seen by the young chief. 
 In his opinion, both the girl and the chief were a lying pair, 
 
 aud he more than hinted that the young chief was himself the 
 
 19
 
 210 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 * 
 
 white buffalo. He recommended, that both the girl and the 
 chief be shot to death with arrows, at sunrise in the morning. 
 
 This speech had great effect, and the council almost unani 
 mously voted to put the girl and her supposed paramour to 
 death. They were led away, placed under a guard, and bade 
 prepare for their fate on the morrow. 
 
 Now it so happened, that there was a warrior in the village 
 who had been very sick, and many feared he would die. This 
 warrior was greatly admired and feared, on account of his 
 bravery and prowess. No other warrior in the village had 
 slain so many of the enemy, no one was so strong, and none so 
 willing to go to battle. His sickness excited much talk in the 
 tribe, for all hated to lose so valuable a defender. He would 
 not tell what ailed him, but lay all the day long, his hands 
 placed under his robe, and apparently suffering great pain. 
 On the morning of the execution, a girl of the village passed 
 by the sick warrior's lodge, and stopped in to tell him about 
 the fate of the chief's daughter and the young chief. She found 
 the warrior asleep, and his hands lying on top of the robe. 
 The bandages had fallen off, and to her surprise, she saw he 
 had but one hand, the other being gone. Quickly it flashed 
 through her mind, that the warrior had something to do with 
 the affair of the white buffalo, and she ran with all her might 
 toward the hill beyond the village, where the execution was to 
 take place. As she drew near the hill, she feared she would be 
 too late, for she saw the crowd part, the prisoners led out, and 
 the bowmen take their places. When she came up, the young 
 chief was making his last speech, and the bowmen, with arrows 
 on their strings, were ready to fire as soon as he should con 
 clude. The girl rushed up to the great medicine man, who 
 was conducting the execution, and whispered something in his
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 2lJ 
 
 ear, at which he was greatly astonished. Then he listened, and 
 the girl repeated what she had said. When she % had done 
 speaking, the medicine man walked between the condemned 
 prisoners and the bowmen, and, raising his hands, bade them 
 put up their arrows. He then told the crowd, bowmen, pris 
 oners, and all, to follow him, and see what they should see, 
 He walked down to the village, and entering the sick warrior's 
 lodge, bade him hold up his hands. At first he refused to do 
 so, but seeing he was found out, he held up his arms, and ex 
 hibited one hand and a bloody stump. The medicine man 
 asked where the hoof of the white buffalo was, and -being told 
 it was at the old chief's lodge, he bade them go and fetch it. 
 When it was brought, he took his knife, and, splitting open the 
 skin of the hoof, to the surprise of every one, drew forth a 
 human hand, which had been neatly sewed up in the hoof. 
 Holding it up, so all could see it, he placed it on the stump 
 reside the warrior's other hand, and it fitted exactly. Every one 
 now knew who was the white buffalo, and all cried out, " Kill 
 him ! kill him ! " The old chief hastily assembled an informal 
 council, and the young warrior was at once condemned to death. 
 So the bowmen who were to shoot the young chief and the girl, 
 shot him as he lay in his tent. 
 
 The old chief was so pleased when he knew iiis daughter had 
 told him the truth, that he conferred her iu marriage on her 
 defender, the young chief. The child of the white buffalo was 
 born and strangled, after which the young chief and his wife 
 lived many years happily together, and raised a large family of 
 
 handsome daughters and brave young men. 
 13
 
 212 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 STORY OF THE STORM-CHILD A FAMINE AMONG THE CROW INDIANS THE 
 
 JOURNEY TO THE MOUNTAINS PLENTY OF GAME ARE THREATENED WITH 
 
 STARVATION AGAIN THE BIO RING HUNT A STORM THE HANDS IN THE 
 
 CLOUDS THE GREEN CHILD HEATH OF THE CUOW WARRIOR WHO TOUCHEE 
 
 IT BIRTH OF THE STORM-CHILD A SINGULAR SUPERSTITION THE STORM- 
 CHILD LIVES AND GROWS TO BE A WOMAN. 
 
 \ ,TANY years ago, there was a great famine among the 
 -^"-*- Indians who lived along the eastern slope of the Big 
 Hoin Mountains. The fall hunt of the Crows had proved 
 unsuccessful, and they knew not what to do. A winter of ter 
 rible severity came down upon them, and starvation stared them 
 in the face. They were at last reduced to great extremity, and 
 runners were sent out in all directions to find game. One of 
 them returned one day with the joyful intelligence that he had 
 found a locality in which game of all kinds abounded. The 
 village was hastily packed up, and all left the Big Horn, and 
 journeying for several days under the guidance of the youn^ 
 warrior, they at length came to a thickly-wooded country full 
 cf bears, deer, elk, and antelope. The encampment was pitched 
 on a plain by a stream, and soon the teepees were filled with 
 meat. For a time, all went well, but presently the game, being 
 hunted so much, began to move off, and the Crows saw starvation 
 again before them. They determined to make a big hunt, and, 
 i r possible, take enough game to last them through the cold
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. ill 5 
 
 weather. Men, women, and children turned out, and surround 
 ing a vast extent of forest, they drove the game toward a 
 common center, where it was to be slaughtered. The hunt was 
 very successful, and much game had been taken, when suddenly 
 it began to blow; then black clouds gathered, the thunder 
 rolled, and the lightnings flashed overhead, while strange noises 
 were heard in the earth. The Crows were greatly frightened, 
 for they never had heard it thunder before in midwinter, and 
 from the rocking and trembling of the earth, they thought it 
 was about to fall to pieces and swallow them up. Presently an 
 inky, black cloud covered the peak of the mountain where they 
 had driven the game, and after resting on the earth a few mo 
 ments, it rose and hung over the mountain top. Then, two long 
 arms were seen to reach out of the cloud and lay something on the 
 earth, after which the cloud rose in the air and drifted swiftly 
 away. The sky cleared off, the sun shone again brightly, and the 
 killing of the game went on. When all the elk, deer, antelope, 
 and bears were slaughtered, two warriors went up to where the 
 eloud had been seen to lay something on the earth, and there, 
 resting on a flat rock, they discovered a young female child, 
 perfectly green in color. They called up several squaws, but 
 none of them could be induced to touch it ; on the other hand, 
 they begged the warriors to come away and leave it. When no 
 one would take it up, one of the warriors said,' " I will care for 
 it ;" and lifting it in his arms, he carried it dowiYthe mountain 
 and toward the village. As he was crossing the plain, and 
 when quite near the encampment, all heard a great noise, and 
 looking up, they saw the black cloud coming back and rapidly 
 approaching the warrior; again the thunder rolled, the light 
 nings flashed, and the earth shook. Suddenly the' warrior was 
 enveloped in a bright flame and fell to the ground ; then, the
 
 216 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 two hands were seen to reach out of the cloud and grasp the 
 child, which disappeared in the vapor, and the whole, lifting 
 into the sky, drifted away to the eastward. The warrior was 
 found quite dead, and his skin as black as the cloud that had 
 enveloped liiin. He was taken to the village, and the next day 
 buried. 
 
 While the warrior was being enveloped in the cloud, an old 
 gquaw, who had Hot borne children for years, stood looking at 
 him. No sooner did she see the child disappear in the vapor, 
 than she felt herself seized with violent labor-pains. All night 
 she suffered, and, in the morning, was delivered of a female 
 child, perfectly green, like live grass. The Indians all said it 
 was the same child that had been in the cloud, and that the 
 mysterious hands had no sooner taken it from the warrior than 
 they transferred it to the woman. The squaw persisted that it 
 was not the child of a man, though she had a husband. In 
 token of its strange birth, the Indians named the infant 
 " A-pa-ka-her-ra-ris ! " the one who dwells in the clouds, or, 
 " The Storm-Child." The pappoose lived and grew finely, and, 
 in course of time, became a woman, married, and had a large 
 family.* 
 
 *Mr. Belden says, "I often saw the squaw named 'The Storm-Child,' 
 and truth compels me to say, that I have seen few uglier Indian -women." 
 
 NOTE. This story originated in a natural phenomenon. There was 
 etorm, and a squaw, frightened by it, gave premature birth to a child. The 
 warrior was killed by lightning, and the color of the child, and the handg 
 seen in the clouds, are purely Indian exaggerations. It frequently thun 
 ders in the Rocky Mountains in the winter time, though seldom so far 
 north, as the lands of the Crows. The "Storm-Child" is still living, and 
 greatly feared and respected by her tribe, on account of her supposed 
 mysterious birth. EWTOB
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 2l'/ 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 HB PLUM-STONK GAME HOW IT IS PLAYED - MANNER OF COUNTING - TH1 
 DICE HOW THEY ARE MADE SHAKING THEM UP A PAIR OF OLD GRUM 
 BLERS DEAD BROKE STORY TELLING GEORGE WASHINGTON THE MIS 
 SIONARY AND HIS BOOKS INTELLIGENCE OF THE INDIANS THEIR LOVE OP 
 READING - HOW THEY IMPART INFORMATION TO EACH OTHER FAMILIARITY 
 WITH THE CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON THE CAUSE PREPARATIONS FOB 
 THE OLD MAN'S STORY. 
 
 day was very warm, and I had been lying down in my 
 -*- teepee, sleeping most of the time, for want of something 
 to do, or for lack of energy to do any thing, if I had it to do. 
 I had seen but few of the Indians out of their teepees that day, 
 and, though the squaws worked incessantly in warm as well as 
 cold weather, their liege lords and masters took the warm 
 weather to be too much for even their warm natures ; so they 
 stretched themselves out on the grass-rush mats of their teepee 
 floors, and went to sleep till eating time should come round 
 again (which meant whenever they got hungry), and were com 
 pelled to undergo the cruel exertion of raising themselves to a 
 sitting posture, and be waited upon by their squaws, whc 
 handed each one a wooden bowl of boiled meat and corn. No 
 coffee or tea was used, nothing but the beverage provided by 
 nature, cold water, and at that season the water was not very ' 
 cold, as it was procured from the Missouri River. 
 
 1 had been awakened by a jabbering outside my teepee door,
 
 218 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 and, raising the bottom of the teepee cloth, I saw five men, and 
 some two or three squaws, seated under my shade (some forks 
 stuck up in front of the teepee door, over which was laid a 
 quantity of green willow brush to answer the wants of a porch), 
 busily ecgaged in gambling for silver earrings and bead neck 
 laces with plum-stone dice. I lay still and watched them foi 
 a little while, when, finding sleep impossible, and not wishing 
 to affront the company by ordering them to keep quiet, I got 
 up and crawled out to where they were, and, declining to ac 
 cept their invitation to join the game, contented myself in 
 quietly watching and learning it. 
 
 They used a kind of dice made of the stones of the wild 
 plum, which grew very plentifully in the deep ravines and 
 cafions a mile or two back from the' Missouri River at this 
 point. These stones were first dried hard, then polished by 
 scraping them with a knife. Six were used for the game, four 
 of them being spotted on one side, and blank on the opposite, 
 and the other two striped or checked on one side, and left blank 
 on the other. These spots and stripes w r ere made on the stones 
 by means of a small iron instrument which they used to paint 
 buffalo robes with. The iron was heated, and the spots and 
 stripes then seared or burned in the stone. The Indians used 
 a wooden bowl, small and light, for shaking the dice, and never 
 threw them out of the bowl. To play the game, they sat on 
 the ground in a circle, and a blanket, or robe, \vas doubled up 
 and placed in the middle of the ring the bowl containing six 
 dice, being placed on the folded blanket. The stakes usually 
 were two or four silver earrings, put up by those who engaged 
 in the game, and the sport commenced by some one of the 
 players seizing the edge of the bowl with his thumb outside 
 &nd the ends of his forefingers inside the rim, and, raising it ai.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 219 
 
 inch or so, bumped it down on the folded blanket three or four 
 times, causing the light plum-stones to jump around in the 
 most .-ively manner. After the player had shaken the bowl 
 thoroughly, he sat down and allowed the stones to settle on the 
 bottom, and then they were counted, thus : if all the spotted 
 and striped sides were uppermost, the player won, unless some 
 one else tied him. If he threw four spotted ones, it was the 
 same as four aces in cards, in the game of bluif ; but if he 
 threw three spotted and two striped ones, it was equivalent to 
 a full hand of bluff, and so on, the only difference being, that 
 wben all the spotted and striped sides were turned up, it 
 showed a higher hand than four aces, and when all the blank 
 sides were turned up it showed a flush that ranked next to the 
 highest hand, and above the four aces. 
 
 During the game there was considerable quarreling between 
 a couple of old men, who were proverbial throughout the vil 
 lage for their cross, crabbed natures, but, aside from using their 
 tongues very freely in ridiculing and maligning each other, 
 nothing more serious occurred. Each repeatedly referred to 
 me as a responsible arbitrator in the cause at dispute, but I 
 pleaded utter ignorance of the game, and, therefore, inability 
 of judging. For this, I did not fail to get my share of their 
 abuse, for having lived so long among as respectable a tribe as 
 the Santee Sioux, and not knowing the celebrated plum-stone 
 game. I took all their abuse good-naturedly, as I knew no 
 one in the village ever minded any thing these two old boobies 
 said. While they played dice, the squaws sat by smoking and 
 laughing at each one's losses. Presently, all but one were 
 dead broke ; the game stopped, and, good nature being once 
 more restored, all joined in a smoke. As the day advanced, 
 and evening came on, the atmosphere became more endurable,
 
 220 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 and conversation became lively. One of the young men 
 asked me to tell a story, and all joined in the request, urging 
 so hard, that I agreed to do so, provided one of the old men 
 svould, in return, favor us by telling some old story of the San- 
 tees who had lived before the present generation. I knew the 
 old men in almost every tribe were full of such stories, and 
 they were always agreeable. I inquired what I should tell 
 them, whether of some other Indian tribe, or of the white 
 people? "Of the whites," they all at once replied. My 
 supper was now ready, and, inviting those present to join with 
 me in eating a limited number of dishes, I ordered served some 
 coffee, dried elk meat and corn, boiled together, for which I had 
 to thank the good missionary of the tribe. The invitation was 
 accepted by all, and supper was brought outside the teepee 
 whore we were sitting. After the meal was finished, and 
 another smoke indulged in, one of the young men said, "Now 
 for the story. " I seated myself, and, in as concise a manner as 
 possible, related to my auditors the history of the discovery 
 of America; the sailing of Columbus; his trials and reverses; 
 his landing in triumph ; his meeting with the first Indians OK 
 the Atlantic coast, and the growth of the present nation ; wind 
 ing up with a description of Washington, his battles, and the 
 success of the struggle for independence. When I had con 
 cluded, I read the interest betrayed in my narrative by the 
 upturned faces of my audience, which had augmented in num 
 bers to some fifteen or twenty persons, and among whom was x 
 the old medicine man of the tribe. The pompous old fool, to 
 show his wisdom, said, as soon as I had done, " Me know 
 him, Washi'ton ; me see him, Wash i ? ton, heap o' times. Him 
 good man, Washi'ton. No tell urn lie. One little lie no tell 
 urn ! " All acquiesced in this statement, and " How'd " in an
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 221 
 
 assenting manner at the end of each sentence. I then told 
 them of Washington's boyhood; the old story of the apple 
 tree ; the heroic truthfulness of the young first President, and 
 his father's pride in his honest boy. To all this the Indian', 
 repeatedly assented, by saying, " How ! " as if they all knew 
 of the circumstances quite as well as I did. I soon found, 
 however, a solution of this enigma, by learning from the mis 
 sionary that he had brought several Sabbath-school books up 
 with him, among them a condensed history of George Wash 
 ington. He occasionally loaned these books to such as took 
 care of them, and he said that several San tees could speak, 
 read, and write English in a very good manner. To these 
 persons he loaned books, and the contents were, very nat 
 urally, told to the balance of the tribe by the fortunate readers. 
 Tliey always lisjiened with avidity to the tales of the readers 
 When I had finished my story, night had fallen over us, and 
 the stars were coming out, one by one, illuminating the sky 
 with their tiny spangles of diamonds. A large circle of dusky, 
 quiet, red men were seated in front of my lodge, waiting to 
 catch the words of the old man, who was about to begin his 
 story. It was an expectant crowd, and every noise was hushed 
 save the soughing of the night winds among the tops of the 
 stately cottouwoods that overshadowed our camp. The 'quick 
 rush of the Missouri broke with a hollow sound on the shore, 
 as it sped toward the south to meet the Mississippi, and bear 
 up the great white trafficking ships of the white men. Here, 
 i'ar away from the haunts of civilization, the river's waters 
 were as clear as crystal, and no noise or bustle disturbed the 
 calm and tranquil scene.
 
 092 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S STORY HIS GRANDFATHER'S TALE EARLY HISTORY OK THH 
 SIOUX NATION THEIR POWER AND GLORY FIRST VISIT OF THE WHITH 
 MAN HIS GUN DESCRIBED ASTONISHMENT OF THE INDIANS AT ITS POWER 
 THE COUNCIL THE WHITE MAN ALLOWED TO REMAIN THE BUFFALO 
 HUNT HOW THE WHITE MAN KILLED GAME ALARM OF THE BUFFALO AT 
 THE NOISE OF HIS GUN - THE BUFFALO ALL RUN AWAY ANOTHER COUNCIL 
 THE WHITE MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH DEATH OF THE SQUAW DEATH OP 
 THE WHITE MAN - HIS PREDICTION - DIVISION OF THE TUIBE - WHERE THB 
 BANDS WENT THE BRULE, OGALLALLA, SANTEE, AND YANKTON SIOUX. 
 
 fire had gone out, and the ashes were knocked from 
 the bowl ; leaving the sacred pipe lying upon his blanket 
 which he had folded and laid upon the ground, the old, gray- 
 headed warrior got upon his feet, in the center of the circle, 
 and began his story. I managed to get as near to him as 
 possible, in order that I might not lose a word of what he 
 said." The old man seemed to feel sorrowful, as he looked at 
 the ground near his feet for a few moments, evidently trying 
 to recall to memory events of many years gone by. Then, 
 raising his head, and looking around upon his hearers, he 
 spoke : 
 
 " Many years ago, many moons, many winter's snows, and 
 summer's grasses have come and gone, and many a Santee 
 warrior has come into the world, and, after a brilliant and 
 noble life, left it again. Many a parent and child have been
 
 BEI.DEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 222 
 
 carried to the grave, since the men lived of whom my father's 
 father told me when I was a boy, and of whom I will now 
 tell you. You see my hair is gray, but it was not so when 
 my father's father told me this story, of things that happened 
 when he was young. In those days the Sioux all lived to 
 gether, and were a large and powerful tribe. They were then 
 one nation of brave warriors, feared by- all the tribes, who 
 sought their favor, and neglected no opportunity to cement a 
 friendship with the most powerful band, that owned hunting- 
 grounds for hundreds and hundreds of miles in every direction. 
 No tribe ever dared to insult or provoke them to battle; no 
 other tribe dared to trespass on their hunting-grounds; no 
 other tribe ever owned such beautiful and accomplished women, 
 such upright and brave warriors, as the Dakotas. They were 
 rich in ponies and silver earrings, their herds covered 'the 
 valleys of the great rivers, their teepees were as white and 
 numerous as the snow-flakes in winter, and every stream and 
 grove was peopled by them. If any other tribe had occasion 
 to go to war with their neighbors, they first courted the coun 
 tenance and favor of the Dakotas, and,, if they obtained it, 
 they were sure of winning a victory, sometimes without any 
 apparent resistance from their enemies, who had been informed 
 that the Dakotas favored the other side. Times then were not 
 as they now are. When a foreign chief's embassy called upon 
 the Dakotas, to ask for permission to fight on their grounds, 
 or to ask for assistance in the battle they premeditated, their 
 speeches were heard by upright and honest men, who would 
 never recognize a war for plunder or gain, and who never 
 refused assistance to the injured or oppressed of other nations. 
 Thus they were loved, feared, and respected by all, and the 
 decision of the Sioux chiefs, in every case, was irrevocable law.
 
 224 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 So there was but little war, and year after year the tribes in 
 creased in numbers, and the warriors lived to great old age, 
 and died, some over a hundred years old. Time went on, and 
 one day a stranger was brought into the village, whose face was 
 white, his hair brown, and his eyes the color of his hair. This 
 man's whole body was white, and he could not understand ua 
 .when we spoke to him, nor could we understand him, though 
 he talked and made a noise Vith his mouth, and sometimes 
 laughed. He had been found ou the high prairies, walking 
 alone, and had a bow without any strings to it, and the arrows 
 he used were very little, but heavy and round. He fired off 
 his bow, and it so frightened our people that several squaws 
 dropped to the earth, stunned by the noise which the arrow 
 made in the air. This bow would shoot one of the little 
 arrows many steps distant, and send it through the stoutest 
 shields of buffalo hide that our warriors owned. The white 
 warrior could also shoot very straight, and never missed what 
 he aimed at. So, many of our people revered this white man, 
 who they believed had been sent to show them how to make 
 and shoot with the strange bows that made a noise. Some, 
 however, said he was a bad man, and used the Great Spirit's 
 thunder in his bow, that he had no right to do so, and if the 
 man was to be allowed to live in the village among our people, 
 we would be visited by great calamities. These were for im 
 mediately driving him away from our teepees, and not allow 
 ing him to return. The council-house drum was beatenj and 
 the chiefs called to deliberate the question whether we would 
 keep the white man or send him away. After a whole day 
 and night's consultation, it was decided that the man should 
 gtay in the village, and so it was. He had been called in dur 
 ing the council, and laid his bow down on the ground, when it
 
 BEKDEN: THE AVHITE CHIEF. 22 
 
 was with great fear and reluctance taken up and examined by 
 one of the boldest of the warriors, who said it was made of 
 iron, and was very heavy, and nob a bow, but a hollow rod 
 The chief then motioned to the man to fix it ready to fire, but 
 not to fire it. He did so, and all saw, what they had not bo- 
 fore observed, that the white warrior first put some black, 
 shining sand in the iron, and then put a little iron ball in the 
 end of the rod, which he forced down with a long stick. This 
 stick he drew out of a case under the hollow iron, and put one 
 end of it on the ball and then pressed with all his might on 
 the other, until the ball was pushed to the lower end of the 
 hollow. Next he withdrew the stick, and put it back in the 
 case, and then he took rap the iron and put some of the black 
 sand in a little cup on the side of it, and covered up the sand 
 with a flat, crooked piece, which was fast to the iron. Just 
 behind this crooked iron was another one, in which was fast 
 ened a flat piece of stone, which was made to strike fire when 
 the man pulled on a little- wire under the hollow iron. When 
 ever this stone made fire, the same noise was heard, and fire 
 and smoke came out of the end of the iron. None could see 
 the little iron ball as it went to the mark, and some who 
 watched, said that the ball struck the tree before the fire came 
 out of the iron. 
 
 " So the man stayed and was given a teepee, and he soon mar 
 ried a squaw, and was suffered to live with us for several moons, 
 until the hunting moons came, when the tribes were to go out 
 to kill and dry their winter's meat. The buifalo ranged all 
 around, near at hand, and every season yielded the necessary 
 amount of food for the great tribe on whose hunting-grounda 
 the buffalo could not be counted, so great was their number. 
 
 A day's journey from the village always took our people into 
 
 20
 
 226 BELDEN: THE WHITE OHIEP. 
 
 the midst of the buffalo country, and, pitching their teepees, 
 men and women set to work, and in a few days' time had pre 
 pared sufficient fat and buffalo to last them until the next 
 season came. 
 
 " The hunting moon was now at hand, and all the villag* 
 was active, preparing to go out upon the hunt. Among others 
 was the white man, with his hollow iron. He had learned to 
 talk our language, and could now speak and understand every 
 thing. He was also well liked by nearly every one, and was 
 especially a favorite with the young women, who constantly 
 envied the white man's squaw her position. Some of those who 
 had predicted calamities if the white man was permitted to live 
 among them, though they never abused him, never had any 
 thing to do with him, but held themselves aloof and kept their 
 peace, though they did not like him. 
 
 " So all went to the hunting-grounds, and there it was ob 
 served that the white man's hollow iron would bring down a 
 buffalo at the distance of two arrow flights, twice as far off as 
 the best warrior of the tribe could shoot an arrow, and where 
 
 J 
 
 sometimes it took a dozen arrows to kill a buffalo, the white man 
 always shot but once and killed him dead in his tracks. In 
 two days' time a sufficient number of buffalo had been killed to 
 last the tribe the season, and many of our people now thought 
 the white man and his hollow iron were gifts from the Great 
 Spirit, sent to make them more powerful as a tribe, and render 
 them invincible in war against other nations. 
 
 "All the following year the white man lived with the 
 Dakotas, but when the buffalo season came again, and the tribe 
 made preparations to go out upon the annual hunt, the parties 
 of warriors who had always been sent out in advance a day or 
 (.wo, to see where the buffalo cows were feeding (because they
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 are better and more tender meat than the bulls), came back and 
 brought tidings that, no buffalo could be found. When this 
 was made known in the village, the warriors were derided and 
 scoffed at, as being lazy, good-for-nothing fellows, who had not 
 taken the trouble to go far enough, and they were sent back 
 again by the chief, together with several other young men. 
 After several days' absence, they returned, and brought back 
 the same intelligence. Great was now the consternation in the 
 village, and starvation stared all in the face. It was remem 
 bered, that when the white man had shot his hollow iron, the 
 buffalo jumped and bounded with surprise and fear at the 
 thunder of the noise, and immediately ran away. But a short 
 time was necessary to convince every one that the white man's 
 hollow iron had driven off all the buffalo, which had always 
 before been easily found. Now, also, were the predictions of 
 xialamity remembered, and the council was again called. While 
 the chiefs were debating in the council-house, the warriors and 
 women of the tribe rent the air with their lamentations, so that 
 their shrieks reached the ears of the -chiefs in the council-house, 
 and urged them to prompt action. It was determined that 
 the white man was an evil spirit, who had used the Great 
 Spirit's thunder to scare away the buffalo. All knew they did 
 not fear a mounted warrior of the Dakotas, but turned and 
 fought with hoof and horn, while arrows in great numbers 
 pierced their sides, but when the white man fired his gun they 
 made off. It was, therefore, solemnly declared, that the Great 
 Spirit was offended at the killing of buffalo with stolen thunder, 
 and the council decided that the white man's blood should be 
 offered up as an atonement for the sin of the tribe in eating 
 the meat which had been killed by the hollow iron. 
 
 " The' white man sat in kis lodge apparently unconscious of
 
 228 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 what was going on without, until he heard voices crying, 
 ' White man ! White man ! come out ! ' He then got up, and 
 came to the door, when, as soon as he was observed, a dozen 
 arrows were fired at him. Just as the bows were bent to 
 send the arrows again, the white man's squaw, ' An-pe-tu- 
 Sa-pa-U-we-a' (black day woman), threw herself before him, 
 and fell pierced by a dozen shafts. The white man ran inside 
 the teepee, got his hollow iron, and coming back to the door, 
 shot at the medicine man, who stood way off by the council- 
 house, and he immediately fell dead, not even uttering a single 
 word. The white man then pushed down another ball, and 
 called out to the. warriors, l Go away ! or I will have to kill you 
 all ! Go away ! ' Most of the warriors went away, and pres 
 ently the white man came outside, carrying the hollow iron in 
 his hand. His face was white as snow, and he said he was 
 very angry. He took up the body of the dead squaw, and 
 putting her face close to his, held it there several moments, 
 then placing her body on his shoulder, he started toward the 
 river bank. He walked fast, occasionally turning around to 
 see if any one followed him. When he had gone some distance, 
 no one thinking of running to certain death by following him, 
 the leader of those who had predicted evil from the white man, 
 raised his voice and demanded his death. 'Do you not see him 
 going off? He has killed the old medicine man ! He is 
 currying off one of our women ! Why do you stand staring 
 at him? after him, all of you ! Kill him!' he cried. 'Yes, 
 kill him ! ' all shouted, as they ran after the white man, who 
 saw them coming, and made every effort to gain the water** 
 edge, where he had a canoe hidden in the willows, and in 
 which he hoped to escape, if he could but reach it unharmed. 
 His pursuers, however, were too numerous and swift. They
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 220 
 
 were not loaded down with a burden as lie was, and so ran 
 faster. Soon they neared him, when he gently laid the squaw 
 on the grass, and raising his hollow iron, pointed it at the 
 crowd, lie held the iron aimed, but did not fire. Many ran 
 away, and all stopped and stood looking at him, when he said ; 
 ' Why do you follow me ? Have I stolen your ponies, or 
 taken any thing from you, that you should seek my life?' 
 * Yes, you are a thief, though you never stole from us,' an 
 swered the chief, who disliked him, ' you have not stolen from 
 us, but you have stolen from the Great Spirit, and for this you 
 must die ! ' ' What is it I have stolen from the Great Spirit ? ' 
 inquired the white man. * You have stolen his thunder, and 
 used it to scare away our game,' replied the chief. The white 
 man laughed, but suddenly becoming serious, said, ' You are 
 all a pack of fools, and I swear by the Great Spirit, that I have 
 never done what you accuse me of. Do you see this poor girt ? 
 She was of your people, and I loved her with all my heart, yet 
 you have killed her. For this, the Great Spirit will one day 
 thin your tribe; he will punish you with diseases, hunger, and 
 degradation. Your tribe will decline in glory day by day, and 
 my people will take away your hunting-grounds, and drive your 
 game beyond the setting sun ; then you will be poor in num 
 bers, and weak-hearted. Now, let me go back to my people, 
 and before I go, let me bury the poor girl, who has given up 
 her life for me, and when I have done it, I will leave you, and 
 never come near you any more.' When he had spoken, the 
 chief urged the warriors to shoot together, and fill him with 
 arrows ; at the same time declaring his words were lies, in 
 tended to frighten them from doing their duty. No one obeyed 
 him and the chief, becoming angry, snatched a bow and arrow 
 from the nearest warrior, saying. ( I will kill him ! ' and ini- 
 14
 
 230 .BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 mediately placed an arrow upon the bow-string, but as he sought 
 to bend it, a loud noise came from the hollow iron, and the 
 bow dropped from his hands, the chief fell forward on his face 
 and died without uttering so much as a groan. In an instant 
 twenty arrows were shot at the white man, and several of them 
 struck him, and stuck in his flesh. But he did not mind them, 
 and, stooping, picked up the dead girl, and ran toward the 
 river. He soon disappeared from sight under the bank, and 
 in a few minutes more was seen jumping from stone to stone, 
 at the very edge of the great falls. He had dropped the hollow 
 iron over the falls, and now carried the dead girl in his arms. 
 He leaped along until he suddenly came to a wide gorge, over 
 which the water had washed for many centuries, wearing a 
 passage in the solid rocks. Could he but once get upon the 
 other side of this gorge, the white man knew he would be out 
 of reach of the arrows of his pursuers. He looked first at the 
 water, then at the angry crowd on the shore, and holding up 
 the body of the dead girl, cried out, 'You see her? She and 
 I will come to see you again, and you will know us, when 
 your spirit is broken, and your hearts fail you under great 
 oppression. Then disease and death will appall you, and you 
 will die/ So saying, he threw the girl in the river, and im 
 mediately jumped in after her. For a few moments he was 
 seen to struggle, and then floated down and passed over the 
 falls. The Indians searched for the bodies, but they never 
 were found. 
 
 " After this, the tribe sent out runners in every direction to 
 nee if they could find game, but all were unsuccessful. All in 
 the village were in a starving condition, when an old chief, 
 assembling his band, started in search of new hunting-grounds, 
 Baying, if he found game he would send back word to the rest,
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 231 
 
 and they might come and join him. Accordingly, he left the 
 village with his party and traveled to the westward, toward 
 (he mountains. Por many days no tidings reached the vil 
 lage of the chief and his party, and the small game and corn 
 beginning to give out, it was determined to send another party 
 to find the firct. This was done, and the village rested, until the 
 time came when the last party should return, or send tidings 
 of their success. Days and weeks passed, and as no messenger 
 reached the village, all began to mourn the absent as lost. 
 
 " The tribe at length moved farther west to the great river, 
 and here, finding game, built a village and remained. 
 
 " A year passed, and there were still no tidings of the two lost 
 bands. At the end of another year, fears of starvation having 
 subsided, and prosperity being restored in the village, it was 
 determined to send out a third party to try, if possible, and 
 obtain tidings of the absent bands. They were accordingly 
 sent, and returned at the end of half a year, with the intelli 
 gence, that they could not find or even hear of them. 
 
 " For many years the tribe lived along the river, hunting and 
 warring with other nations, who were angry, because the Sioux 
 had come to their country to live, without so much as asking 
 their permission. The small-pox broke out in the tribe, and 
 carried off many of the people. Then, it had hardly left 
 them, before the warriors quarreled among themselves upon the 
 subject of moving to the mountains, and the tribe dividing, 
 half of them went to the mountains, and the other half 
 remained. 
 
 " So the white man's prediction came true ; disease, quarrels, 
 and starvation had split and divided the nation, until its num 
 bers and strength were so reduced, the warriors had no heart t* 
 go to war.
 
 232 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 " After many years, the tribe was visited by many white men, 
 who all came armed with hollow N irons, killed our people, and 
 drove away our game. From them we learned to use the hollow 
 iron, and our young men traded for some to hunt with, as well 
 as to use in war. But since the day the white man was drowned, 
 the tribe has slowly been decreasing in power and glory, until 
 now, it is but the wreck of what it once was. 
 
 " The lost tribes were, after a Jong time, heard from ; they had 
 learned to speak another language, and though we could under 
 stand them, yet our languages were very different. 
 
 " The first party, after leaving the village, had gone toward 
 the setting sun, and meeting with no considerable quantities of 
 game, had traveled on until they came to the mountains ; they 
 learned from a tribe they found there, that on the west side they 
 would find plenty of game, and accordingly they started to cross 
 he chain. The women and children could not travel very fast, 
 and by the time they reached the middle of the mountains, they 
 found so much time had been consumed on the road that their 
 provisions would soon run out. They pushed along, however, 
 through snow and ice, and at length their eyes were gladdened 
 by coming upon a deep-seated, green, and fertile plain, where 
 streams meandered through pleasant vales, and where the deer 
 and elk were in numerous herds. Here they pitched their vil 
 lage, and lived for a long time, none being so hardy as to feel 
 inclined to risk finding their way back through the mountains. 
 So the tribe grew up, and, in course of time, began imper 
 ceptibly to make changes in the language they spoke. 
 
 "The second band traveled toward the mountains, but did not 
 attempt to cross them, having kept to the southward along 
 their foot, until they came to a broad stream, very shallow, 
 and full of treacherous sands, and they saw great herds of
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 233 
 
 buffalo feeding upon its banks. Here the tribe stopped, and, 
 as the first party had done, built a village, and finding every 
 thing conducive to their comfort, contented themselves to live 
 in peace, and the band was raised from the small numbers to 
 a great multitude. 
 
 " Their language was also changed in the course of time, and 
 was different from either the original tongue, or that spoken 
 by the band which had gone across the mountains. 
 
 "The half of the tribe which had moved to the mountains, 
 after the small-pox had decimated the village, were also com 
 pelled to change their language. 
 
 " All these bands, though once strong, powerful tribes, through 
 division and contentions, disease, and the white man's poisons, 
 have become suddenly weak, and are constantly at war to 
 defend themselves, or gain sufficient ground upon which to 
 live and hunt. 
 
 " Thus the white man's prediction has been fulfilled, and hun 
 ger and disease have made us weak as women. We have often 
 looked to see if the white man and the dead girl were beside 
 us, but though we have never seen them, we have seen the effects 
 of what he of the hollow iron, prophesied. We murdered a 
 woman of our own race, and then murdered him who came to 
 aid us ; so none of his people, who have come among us since, 
 have been kind, but all are angry, and avenge his death. 
 
 " This was my father's father's story, as he told it to me, and 
 when he had done telling it, he cautioned me to' try and be 
 friendly with the white men, for they were powerful, and could 
 do me and my people much harm." 
 
 The old man ended his tale, and sat down for a moment, 
 with his head between his hands; then silently taking up his 
 
 pipe and blanket, he moved away toward his teepee, and the 
 
 21
 
 234 JiELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 rest of his audience, one by one, followed his example without 
 saying a word. 
 
 It was very late, and I went into my lodge, and rolling 
 myself in my blankets, lay down to sleep and dream of the 
 four bands that had become so separated and divided. I followed 
 them over again, through their superstitions and wanderings, 
 and saw clearly their reasons for attacking the white man. 
 Though my sleep was not refreshing, to my delight I awoke, 
 in the morning, to find my squaw had not been filled with 
 arrows on my account, but had cooked a kettle of elk and 
 corn, upon which she was regaling herself, and I soon joined 
 her. 
 
 I have since discovered that the party which went over the 
 mountains, were the JBrule Sioux those who went to seek 
 them, and built a village on the Platte River, the Ogallalla 
 Sioux the band that disagreed and went to the mountains, 
 the Santee Sioux, and the other half of the band, that remained 
 on the river, the Yankton Sioux. These four bands comprise 
 the four great divisions of the Dakota, or Sioux nation, as it 
 is now known.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 235 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 INDIAN PASTIMES JUGGLERS AND MOUNTEBANKS CURIOSITY OF THE SAVAGES 
 THE GUN TEICK CATCHING BULLETS A DANGEROUS TRICK THE TRIUMPH- 
 
 ' ANT JUGGLER A JUGGLER OUT-JUGGLED FIRING A GUN WITH ASHES THE 
 
 TRICK SUCCESSFULLY PERFORMED ASTONISHMENT OF THE INDIANS HOW IT 
 
 WAS DONE THROWING THE PONY A FAILURE THE OWNER THROWS THE 
 PONY TO SHOW HOW IT WAS DONE END OF AN INDIAN SHOW. 
 
 WHILE in the Indian camp, I witnessed many strange 
 feats of strength and dexterity practiced by the young 
 warriors, who, when not engaged in the chase or on the war 
 path, were constantly exercising their muscles. 
 
 In a large circle of squaws, children, and old men, were 
 seated about twenty warriors, witnessing the performances of 
 four young men. First, let me tell you, that any tricks of a 
 marvelous nature, such as practiced by mountebanks or jug 
 glers, tire always very attractive to 'Indians, who will sit for 
 hours quietly, wondering how this or that thing is done. One 
 of the young men presently took a single-barreled shot-gun, of 
 the flint-lock pattern, and, pouring down powder, held up a 
 bullet, and, apparently, placed it in the muzzle; then, with a 
 rammer, pushed the ball down, as it seemed, to the bottom of 
 the barrel ; he next primed it, and gave it to a bystander, who 
 was known to be a good shot, and requested him to shoot at 
 his breast. The warrior at first hesitated, saying he might kill
 
 236 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 him, but, on being urged, the man suddenly jumped up, seized 
 the gun, aud fired it at the juggler's breast. All expected to 
 see him** fall, but he stood perfectly still, as he did before this 
 shot was fired, and very coolly took the bullet out of his 
 mouth, saying, as he showed it to all around him, " You are a 
 poor shot, my friend ; you see I have caught it. " This feat 
 brought forth loud cheers of approval from his audience, much 
 to. the chagrin of the warrior who had failed to hit the juggler. 
 I said, "That is well clone; but why do you use powder?" 
 He inquired, " Can you do as I have done without using 
 powder?" "Of course," I replied. He immediately handed 
 me the gun, and I stepped into the ring, and gave it to several 
 old men to examine, aud see if it was loaded. They blew 
 down the barrel, thoroughly testing the emptiness of the arm. 
 While they were examining it, I took the opportunity to pour 
 a little powder into my left hand, over which I closed my 
 fingers tightly, and, as the gun was handed back, I seized it 
 by the muzzle with my left hand, allowing the powder to run 
 down unperceived, while, at the same time, I stooped to the 
 ground, and called their attention to my right hand, with which, 
 having first opened the fingers, I seized a handful of ashes 
 that laid on the ground where an old fire had gone out. I 
 then held the ashes to the muzzle, and slowly poured the whole 
 down the barrel. " Shoot that if you can, " said the juggler, 
 in an exultant manner. I struck the gun several hard blows 
 near the lock, to jolt some powder into the pan, and, raising 
 -the hammer, pulled the trigger, when a loud report followed, 
 throwing a cloud of ashes all around. The surprise of the 
 savages was very great, and, bowing, I retired as a juggler 
 while my credit was good. The juggler then performed 
 several very good feats with bullets, successfully shifting them
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 from one to the other of three or four moccasins placed ationt a 
 foot apart. This was well done, no one seeing how it could 
 possibly be accomplished without detection. Several young 
 men next carried each other around the circle by a small belt 
 placed about the waist, and which they seized with their teeth 
 One powerful warrior, who wore a small belt, took a heavily- 
 built man in his arms, and lifted him off the ground, holding 
 him thus while a third Indian seized the belt in his mouth, 
 and carried both men around the ring. This brought forth 
 loud applause from the spectators, and, indeed, it was merited. 
 Presently, a little pony, stout and sturdy, was led into the ring, 
 and its owner offered to give him to any one who would throw 
 him down and hold him long enough to put on the bridle. 
 This, I thought, was a chance for me, and I walked into the 
 ring to try if 1 could throw him. I tried hard several times, 
 but was finally compelled to give it up and retire, amid loud 
 cheers and laughter from the lookers-on. Two or three 
 warriors attempted to throw the pony, the little fellow standing 
 quiet all the time, and never biting or kicking, as I had at first 
 expected he would do. The owner of the animal, a light, 
 active Indian, then came forward and said he would throw 
 him, and actually did so, by seizing him by the fore legs, and 
 raising his fore parts as high as three feet from the ground, 
 then pulled him suddenly forward, and, quickly pushing him 
 backward with a sidling motion, he fell on his back, and was 
 instantly pinned to the ground by the agile Indian, who placed 
 his knee on the animal's neck, and held him quiet until the 
 bridle was put on and adjusted. He then allowed him to .:ise 
 to his feet, and, leaping nimbly on his back, he galloped off. 
 This ended the performances for one day.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 t nsrr TO THE MISSIONARY HIS ANXIETY FOR MY WELFARE A p 
 
 TO GO HOME, OR BECOME A MISSIONARY I RESPECTFULLY DECLINE A VISIT 
 TO .AN INDIAN SCHOOL SINGULAR METHOD OF TEACHING THE CHILDREN 
 THE OBJECT OF IT PROMISE TO VISIT .THE MISSIONARY OFTEN FRENCH 
 PETE, THE TRADER VISIT TO HIS STO&l^-I RELATE TO HIM MY HISTORY, 
 AND HE TELLS ME A STORY. 
 
 1" WAS invited to visit the missionary, and upon going up 
 -*- io the Mission House, was cordially welcomed by the good 
 man, who took me to his rude study, where we conversed for 
 several hours. The burthen of his discourse seemed to be the 
 expression of a desire that I should renounce my Indian mode 
 of Jiving, and either go back to my people again, or go into 
 some business which would have for its object, the conversion 
 of the savages to white men's ways. I pleaded my inability 
 to handle such affairs as they should be, and stated, my present 
 object in living among them was, to learn their language, man 
 ners, habits, and customs, as well as to have some little ex 
 perience of wild life. He finally dropped the subject, and 
 presently asked, if I would like to visit the natives' school. 
 I eagerly accepted his offer, and together we went to the 
 banks of the creek, near which was a rude corral, with a shed 
 over part of it, under which were seated, on the ground, some 
 twenty" little Indian boys and girls. In their midst stood a
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 239 
 
 tall young Indian with a book in his hand, and I noticed that 
 all the children had books. When recitation began, none of 
 the children got up to their feet, but remained sitting, the 
 teacher walking slowly around among his pupils, asking ques 
 tions of this one, and that one, indiscriminately. Their books 
 were printed in Washington by the Indian Bureau, and the 
 letters were in Roman type, on ordinary printing paper. But 
 all the words were spelled in the original Sioux language, and 
 no English words were used at all. The recitations were 
 altogether in Sioux. This surprised me very much, and I in 
 quired, why they did not teach the children English? and what 
 was the object of teaching them what every child of any Indian 
 tribe learns from infancy, by hearing it from its parents ? The 
 missionary explained, that they quickly learned to read and 
 pronounce words of their own language, and that religious 
 books were printed in the Sioux tongue, which were intended 
 to be read by these same pupils, who were now just taught the 
 meaning of these Roman hieroglyphics, that they might know 
 them when they were again seen in religious works. This was 
 one of the plans, he said, for conversion of the Indians. 
 
 After listening to the proceedings of a Sioux school for over 
 an hour, we walked back to the village, and while passing by 
 the trader's store, I was warmly censured for neglecting of 
 late my visits to the good man. Leaving the missionary to go 
 to his home, I talked a little while with the trader, whom I 
 had found to be quite an intelligent man, who knew many 
 legends, and had had many adventures among the Sioux, 
 which he said he would " trade," or exchange, for some narra 
 tions of mine. The proposition pleased me, and I -said I would 
 come down in the evening when he had closed the store, and 
 we would have a talk in the back room, where we often sat.
 
 240 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The trader acquiesced, and asked me to bring tlie old man 
 along who had been talking in front of my lodge the night 
 before, "for," said he, "as I was coming up from the river, 1 
 heard part of his story, which was very interesting, but could 
 not stay to hear it out." I promised I would bring the old 
 man, and hurried home as fast as I could, for it was growing 
 late, and I was very hungry. 
 
 After supper, I went to the old man's teepee, but he would 
 not then go with me to the trader's store, promising, however, 
 he would be over by and by. So I walked over alone. 
 
 I was shown into the back room, where many bales of 
 beaver skins were stacked against the walls, and in a corner 
 was spread a thick bed of buffalo robes. Throwing down a 
 couple of beaver bales for seats, I sat down upon one of them 
 and explained the cause of the old Indian's absence. My 
 friend Pete (or French Pete), as the trader was called, had 
 a good-looking squaw, who came to him, and he told her 
 something in an undertone, when she left the room, an'd pres 
 ently returned with a bottle of ginger wine " medicine," as 
 Pete called it and we both took a dram. Then, as my friend 
 cut off some tobacco, to mix with willow-bark for a smoke, he 
 asked me to tell him how I came to live with the Santees, 
 and where I had come from. I complied with his request; 
 told him of my history and of the Pawnee raid ; after which, 
 1 lit my pipe, and settled myself to hear the trader's story.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 TEK TRADER'S STORY ST. PAUL IN EARLY TIMES FAILURE OF THE INDIAN 
 
 TRADE PANIC AMONG THE INDIAN TRADERS OFF FOR THE SAVAGE TRIBES 
 
 PURCHASING INDIAN GOODS FORT RANDALL MEETING WITH THE LA 
 
 FROMBE BROTHERS WHAT THEY SAID CAMPING IN THE OLD RANCHE 
 
 STRANGE VOICES A FRONTIER SUPPER SINGULAR NOISES THE ALARM A 
 HEAD ABOVE THE WALL WAITING FOB THE ENEMY IMAGINED SECURITY 
 INTERVIEWING THE SAVAGES DEATH OF THE MAN ON THE WALL PREP 
 ARATIONS FOR THE BATTLE THE INDIAN WAR-WHOOP. 
 
 " T WAS living up in St. Paul (Minnesota), about six 
 *- years ago/' he began, " and the Indians having gone 
 elsewhere to do their trading that season, business was very 
 dull. 
 
 " St. Paul, at that time, was only a big trading post, and 
 but few settlers had moved there. The Indian trade was the 
 life of the place, and one season's failure in this trade cause?! 
 quite a panic among the traders, many of whom had put 
 every cent of cash they could get into large stocks of goods, on 
 which they expected to double their money. Their disappoint 
 ment was very great, therefore, and several of them boxed up 
 their stores and moved back east, while others sold out for what 
 they could get, fully believing that the Indian trade at St. Paul 
 was at an end. Whole stocks of goods were sacrificed at small 
 figures, and I concluded to give up my situation as clerk in a 
 trader's store, and with what cash I had saved up, buy some
 
 2 12 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 goods and go where the Indians lived. This I did ; and having 
 three ponies already, I purchased another, to be paid for when 
 I returned, and loading my stock of blankets, squaw-cloth, 
 beads, paint, looking-glasses, hawk-bells, wampum, necklaces, 
 shells, brass wire, and sheet silver, started for the Missouri 
 River country. I got along well enough until I reached the 
 Yankton village (near where Fort Randall now stands), and 
 -did a little trading there, after which I started up the river, 
 when I met, on the second day's journey, two of the La Frombe 
 boys, and as I knew them both well, when they were with their 
 brother, Frank La Frombe, a trader at St. Paul, I was, of 
 course, glad to meet them, and they were ,also glad to see me 
 again. They were going down to Sioux City, on no particular 
 business, and I tried to get them to go along with me, but they 
 said that the Sioux and they were not on very good terms, and 
 they had concluded to stay away from them, lest they might 
 have trouble. I endeavored to ascertain the cause of the ill- 
 feeling between the boys and the Sioux, but both of them kept 
 very mum, and would not tell me. Presently, I changed the 
 subject, and began asking them for information which might 
 enable me to easily find the Indian villages. By the time we got 
 through talking, it was getting on toward night, and Baptiste, 
 one of the boys, said we had better go back for about a mile 
 and a half, on the road they had just come, where we should 
 find an old log shanty, built by a man named Bremer, some two 
 or three years before, and in which we could all pass the night. 
 I would find, they said, four walls to inclose my ponies for 
 safety, and a good fire-place to cook in. So Baptiste, Louis ; 
 and myself, moved leisurely along the road, conversing all the 
 way, until we reached the old house. By this time it was dark : 
 30 dark, that if the boys had not known exactly where the
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 24* 
 
 house stood, we might have passed within a few feet of it and 
 not seen it. 
 
 " I tied ray ponies' lariats all together, and allowed them to 
 feed just outside the building. The boys hunted around foi 
 sticks to build a fire with, and had soon raked together an 
 arm-load of weeds and brush. We found no fire-place, how 
 ever, and had to tramp down the weeds for three or four feet 
 inside the house to make sufficient room to build our fire. 
 
 "Soon a bright blaze rewarded our efforts, and leading the 
 ponies up to the door, one at a time, I unloaded them, and 
 laid my packs down inside the house. Then hoppling their 
 feet, 1 let them get some more grass before tying them up foi 
 the night. I now went inside to get something to eat, and 
 found the La Frombe boys had the hind-quarter of an ante 
 lope on one of their saddles, and as I had some coffee, a little 
 sugar, and some Indian bread, we soon -made a hearty meal. 
 I ate fast and got through as quickly as I could. The La 
 Frombes were but half done eating when I finished, and then 
 sat waiting for the bone of one of the antelope quarters to roast 
 a little more for Baptiste. Presently, as I was busy untying 
 the hopples, and bringing my own and the boys' ponies inside, I 
 thought I heard some one talking out on the prairie, a hundred 
 or a hundred and fifty yards distant. I was just untying the 
 hopples on the last pony, when I again heard voices distinctly, 
 and I raised up to my feet and listened, but hearing nothing 
 more, concluded I had been mistaken, and went into the house 
 with the ponies. I did not say any thing to the boys about 
 having heard the voices, for fear it might turn out to be a false 
 alarm, and I would get laughed at. Lighting my pipe, I drew 
 the buckle of my belt a little tighter, and went to the opening, 
 which had once been a door-place, and, leaning against the wall,
 
 244 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 smoked and listened. Tlie La Frorabes were still eating awa) 
 and conversing to each other, and I began to think of what 
 harm could attend us, even if Indians were in the vicinity, 
 for they were not at war with the whites, and I had heard 
 lately of no depredations being committed by them. P'shaw ! 
 there was nothing to fear after all,' I said to myself, ' but 
 might they not be around trying to steal stock?' 
 
 "Here was food for my thoughts, and I was busily turning 
 the matter over, when I noticed a sudden cessation of the 
 conversation between the La Frombe boys. Each sat by 
 the fire, their mouths open, their eyes half closed, and appa 
 rently listening to sounds outside. In a moment more, Louis 
 La Frombe got up very cautiously, and carefully avoiding 
 to break any of the tall weeds as he stepped, went to the 
 corner farthest from the fire, where all our rifles were, and 
 quietly removing his own from the stack, came back to the 
 fire, and spoke a few words to Baptiste, who got up and 
 went for his rifle. I now had my suspicions aroused, and mo 
 tioned for Baptiste to bring my gun with him, which he did. 
 "When he got to the door, where I was still standing, my ears 
 stretched to catch any sound that might betray the existence of 
 an enemy outside. Baptiste whispered to me, and asked if I had 
 heard it. ' Heard what?' I inquired. 'Some one talking out 
 side the wall, on the side opposite the door,' Baptiste replied. 
 * Louis heard it,' he added, ' but when I listened, I could n't 
 hear any thing but the sucking of your pipe.' I led Baptiste 
 over to where Louis was, and told both of them what I had 
 heard myself. 'They've followed us, Baptiste!' said Louis. 
 ' let us put something in the doorway, for they 've found us, 
 pure as we live, and we must fight.' In a few minutes, we had 
 arranged my packs, and the saddles, so as to form a tolerable
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 245 
 
 barricade in the door, and each of us arranged our arms and 
 ammunition so as to have them at hand in case of sudden need. 
 Then we waited in silence for something to transpire. After 
 we had been quietly watching and listening for a long time/ and 
 the fire had gone down until the blaze died out, and the coals 
 only remained gleaming in the ashes, I began to feel more 
 easy, and to believe that the night breeze which rustled the tall 
 weeds around the old house, had made the noise imagined by 
 all of us to be human voices. So I took out my pipe, cut 
 some tobacco, and filling it, went to the fire to get a light. 
 Going back to the boys, who sat leaning against the wall, their 
 guns in their hands, I said, ' Louis, what did you mean, when 
 you said awhile ago, that the Indians had found you out, and 
 had followed you?' 'We had a little difficulty with some 
 Santees about two days ngo, and Baptiste killed a girl by acci 
 dent, while shooting at a warrior, who was the brother of 
 Baptiste's squaw/ he replied. He then said, ' The warrior and 
 Baptiste had a quarrel about a pony trade, and the wind-up of 
 the affair was, each tried to killed the other, the Indian firing 
 first, missed Baptiste, who, instead of taking steady aim, as he 
 had plenty of time to do, jerked up his gun, and fired at the 
 fellow, missing him, and hitting a girl in the throat, killing 
 her almost instantly/ ' That 's the whole of it, and the cause 
 of our traveling eastwarcfy added Baptiste. 
 
 "'The confounded brutes are after us, or I thought they 
 were only a little while ago/ said Louis. 
 
 " f Well, it 's a tough piece of business, boys/ said I, ' and 
 I am surprised at Baptiste using his rifle to settle a quarrel 
 about such an affair as a pony trade/ 
 
 " 'Oh, this is not the first time his hot-headedness has got us 
 both into trouble/ said Louis; 'he had to get on a bender 
 15
 
 246 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 down at Sioux City last fall, when we went with the Sioux U 
 do some trading, and Baptiste quarreled with a white man, 
 and drew his revolver and shot him four times, killing him 
 dead. The man also shot Baptiste through the leg, and he 
 was laid up for two months from it.' 
 
 "'Boys/ said I, 'one thing is clear: you and I have been 
 mistaken about hearing voices outside, for if there had been 
 any Indians close, we would have heard from them an hour 
 ago. Let us spread out our blankets and lie down, then we 
 can listen, and all stay awake as long as we want, or take 
 turns in watching.' This was readily agreed to, and still 
 keeping our guns with us, laid down on our backs, with 
 our coats doubled up under our heads for pillows. We lay 
 thus for over an hour, when suddenly, I thought I saw 
 something like a bunch of grass waving near the corner 
 of the "wall, on the side of the house opposite the door. 
 There was no roof on the house, only the walls being left 
 standing. So we laid under the sky. I watched the corner 
 very closely, where I thought I had seen the grass move, 
 and in a minute saw the same thing again; this time I made 
 it out against the sky to be a bunch of feathers. Slowly it 
 rose above the wall, and then a head covered with long 1 , black, 
 shining hair, appeared, peering cautiously down inside the old 
 house to see if we were there. 
 
 "After a moment's survey of our quarters, the head as slowly 
 and silently withdrew. 'Did you see that?' I whispered to 
 Baptiste, who laid near me. 'Yes,' he replied, 'only let it 
 come up there again ! ' He raised the muzzle of his rifle, for 
 the purpose of having it ready for instant use, when the head 
 should appear ; but Louis seized the barrel, and told Baptiste 
 to hold up, and not to shoot too quickly, or he might repent it.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 247 
 
 I told the boys that ' as we are now positive our fears are not 
 without foundation, and that, beyond a doubt, the Indians are 
 around us in large numbers, as they would not start on the trail 
 of two such men as the La Frombe brothers; without having 
 superio: numbers and arms, so as to ensure their success, I 
 will go outside and try to find out what they are after, and see 
 if talking can not send them off'.' 
 
 " ' It will be of no use, I can tell you,' said Baptiste, ' they 
 are after me, and will do their utmost to get me. All your 
 ponies and stock would not tempt them to leave us alone.' 
 
 " ' I will try it anyhow,' I said, ' only I want you to promise 
 not to use your rifle until I first see what can be done.' Louis 
 and Baptiste both agreed to this, and, leaning my rifle against 
 the door within easy reach, I put my two revolvers in uiy beltj 
 and jumping over the barricade, I called out: 
 
 " ' SiouxJ my friends.' 
 
 " ' What is it ? ' answered two voices. 
 
 "'I wish to- talk with you in peace, and find out why you 
 are here, and what you want; I have left my gun in the house 
 and do not want to shoot you, or have you shoot me. Will you 
 talk with me ? ' 
 
 " ' We do not know you. You have a strange voice ; yet, 
 you speak our language. What do they call you ? ' 
 
 " ' I am a trader from the big trading place in Minnesota, 
 and am on my way to visit your people to trade with them. I 
 have four ponies loaded with fine goods/' I replied. 
 
 " ( We are your friends ; and, if you are ours, you must pack 
 up your ponies and go on your road to the village, which is 
 only two days' travel. We want you to leave the men inside 
 of the house, for we have been hunting them for two days, and 
 aave now just found them.'
 
 248 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 "'I am an old friend of theirs and their brother, and 
 would wish to know why you are after them.' 
 
 " ( They killed one of our tribe, and we come for revenge. 
 We must kill them ; will you go on toward the village to 
 night, or remain with them and be killed? If you start now, 
 you will be safe ; but, if you stay, you will die, for there are 
 twenty-two of us, and we declare we will kill all we find in 
 the house, after the fight begins/ 
 
 " ' If I give you a blanket apiece, and some presents, will 
 you leave us and go away ? ' I asked. 
 
 "'No, we want the men, and do not care for ponies or 
 presents,' the speaker replied. 
 
 "'Don't talk with the durned skunks any longer, Pete,' 
 said Baptiste, ' come inside, or what would be better for you, 
 tell them you will go on to their tillage to-night, and go. 
 Louis and I can either clean them out, or get away from 
 them before morning.' I refused to entertain the proposition 
 of going on, and leaving them to fight their enemies alone, 
 and immediately told the Sioux, that ' I had traveled a long 
 way to visit them, and had always been friendly with all other 
 branches of their tribe, but I could not think of leaving my 
 own countrymen to fight such an unequal battle, when I 
 might aid them by remaining.' I said, I would rather lose 
 every thing I possessed, than shoot one Indian, yet, if they 
 would attack the two men, I would stay and assist them. I 
 had just concluded this reply, when 'crash,' went a rifle 
 inside the building, and I heard the heavy thud of a body 
 dropping on the ground, below the corner where I had seen 
 the head peering over the wall. Quickly I leaped over the 
 barricade, and gained the inside of the building, where Bap 
 tiste was engaged hastily reloading his rifle, having just
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 249 
 
 ,dded one more to his long list of notches on the stick. I 
 eized my trusty rifle, and placed myself beside Louis, who 
 vas guarding the door. There was now a great jabbering 
 ,mong the Indians, who were carrying away their dead com- 
 ade; then, after a few moments' silence, the most unearthly 
 r ells, which ever met human ears, arose in the still midnight 
 ir.
 
 250 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 THK ATTACK THE REPULSE FIRING THE PRAIRIE .jfKENGTHEISINO OU1 
 WORKS LOUIS IS WOUNDED A BROADSIDE AT THE INDIANS GOOD EFFECT* 
 OF A DOUBLE-BARRELED GUN" A TRUCE CARRYING OFF THE DEAD INDIA? 
 
 " STRATEGY ALL READY AGAIN RENEWAL OF THE BATTLE TOMAHAWKED 
 DEATH OF BAPTISTS ESCAPE OF LOUIS RETURN TO CONSCIOUSNESS KIND 
 NESS OF THE INDIANS al JOIN THE TRIBE AND GET BACK MY GOODS TRAD 
 ING IN THB INDIAN CAMP THE PROFITS OFF TO ST. LOUIS FOR MORD 
 GOODS END OF THE TRADER'S STORY. 
 
 " A MOMENT of painful silence succeeded the yell of tlu 
 -^^- savages, and then we could hear their suppressed breath 
 ing, as the red devils crawled under the old walls of the shanty. 
 I held a position on the left of the doorway, where I could 
 have an opportunity of seeing any one who approached from 
 the right, and Louis remained on the right side, where he could 
 command the left of the doorway. While we were straining 
 our eyes and ears to hear every sound, Baptiste suddenly fired, 
 and shot another Indian from the top of the old wall, where he 
 had climbed. We heard the body drop with a thud outside, 
 where the first had fallen. The noise of voices, all talking 
 together, and much excited, as on the previous occasion, waa 
 heard, and we felt that a great struggle was at hand. 
 
 " For about a minute not a sound was heard, not even the 
 breathing of the villains outside the walls. Suddenly the ky
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE OHIEF. 251 
 
 grew red with the light of burning prairie grass, which had 
 been heaped up around the old building, not with the intention 
 3t roasting us out, for that was impossible, but to make a 
 light, so the savages could see where to attack to the best ad 
 vantage. They also wished to prevent us from seeing where 
 ;hey kept themselves outside the blazing circle. Had they not 
 ittacked us immediately, the fire would have been to oilr ad 
 vantage, for we could see and have time to strengthen the bar- 
 *icade. 
 
 " With a small hatchet, which I carried with me for camp use, 
 md a butcher-knife, I dug up sufficient earth to fill one of the 
 :racks in the door, and had almost done working at it, when a 
 ihower of arrows came rattling over the top of the barricade 
 nto the shanty, several of which struck the ponies, causing 
 mite a panic among them. We had no time to trouble about 
 ,he ponies, however, for, while I watched the door, Baptiste tied 
 i piece of calico around Louis's leg, an arrow having slightly 
 rvounded him, just below the knee. His wound was not dan 
 gerous or painful, but bled profusely. While Baptiste was 
 ying on the bandage, I saw several savages leap over the 
 smoldering fire near the building, and rush in a body at our 
 Barricade. I quickly called to the boys to come on, and we 
 aised our guns, and, taking deliberate aim Baptiste at those 
 MI the left, Louis at those on the right, and myself at the cen- 
 ;er of the yelling mass we fired. The boys each got hia 
 nan, and my old double-barreled rifle knocked down one In- 
 Kan dead, and badly wounded two more. I still had a load 
 .11 reserve, but not long, for, believing our guns to be empty, 
 ;hey came yelling on with bows and hatchets in their hands. 
 E quickly fired again, and five of them were badly wounded 
 by my second shot. In alarm and astonishment, they
 
 252 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 way, evidently having never seen or felt the effects of a double 
 barreled gun before. 
 
 " They were now so weak in force, and so badly demoralized, 
 that they waved a blanket, and called out: 'No fire again 
 little while.' This was a truce we were not sorry to accept, 
 hoping they would, in a short time, go away. I told the boys 
 to grant their request, and soon saw the dark shadows busily 
 engaged dragging off the dead and wounded, who lay in front 
 of the building. I called out, and asked them to tell us when 
 they were ready to begin again, that we were now impatient 
 to have a good fight, and wished them to hurry, as it was only 
 amusement for us. The answer to my request was, that they 
 would notify us when they were ready, or, as they expressed 
 it, ' Good ! tell you by and by.' The dusky forms were seen 
 flitting now and then in front of us, and stealthily moving 
 over the ground, as if searching for some article they had 
 dropped during the advance upon the building. AVhile we 
 were quietly watching these shadows, one of them called out, 
 ' Ready ? ' ' Yes ! ' I answered. ' Well, all right/ he said ; 
 and just as we laid our guns over the barricade to repulse 
 them from the front, where the speaker stood, a dozen big 
 savages dropped from the top of the wall into the house, and 
 rushed upon us before we had time to take our rifles off the 
 barricade. Smash! crash! bang! went the heavy rifle butts, 
 and over rolled the warriors, one after another, until five laid 
 on the ground, where the frightened ponies kicked and tramped 
 them so badly that two were killed outright. The rest of the 
 party, who were outside, now dashed over the door barricade, 
 and then some one from behind knocked me down with a 
 hatchet. I must have been unconscious for several hours, for, 
 when I recovered, the moon was up very high; and it had uot
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 255 
 
 yet begun to rise when the fight was going on. I found my 
 self lying on a buffalo robe outside the old building, and sev 
 eral Indians squatting on the ground about ten feet distant, 
 dividing my goods and trinkets, which they had found inside 
 the ranche. One of the Indians saw me turn over, or, 
 perhaps, heard me groan, as I endeavored to turn my head 
 in the direction they were, for he said : ' 'Merican man, 
 he awake ; what shall we do now ? ' A low conversation was 
 held among them, which I could not hear, when presently 
 a warrior came to me, and said : ' Brother, you have acted 
 very foolishly in helping those two bad men against us. 
 You have been nearly killed, and would have been killed 
 outright, only that we knew the two bad men had cast a spell 
 on you, and you could not help doing what you did. Are you 
 very sick ? ' 
 
 " * No,' I replied ; ' where are the Frombes ? ' 
 
 " ' There is one of them/ said the warrior, pointing to poor 
 Baptiste, whose body dangled from the wall, over which he 
 had been hung with his own lariat. His head looked white 
 on the top, in the moonlight, and I knew it was because the 
 scalp had been removed. ' The other one got away/ continued 
 the warrior, l but he can not escape, for good hunters are after 
 him; and we are waiting here until they return. He was badly 
 wounded before he got on his pony, so badly, that if any one 
 had noticed him in time, we could have caught him before 
 he mounted/ 
 
 " ' What are you going to do with me?' I inquired. 
 
 "'You told us you were going to our village/ he answered; 
 1 and you can go with us.' 
 
 " But what is the use of my going to the village, when you 
 have taken away all my goods?'
 
 256 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 " 'If you will join our tribe, and help us fight our enemies, 
 we will give you back every thing we have taken.' 
 
 " ' I will do it/ I said, 'if you do not 'ask me to fight my 
 own people.' 
 
 " ' We will not ask that of you/ the warrior answered, as he 
 brought me my ponies, and assisted me to pack my tilings on 
 the saddles. Then, bringing me my double-barreled gun, 
 he stooped down and tied up my head with a piece of tanned 
 elk-skin, and bound some cooling leaves over the wound, 
 which made me feel quite comfortable. 
 
 "In about half an hour we heard a shout, apparently a long 
 distance to the westward, and the Indians with whom I had 
 been conversing answered it, and then hurriedly directed me to 
 ' mount and come on.' All jumped on their ponies, and, get 
 ting behind my pack animals, whipped them into a fast pace. 
 We soon came upon the party who had been pursuing Louis, 
 ind I saw that the leader, a petty chief, held in his hand Louis's 
 rifle. I was sure he had killed him, but could not account for 
 he absence of the pony he had rode. My fears were soon set 
 at rest, however, by the chief telling my Indian friend that 
 Louis had swam the river on his pony, and had shot at them 
 just before he went into the water's edge, and then dropped his 
 rifle, which they had fished out. They said they fired some 
 twenty arrows at Louis as he swam beside his pony, but they 
 could not tell whether he was struck or not, as they did 
 not see any one coming out on the other bank of the river, 
 but admitted it was too dark to see him, even if he had 
 emerged. 
 
 " I felt thankful for Louis's escape, but discreetly said noth 
 ing. We now tramped along about a mile further, and then 
 halted and encamped for the night. While we were lying
 
 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 257 
 
 around the fire, and I was asleep, an Indian came and shook 
 me, and said: ' Why do you groan and make such a noise?' 
 I told him I did not know I had done so, as I was asleep, and 
 that my wounded head was probably the cause of it. He said, 
 'Your wounds are nothing look at those six warriors over 
 there! they are every one worse hurt than yourself, yet they 
 do not groan or make such a fuss; we can not sleep.' I 
 got up and went to one of the Indians who was awake, and 
 who was the same one I had hurt with the buckshot of my 
 double-barreled gun. Presently all awoke, and I asked one 
 of them if I could do any thing for him. He said he 
 wanted water, and I immediately brought him some. They 
 all drank prodigiously, their wounds making them feverish 
 and thirsty. 
 
 "Next morning, we moved out early, and by night reached 
 the village. I bought a teepee, and put my goods up for trade, 
 ajid, in a short time, sold out, at good prices, all I had. I 
 then went to Sioux City, where I got on a steamboat, and hur 
 ried to St. Louis for more goods. I found Indian trading very 
 profitable, and ever since then I have engaged in it, more or 
 less, among the different tribes. 
 
 " About a year ago, while at old Fort Pierre, on the west 
 side of the Missouri, I met Louis La Frombe, and found him 
 well and hearty. He said he had been badly wounded, and, 
 after fording the river, in which he received an arrow in the 
 shoulder, the shaft remaining in for two days, he had laiu down 
 on the opposite bank, utterly exhausted and helpless. He fell 
 asleep, and his pony strayed off a mile or two, putting him to 
 a great deal of trouble to find him; but he finally succeeded, 
 and moved up the river to the fort, where the traders had ex 
 tracted the arrow and attended him until his wounds were 
 
 23
 
 258 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 healed. They had to keep him concealed all the time, how 
 ever, for fear the Sioux, who came there occasionally, would 
 find him." 
 
 Thus ended the trader's story, with which I was much 
 pleased; and, after tasting the "medicine" again, and having 
 a HttJe conversation about his goods, prospects in trade, und 
 other matters, we parted for the night.
 
 EELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 TRADITIONS O* THE SIOUX NATION-^THEIR ORIGIN AND EARLY BISTORT, %I 
 TOLD BY THEMSELVES DIVISION OF THE ASSINIBOINES FROM THE SIOUX 
 THE LOTE OF A FAITHLESS WOMAN CAUSES WAR. 
 
 evening I had a long conversation with some old men 
 of the tribe, during which the missionary was present, 
 about the Sioux and Santees. I learned that they had, as far 
 back as the oldest warrior could remember, been a separate 
 band. Their forefathers had told them they originally lived in 
 Minnesota ; but they could not tell me any thing beyond that, 
 and believed they had always lived there. This idea has 
 some foundation in the word Minnesota, which is a Sioux word, 
 meaning " minne," water, " sota," bleared or turbid, L e., tur 
 bid water. This I readily ascertained from knowing' that the 
 word " blear-eyed," or, as the Sioux call it, " an eye with 
 troubled water," is, in their language, " ees-ta " (eye) " so-to " 
 (bleared or turbid), that is, " blear-eyed." 
 
 The Sioux never call themselves Sioux, but Da-ko-ta. The 
 term Sioux is a mere nickname given them many years ago by 
 the first white men that came among them, who were French 
 men.* The language they speak is called " La-co-ta," a word 
 
 * The name of Sioux that we give to these Indians is entirely of our 
 own making, or, rather, it is the last two syllables of the name Nadouea- 
 aioux, as many nations call them. (Extract from letter of Charlevoix, in 
 1721. See Neill's History of Minnesota, page 51.)
 
 2GO BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 of their own. the " la " being substituted for " da " to distin 
 guish the word man from language. The word Da-ko-ta, b) 
 which they prefer to be called, signifies " allied, or joined to 
 gether in love," and is the same as our motto, E pluribus ur.um. 
 A writer of a mission history, published over two hundred 
 years ago, says : " For sixty leagues from the extremity of the 
 upper lake, toward sunset, and, as it were, in the center of tlie 
 western nations, they have all united their forces by a general 
 league." 
 
 The Da-ko-tas, as far back as we have any record of them 
 up to the present time, d"re called Soos, Scioux, and Sioux. 
 For many hundred years the Indians of Lake Superior were 
 at war with the Dakotas, and when they speak of them they 
 call them the Na-do-way Sioux, which, in Ojiboway lan 
 guage, means " enemy." From this we have the derivation for 
 Sioux. 
 
 I also learned from the missionary, who had made the origin 
 and early life of the Sioux nation his study, that from a very 
 early period the tribe had been divided into three great nations 
 or bands the I-san-ya-ti, or the 'Is-sa-ti, the name of one of 
 the lakes where they lived. The principal band of the Is-sa-tis 
 was the M'de-wa-kan-ton-wan, pronounced " Meddy-waw- 
 kawn-twawn." The second great baud was the "I-hank-ton- 
 wan," or Yankton. They formerly lived north of the Minne 
 sota Hiver, and are now on the eastern banks of the Missouri 
 River, near Fort Randall, D. T. The third band was the "Ti- 
 ton-wans," who lived farther west than the I-hank-ton- wans. 
 This tribe was sometimes called the " Tin-ton-wans," a corrup 
 tion of the original name. The pronunciation of the name is 
 Tee--t\vawons. In the last great band is embraced the bands 
 known as Santees, Ogallalas, and Brules, who never appear
 
 BEKDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 261 
 
 in sight of emigrants' wagons on the prairies, but their hearts 
 fill with painful apprehensions. 
 
 North of the Dakotas, on Lake of the Woods, winch is con 
 nected with Lake Superior, are the Assiniboines. They were 
 
 once a band of the 
 Sioux nation, and 
 speak the language at 
 this day. An old San- 
 tee said he remembered 
 a story, which had been 
 handed down for many 
 generations in his tribe, 
 relating to the Assini 
 boines. According to 
 this tradition, they are 
 Sioux, and had always 
 been, but the whites 
 called them by another 
 name. The following 
 was given as the cause 
 o f their separation from 
 the main Sioux tribe : 
 
 A young warrior loved the wife of another warrior, and 
 whenever the latter was absent from home the young man went 
 to the warrior's teepee, and talked to his squaw. She began to 
 like him; and they enjoyed each other's company for many 
 days, till at last the warrior, having noticed unmistakable signs 
 of the faithlessness of his wife, threatened her with instant 
 denth unless she dismissed her lover. He then went to the 
 council house ; and, as soon as he had gone, the guilty woman 
 hurried to her lover's lodge, and acquainted him with all that
 
 262 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 bad passed. While she still talked to him the husbaud came 
 into the tent for his squaw ; and a quarrel ensued between the 
 young man and the warrior. They came to blows; which 
 were soon exchanged for weapons; and the husband met his 
 Heath at the hands of the young man. The husband's relations, 
 among whom was his aged lather, went to get the body of the 
 warrior, which still lay in the youi>g man's lodge, where it 
 had fallen ; and, on the way to the teepee, the father's party 
 were met by some friends of the young man, and a fight en 
 sued, in which three of the guilty man's friends were killed. 
 The father then went back, and raised a party of sixty warri 
 ors, who declared war against the seducer and his friends. 
 Several battles were fought; and the whole tribe finally joined 
 in the war, the sides being almost equal in numbers. The af 
 fair ended in a revolt upon the part of the seducer and his 
 adherents, who in time became a separate people, and are now 
 called the Assiniboines. So ended the tradition, which is th 
 story of another woman who caused a war.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 263 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 FHK IN l/i >N SWEAT-LODGE HOW IT IS BUILT MANNER OF USING IT BO 1 
 
 THE IK..IANS TREAT THEIR SICK OLD MEN AND WOMEN OP NO ACCOUNT 
 
 INDIAN SCIENCE OF MEDICINE I GET SICK THE MISSIONARY'S MEDICINE I 
 GROW WORSE ANXIETY OF MY SQUAW SHE CONSULTS WITH THE OLD MED 
 ICINE MAN WHAT THEY DID A STUBBORN DOCTOR AND WIFE I AM TO BB 
 
 KILLED OB CUR'ED TERRIBLE SWEAT i FAINT FROM EXHAUSTION THEY 
 
 TRY TO DROWN ME RAPID RECOVERY WONDERFUL BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF 
 
 *H SWEAT-BATH OASES IN WHICH THE SWEAT-BATH IS NEVER USED. 
 
 ON many occasions, when traveling over the Indian coun 
 try, I found old deserted camps, in nearly every one of 
 which, where the Indians had staid any time, were the skeleton 
 or bent poles of the sweat lodges. These were not peculiar to 
 any tribe, but alike in the camps of Arrapahoes, Cheyennes, 
 Pawnees, and Sioux. A description of this curious institution 
 will not be out of place. Unlike any other teepee, it is made 
 of stout willows, two and three inches in thickness, which are 
 bent, and both ends pushed into the ground firmly. When all 
 the poles are thus set, they are in the shape of a large wire rat- 
 trap. This Ixlge is only about four feet high, and is covered 
 with good elk or buffalo hide, devoid of holes or open seam?. 
 The circumference of the lodge at its base is usually eighteen 
 feet. When the canvas or hide covering is well stretched over 
 it, the edges next the ground are firmly held to the earth by 
 large heavy stones. On the inside of the lodge the ground is 
 16
 
 264 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 smoothed, and in the center a hole is dug for a fire-place, in 
 which some ten or twelve large stones are always kept in readi 
 ness should any person need a sudden sweat. 
 
 If the science of medicine is not known, or there is no med 
 icine "man present with the band, the Indians are very solici 
 tons and superstitious about their sick. The Sioux are well 
 /ersed in anatomy, but the great secret of the causes and effects 
 of circulation of the blood is not known among any of these 
 Indians. All they know is, that it is essential to life that the 
 blood should be kept in the body. This they have discovered 
 from simple causes, such as seeing persons bleed to death from 
 wounds, or becoming weak from some slight accident, causing 
 little or no pain. They know that when they kill. an enemy, 
 unless he is shot through the heart or brain, he generally lives 
 till his blood is all gone, when he dies, but why, they can 
 not tell. 
 
 The young people who get sick are well taken care of, in 
 nearly every instance, but the old men and women are often 
 neglected, because, whenever they have any thing ailing them, 
 the people of the tribe think it is sinful to try and cure them. 
 They say whenever the Great Spirit calls for an aged person, 
 "whose days have been long on the earth, they should go." 
 So they allow nature, in such cases, k> take its course. If the 
 aged person gets well, it is all right, but if he dies, it is all the 
 same. To effect a cure for many maladies, the Indians prac 
 tice what is known as the "steaming process." The sick 
 person is stripped, taken into the tent just described, and the 
 opening or door firmly closed, to exclude all air. A fire is then 
 built in the middle of the lodge, and a dozen stones heated as 
 hot as they can be made. "Water is next poured on these stones, 
 whicn creates a great deal of vapor. The sick person is kept in
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 265 
 
 the lodge until the vapor subsides, when he is taken oiit com 
 pletely exhausted, and repeatedly plunged into cold water. 
 This is done as quickly as possible after taking the patient from 
 the sweat-house. The sweat-house is always built near the 
 banks of a body of cold water, so that the patient may not be 
 subjected to the air but a moment or two before being soused. 
 
 I became very unwell, one day, from the effects of the hot 
 weather and tepid water we always had to drink, having been 
 used to the water of the Missouri River, which is tolerably 
 cold. I kept in my teepee all day, and ate but little. But the 
 following night I had a violent attack of pain in my stomach, 
 and I sent my squaw, about one o'clock in the morning, to the 
 missionary's, to see if he had any laudanum or cathartics. She 
 returned with a small phial of laudanum, of which I took pretty 
 large doses. My pain was relieved for about an hour, but re 
 turned again. All the next day I experienced violent pains, 
 and I suppose they would have killed me had not my solicitous 
 squaw gone over to the old medicine man and told him of my 
 condition. He came into the teepee with the squaw, and, not 
 heeding my remonstrances, they gathered up the corners of the 
 robe I was lying on and started off with me. 
 
 I abused the squaw and medicine man outrageously, and 
 promised the squaw a geod thrashing when I should get well ; 
 but the old medicine man, who seemed to be used to cross pa 
 tients, only said, " He very sick ; he be better by and by. We 
 Bweat him heap." So, not minding my ravings and abuse, they 
 carried me to the sweat-lodge and laid me down on the ground, 
 when the squaw left me and went into a teepee, and brought out 
 a burning stick, which she carried into the little house built 
 close under the banks of the river. I saw smoke issuing from 
 the crevices, and p-esently the medicine man was told all was in
 
 266 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 readiness. The squaw then went with a sheet-iron kettle to the 
 river, and returned with it full of water. She set the bucket 
 down by the little house, and, at the direction of the old man 
 brought a long lariat, which he tied around my body under the 
 arms. After this, he and the squaw completely stripped me 
 and, holding to the lariat, the old man said, " Get up now, if 
 you can." 
 
 I tried, but I was too weak to rise. He and the squaw then 
 pulled me to my feet, and, lifting me off the ground, carried me 
 into the sweat-house. Here they placed me on my feet again, 
 the old man holding me up while the squaw spread out a 
 buffalo robe on the ground. I was next laid down on the robe, 
 close by the fire, and as soon as this was accomplished, the old 
 man received the kettle of cold water from the squaw, and 
 poured it on the hot stones, which hissed and fumed until a 
 dense vapor and smoke filled the place. 
 
 The old man hastily retired, and the opening in the lodge by 
 which I had entered was securely closed from the outside. The 
 hissing and sputtering of the water upon the stones was any 
 thing but pleasant to me, and in a little while I could scarcely 
 breathe, so dense was the steam, and the great drops of perspi 
 ration oozed from' every pore; then my whole body began to 
 grow clammy with moisture, and I called out to the old man, 
 whom I heard walking around the outside of the lodge, shak 
 ing a couple of rattling gourds, that I had enough of it, and to 
 take me out or I should die. He paid no attention to my cries, 
 and I began to believe I really should die, so I called the 
 squaw to help me, but she would not answer me. Then I lost 
 all consciousness, for how long I know not, but I was revived 
 by experiencing a drowning sensation, and in a moment felt 
 myself raised to the surface of the water by means of the rope
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 267 
 
 around my body, one end of which the old man, who was stand 
 ing on the trunk of a cottonwood tree, held in his hands. 
 
 With wonderful rapidity I felt myself reviving and my for 
 mer strength returning, and, after receiving one or two extra 
 douches, I struck out for the shore. I was seized at the bank 
 by the old fellow, who helped me out, and he and the squaw 
 began a series of heavy rubbing with a buffalo-skin towel, which 
 almost curried the hide off my back and ribs. After being 
 completely dried, I put on my limited wardrobe, and, singularly 
 enough, felt all right ; in fact, as well as if I had never expe 
 rienced a day's sickness in my whole life. 
 
 * I have many times since seen the sweat remedy employed for 
 nearly all the diseases the Indians have, and in most instances 
 it relieved the sufferer. The exceptions where the weat-bath 
 is not used, is where the person is dying, or a warrior has been 
 wounded ir battle.
 
 268 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 XIQHT SCENES IN AN INDIAN VILLAGE CHANTS OF THE MEDICINE MBN 
 SMOKING, STORY TELLING, AND DANCING WILD YOUNG MEN A STOKY TELL 
 ING PEOPLE GOOD LISTENERS PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL EVENTS AMONG 
 THE SIOUX REMARKABLE CORRECTNESS OF THEIR NARRATIVES WHAT NIEL 
 SAYS ABOUT THEM WAR SONGS DEEDS OF THE FOREFATHERS WHAT THg 
 
 YOUNG MEN ARE TAUGHT INDIAN GIRLS THEIR COQUETRY CHILDHOOD OP 
 
 THE INDIAN GIRL HER MARRIED LIFE ONE OF SLAVERY THE WAR PATH 
 CONSECRATION OF ANIMALS WAR AND CHASE DANCES. 
 
 IF you strolled through an Indian village at night, you 
 would be sure to hear the unearthly chanting of the med 
 icine man endeavoring to exorcise some spirit from a sick 
 man; or you would see a group lounging about, whiffing, 
 out of their sacred red-stone pipes, the smoke of red willow 
 bark. 
 
 A common sight, too, is that of young men sneaking 
 around a lodge, and waiting for the lodge fire to cease blazing 
 before they perpetrate some deed of mischief. You would also 
 hear a low, wild drumming, and observe a group of men naked, 
 with the exception of a girdle about their loins, and daubed 
 with vermilion, engaged in some of the grotesque and exciting 
 dances of the nation, and others, again, praying for the suc 
 cess of the expedition which they proposed making on the 
 morrow. 
 
 Again would be seen and heard the groups of story tellers,
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 269 
 
 and the occasional song sung by the hearers at the end of each 
 narrative. , 
 
 The Sioux are the greatest people in the world for story 
 telling, and their attention, when others are telling stories, ia 
 quite as remarkable as their colloquial powers. Some of their 
 tales and legends are very beautiful, and many of them are 
 marvelous. 1 shall find occasion to repeat a few of them in 
 another part of this work. 
 
 As before related, the manner in which historical events and 
 traditionary legends are preserved among the Indians, is by 
 their old men retaining the facts in their memory ; and occa 
 sionally in the cool evenings of summer, when the people 
 are lying around their villages, without having any hunt- 
 ting or warfare on their hands, telling them to listening 
 groups. 
 
 The Indians are possessed of peculiarly retentive memories, 
 and are always respectful and attentive listeners to the narra 
 tives of their old men. A tale once heard is remembered by 
 the hearers for years, and, in like manner, is handed down by 
 them to another generation. Thus, events of many centuries 
 are transmitted to posterity, and all the facts are remarkably 
 well preserved, and, what is still more wonderful, are nar 
 rated without comparatively any change from the original 
 version. , x 
 
 As Ngil, the historian, says, " You might enter a Da 
 kota village at midnight, and you would be almost sure 
 to see some few huddled around the fire of a teepee, listen 
 ing to the tale of an old warrior who has often been en 
 gaged in bloody conflicts with their old and present enemies, 
 the whites;" or you might hear some legendary tale of 
 deeds and events of the forefathers of the nation, who lived
 
 270 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 several hundred years before white men were known to tlu 
 Indians. 
 
 The earliest songs to which an Indian boy listens are those 
 of war, and his delight is in hearing, during the long sum 
 mer evenings, stories of bloodshed, and the deeds his forefathers 
 did before he was born. 
 
 As soon as the child begins to walk about, if a male, he is, 
 as has already been said, furnished with a little bow and some 
 blunt-headed arrows, which are the only playthings he is 
 allowed. 
 
 The little girls are early instructed in the art of paint 
 ing their faces, ornamenting their ears with rings, their necks 
 with beads, and their little moccasins with porcupine quills. 
 They soon become adepts in the art of coquetry, and cause 
 many a bashful youth to rue the day of his birth. 
 
 The days of her childhood are the only happy or pleasant 
 days the Indian girl ever knows. As soon as she is wedded 
 to a warrior, her life of toil and drudgery begins, which ends 
 only at her grave. This subject will be treated of more fully 
 in a subsequent chapter. With the boy it is quite different. 
 The first thing he is taught, as being truly noble and manly, 
 s taking a scalp, and he is eager until it is done. At the age 
 of sixteen he is frequently on the war path. When his friends 
 think he has arrived at the proper age to go to war, he is pre 
 sented with weapons, one giving him a bow, another arrows, 
 another a knife, and still another a horse. He makes his own 
 war-club. He then consecrates certain animals, or parts of 
 animals, which he vows never to eat until he has slain an en 
 emy. After he has killed one enemy, he is at liberty to eat a 
 certain portion of the animal from which he agreed to abstain. 
 If he kills another enemy, the prohibition is taken off another
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 271 
 
 part, until finally, by deeds of bravery, he has emancipated 
 himself from his oath. 
 
 Before young men go out on a war party, they endeavor to 
 propitiate their patron deity by a feast, music, and dancing. 
 During the night, before they are to start, they perform the 
 " Shield Dance," and follow the wild performance by ftastingj 
 drumming, dancing, and singing, interspersed with fierce shrieki 
 and yells.
 
 272 
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIE^. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 A SIOUX DOCTOR DERIVATION OF THE TERM MEDICINE MAN SUPERSTITIOH 
 ABOUT TAILS SUCKING DISEASE OUT OF A PATIENT SENDING FOR THE DOC 
 TOR WAR PROPHETS FUNNY WAY OF VISITING A PATIENT SYMBOLS AND 
 
 CHARMS CASTING THE BAD SPIRIT OUT OF A SICK MAN A WATER-CURE THE 
 
 IMAGE SHOOTING THE IMAGE PERILOUS POSTURE OF A WOMAN BCRYIXO 
 ' THE IMAGE WA-KAN TON-KA ANOTHER KIND OF INDIAN DOCTOR THB 
 
 PROPHETS THEIR FUNCTIONS AND EGOTISM RECEPTION OF WAR PARTIES 
 
 PAINTING AND DYEING SCALPS DANCING THE SCALPS HOW THE CERE 
 MONY IS PERFORMED GOURD-RATTLES A MISTAKEN THEORY ABOUT SCALP 
 
 DANCING WHAT BECOMES OF THE SCALP AFTER IT IS DANCED HOW 
 
 THE WARRIOR WEARS IT- THE EAGLE' S FEATHER WITH A RED SPOT 
 THE RED AND BLACK HAND THE MEDICINE MEN OF THE M ? DEWANKANTON- 
 WAN TRIBE FREEMASONRY OF THE OANKTAHEE IMITATION OF A MEDICINE 
 
 MAN A SEVERE ORDEAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CEREMONY CHANTS OF THE 
 
 MEDICINE MEN THEIR TRANSLATION AN ABSURD CONCEIT WHAT A MEDI 
 CINE BAG IS MADE OUT OF THE CONTENTS OF ONE EXPOSED. 
 
 UNTIL the past few years, the Sioux, whenever any sick 
 ness happened, believed they were possessed by the spirit 
 of some snake, bird, or animal. The Crow story of the super 
 stitious of that tribe, as narrated in this book, shows that, if the 
 Sioux have in time come to banish such erroneous beliefs about 
 tniinals, insects, and reptiles, taking possession of people's 
 bodies, the Crows still hang to it, and hence, their superstition 
 about " tails " of animals, which are said, and believed, to in 
 habit the stomach.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF 273 
 
 The medicine men of the Sioux are supposed to have unlim 
 ited strength and suction power of the mouth, so that by sucking, 
 alone, they can draw away the evil spirit from the sick man, 
 and thus cure him. 
 
 Before going any farther, it will, however, be best to explain 
 what kind of fellow the Sioux medicine man is. Any thing 
 mysterious and wonderful, or for which he can not account, is 
 always called Wii-cafi, or Wa-kah, (medicine). The early 
 French explorers called a doctor " medicin" and all Indians 
 have thereby called their doctors " medicine men," or Wa-ka, 
 Pa-zhir-ta, We-chii-sa (spirit medicine man). "A medicine 
 man " means, then, in the broadest Indian sense, " a doctor " 
 who calls to his aid charms and incantations to cure the sick. 
 The medicine men are divided into conjurers, or spirit doctors, 
 and war prophets. These latter are greatly feared by all the 
 tribes. 
 
 They have some very curious customs and ceremonies, which 
 to me seemed ridiculous, but my good sense and knowledge 
 of what was best for me, never allowed me to witness any of 
 their freaks of foolishness, except with a grave countenance, 
 and apparent respect and confidence in the power and ability 
 of the medicine man to do whatever he wished. I have seen 
 several cases of sickness under the hands of medicine men, and 
 a description here of the general mode of procedure may not 
 be uninteresting. 
 
 The doctor is always to be found seated in the medicine 
 lodge, unless attending a feast, or dance, or when out of an 
 evening walking for his health. As he never sends around 
 his "bills for professional services," he must receive his fees 
 in advance. Some one is sent to notify him that he is wanted, 
 
 and the request is accompained by a present of a pony, blanket, 
 
 24
 
 274 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 
 
 or something useful and valuable, for dress or ornament. Tht 
 messenger sometimes has a gourd-rattle, which he shakes at the 
 medicine man's door till he comes out ; again he takes a pipe, 
 lights it, goes into the medicine man's lodge, and hands him 
 the pipe ; then sits down in front of him, and rocking back 
 ward and forward, cries and groans, as though he were sick. 
 Again, the messenger strips himself to his breech-cloth and 
 moccasins, and carries the gourd-rattle in his hand. On en 
 tering the lodge, he shakes the rattle vigorously, walks up to 
 the medicine man, and unceremoniously kicks him. He then 
 jumps for the door, and having gained the outside, shakes his 
 rattle and runs for the sick person's teepee as fast as he can 
 the medicine man following close after him. If the medicine 
 man overtakes the messenger in his chase, and kicks him, the 
 doctor is at liberty to return to his teepee without having seen 
 the sick person, even if the messenger is overtaken within a 
 few feet of the sick man's door. The sick person then sends 
 another messenger, and so keeps on sending runners, with 
 presents, until one is fast enough to outrun the medicine man 
 and reach the sick lodge first. As soon as the messenger 
 beats the doctor to the sick man's teepee, the ghysician enters, 
 but, before going into the teepee, he strips himself, and wears 
 only his breech-cloth and moccasins. He now sends to his 
 lodge, where, in front of* the. doorway outside, hangs a large 
 rattle of the kind just mentioned, only this one is covered with 
 painted heiroglyphics, and ornamented with eagle's feathers at 
 the handle. The rattle, or gourd, with the drum, medicine 
 shield, and box containing roots, teeth, bear's and other 
 animal's claws, hangs on a pole outside the door of every medi 
 cine lodge in an Indian village. The rattle is brought to the 
 sick man's teepee, and the doctor begins to shake it, au<l sing 
 
 I
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 275 
 
 in a wild, chanting voice. This he continues for a few min 
 utes, when he gets down on his hands and knees and crawls 
 np to the patient. He hangs over the breast of the patient a 
 moment or two, and then rises to his feet, gags and makes 
 ugly faces, as if he was sick at his stomach and trying to 
 vomit. Presently he goes to a bowl of water and puts his 
 whole face into it, and, by blowing, causes bubbles to rise thick 
 around his face. He makes all believe (for it is their business 
 to believe) that he has blown into the bowl of water the spirit 
 which has been troubling the patient. The doctor next care 
 fully examines the water while carrying on a slow and almost 
 inaudible chaunt, and at length decides what species of animal 
 has possessed tho patient. He now makes out of bark an 
 image of the animal he has discerned in the bowl, and plunges 
 it in a kettle of water, set outside the door of the. teepee. The 
 animal of bark is to be shot, and two. or three Indians are in 
 waiting, with loaded guns, ready to kill it, whenever the doctor 
 tells them to do so. To make sure that the conjuring has the 
 desired effect, a woman must stand astride the kettle, with her 
 dress raised as high as the knees. The executioners are in 
 structed how to act by the doctor, and as soon as he makes his 
 appearance out of the lodge, they all fire into the kettle, and 
 blow the little bark image to pieces. The woman then steps 
 aside, and the doctor goes to the bowl on his hands and knees, 
 and commences blubbering in the water as he did in the teepee. 
 While this is going on, the woman has to jump on the doctor's 
 back with her feet, and stand there for a moment; when she 
 gets off, and as soon as he has finished his incantations, the 
 woman takes him by the hair of the head and pulls him back 
 into the sick man's lodge. If there are any pieces of the little 
 bark image left, after it is shot, they are buried under ground.
 
 271) 3ELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 If this does not cure the patient, a similar ceremony is per 
 formed; but some other animal is shaped out, each time, until 
 the patient gets well or dies ; and if he dies, the conclusion ia 
 arrived at, that the Great Spirit, or Wii-kan Ton-ka, was the in 
 habiting one in the patient, and, of course, could not be cast out. 
 
 There is another class of Indian medicine men I have as yet 
 barely mentioned, called prophets, or priests, who, by relating 
 stories of dreams they have had, or pretended to have had, and 
 by making exciting speeches or exhortations, endeavor to incite 
 the tribes to war against each other. 
 
 If a party is successful in securing scalps, they generally 
 paint their faces black and come home wild with delight. As 
 they approach the town or village, the people run out to meet 
 them and hear the news. They then conduct the warriors to 
 the council house, when the war prophet, or medicine man, meets 
 them at the door. He assumes great importance, and seems to 
 say, "Didn't I tell you so? I brought you all this good 
 fortune, and the credit is mine." The scalps are then pre 
 pared for exhibition, by being stretched on a small willow hoop 
 or ring, and painted red on the flesh side. They are next tied 
 to the top of a long pole, and set in the ground on some open 
 space, suitable for accommodating a dance, in which the whole 
 tribe can engage. If the scalp is a man's, they fasten an 
 eagle's feather to the hair ; but if it is a woman's, no ornament 
 of any kind is attached to it. The warriors who were on the 
 expedition, in which the scalp was taken, form a large or small 
 circle around the pole, and dance. If any of their party have 
 been killed, an equal number of other warriors who remained 
 at home, are selected for the dance, and their faces painted 
 black from the eyes to the edge of the hair. They are then 
 placed nearest to the pole, and do not dance, but stand per-
 
 BELPEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 277 
 
 fectly still. They represent, the Indians say, the dead men 
 who fell in the battle where the scalps were taken. The war 
 party now form a circle outside of the representatives of the 
 dead, and the villagers form another circle outside of the war 
 partv. Then the squaws, in two circles, are outside of the 
 warriors the oldest squaws forming the inner circle. The 
 members of the war party have each a gourd-rattle, or a small 
 drum, which they shake and play incessantly, singing all the 
 time the scalp song, which varies in almost every tribe. I have 
 heard three or four different scalp songs among the Sioux, and 
 believe there are several which I have never heard. Some 
 writer has stated, that "if a scalp is taken in the summer, the 
 Indians dance, and celebrate the event until the leaves fall, and 
 if it is taken in winter, they dance until the leaves come in 
 spring." This may be so with the Pawnees, but it is not the 
 case among the Sioux. The scalp is danced for only three 
 days and nights, the Indians stopping to feast and rest, a few 
 at a time for some moments, and then renewing the dance. 
 At the end of three days, the scalp is taken down and claimed 
 by the warrior who took it from the wearer's head. The 
 owner hangs it up in his teepee as a proof of his bravery, and 
 often wears it attached to his belt, or, if he has one there 
 already, hangs one on each side of his body. 
 
 An eagle's feather, with a red spot painted on it, worn by a 
 warrior in the village, denotes, that on the last war-path he 
 killed an enemy, and for every additional enemy he has slain, 
 he carries another feather, painted with an additional red spot 
 about the size of a silver quarter. 
 
 A red hand painted on a warrior's bMnket, denotes that he 
 has been wounded by the enemy, and a black one, that he has 
 l>een unfortunate in some way.
 
 278 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The medicine men, in the M'dewankantonwan tribe, have 
 a sort of freemasonry among them, of which they are the 
 founders, and this tribe is the only one of all the many tribes 
 that can initiate a warrior to the mysteries, superstitions, be 
 liefs, and rites, which all real medicine men are supposed to 
 possess. 
 
 In addition to their many other secret ceremonies, the 
 M'dewankantonkas initiate a candidate for the honors of 
 " M. D." as follows : The candidate is first introduced to the 
 cliief medicine men by participating in " the medicine dance." 
 This dance is said to have been instituted by Oanktahee, the 
 patron of all medicine men. The editor of the " Dakota 
 Friend," says truly, in his description of the dance : " When 
 a member is to be received into this society, it is his duty to 
 take a hot bath, four days in succession." In the mean 
 time, some of the elders of the society instruct him in the 
 mysteries of the medicine and Wam-noo-hah (shell in the 
 throat). He is also provided with a dish (Wajate) and spoon. 
 On the side of the dish, is sometimes carved the head of some 
 voracious animal, in which resides the spirit of "Eo-yah " (an 
 abbreviation for " Glutton God "). This dish is always carried 
 by its owner to the medicine feast, and it is his duty, ordina 
 rily, to eat all which is served up in it. "Gray Iron" (a 
 noted chief of former times), had a dish, which was given him 
 at the time of his initiation, on the bottom of which was 
 carved a bear, complete. The candidate is instructed with 
 what paints, and in what manner, he shall paint himself, 
 which must always be the same, when he appears in the dance. 
 There is supernatural Virtue in this paint, and the manner in 
 which it is applied; and those who have not been furnished 
 with a better, by the regular war prophets, wear.it into battle
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 279 
 
 "as a life-preserver. The bag contains, besides the claws of 
 animals, the " Toanwan " (influence or power), with which 
 they can, it is believed, inflict painful diseases and death on 
 whomsoever they choose. 
 
 The candidate being thus duly prepared for initiation, and 
 having made the necessary offerings for the benefit of the 
 institution, on the evening of the day previous to the dance, a 
 lodge is prepared, and from ten to twenty of its more sub 
 stantial members pass the night in singing, dancing, and 
 feasting. In the morning, the tent is opened for the dance. 
 After a few appropriate ceremonies, preliminary to the grand 
 operation, the candidate takes his place on a pile of blankets 
 which he has contributed for the occasion, and is naked, except 
 the breech-cloth and moccasins, duly painted and prepared for 
 the mysterious operation. 
 
 An elder having been stationed in the rear of the novice, the 
 master of the ceremonies, with his knee and hip-joints bent to 
 an angle of about forty-five degrees, advances, in an unsteady, 
 unnatural step, with his bag (containing medicine) in his hand, 
 uttering, " Heeu ! Heen ! Heen ! " with great energy, and rais 
 ing the bag near a painted spot on the breast of the candidate, 
 gives the discharge, the person stationed in the rear gives him 
 a push forward at the same instant, and as he falls headlong, 
 throws the blankets over him. Then, while the dancers gather 
 around him and chant, the master throws off the covering, and, 
 chewing a piece o? the bone of the Oanktahee, spirts over him, 
 and he revives and resumes a sitting posture. All then return 
 to their seats except the master; he approaches, and, making 
 indescribable noises, pats upon the breast of the novice, till 
 the latter, in agonizing throes, throws up the wamha (or shell), 
 
 which falls from his mouth upon the bag which had been, pre- 
 17
 
 280 BELDEIS: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 viously spread before him for that purpose. Life being now 
 completely restored, and with the mysterious shell in his open 
 hand, the new-made member passes around and exhibits it to 
 all the members and to the wondering bystanders, and the cere 
 monies of the initiation are closed. The dance continues, 
 interspersed with harmlessly shooting each other, smoking, and 
 refreshments, till they h?ve danced to the music of four sets 
 of singers. Besides vocal music, they make use of the drum 
 and gourd-shell rattle. 
 
 The following chants, which are used in the dance, will best 
 exhibit the character of this mysterious initiation of the 
 Oanktahee : 
 
 " Wa-du-la o-n'a me-ca-ga, 
 W'a-du-la o-n'a me-ca-ga, 
 Nim-ne ya-ta e-te wa-can de magti 
 Ton-ka ixdan. 
 
 n. 
 
 " Ton-ka ixdan pe-gi-hob-ta Wa-ca me-c'a-ga, 
 
 He we-ca-ke. 
 
 Min-ne ya-ta o-i-cii-ga w'a-ka ke magu ye, 
 Ton-ka ixdan e-te ke u-win-ta wo, 
 Wa-hoo-to-pa yu-ha e-te u-win-ta wo." 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 " He created it for me inclosed in red down, 
 He created it for me inclosed in red down, 
 He in the water with a mysterious visage gave me this, 
 My grandfather.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 281 
 
 n. 
 
 " My grandfather created for me mysterious medicine, 
 
 That is true. 
 
 The mysterious being in the water gave it to me ; 
 Stretch out your hand before the face of my grandfather, 
 Having a quadruped* stretch out your hand before him.'* 
 
 The medicine-bag is made of the skin of an otter, fox, 01 
 some other animal of long shape sometimes a skunk skin, 
 containing certain articles held sacred.f 
 
 * Quadruped is the only word we caa substitute for " WE-hoo-to-pa,'' 
 which is " four " (to-pa) " legs " (Wa-hoo). 
 
 f A warrior, leaving the village to go on a perilous hunting trip, left hia 
 pouch with a friend of the writer. The owner having died, he retained it, 
 and being at his teepee one day, it was at my request opened. The con 
 tents were some dried mud, a dead beetle, a few roots, and a scrap of 
 an old letter, which he had probably picked up near some old fort. 
 
 25
 
 282 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 OLD INDIAN DEEDS RASCALITY OF WHITE MEN JONATHAN CARVER'S DEED- 
 HOW THE INDIANS ARE CHEATED OUT OF THEIR LANDS INDIAN SIGNATURES 
 DEEDS AND CONVEYANCES TO DUCHARME CHEAP LANDS BITTER RECOLLEC 
 TIONS WHY THE SIOUX ARE DISTRUSTFUL OF THE WHITE MEN. 
 
 AS, no doubt, nearly all the readers of these pages are ig 
 norant of the modus operandi by which an Indian sale 
 or transfer of land is made, and as I have been at considera 
 ble trouble to collect every thing novel or entertaining about 
 Indians for this book, I will here insert some verbatim copies 
 of deeds made long igo by the savages to certain white persons. 
 That rare old historian, Neill, has given us much that is curi 
 ous, but he has by no means covered the ground; and what I 
 give will at least have the merit of being new. 
 
 The following is a true copy of the great Carver deed, over 
 which Congress wrangled for months in 1806, and which they 
 finally decided to be a valid conveyance : 
 
 CARVER DEED. 
 
 To Jonathan Carver, a chief under the most mighty and 
 potent George the Third, King of the English, and other na 
 tions, the fame of whose courageous warriors has reached our 
 ears, and has been more fully told us by our good brother 
 Jonathan aforesaid, whom we rejoice to see come among us
 
 BELDEN: THi; WHITE CHIEF. % 28'i 
 
 and bring us good news from his country, We, chiefs tjf the 
 Nandowissies, who have hereto set our seals, do, by these 
 presents, for ourselves and heirs forever, in return for the 
 many presents, and other good services done by the said Jona 
 than to ourselves and allies, give, grant, and convey to him, 
 the said Jonathan, and to his heirs and assigns forever, the 
 whole of a certain tract or territory of land bounded as fol 
 lows (viz.): From the Fall of St. Anthony, running on the 
 3ast banks of the Mississippi, nearly south-east, as far as the 
 south end of Lake Pepin, where the Chippeway River joins 
 the Mississippi, and from thence eastward five days' travel, 
 accounting twenty English miles per day, and from thence 
 north six days' travel, at twenty English miles per day, and 
 Prom thence again to the Falls of St. Anthony, on a direct, 
 straight line. We do, for ourselves, heirs, and assigns forever, 
 *ive unto the said Jonathan, his heirs and assigns forever, all 
 the said lands, with all the trees, rocks, and rivers therein, re 
 serving for ourselves and heirs the sole liberty of hunting and 
 fishing on land not planted or improved by the said Jonathan, 
 :iis heirs and assigns; to which we have affixed our respective 
 seals, at the Great Cave, May the first, one thousand seven 
 Hundred and sixty-seven. 
 
 HAW-NO-PATC-JA-TIN. 
 
 ^ 
 
 His Mark. 
 
 O-TOH-TON-GOOM-LISH-E-AW. 
 
 Hia Mark,
 
 284 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 In order to show in what way, and for what consideration 
 or price, Indian titles and claims were procured by the early 
 French traders and settlers in the north-west of Wisconsin, the 
 following extract is made from the records of Brown County, 
 of that State (Record-book B, pp. 110, 111): 
 
 (No. 1.) 
 
 En mille sept cent quatre vingt treize, trouvent present Wa- 
 bisipine et le Tabac noir, lesquels ont voluntairement abandonnez 
 et ce'de'z a Monsieur Dominique Ducharme, depuis le haut de 
 portage de Cacalin jusque du bout de le Prairie d'enbas, sur 
 quarante arpens de profondeur; et sur 1'autre cot6 vis & vis le 
 dit portage, quatre arpens de large, sur trent de profondeur. 
 Lesquels vendeurs se sont trouves contents, et satisfaits pour 
 deux barrils de Rum. Enfois de quois, ils ont faits leur 
 marques le vieux Wabisipine etant aveugle, les Tremoins ont 
 fait sa marque pour lui. 
 
 J. HARRISON, i 
 
 LAMBERT MACAULAY, / Tremoin8 > 
 
 Marque de Wabisipine. 
 
 Marqne du Tabac noir.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 285 
 
 (No. 2.) 
 
 Des serveuants aiant reclaims droit qu'ils avoient aussi dans 
 le Portage, ont vendties aussi leurs pretensions, et guarranti de 
 touts troubles. Out acceptur pour leur part, cinque galons de 
 Rum, lesquels se sont trouve's contents et satisfaits. En foia de 
 quois ont fait leur marques. 
 
 J. HARRISON, Tremoin. 
 
 L'AIGLB. 
 
 PE CA MEa X-"\ J SON FILS. 
 
 CHE MES. \ . j^- ^\ BITTE. 
 
 \^ 
 
 L'EGLEET. ( ITT I I '"H LE CASTRE. 
 
 (No. 3.) 
 
 Ratlfie" au' Portage du Cacalin 1'Annfee de notre Seigneur mil 
 sept cent quatre vingt seize; le 31me jour de Juillet, en mil cep 
 cent quatre vingt dix sept pour parte du portage une barrille 
 ram. 
 
 AOUT 8. 
 
 En mil cep cent quatre vingt dix huit, un barrille de rum 
 mele pour contenter les filles souscritant. 
 
 JUILLET 16. 
 Et en quatre vingt dix neuf un barrille de rum meles d mt
 
 286 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 tines pour contenter les differan entre eux. Lesquels se SOD 
 trouve comptcmps et satisfaite. 
 
 D. DUCUARMB. 
 
 CASTOR 
 
 LB TABA NOIR 
 
 WACHITTE. 
 
 WABISIPINE. 
 
 LB BUEUR. 
 D'L'AIGLE. 
 
 [Translation of the above Deeds and Entrie*.] 
 
 (No. 1.) 
 
 In one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, are found 
 present Wabisipine and the Black Tobacco, who have volunta 
 rily given up and ceded to Mr. Dominique Ducharme from the 
 head of the portage of Kakalin to the end of the prairie below, 
 by forty arpens in depth; and on the other side,. opposite the 
 said portage, four arpens wide, by thirty in depth. The said 
 vendors are contented and satisfied for two barrels of Rum. In 
 faith of which, they have made their marks. The old Wabisi 
 pine being blind, the witnesses have made his mark for him. 
 
 J. HARRISON, i 
 
 LAMBERT MACAULAY,/ mt 
 
 Mark of the Wabisipine of the attribute of the Kagle. 
 Mark of the Black Tobacco.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 287 >- 
 
 (No. 2.) 
 
 The undersigned, having claimed a right which they also 
 Lave in the portage, have also sold their claims, and warranted 
 from all troubles. They have accepted, for their part, five gal 
 lons of Rum, with which they find themselves content and sat 
 isfied. In faith of which, they have made their marks. 
 
 J. HARRISON, Witness. 
 
 THE EAGLE. 
 
 PE CA MES. HIS SON. 
 
 CHE MES. BUTE. 
 
 THE EAGLET. THE BEAVER, - 
 
 (No. 3.) 
 
 Ratified at the Portage of the Kakalin, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six ; the 31st 
 day of July, in one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, 
 on account of the portage, one barrel of rum. 
 
 AUGUST 8. 
 
 In one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, one barrel 
 of rum, mixed, to content the sons subscribing. 
 
 JULY 16. 
 
 And in ninety-nine, one barrel of rum, mixed a me sines, to 
 settle the difference between them, with which they find them 
 selves content and satisfied 
 
 THE EAGLE. THE BLACK TOBACCO. D. DUCHARME. 
 WACHITTE. THE BEAVER. 
 
 WABISIPINE. 
 THE DRINKER.
 
 288 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF 
 
 Land .was cheap in those days, and the Indians of the Sioux 
 tribe often sold theirs for a mere trifle such as a keg of pow 
 der, or a few gallons of whisky. These swindles afterward 
 caused great dissatisfaction, and the rascality of the whites was 
 remembered against them even to the third and fourth genera 
 tion. So well has the history of these transactions been pre 
 served, that the Sioux yet know all about them, and, to this 
 day, speak bitterly of the folly of their fathers in allowing the 
 white men to cheat them out of their ancient hunting-grounds. 
 It is this that causes the Sioux to be suspicious of the whites, 
 and to always sign treaties with the greatest reluctance.
 
 BELIXEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 289 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 HOW THE INDIANS COMPUTE TIME NO MONTHS IN THEIR YEARS NUMBER AND 
 DESIGNATION OP THEIR MOONS - A SUPERSTITION ABOUT THE EVIL SPIRITS 
 EATING THE MOON UP HOW THE GREAT SPIRIT REPLACES IT THE SIOUX 
 ALPHABET PRONDNCIATION OF THE LETTERS THE DOG DANCE WHY IT IS 
 SELDOM PERFORMED MANNER OF PERFORMING THE CEREMONY EATING RAW 
 DOG - WHAT PART THE SQUAWS GET IN WHOSE HONOR DOG DANCES ARE 
 MADE THE FISH DANCE ORIGIN OF THE CEREMONY THE SIOUX CHIEF - A 
 SINGULAR DREAM MODE OF CONDUCTING THE FISH DANCE NO ONE BUT 
 
 , CHIEFS ENTITLED TO SO GREAT AN HONOR. 
 
 Indians compute their time very much as white men 
 do, only they use moons instead of months to designate 
 the seasons, each moon answering to some month in our cal 
 endar. The word " we " in the Indian tongue always means 
 " moon," though it is often transposed in their sentences.* 
 
 I. JANUARY. 
 We-ter'-i " The Hard Moon." 
 
 IL FEBRUARY. 
 We-ca-ta-we' " The Raccoon Moon." 
 
 III. MARCH. 
 Ees-ta'-we-c'a'ya-za'we "Sore-Eye Moon." 
 
 * Many Indians add one moon to every twelve, which they call the 
 "lost moon." A day is a "sleep," and half a day mid-noon, which ia in 
 dicated by pointing at the sky over one's head.
 
 290 BEIJ5EN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 IV. APRIL. 
 
 MS-gflV-ka-de-we " The Moon in which the wild geese Iny eggs." Also 
 called Wo-ca-da-we, and sometimes Wa-to'pa-pe-we " The Moon when 
 the streams are navigable again." 
 
 V. MAT. 
 Wo-ju-'pe-we " The Planting Moon. 
 
 \ VI. JUNE. 
 
 Wa-jus-te-ca-sa-we " The Moon when the strawberries are red. 
 
 VII. JULY. 
 
 Ca-pa-s'a-pa-we or Wa-su'-pa-we " The Moon when chokeberries are ripe," 
 or " The Moon when the geese shed feathers." 
 
 VIII. AUGUST. 
 Wa-su'-to-we "The Harvest Moon." 
 
 IX. SEPTEMBER. 
 Psinh-na-ke-tu-we " The Moon when rice is laid up to dry." 
 
 X. OCTOBER. 
 We-w'a-ju-pe or W'a-zn'-pe-we " The rice-drying Moon." 
 
 XI. NOVEMBER. 
 Ta-ke'-u-ra-we " The deer-killing Moon," 
 
 XII. DECEMBER. 
 Ta-he'-ca-psu-we " The Deer Moon. 1 ' 
 
 The Indians believe that when the moon is full evil spirits 
 begin nibbling at it, to put out its light, and eat a portion e*ach 
 night until it is all gone. Then the Great Spirit, who will not 
 permit them to take advantage of the darkness and go about 
 the earth doing mischief, makes a new moon, working on it 
 every night until it is completed, when he leaves it and goes 
 to sleep. No sooner is he gone than the bad spirits return and 
 eat it up again. The savages think all evil deeds are com 
 mitted in the dark of the moon, and that it is a good time to 
 go upon any prowling or stealing expedition. They generally 
 will not start on the war path in the dark of the moon, but
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 291 
 
 ^ , 
 
 time their departure so as to arrive in the country of the eiiemy 
 between moons. 
 
 I will here introduce brief accounts of two curious ceremo 
 nies, caLed respectively the Dog Dance and the Fish Dance. 
 
 The dog dance is seldom performed, most Indians thinking 
 fc'X) much of their dogs to give them up for a feast. The dance 
 begins as on ordinary occasions, when suddenly some one 
 throws a clog into the middle of the crowd of dancers, and be 
 fore the unfortunate animal can make his escape, he is toma 
 hawked, cut open, his liver and heart taken out and tied to the 
 
 pole round which the Indians dance. 
 
 
 The dancers now hop around very lively, the mouth of each 
 
 watering for a bite of the delicious morsel hanging against the 
 pole. After three circles have been accomplished about the 
 pole, the highest in authority among the dancers steps up to it, 
 and, without touching the body with his hands, seizes a mouth 
 ful of the liver and then takes his place in the circle. 
 
 After the dancers have described another round, the next 
 warrior in rank comes up, and in like rnannei? takes his mouth 
 ful of dog, aud so on until all have had a bite of liver, when the 
 squaws come in for the heart, which they eat in the same man 
 ner. Should any person be generous enough to throw in an 
 other dog, the operation is repeated. 
 
 Tlwre is no special meaning or importance attached to thia 
 feast on ordinary occasions, but it is often performed at wed 
 dings, and when unexpected arrivals occur. The people then 
 dance to demonstrate their high esteem for the new comers, or 
 to show good-will for the warrior and his bride. The bride 
 groom, or the person in whose honor the dance is held, is ex 
 pected to contribute two or three dogs for the feast, and the 
 dam ing is kept up as long as the supply lasts. The capacity
 
 292 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 s 
 
 of an Indian stomach for dog meat is as infinite as it is 
 wonderful. 
 
 The jPisA Dance. A Sioux chief was very sick, and the med 
 icine men could not cure him, when one night, while the hot- 
 wind (fever) was upon him, he dreamed that a spirit told him, 
 if he would make a feast of raw fish, he would live until the 
 young cranes were grown. So he summoned his warriors, 
 related to them what had happened, and they all agreed to 
 make a ceremony and assist the chief in eating his raw fish. 
 
 After one or two days spent in the sweat-house and in danc 
 ing the " Shield Dance," a tent .was prepared, with the door 
 set toward the east. A long fence of willow bushes was then 
 built from one side of the door, around a considerable space to 
 the other side of the door, and within the inclosure was planted 
 a bush for each person who was to participate in the dance. 
 Nests were next built in the bushes, and early in the morning 
 of the day on which the feast was to take place, the master 
 informed two warriors where the fish were to be caught, how 
 many, and of what kind. These persons went out, and as the 
 chief desired, brought in two pike, each about one foot in 
 length, which they had speared in the river. 
 
 The chief then painted the pike with vermilion, and orna 
 mented their bellies and lower jaws with strips of wild-goose 
 down dyed red, and when complete they were laid on some 
 willows in the center of the inclosure, where they were left to 
 dry. Near the fish were a number of birch-bark dishes filled 
 with sweetened water, and the implements of war belonging to 
 the participators were placed in the tent. When all was in 
 readiness, the dancers, who were almost naked, fantastically 
 painted, and ornamented with down dyed red, yellow, black, 
 and white, formed in four ranks, and commenced to sing,
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 293 
 
 each rank in its turn accompanying the song witn drum u\d 
 rattles. 
 
 The drums are used by only the fourth rank, the first, sec 
 ond, and third ranks being singers. The dancers rest when 
 each rank has had a turn and ceased singing. Presently the 
 fourth rank begins to sing, the drums beat furiously, the 
 dancers leap, yell, and make frightful contortions of the face 
 and body, acting as much like demons as possible. Suddenly 
 the music changes, the dancers dash at the fish, and tear them 
 'with their teeth, eating the head, body, and entrails. Then 
 they swallow some mouthftils of the sweetened water, and 
 each, taking one of the large bones of the fish which are left, 
 deposit them in the nests made in the bushes, and the feast is 
 ended. 
 
 The Indians allege that the chief in whose honor this dance 
 was instituted lived until the cranes had become full-grown 
 birds, and then he died. Since then this feast is only prepared 
 for a chief who can not be cured of his sickness by the medi 
 cine men. A medicine man, however, if he is a chief also, 
 may have the benefit of a fish dance, but no one else except 
 chiefs are entitled to so great an honor. 
 
 The feasts and dances of the Indians are so near alike that 
 I do not deem it necessary to repeat the same details for each, 
 and will hereafter only describe them generally, when I have 
 occasion to refer to them at all.
 
 294 
 
 BELDEST: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 ! CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 x 
 
 MO-TONGA'S SADDLE HOW IT WAS MADE MY ANXIETY TO POSSESS IT 
 
 80A REFUSES TO SELL IT EFFORTS TO GET MY SQUAWS TO MAKE ME > 
 SADDLE THB RESULT MA-TO-SCA*S GUN THE GUN COVER HOW IT WAS 
 MADE. 
 
 HAPPENING into the teepee of Ma-to-sdi (White Bear), 
 one day, I saw one of his squaws working on a piece 
 of red cloth, garnishing it in a most tasteful manner with cut- 
 glass beads of different colors. Not knowing what the cloth 
 could be used for, being of a different shape from any thing I 
 had before seen, I inquired, and was told it was a saddle skirt. 
 The squaw had almost completed it, and I asked her who it 
 was for, when she told me it was a present for her husband. 
 She promised to bring it to my teepee when it was completed, 
 and let me see it, and three days afterward she brought it for 
 my inspection. The Indian saddle was made of buckskin, 
 having no frame, but being simply a 
 pad of doubled soft leather, stuffed 
 with antelope hair. The skirts were 
 long, very beautiful, and ornamented 
 with fringe. This saddle was only 
 used for riding on important occasions, 
 and was fastened to tke pony's back 
 aia-u>-sca'8 Saddle. by a girth or band of rawhide three
 
 BELPEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 205 
 
 inches broad, which was attached to the buckskin pad. No 
 buckles were used. A strong buckskin string fastened tha 
 girth to the pads. There were no stirrups, but soft loops for 
 
 Ma-to-sca's Saddle. 
 
 the feet. I tried to purchase this beautiful horse gear of White 
 Bear, but, he said, as it was a present from his squaw, he did 
 not like to part with it. I asked my squaws if they thought 
 they could make me one like it, and offered to give them each 
 a new dress of squaw cloth if they would do so; but they told 
 me frankly it was " heap o' work," and they did not know how 
 to lay off the patterns. Each of them, however, made me a 
 present of a pair of dancing moccasins, finely beaded, with little 
 brass hawk bells attached to the instep, and a magnificent pair 
 of beaded leggings, so I felt compelled to give them the new 
 dresses. 
 
 White Bear's saddle had a crupper made of buffalo hide 
 tanned soft, over which was laid blue squaw cloth liancl- 
 18
 
 296 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 soinely beaded and embroidered, and to the end of which was 
 attached long buckskin fringe. His bridle was made much in 
 the same fashion as those used by the whites, only that, in place 
 of being leather it was rawhide covered with red cloth, and 
 ornamented with diamond-shaped silver pieces, two of which 
 were placed on each side of the cheek pieces, and t\vo on the 
 brow and nose-band. 
 
 There was no throat-latch, and I believe I have never 
 seen any used by the Indians. The bit was a straight- 
 armed curb of Spanish pattern, and ornamented at the ex 
 tremities of the curb by pendant - chains about nve inches 
 long, to which was attached a silver plate. This swung back 
 and forth, glittering in the sun as the pony galloped. The 
 bridle alone was valued at thirty dollars, and, together with 
 the saddle, would have cost sixty-five dollars. 
 
 White Bear was fifty-five years of age, and a great dandy, 
 and very vain of his dress and ornaments. Though maimed, 
 he was always anxious to appear to advantage in the eyes of 
 the women. 
 
 Gnn Case. 
 
 Tie carried a gun of great length, and seemed to think a deal 
 of it. This gun was protected from rain and dampness by a 
 gaudy cover made of tanned elk hide, gorgeously beaded, and 
 ornamented with fringe cut from buckskin.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 297 
 
 He always carried his gun across the pummel of the saddle 
 when riding, and the fringe was so long it hung down on 
 each side in front of the rider's knees. These gun cases I 
 have seen many times among the Sioux, but had never seen 
 
 eo fine a one as Ma-to-sca's. 
 
 26
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 tHE OLD MAN HIS AGE A SINGULAR PERSON A JOVIAL PARTY YOUNG MEN 
 
 ' AND WOMEN GIVING THE OLD MAN HIS LAST SMOKE WHAT THE SQUAW 
 
 SAID ABOUT HIM DEATH OF THE OLD MAN. 
 
 JHAD often observed in the teepee of a good-natured old 
 squaw, whom I used to visit almost every day, a warrior, 
 whose hair was silvery white, and who was so old that no one 
 in the village knew his age. Several of the Indians told me 
 he was more than a hundred years old, and I would have 
 guessed him to be over that age, so venerable was his appear 
 ance. He was a paralytic, and always lay in the same posi 
 tion when I entered the teepee. He never looked at me or 
 any person in the lodge, and seemed barely alive. He could 
 not so much as move a finger, and always lay stretched out on 
 his back, being fed and attended by his daughter, who was 
 the old squaw I have just mentioned. 
 
 No one seemed to pay any attention to him, every one mak 
 ing the casual inquiry of " How is the old man to-day ? " and 
 the answer invariably was, " About as yesterday." Nothing 
 could disturb "the poor old fellow. Young, boisterous girls 
 and squaws would laugh, scream, and cut up pranks in the 
 lodge, but the^old man never heeded them. He was very tall, 
 over six feet high, I should think, but was a mere skeleton, 
 his skin and bones being yellow and transparent. He eagerly
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 299 
 
 sucked at a pipe whenever any of the company were good 
 enough to present the end of the stem to his withered lips; 
 but he never spoke or thanked them for what he seemed to 
 relish 00 much ; indeed, I believe he was never heard to speak, 
 though he could talk when he wished to do so. 
 
 One evening some four or five girls and a couple of young 
 warriors were with me at the old woman's lodge, and all were 
 laughing and enjoying themselves ; some of the girls quizzing 
 the young men as to whom they liked best among the females 
 of the village, and the warriors retorting by joking the girls. 
 All were noisy and boisterous, never heeding the old man, who 
 lay in one corner of the lodge. They had been laughing 
 heartily at a remark made by the old woman, when I hap 
 pened to look over to where the old man was lying, and tak 
 ing pity on him, I turned to one of the young men, and asked 
 him to let me have his pipe and kinnikinnick, and I would 
 give the old fellow a smoke. He handed me the pipe and to 
 bacco, and while I was cutting off some to fill the bowl, one 
 of the young men remarked, " I gave him a smoke a few 
 minutes ago, and he can not be very bad off." The old wo 
 man spoke up hastily, and said : " He 'd smoke all the time if 
 some one would hold a pipe, bother on him ! " I filled the 
 pipe and passed it to the young men to give -them a few puffs 
 first, as courtesy demanded, then held it to the old man's lips, 
 saying: "Father, here is the pipe, smoke in peace." He 
 deigned no reply, but drew in one or tw long puffs, and I saw 
 his lips moving as if he *vas praying. I smoked the pipe a 
 little to keep it lit, and put it to the old man's lips again and 
 again, but noticed that he did not press the stem, nor draw 
 away the smoke. Supposing he did not want to smoke any 
 more I went back to the company, and remarked, "We will
 
 300 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Lave to finish this pipe, for the old man does not seem to want 
 any more." The old woman said : " You put the stem in his 
 lips and he '11 smoke any time." I replied he had smoked at 
 first, but the last time I offered him the pipe he did not draw 
 away any smoke. I also told them of his moving his lips as 
 if in prayer ; and, having aroused the curiosity of all, we went 
 over to the old man's bed, and his daughter, lifting up his 
 hand, said: "He is dead." He was, indeed, dead, having 
 passed away without a struggle while he had been smoking. 
 . This singular as well as unfortunate man was much rever 
 enced in the village ; and the old woman told me he had been 
 lying as I saw him for fifteen years, having apparently lost the 
 use of his limbs through age. She put his yean it one hun 
 dred and eight.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 301 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 BIOUX WOMEX- -THEIR LIFE POLYGAMY AMONG THE SIOUX PRICE 3F WIVES-- 
 COURTING A SIOUX GIRL THE BRIDE GOING TO THE GROOM BUYING A 
 WHOLE FAMILY TO GET A WIFE WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ACCOMPLISHED IN 
 DIAN WIFE LABORS OF A SIOUX MOTHER SEVERE TREATMENT OF INDIAN 
 WOMEN AN EXAMPLE OF INDIAN CRUELTY SUICIDE AMONG THE INDIANS. 
 
 AS before stated in these pages, the happy days of a Sioux 
 woman is her childhood. When she arrives at the age of 
 puberty she is sold to a warrior for his wife, and then her life 
 of hardship commences. No matter how kind or loving her 
 husband may be, his quality as a warrior, and his superiority 
 as a man, will not permit him to depart from the old mles of 
 the tribe, which marks the weaker sex as the hewers, of wood 
 and drawers of water. All that is unusual for a white woman 
 to do, the Indian wife must do. She cuts wood, butchers, 
 dries meat, and waits on her liege lord. 
 
 The Sioux are notorious polygamists, and a war* for obtains 
 his wife or, more generally, another wife 'by a piactice as old 
 as the Book of Genesis, that of purchase. When a young 
 man courts a girl, and (which he seldom does) gets her to love 
 him, he then obtains her consent, and buys her from her 
 parents. 
 
 As a rule, when a warrior wants a wife, or an additional 
 wife, he announces the fact to his friends, and "begs them to use 
 their influence to procure him one. When she is found, he is
 
 302 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 notified of the fact, and he then goes to her lodge to see her, 
 the girl, in most cases, being ignorant of the object of his visit. 
 She generally, however, has a suspicion, for every girl, after 
 arriving at the age of maturity, is constantly expecting some 
 one to come for her. After the warrior has seen his future 
 wife, he leaves the lodge, and, if he is satisfied with her, takes 
 an early opportunity to consult her parents, when the price to 
 be paid for her is agreed upon. If all is satisfactory, the* girl 
 is then notified she has bee: a sold, and is, thereafter, to be con 
 sidered the wife of so and EC. She immediately packs up her 
 little keepsakes and trinkets, and, without exhibiting any emo 
 tion, such as is common to white girls, leaves her home, and 
 goes to the lodge of her master. On entering his teepee, where 
 he is waiting for her, he orders her to sit down on a blanket, 
 folded up for a seat and laid on the floor, and, if she obeys, she 
 thereby acknowledges him as her husband, and henceforth be 
 comes his willing slave. I have read somewhere that the an 
 cestors of many of the first families of Virginia purchased their 
 wives from a London company for one hundred and twenty 
 pounds of tobacco; but the Sioux pays a higher price for his 
 wives, and takes more of them. 
 
 The usual price for an Indian girl is an American horse, or 
 its equivalent, two ponies, four or eight blankets indeed, any 
 thing amounting in value to one hundred dollars. A warrior 
 sometimes falls in love with sever*! sisters, and, in that case, 
 buys the whole family. I once knew a young man who bad 
 about a dozen horses he had captured at different times from 
 the enemy, and who fell desperately in love with a girl of nine 
 teen. She loved him in return, but said she could not bear to 
 leave her tribe, and go to the Santee village, unless her two 
 sisters, aged respectively fifteen and seventeen, went with her.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 808 
 
 Determined to have his sweetheart, the next time the warrior 
 visited the Yankton village he took several ponies with him, 
 and bought all three of the girls from their parents, giving 
 rive ponies for them. A squaw wife can be sold by her hus 
 band to any one who wishes to buy her, but at a greatly re 
 duced price. Thirty or forty dollars is considered a large sum 
 for a second-hand wife. The squaws are valued by the middle- 
 aged men only for their strength and ability to work, and no 
 account whatever is taken of personal beauty. The girls are 
 always adepts in the art of beading and porcupine-quill em 
 broidering, and this is often of great assistance in selling them, 
 as most Indians like to have accomplished wives. Well indeed 
 does the Sioux woman deserve the sympathy of every tender 
 heart, for, from the day of her marriage until her death, she 
 leads a most wretched life. They are more than the hewers of 
 wood and drawers of water, for they are the servants of serv 
 ants. On a winter day the Sioux mother is often obliged to 
 travel eight or ten miles, and carry her lodge, camp-kettle, ax. 
 child, and several small dogs on her back and head. * Arriving 
 late in the afternoon at the appointed place of camping, she 
 clears the snow off the ground where the teepee is to be erected, 
 and then, in the nearest grove, cuts down some poles twelve or 
 fourteen feet in length, which she forms into a skeleton, or 
 frame-work, for the teepee cover ; she next unstraps her packs, 
 unfolds the teepee, and brings the bottom part to the base of 
 the poles, where she pins it fast to the earth with little wooden 
 pins cut for the purpose. 
 
 She next obtains a long pole, fastens the small end of the 
 
 * Young puppies are treated as tenderly as children, and, in faot, often 
 inhabit the same wicker baskets with the children.
 
 304 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 teepee cloth to it, then raises it up around the poles, pushing it 
 to the top, and stretching the cloth as tight as possible without 
 pulling the pins out at the bottom. The two edges of the 
 teepee cloth are then drawn around the poles until they meet, 
 when a seam is formed by sewing it with little wooden pins. 
 
 This seam extends from the bottom to the top of the cover. 
 She next goes inside the teepee, takes each pole in turn, and, 
 raising it, pushes the butt end out as far toward the center of 
 the lodge as the cloth will admit. When it is perfectly taut, 
 she makes a small opening at the top for smoke to escape. 
 This done, she rolls her baby in a robe, and leaves it in the 
 teepee while she goes to the timber for wood. Presently 
 she returns with about one-fourth of a cord on her back, 
 builds a fire, and then goes for water. The camp-kettle is 
 put on, and while it boils she cuts the meat and prepares sup 
 per. By the time the meat is done her husband arrives, jumps 
 off his pony, goes in and sits down to rest or eat, while his 
 wife takes off the pony's saddle and bridle, and pickets him out 
 to graze. When supper is over she gets an ax and cuts a 
 bundle of wood for the night. This done, if she receives no 
 further orders from her husband, she nourishes her child, and 
 sits down silent and tired to doze away an hour or two until 
 her master goes to sleep, when, having assured herself that he 
 is asleep, she folds her babe to her bosom, and, drawing her 
 blankets around her, lies down for a few hours' repose, only to 
 /vake to repeat her round of toil on the morrow. 
 
 The Sioux wife is subject to all the whims and caprices of 
 her husband, and woe be to her if he is a bad-tempered man. 
 So severe is their treatment of women, a happy female face is 
 hardly ever seen- in the Sioux nation, and the few met with 
 belong to single women.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 305 
 
 Often they become callous, and take a beating much as a 
 horse or ox does; but sometimes one of the more spirited 
 women rebels against the cruel treatment of her husband, and 
 resorts to suicide to put an end to her sufferings. An incident 
 occurred some years ago at a lodge which was pitched at the 
 mouth of the St. Croix Kiver, which will serve to show the 
 desperation to which Indian women are sometimes driven. 
 
 A warrior was continually drunk whenever he could get any 
 liquor, and he was seldom without it, often keeping a keg m 
 his lodge. Whenever he drank he was very abusive to his 
 wife, often beating her and her children unmercifully. One 
 day he went hunting, and, while he was gone, the poor woman 
 hid the keg of liquor, and upon his return he could not find it. 
 He demanded to know where it was, but she refused to tell him, 
 when he beat her cruelly, and so distressed was she that she 
 went to a grove of timber near by and hung herself with a 
 lariat rope. 
 
 Suicide is very common among Indian women, and con 
 sidering the treatment they receive, it is a wonder there is not 
 
 more of it. 
 
 27
 
 306 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XLY. 
 
 FROM THE WAR STARTLING INTELLIGENCE WHAT THE INDIAN BUS 
 NER SAID DETERMINE TO JOIN THE UNION ARMY PACK UP AND LEAV* 
 FOR THE STATES ARRIVAL AT FORT RANDALL PART WITH MY SQUAWS 
 THEIR RETURN TO THEIR TRIBE REACH OMAHA JOIN THE FIRST NEBRASKA 
 CAVALRY COL. BROWN'S EXPEDITION HOSTILE SIOUX CAMPING ON TUB 
 EEPUBLICAN THE SIOUX DEFEAT LIEUT. MURIE AFTER THE INDIANS 
 OUR CAMP ON THE SOLOMON A BUFFALO BULL IN CAMP HE KILLS TWO 
 HORSES DEATH OF THE BUFFALO EATING DEAR BEEF WHAT COL. BROWN 
 SAID. 
 
 "\"TE had heard occasionally of the great war being waged 
 ' * for the Union, but had received no very definite in 
 formation until one evening, an Indian, who had been far 
 down the Missouri, at one of the forts, camo into camp, and 
 brought the intelligence that the rebels were gaining victory 
 after victory, and that all the soldiers were leaving the plains 
 and going east to help fight the rebels. The Indian also said 
 the Government was going to raise volunteer troops on the 
 border to replace the regular soldiers who were going east, and 
 many Omaha, Winnebago, and Pawnee Indians were joining 
 the whites at the forts. I can not describe how these tidings 
 affected me. I could not sleep, and all night long walked up 
 and down the camp. Next morning my mind was thoroughly 
 made up to return to the east and help fight for the Union. 
 Ordering my squaws tp pack up the lodge, we at once set
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 307 
 
 out down the Missouri. After many days patient journeying 
 we arrived at Fort Randall, and there, bidding my squaws 
 good-by, I left them to make their way with my property to 
 their tribe, which was not far distant, while I continued my 
 journey alone to Omaha. 
 
 On arriving at Omaha I learned a mounted regiment wati 
 
 being fitted out for service on the frontier, and presenting my- 
 
 * 
 self, was duly enrolled a soldier of the United States army in 
 
 the First Nebraska Cavalry. The Indians, under the cele 
 brated Sioux chief. Spotted Tail, had become very troublesome, 
 and our regiment was ordered to join the expedition of Col. 
 Brown, then rendezvousing near North Platte, on the Platte 
 River. The expedition consisted of the First Nebraska Cav 
 alry, Twelfth Missouri Cavalry, and a detachment of the Sec 
 ond United States, and Seventh Iowa Cavalry Col. Brown, 
 the senior officer, commanding the whole force. 
 
 The snow was quite deep on the plains, and knowing that 
 the hostile Indians, who were then encamped on the Repub 
 lican .River, were encumbered by their villages, women, and 
 children, it was thought to be a favorable time to strike them 
 a severe blow. There were many Indians in our command, 
 among others a large body of Pawnee scouts. Early in Janu 
 ary the expedition left the Platte River, and marched south 
 ward toward the Republican. When we reached the river a 
 depot of supplies was established and named "Camp Wheaton," 
 after the general then commanding the department of the 
 Platte. This done, the scouting began, and we were ready for 
 war. Nor were we long kept waiting, for Lieut. James 
 Murie, who marched out to Short Nose Creek with a party of 
 scouts, was suddenly attacked by a large body of Sioux, and 
 six of his men wounded. Col. Brown considered this an nu-
 
 308 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 fortunate affair, inasmuch as the Indians, having learned by it 
 the presence of troops in their country, would be on the alert, 
 and, in all probability, at once clear out with their villages. 
 He determined, if it were possible, still to surprise them, and 
 ordered the command immediately into the saddle. We pushed 
 hard for Solomon's Fork, a great resort for the savages, but 
 arrived only in time to find their camps deserted and the In 
 dians all gone. 
 
 One evening, as we were encamped on the banks of the 
 Solomon, a huge buffalo bull suddenly appeared on the bluff 
 overlooking the camp, and gazed in wonder at a sight so un 
 usual to his eyes. In a moment a dozen guns were ready to 
 fire, but as the beast came down the narrow ravine washed by 
 the rains in the bluff, all waited until he should emerge on the 
 open plain near the river. Then a lively skirmish was opened 
 on him, and he turned and quickly disappeared again in the 
 gulch. Several of the soldiers ran up one of the narrow water 
 courses, hoping to get a shot at him as he emerged on the open 
 prairie. What was their surprise to meet him coming down. 
 He ran up one ravine, and being half crazed by his wounds, 
 had, on reaching the prairie, turned into the one in which the 
 soldiers were. As soon as he saw him, the soldier in front 
 called out to those behind him to run, but they, not under 
 standing the nature of the danger, continued to block up the 
 passage. The bull could barely force his great body between 
 the high and narrow banks; but before all the soldiers could 
 gst out of the ravine, he was upon them, and trampled two of 
 them under his feet, not hurting them much, but frightening 
 them terribly. As the beast came out again on the open bank 
 of the river a score of soldiers, who had run over from the 
 camp with their guns, gave him a dozen balls. Still he did
 
 THE WHITE CHIEF. 309 
 
 not fall, but, dashing through the brush, entered the cavalry 
 camo, and running up to a large gray horse that was tied to a 
 tree, lifted the poor brute on his horns and threw him into the 
 air. The horse was completely disemboweled, and dropped 
 down dead. The buifalo next plunged his horns into a fine 
 bay horse, the property of an officer in the Seventh .Iowa Cav 
 alry, and the poor fellow groaned with pain until the hills re 
 sounded. Exhausted by his exertions and wounds, the bull 
 laid down carefully by the side of the horse, as if afraid of 
 hurting himself, and in a moment rolled over dead. We 
 skinned and dressed him, and carried the meat into camp for 
 our suppers ; but it was dearly bought beef, at the expense of 
 the lives of two noble horses; and Col. Brown notified us he 
 wished no further contracts closed on such expensive terms.
 
 310 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 flFE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD ADVENTURE OF SEKGKAXT9 HILE8 \Xlj 
 ROLLA A DANGEROUS ENTERPRISE NELSON AND I HUNT FOR AN INDIAN 
 VILLAGE PERILOUS POSITION THE DISCOVERY THE FLIGHT AN INDIAN 
 TRAIL A RACE FOR LIFE SAFE RETURN TO CAMP SERGEANT HILEs's STORY 
 
 DEATH OF ROLLA CORRALLED IN A SNOW DRIFT A NARROW ESCAPE A 
 
 LONG WALK ALL RIGHT ONCE MORE. 
 
 \T7~HILE we lay encamped at the depot of supplies, on the 
 Republican, Colonel Brown called for volunteer scouts, 
 stating he would give a purse of five hundred dollars to any 
 one who would discover a village of Indians and lead the com 
 mand to the spot. This glittering prize dazzled the eyes of 
 many a soldier, but few had the courage to undertake so haz 
 ardous an enterprise. Sergeant Hiles, of the First Nebraska, 
 and Sergeant Rolla, of the Seventh Iowa, came forward and 
 said they would go upon the expedition provided they could go 
 alone. Both were shrewd, sharp men, and Colonel Brown 
 readily gave his consent, well knowing that in scouting, where 
 the object is not to fight, but to gain information and keep 
 concealed, the fewer men in the party the better their chances 
 of escape. 
 
 On the day after Hiles and Rolla had left camp, Nelson, who 
 had come down and joined the army as a guide, proposed tc me 
 that we should go out and hunt an adventure. My old love 
 Df Indian life was upon me, and I joyfully accepted his prop-
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 31 J 
 
 asitfon. I applied to Colonel Brown for permission to set out 
 at once, but he declined to grant my request, on the ground 
 that it was not necessary or proper for an officer to engage in 
 such an enterprise. I, however, coaxed the colonel a little, 
 and he finally told me I might go. 
 
 Packing several days supplies on a mule, as soon as it was 
 dark Nelson and I started, he leading the mule, and I driving 
 him from behind. We traveled over to the Little Beaver, 
 then up the stream for some distance, when we crossed over 
 and camped on Little Beaver. Here we expected to find In 
 dian signs, but were disappointed. We rested for a short time, 
 and then traveled down the Beaver until opposite Short Nose 
 Creek, when we crossed the divide and camped on that stream. 
 Two days later we pushed on to Cedar Creek, and then crossed 
 over to Prairie Dog Creek. We had traveled only at night, 
 hiding away all day in the brush that lined the creeks, and 
 keeping a sharp lookout for Indians. So far we had seen no 
 Indian signs, and began to despair of finding any, when one 
 morning, jjust as I was lighting the fire to cook our breakfast, 
 I heard several shots fired, apparently four or five miles up 
 the creek. Nelson run out on the bluif, and, applying his 
 ear to the ground, said he could distinctly hear the reports 
 of many rifles. We could not imagine what this meant, and 
 withdrew into the bluifs to " make it out," as the old trappers 
 gay. 
 
 Nelson was the first speaker, and he gave it as his opinion 
 that Colonel Brown, who had told us before leaving camp he 
 would soon start for the Solomon, had set out earlier than he 
 expected, and was now crossing above us. I set my compass, 
 and, finding we were nearly on the line where Brown would 
 cross, readily fell in with Nelson's reasoning. So sure was X 
 19
 
 312 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 that the guns we had heard were Colonel Brown's soldiers out 
 hunting, that I proposed we should saddle up and go to them 
 This move came near proving fatal to us, as will presently ap 
 pear. We rode boldly up the stream, in broad daylight, some 
 five miles, when, not finding any trail, I began to express my 
 gurprise at the long distance we had heard the reports of the 
 guns, but Nelson told me it was no uncommon thing, when snow 
 was on the ground, to hear a rifle shot ten to twenty miles along 
 a creek bottom, and, incredible as this may seem, I found out 
 afterward it was nevertheless true. 
 
 We rode on about five miles further, when suddenly Nelson 
 halted, and, pointing to an object a long distance ahead, said he 
 believed it was a horseman. We lost no time in getting into 
 the bluffs, where we could observe what went on without being 
 seen, and soon saw an animal coming rapidly down the creek 
 bottom. As it drew near, we discovered it to be a horse, evi 
 dently much frightened, and flying from pursuers. The horse 
 galloped past, but stopped half a mile below us and quietly 
 went to grazing, every now and then raising his head and look 
 ing up the creek, as if he expected to see some enemy following 
 him. We lay for several hours momentarily expecting to see a 
 body of Indians coming down the creek, but none came, and at 
 noon Nelson said I should watch, and he would crawl down the 
 creek and see if he could discover any thing from the horse. I 
 saw Nelson approach quite near the animal, and heard him 
 calling it, when, to my surprise, it came up to him and followed 
 him into the bluffs. The horse was the one Sergeant Hiles had 
 ridden from the camp a few days previous, and was well known 
 to Nelson and me as a superb animal, named " Selim." 
 
 It did not take us long to come to the conclusion that Hiles 
 and Holla had been attacked, and that the firing we had heard
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 313 
 
 iu the morning was done by Indians. From the fact that Hiles'a 
 horse had no saddle on when found, we concluded he had been 
 in the hands of the Indians, and probably broken, away from 
 them, and we doubted not that at least Hiles was dead. 
 
 Fearing the savages would come down upon us next, we lost 
 no time in getting down the creek. We soon passed where we 
 had encamped the night before, and, finding the fire till burn 
 ing, put it out, and, covering up the ashes, pushed on for sev 
 eral miles and camped among the bluffs. Nelson carried up 
 several logs from the creek, with which to make a barricade in 
 case of attack, and, Nelson taking the first watch, I laid down 
 to sleep, without fire or sMpper, except a. piece of raw pork. 
 
 At nine o'clock I arose to watch, and soon after midnight, 
 the moon coming up bright and clear, I awoke Nelson, and 
 suggested to him we would saddle up and cross over to Cedar 
 Creek, 'for I had a strong presentiment that some misfortune 
 would befall us if we remained longer where we were. It is not a 
 little singular, but true, that man has a wonderful instinct, and 
 can nearly always divine coming trouble or danger. This instinct 
 in the frontiersman, of course, is wonderfully developed by the 
 perilous life he leads; but, call it presentiment or what you will, 
 this instinct exists in every beast of the field, as well as in the 
 human breast, and he who follows it can have no safer guide. 
 Several times have I saved my life by obeying the dictates of 
 that silent monitor within, which told me to go, and yet gave 
 no reason for my going. 
 
 We had not ridden far when we came upon *a heavy Indian 
 trail, and found it not more than four or five hours old. The 
 tracks showed some fifty ponies, and all going in the direction 
 of the Republican. We were now convinced that Holla had 
 escaped and the Indians were pursuing him. Following on
 
 314 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the trail for some distance, until we came to a bare spot on the 
 bluff where our horses would leave no tracks in the snow, we 
 turned to the left, and, whipping up the ponies, struck out foi 
 a forced march. We knew the Indians might return at any 
 moment, and if they should find our trail they would follow 
 us like blood-hounds. 
 
 All night long we pushed on, halting only at sunrise tc eal 
 a bite and give our poor ponies a few mouthfuls of grass. 
 Again we were off, and throughout the day whipped and 
 spurred along our animals as rapidly as possible. At night 
 we halted for two hours to rest, and then mounted the saddle 
 once more. On the fifth day we met a company of cavalry that 
 had been sent out by Col. Brown to look for us, and with them 
 we returned to camp. 
 
 We learned from the cavalrymen that Sergeant Hiles 
 had been attacked by Indians, and Sergeant Holla had been 
 killed. Hiles, though he had lost his horse, had managed to 
 work his way back to camp on foot, where -he had arrived 
 the morning they left camp, nearly starved. We had gone 
 much out of our way to escape the Indians who had followed 
 Hiles; but since we had succeeded in avoiding them and sav 
 ing our scalps, we did not care a fig for our long and tiresome 
 journey. 
 
 Sergeant Hiles related to me his adventures after leaving 
 camp, and I will here repeat them as a sequel to my own. Ho 
 said : " Holla and I traveled several days, and finally pulled up 
 on Prairie Dog Creek. We had seen no Indians, and were be 
 coming careless, believing there were none in the country. One 
 morning just about day-break I built a fire, and while Holla 
 and I were warming ourselves we were fired upon by some 
 forty Indians. Rolla fell, pierced through the heart, and died
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 315 
 
 instantly. How I escaped I know not, for the balls whistled 
 all around me, knocking up the fire, and even piercing my 
 clothing, yet I was not so much as scratched. 
 
 " I ran to my horse, which was saddled and tied near by, 
 and flinging myself on his back, dashed across the prairies. 
 The Indians followed, whooping and yelling like devils, and 
 although their ponies ran well, they could not overtake my 
 swift-footed Selirn. I had got well ahead of them, and was 
 congratulating myself on my escape from a terrible death, 
 when suddenly Selim fell headlong into a ravirte that was 
 filled with drifted snow. It was in vain I tried to extricate 
 him; the more he struggled the deeper he sank. Knowing 
 the Indians would be up in a few minutes, I cut the saddle- 
 girths with my knife, that the horse might be freer in his 
 movements, and then, bidding 'him lie still, I took my pistols 
 and burrowed into the snow beside him. After I had dug 
 down a little way, I struck off in the drift, and worked my 
 way along it toward the valley. I had not tunneled far before 
 I heard the Indians cornfhg, and, pushing up my head, I cut 
 a small hole in the crust of the snow, so I could peep out. As 
 the savages came up they began to yell, and Selim, making a 
 great bound, leaped upon the solid earth at the edge of the ra 
 vine, and dragging himself out of the drift, 'galloped furiously 
 across the prairies. Oh ! how I wished then I was on his back, 
 for I knew the noble fellow would soon bear me out of reach 
 of all danger. 
 
 " The Indians divided, part of them going up the ravine 
 and crossing over to pursue Selim, while the rest dismounted 
 to look for his rider. They carefully examined the ground all 
 around to find my trail, but not finding any they returned and 
 searched up and down the ravine for me. Two or three times
 
 316 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 they punched in the snow near me, and once an Indian passed 
 within a few feet of my hole. Great drops of perspiration 
 stood on my forehead, and every moment I expected to be dis 
 covered, dragged out, and scalped, but I remained perfectly 
 still, grasping my pistols, and determined to sell my life aa 
 dearly as possible, and make it cost the red-skins at least three 
 of their number. 
 
 " After awhile the Indians got tired searching for me, 
 and drew off to consult. I saw the party that had gone in 
 pursuit of "Selim rejoin their companions, and I was not a 
 little gratified to observe they did not bring back my gal 
 lant steed with them, from which I knew he had made his 
 escape. 
 
 " The Indians mounted and rode down the ravine, examin 
 ing every inch of ground for my trail. As I saw them move 
 off hope once more revived in my breast; but in an hour they 
 came back and again searched the drift. At last, however, 
 they went off without finding me, and I lay down to rest, so 
 exhausted was I, from watching and excitement, that I could 
 not stand. I knew I did not dare to sleep, for it was very 
 cold, and a stupor would come upon me. All that day and 
 night and the next day I lay in the drift, for I knew the In 
 dians were watching it. 
 
 "On the second night, as soon as it was dark, I crawled 
 out, and worked my way to the foot of the ravine. At first 
 I was so stiff and numb I could hardly move hand or foot, 
 but as I crawled along the blood began to warm up, and soon 
 I was able to walk. I crept cautiously along the bluffs until 
 I had cleared the ravine, and then, striking out on the open 
 prairie, steered to the northward. Fortunately, the first day 
 out I shot an antelope and got some raw meat, which kept me
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 317 
 
 from starving. In two days and a half I reached the camp, 
 nearly dead from fatigue and hunger, and was thoroughly glad 
 to be at home in my tent once more with a whole scalp on my 
 head." 
 
 We had not found an Indian village, and none of us got the 
 $500, but we had all had a glorious adventure, and that to a 
 frontiersman is better than money.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 HUNTING WILD TURKEYS ON THE MEDICINE THE LOST TRAIL - WAITING KOH 
 THE COMMAND - BAG A FINE ELK HUNTING FOR THB TRAIL - TWO INDIANS 
 WE CAMP OUT AN ADVENTURE WITH WOLVES CAYOTES AND BUFFALO 
 WOLVES NINE DEAD WOLVES THE FATAL LEAP A BUSY NIGHT - ON THB 
 MARCH THE TRAIL LOST - CAMP OUT AGAIN MORE WOLVES CANNIBALS 
 STRIKING FOR HOME THE OAMP FOUND - IN MY OWN TENT PLEASANT RE 
 FLECTIONS AND REST. * 
 
 we lay in camp on Medicine Creek, Colonel 
 Brown sent for me, and ordered me to look up and 
 map the country. I was detached as a topographical engineer, 
 and this order, relieved me from all company duty, and en 
 abled me to go wherever I pleased, which was not a little grat 
 ifying to one so fond of rambling about. 
 
 Packing my traps on my pony one day, I set out down the 
 Medicine ahead of the command, intending to hunt wild tur 
 keys until near night, and then rejoin the command before it 
 went into camp. The creek bottom was alive with turkeys, 
 the cold weather having driven them to take shelter among the 
 bushes that lined the creek. I had not gone far when a dense 
 fog arose, shutting out all objects, even at the distance of a few 
 feet. It was a bad day for hunting, but presently as I rcxle 
 along I heard a turkey gobble close by, and, dismounting, I 
 crept through the bushes and peered into the fog as well as I
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 319 
 
 could. I saw several dark objects, and drawing up my double- 
 barreled shot-gun, fired at them. Hardly had the noise of the 
 explosion died away, when I heard a great flopping in the 
 bushes, and on going up to it found a large turkey making hia 
 last kicks. I picked him up and was about to turn away, 
 when I saw another fine old gobbler desperately wounded, but 
 trying to crawl off. I ran after him, but he hopped along so 
 fast I was obliged to give him the contents of my other barrel 
 to keep him from getting away into the thick brush. 
 
 I had now two fine turkeys, and, as the day was bad, de 
 termined to go no ftirther, but ascend the bluffs and wait for 
 the command. I went out on the prairie, and made a diligent 
 search for the old trail, but, as it was covered some seven 
 inches deep with snow, I could not find it. Knowing the 
 command would pass near the creek, I went back to hunt, 
 thinking I would go up after it had passed, strike the trail, 
 and follow it into camp. 
 
 I had not gone far down the creek when I ran into a fine 
 elk, and knocked him over with my Henry pifle. I cut off the 
 choice pieces, and, packing them on my pony, cnce more set 
 out to find the trail. I knew the command had not passed, 
 and ascended the highest point on the bluff, straining my eyes 
 to see if I could not discover it moving. I waited several 
 hours, but not finding it, I concluded it had not marched by 
 the old trail, but struck straight across the country. I now 
 moved up the creek, determined to keep along its bank until 
 I came to the old camp, and then follow the trail. I had not 
 gone far when I came upon two Indians who belonged to my 
 company, and who were also looking for the command. 
 
 Night was coming on, the wind rising, and the air growing 
 bitter cold, so I said to the Indians we would go down th
 
 320 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 creek where there was plenty of dry wood, and make a night 
 camp. They readily assented, and we set out, arriving at a 
 fine grove just before dark. 
 
 While one of the Indians gathered wood, the other one and 
 I cleared away the snow to make a place for our camp. The 
 snow in the bottom was nearly three feet deep, and when we 
 had bared the ground a high wall was piled up all around 
 us. The wood was soon brought, and a bright fire blazing. 
 After warming ourselves we opened a passage through the 
 snow for a short distance, and, clearing another spot, led our 
 horses into this most perishable of stafeles. Our next care 
 was to get them some cottonwood limbs to eat, * and then we 
 gathered small dry limbs and made a bedstead of them on 
 which to spread our blankets. Piling on more wood until the 
 fire roared and cracked, we sat down in the heat of the blaze, 
 feeling quite comfortable, except that we were desperately 
 hungry. Some coals were raked out, the neck of the elk cut 
 off and spitted on a stick to roast. When it was done we 
 divided it, and, sprinkling it with a little pepper and salt from 
 our haversacks, had as savory and wholesome a repast as any 
 epicure might desire. After supper, hearing the cayotes howl 
 ing in the woods below, I had the Indians bring in my saddle, 
 to which was strapped the elk meat, and, cutting the limb off a 
 tree close by the fire, we lifted the saddle astride of the stump 
 so high up that the wolves could not reach it. All being now 
 
 * The Indians often feed their horses on cottonwood limbs. Officers 
 on the plains give their horses cottonwood to eat when they can get 
 no feed or grass, and say the bark of the cottonwood is almost as 
 nutritious as hay. A horse will chew up limbs as thick as a man's 
 thumb, and in wintertime eat the bark off every cottonwood tree he can 
 reach EDITOR.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 321 
 
 in readiness for the night, we filled our pipes and sat down to 
 smoke and talk. 
 
 At nine o'clock the Indians replenished the fire, and, feeling 
 eleepy, I wrapped myself in my blankets and lay down to rest. 
 I soon fell asleep, and slept well until near midnight, when I 
 was awakened by the snapping and snarling of the wolves near 
 the fire. The wood had burned down to a bed of coals, and 
 gave but a faint light, but I could see a dozen pair of red eyes 
 glaring at me over the edge of the snow-bank. The Indians 
 were sound asleep, and, knowing they were very tired, I did not 
 awake them, but got my gun, and, wrapping myself in my 
 blankets, sat up by the fire to watch the varmints and warm my 
 feet. Presently I heard a long wild howl down in the woods, 
 and knew by the " whirr-ree, whirr-ree " in it that it proceeded 
 from the throat of the dreaded buffalo wolf, qr Kosh-6-nee, of 
 the prairies. There was another howl, then another, and 
 another, and, finally, a loud chorus of a dozen. Instantly 
 silence fell among the cayotes, and they began to scatter. For 
 it time all was quiet, and I had begun to doze, when suddenly 
 the coals flew all over me, and I opened my eyes just in time 
 to see a great gray wolf spring out of the fire and bound up 
 the snow-bank. I leaped to my feet and peered into the dark 
 ness, where I could see scores of dark shadows moving about, 
 and a black cluster gathered under my saddle. I called the In 
 dians, who quietly and nimbly jumped to their feet, and came 
 forward armed with their revolvers. I told them what had 
 happened, and that we were surrounded by a large pack of gray 
 wolves. We had no fear for ourselves, but felt uneasy lest 
 they might attack our horses, who were pawing and snorting 
 with alarm. I spoke to them kindly, and they immediately 
 
 became quiet. At the suggestion of the Indians I brought 
 
 28
 
 322 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 forward my revolvers, and we all sat down to watch the var> 
 mints, and see what they would do. 
 
 In a few minutes, a pair of fiery, red eyes, looked down at 
 us from the snow-bank ; then, another and another pair, until 
 there were a dozen. We sat perfectly still, and presently one 
 great gray wolf gathered himself, and made a leap for the elk- 
 meat on the saddle. He nearly touched it with his nose, but 
 failed to secure the coveted prize, and fell headlong into the fire. 
 We fired two shots into him, and he lay still until one of the 
 Indians pulled him out to keep his hair from burning and 
 making a disagreeable smell. In about five minutes, another 
 wolf leaped at the elk-meat and fell at our feet. We dispatched 
 him as we had done the first one, and then threw him across 
 the body of his dead brother. So we kept on firing until we 
 had killed eighty wolves, when, tired of killing the brutes with 
 pistols, I brought out my double-barreled shot gun, and load 
 ing each barrel with nine buck-shot, waited until they were 
 gathered thick under the tree on which hung my meat, and then 
 let them have it. Every discharge caused some to tumble 
 down, and sent the rest scampering and howling to the rear. 
 Presently they became more wary, and I had to fire at them at 
 long range. 
 
 The Indians now went out and gathered some dry limbs, 
 and we kindled up a bright fire. Next we threw the car 
 casses of the nine dead wolves, that were in our camp, 
 over the snow-bank, and knowing that the beasts -would 
 not come near our bright fire, two of us lay down to 
 sleep, while the third remained up to watch and keep the fire 
 burning. 
 
 The cayotes now returned, and with unearthly yells, attacked 
 their dead betters, snapping, snarling, and quarreling over their
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 32J 
 
 carcasses as they tore the flesh and craunched the bones of the 
 lead wolves: 
 
 We rose at daylight, and, through the dim light, could see 
 the cayotes trotting off to the swamp, while near the camp lay 
 heads, legs, and piles of cleanly licked bones, all that was left 
 of the gray wolves we had killed. 
 
 After breakfast, we set out to find the command, striking 
 across the country, expecting to come upon the trail. We 
 traveled all day, however, and saw no trail. At night we 
 camped out again, and were scarcely in camp, when we again 
 heard the wolves howling all around us. They had follow r ed 
 us all day, no doubt expecting another repast, such as had been 
 served to them the night before. We, however, kept a bright 
 fire burning, and no gray wolves came about; so the cayotes 
 were disappointed, and vented their disappointment all night 
 long in the most dismal howls I ever heard. At times, it 
 seemed as though there were five hundred of them, and join 
 ing their voices in chorus, they would send up a volume of 
 sound that resembled the roar of a tempest, or the discordant 
 singing of a vast. multitude of people. 
 
 While we cooked breakfast, a strong picket of wolvei 
 watched all around the camp, feasting their greedy eyes from a 
 distance on my elk-meat. When we started from camp, a hun 
 dred or more of them followed us, often coming quite close to 
 the pack-pony, and biting and quarreling about the elk that was 
 never to be their meat. When we halted, they would halt, 
 and sitting down, loll out their red tongues and lick the 
 snow. At length, I took my shot-gun, and loading the 
 barrels, fired into the thickest of the pack. Two or three 
 were wounded, and no sooner did their companions discover 
 that they were bleeding and disabled, than they fell upon
 
 324 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 them, tore them to pieces, and devoured every morsel of theii 
 flesh. I had seen men who would do the same thing with 
 their fellows, but until I witnessed the contrary with my own 
 eyes, I had supposed this practice was confined to the superior 
 brute creation. 
 
 The third day out, finding no trace of the command, we 
 concluded to go back to the Medicine and seek the old camp, 
 from which place we could take the trail and follow up until we 
 came upon it. We reached the Medicine at sun-down, and 
 there, to our satisfaction, found the troops still in camp, where 
 we had left them, they not having marched in consequence of 
 the cold and foggy weather. 
 
 I was soon in my own tent and sound asleep, being thoroughly 
 worn out with '.he exposure and fatigue of my long journoy.
 
 BEJJ>EN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 325 
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 HUNTING MY PONY ON THE PRAIRIE CAUGHT BY INDIANS HOW I FOOLED 
 THEM WAYLAYING THE STAGE-COACH A NICE OCCUPATION FOR A UNITED 
 STATES OFFICER A DISAPPOINTMENT TO THE INDIANS, BUT NOT TO ME THH 
 INDIANS BECOME IMPATIENT AND LEAVE LEFT BEHIND RUNNING TO THH 
 RANCHE THE COACH ITS CONDITION THE ATTACK THE RESULT SAFE 
 AT THE RANCHE. 
 
 T WAS sent down from Camp Cottonwood (now Fort 
 -- McPherson), with thirty men, to Oilman's Ranche, fifteen 
 miles east of Cottonwood on the Platte, where I was to re 
 main, guard the ranche, and furnish guards to Ben Holliday's 
 overland stage coaches. In those days, Oilman's was an 
 important place, and in earlier times, had been a great trading 
 point for the Sioux. Two or three trails led from the Repub 
 lican to this place, and every winter the Sioux had come in 
 with their ponies loaded down with buffalo, beaver, elk, and 
 deer skins, which they exchanged with the traders at Oilman's. 
 War had, however, put a stop to these peaceful pursuits ; still 
 the Sioux could not give up the habit of traveling these favorite 
 trails. The ponies often come in from the Republican, not now 
 laden with furs and robes, but each bearing a load of beastiality 
 called a Sioux warrior. The overland coaches offered a great 
 temptation to the cupidity and vices of the Sioux, and they 
 were not slow to avail themselves of any opportunity to attack
 
 326 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 them. The coaches carrier! the mails and much treasure, and 
 if the savages could now and then succeed in capturing one, 
 they got money, jewels, scalps, horses, and not uufrequently 
 white women, as a reward for their enterprise. 
 
 Troops were stationed in small squads at every station, 
 about ten miles apart, and they rode from station to station on 
 (he top of all coaches, holding their guns ever ready for action. 
 It was not pleasant, this sitting perched up on top of a coach, 
 riding through dark ravines and tall grass, in which savages 
 were ever lurking. Generally, the first fire from the Indians 
 killed one or two horses, and tumbled a soldier or two off" the 
 top of the coach. This setting one's self up as a sort of target, 
 was a disagreeable and dangerous duty, but the soldiers per 
 formed it without murmuring. My squad had to ride up to 
 Cottonwool, and down to the station below, where they waited 
 for the next coach going the other way and returned by it to 
 their post at Gilman's. All the other stations were guarded in 
 like manner; so it happened that every coach carried some 
 soldiers. 
 
 One evening I found my pony missing, and thinking he had 
 strayed off but a short distance, I buckled on my revolvers and 
 went out to look for him. I had not intended to go far, but 
 not finding him, I walked on, and on, until I found myself 
 some four miles from the ranche. Alarmed at my indiscretion, 
 for I knew the country was full of Indians, I hastily set out to 
 return, and as it was now growing dark, I determined to go up 
 a ravine that led to the post by a nearer route than the trail. I 
 had got nearly to the end of the ravine, where the stage-road 
 crossed it, and was about to turn out into the road when, on 
 looking up the bank, I saw on the crest of the slope, some dark 
 objects. At first, I thought they were ponies, for they were
 
 KELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 327 
 
 moving on all fours, and directly toward the road. I ran up 
 the bank, and had not gone more than ten yards, when I heard 
 voices, and looking round, saw within a dozen steps of me, five 
 or six Indians lying on the grass, and talking in low tones. 
 The} had noticed me, but evidently thought I was one of their 
 own number. Divining the situation in a moment, I walked 
 carelessly on until near the crest of the hill, where I suddenly 
 came upon a dozen more Indians, crawling along on their hands 
 and knees. One of them gruffly ordered me down, and I am 
 sure I lost no time in dropping into the grass. Crawling care 
 fully along, for I knew it would not do to stop, I still managed 
 to keep a good way behind and off to one side. We at last 
 reached the road, and the Indians, gun in hand, took up their 
 position in the long grass close by the road-side. I knew the 
 up-coach would be due at the station in half an hour, and I 
 now found myself in the unpleasant position of waylaying one 
 of the very coaches I had been sent to guard. Perhaps, one of 
 my own soldiers coming up on the coach would kill me, and 
 then what would people say? how would my presence with the 
 Indians be explained? and how would it sound to have the 
 newspapers publish, far and near, that an officer of the United 
 States army had deserted his post, joined the Indians, and 
 attacked a stage-coach ? However, there was no help for it, and 
 I lay still waiting for developments. It was now time for the 
 coach, and we watched the road with straining eyes. Two or 
 three times I thought I heard the rumbling of the wheels, and 
 a tremor seized me, but it was only the wind rustling the tall 
 grass. An hour went by, and still no coach, when the Indians, 
 becoming uneasy one who seemed to be the leader of the 
 expedition, rose up, and motioning the others to follow him 
 started off down the hill toward the. ravine. I made a motion 
 20
 
 328 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 as if getting up, and seeing the Indians backs turned, dropped 
 flat on my face and lay perfectly still. Slowly their footsteps 
 faded away, and raising my head, I saw them mount their 
 ponies and disappear over the neighboring hill, as if going 
 down the road to meet the coach. 
 
 As soon as they were out of sight, I sprang up and ran as 
 "ast as I could to the ranehe when, relating what had happened, 
 I started with some soldiers and citizens down the road to meet 
 the stage. We had not gone far when we heard it coming up, 
 and on reaching it, found it had been attacked by Indians a few 
 miles below, one passenger killed and two severely wounded. 
 The coach had but three horses, one having been killed in the 
 fight. The Indians had dashed at the coach mounted, hoping 
 to kill the horses, and thus cut off all means of retreat or flight, 
 but they had only succeeded in killing one horse, when the 
 passengers and soldiers had driven them off, compelling them to 
 carry two of their number with them, dead or desperately 
 wounded. 
 
 I was more careful after that, when I went out hunting 
 ponies, and never tried again to waylay a coach with Indians.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF 32J 
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 TWO SIOUX WARRIORS AT OILMANS RANOHE MY PET INDIANS 
 WAR DANCES AND SONGS THE ENTRAPPED OGALLALAS ESCAPE OF THB 
 WARRIOR AND PONIES MORE DANCING AN UNPLEASANT REQUEST THE 
 REFUSAL - WHAT CAME OF IT SPRINGER'S ADVICE FATE OF THE TWO 
 SIOUX THEIR HEROISM AND ENDURANCE TERRIBLE BARBARITY OF SAVAGES 
 WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY ABOUT IT. 
 
 AMONG the soldiers stationed at Oilman's Ranche, were a 
 number of Omaha and Winnebago Indians, who belonged 
 to my company, in the First Nebraska Cavalry. I had done jill 
 I could to teach them the ways of civilization, but despite my 
 instructions, and their utmost endeavors to give over their wild 
 and barbarous practices, every now and then old habits would 
 become too strong upon them to be borne, and they would in 
 dulge in the savage customs of their youth. At such times 
 they would throw aside their uniforms, and, wrapping a blanket 
 about them, sing and dance for hours. 
 
 One evening they were in a particularly jolly mood, and hav 
 ing obtained permission to have a dance, went out in front 
 of the building, and for want of a better scalp-pole, assembled 
 around one of the telegraph poles. One fellow pounded lustily 
 en a piece of leather nailed over the mouth of a keg, while the 
 
 others hopped around in a circle, first upon sue leg, then the 
 
 29
 
 330 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 other, shaking oyster-cans over their heads, that had been filled 
 with pebbles, and keeping time to the rude music, with a sort 
 of guttural song. Now it would be low and slow, and the 
 dancers barely move, then, increasing in volume and rapidity, 
 it would become wild and vociferous, the dancers walking very 
 fast, much as the negroes do in their " walk-arounds." We had 
 had all manner of dances and songs, and enough drumming and 
 howling to have made any one -tired, still the Indians seemed 
 only warming up to their work. The savage frenzy was upon 
 them, and I let them alone until near midnight. Their own 
 songs and dances becoming tiresome, I asked them to give me 
 some Sioux songs, for I had been thinking all the evening of 
 the village up the Missouri and my squaws. The Indians im 
 mediately struck up a Sioux war song, accompanying it with 
 the war dance. 
 
 All the Indian songs and dances are terminated with a 
 jump, and a sort of wild yell or whoop. When they had danced 
 the Sioux war song, and ended it with the usual whoop, what 
 was our surprise to hear the cry answered back at no great 
 distance, out on the prairie. At first I thought it was the echo, 
 but Springer, a half-breed Indian, assured me what I had heard 
 was the cry of other Indians. To satisfy myself, I bade the 
 Indians repeat the song and dance, and this time, sure enough, 
 when it was ended the whoop was answered quite near the 
 ranche. I went inside, lest my uniform could be seen, and 
 telling Springer to continue the dance, I went to a back window 
 and looked out, in the direction from which the sound appeared 
 to 6ome. 
 
 The moon was just rising, and I could distinctly see three 
 Indian warriors sitting on their ponies, within a few hundred 
 rces of the house. They seemed to be intently wtahing
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 33 ^ 
 
 what was going on, and were by no means certain as to thf 
 character of the performers or performance. At a glance, 1 
 made them out to be our deadly enemies, the Ogallala Sioux, 
 and determined to catch them. I quickly called Springer, and 
 bid him kindle a small fire, and tell the Indians to strike up 
 the death song and scalp dance of the Sioux. This, as I ex 
 pected, at once re-assured the strange warriors, and, riding up 
 quite close, they asked Springer, who was not dancing, and who 
 had purposely put himself in their way, 
 
 " What are you dancing for ? '' 
 
 "Dancing- the scalps of four white soldiers we have filled," 
 replied Springer. 
 
 "How did you kill them," inquired the foremost Indian 
 warrior. 
 
 " You see," said Springer, who, being part Sioux, spoke the 
 language perfectly, " we were coming down from the Neobarrah, 
 and going over to the Republican to see Spotted Tail and our 
 friends the Ogallalas, when some soldiers fired on us here, and 
 seeing there were but four of them, we attacked and killed them 
 all. They are now lying dead inside," added Springer; " come, 
 get down and help dance their scalps." 
 
 Two of the warriors immediately dismounted, giving their 
 ponies to the third one to hold, who remained mounted. 
 Springer seemed to take no notice of this, but leading the 
 warriors up to the dance, joined in with them, the other Indians 
 making rjaom in the circle for the new-comers. 
 
 When the dance was ended, Springer said, " Come, let us bring 
 out the scalps," and turning to the two Indians, inquired, " Will 
 you look at the bodies ? " About half the Indians had already 
 gone into the ranch e, under pretense of getting the scalps, and
 
 332 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the two Sioux walked in with Springer, apparently without 
 suspicion that any thing was wrong. 
 
 As soon as they had crossed the threshold the door was closed 
 behind them, and two burly Oinahas placed their backs against 
 it. I f was entirely dark in the ranche, and Springer proceeded 
 to strike a light. When the blaze of the dry grass flared up it 
 revealed every thing in the room, and there stood the two Sioux, 
 surrounded by Omahas, and a dozen revolvers leveled at theii 
 heads. . 
 
 Never shall I forget the yell of rage and terror they set up, 
 when they found they were entrapped. The Sroux warrior 
 outside, who was holding the ponies, heard it, and plunging 
 his heels into the sides of his pony, made off as fast as he 
 could. Notwithstanding my men fired a dozen shots at him, 
 he got off safely, and carried away with him all three of the 
 ponies. 
 
 The two Sioux in the ranche were bound hand and foot, and 
 laid in one corner of the room ; then my Indians returned to the 
 telegraph pole to finish their dance. Feeling tired, I lay down 
 and feel asleep. 
 
 Near morning I was awakened by most unearthly yells, 
 and looking out, saw my Indians leaping, dancing, and yelling 
 around the telegraph pole, where they now had a large fire 
 burning. Presently Springer came in and said the Indians 
 wanted the prisoners. I told him they could not have them, 
 and that in the morning I would send them to Col. Brown, 
 at McPherson, as was my duty. Springer, who was a non 
 commissioned officer, communicated this message to the Indians, 
 when the yelling and howling redoubled. In a short time 
 Springer came in again, and said he could do nothing with the
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 v 
 
 Indians, and that they were determined to have the 
 at the same time advising me to give them up. I again refused, 
 when the Indians rushed into the ranche, and, seizing the 
 prisoners, dragged them out. Seeing they were frenzied 1 
 made no resistance, but followed them closely, keeping con- 
 sealed, however. 
 
 The} took the Sioux to an island on the Platte, below the 
 ranche, and there, tying them to a tree, gathered a pile of wood 
 and set it on fire. Then they thrust faggots against the naked 
 bodies of the prisoners, stuck their knives into their legs, arms, 
 and finally into their bowels. They next cut off their ears and 
 noses, and then their hands, after which they scalped and dis- 
 embowled them. The Sioux uttered not a complaint, but en 
 dured all their sufferings with that stoicism for which the Indian 
 is so justly celebrated, and which belongs to no other race in the 
 world. 
 
 Sick at heart, I crept back to the ranche and went to bed, 
 leaving the Indians engaged in a furious scalp dance, and 
 whirling the bloody scalps of the Sioux over their heads, with 
 long poles to which they had them fastened. 
 
 Next morning, when I awoke, I found .the Indians wrapped 
 in their blankets, and lying asleep all around me. The excite 
 ment of the night had passed off, and brought its corresponding 
 depression. They were very docile and stupid, and it was with 
 some difficulty I could arouse them for the duties of the day. 
 I asked several of them what had become of the Sioux prisoners, 
 but could get no other answer than, " Guess him must have got 
 away." 
 
 I was sorely tempted to report the affair to the commanding 
 officer at Fort McPherson, and have the Indians punished, but
 
 336 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 believing it would do more good in the end to be silent, I said 
 nothing about it. After all, the Omahas and Winnebagoes had 
 treated the Sioux just as the Sioux would have treated them, 
 had they been captured, and so, it being a matter altogether 
 among savages, I let it rest where it belonged.
 
 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 337 
 
 CHAPTER L. 
 
 
 
 GUARDING JACK MORROW'S RANCHE AN ADVENTURE WITH WOOD-HAUIERS 
 CAMPAIGNING ALONG THE PLATTE MY INDIAN SOLDIERS HOW WE OPENED 
 THE "STABLE WHAT THE WOOD-HAULERS SAID ABOUT IT A SURPRISE SAD 
 ATTEMPT AT JOKING FIXING UP JACK MORROW'S PROPERTY OFF FOE 
 
 OMAHA. 
 
 WAS for a time, in 1865, on duty at Fort Cottonwood, 
 -*- Nebraska, as adjutant of my regiment, the First Nebraska 
 Vol. Cavalry, when the scarcity of officers at the post made it 
 necessary for the commanding officer to detail me, with thirty 
 Indian soldiers, to proceed to, and garrison Jack Morrow's 
 ranche, twelve miles west of the fort, on the south side of the 
 Platte River. The Sioux were very hostile then, and it was 
 an ordinary occurrence for ranches to be burned and the owners 
 killed. 
 
 Morrow's ranche, unlike the little, low, adobe ranches every 
 where seen, was a large three-story building, with out-buildings 
 adjacent, and a fine large stable for stock, the whole being well 
 surrounded by a commodious stockade of cedar palisades, set 
 deep in the ground, and projecting to the height of about ten or 
 twelve feet above the surface. 
 
 Upon arriving at the ranche, late at night, my usually noisy 
 Indians were quietly sleeping in the huge ox- wagons, which 
 had been provided for transportation. I found the front of the
 
 338 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 ranche lit up by fires built between the stockade and the build 
 ings on a narrow strip of ground, serving for a front yard. J 
 had been informed by the commanding officer at Cotton wood, 
 that Mr. Morrow was not living at his ranche, but was away, 
 Blast, and the object in sending me there was to prevent thfc 
 Indians from burning so valuable a property. I was not pre 
 pared to find a party encamped at the ranche, and not knowing 
 but that they might be Indiana^ waiting in so favorable a spot 
 to waylay travelers or emigrants passing the road in front of 
 the stockade, I told my drivers to halt their teams, and, 
 quietly awakening my Indians, I bade them be in readiness to 
 rush up if I should give them a signal by yelling, but to remain 
 in the wagons until I called them, and to make no noise. I 
 then quietly rode forward to reconnoiter, and as the stockade 
 timbers were set very close together, I had to crawl up to the 
 loop-holes cut in the timbers to see what was going on inside. 
 Standing on the ground, and holding my pony's nose with my 
 hand to keep him quiet, I stood on my tip-toes, and could see, 
 through one of the loop'-holes, a curious sight, but one natural 
 enough on the frontier. 
 
 Grouped around three small fires, built close to the front of 
 the ranche, sat some ten or twelve browned and weather-beaten 
 men, whose hair hung to their shoulders, and each one of whom 
 wore a slouched hat, a pair of revolvers, and a good stout knife, 
 the inseparable companions of a western prairie man. All were 
 intent on eating supper of fried bacon, slapjacks, and coffee. 
 
 They had no guard, doubtless feeling secure in their number 
 and means of defense, against any Indian attack that might be 
 made. " Hello ! " I shouted, " have you got supper enough for 
 one more ? " " Yes. if you are white or red ; but if black, no,'* 
 was answered back, with an invitation " to show " myself. J
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 339 
 
 led the pony across the narrow trench which ran around the 
 stockade, and, mounting him, rode into the yard. As I ap 
 proached the party I overheard remarks, such as, "An army 
 cuss;" "One of those little stuck-up officers/' But not ap 
 pearing to have heard them, I got down, and asked what party 
 they were. " Wood-haulers/' they replied ; " taking building 
 logs down the road ; " followed by " Who are you, and where 
 are you going this late at night ? " I told them who I was, 
 and that I had now finished my journey, as I intended to stop 
 there. I was immediately informed in a curt manner that 
 they guessed it was rather " mixed" about staying there, if I 
 had any stock along, for the stables were full, and the ranche, 
 too; and they had no room for any additional people or stock. 
 I told them that I had two teams standing outside, and that it 
 was my intention to put the mules and my pony in the stable ; 
 and if there was no room there, I should make room by turning 
 out some of their animals. To this I was plainly told that I 
 could neither turn a mule out or put an animal in, nor could 
 I remain at the ranche, which they had occupied for their own 
 quarters, Jack Morrow having left and gone East, probably 
 never to return. They said they were a little stronger in num 
 bers than myself and my two drivers, and I must move on or 
 they would make me. I told them that I was a United States 
 officer, acting under orders, and that it would be an easy matter for 
 me to ride back to Cottonwood and get men enough to enforce 
 my orders unless they submitted. Several of the rough-look 
 ing fellows said that they each carried good revolvers, and that 
 it was an easy matter to stop me if I attempted to return to 
 Cottonwood, and swore they would do so. I remained quiet 
 for a moment, and the leader of the party, looking at me, 
 asked: " What are you going to do about it?" "I am going
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 to open the stables and put my animals in shelter," I replied, 
 at the same time mounting my pony and riding out to the 
 stables, a short distance in front of which stood my teams. 
 Several of the frontiersmen got up, and, without saying a word, 
 walked to the stables, and went up close to the doors. I or 
 dered the teamsters to drive to the stables, unharness from the 
 heavy ox-wagons, place their teams inside, r and if they could 
 not find vacant stalls enough, to untie and turn loose mules to 
 empty the required number for my teams. The teamsters 
 obeyed by driving up, and when they had dismounted and were 
 about to unhitch from the wagons, one of the wood-haulers at 
 the stable door said : " You can save yourself the trouble, mis 
 ter, of unhitching them mules, for you aint agoing to put them 
 in this stable; and the first man that attempts it I'll fix." 
 
 " Suppose I wish to open that door and put up my teams," 
 said I, "without any trouble; wouldn't it be better for all 
 of us ? " " You go to h 1 ! " he replied ; and added, " you 
 won't get in this stable ; that 's settled." " I '11 see about 
 that!" and yelling Turn out! Turn out! in the Indian lan 
 guage, my soldiers jumped from the canvas-covered wagons, 
 yelling like demons, and brandishing their carbines and re 
 volvers in a threatening manner. Never were men so taken 
 back as the wood-haulers. They were sure we were Sioux, and 
 started to run, but I called them back. Not a word was then 
 spoken while my Indians led the mules, that were now un 
 hitched, into the stables. 
 
 Leaving the teamsters to feed and water their animals, I 
 turned my pony over to an Omaha, to unsaddle, and marched 
 my soldiers up to the house, of which I took possession. The 
 roughs changed their tune, and tried to laugh the. matter off, 
 saying they knew all the time the wagons were full of sol-
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 34 1 
 
 diers, and they only wanted to see if I had " nerve." I told 
 them they could leave their teams in the stables, as my team 
 sters told me there was room enough yet remaining for all the 
 mules, but that in the morning they must leave. At early 
 light they were off, not, however, before I had found out the 
 names of the leaders of the gang. The doors of the house 
 had been taken off the hinges, and the framed pine used to 
 sleep and chop meat on, all being marked with gashes chopped 
 in them with axes. The windows were also broken, the glass 
 and sashes gone, and the building as much damaged as if In 
 dians had been there a month. I did all I could to save the 
 property scattered over the grounds, and remained at the ranche 
 some weeks, until an order came for me to go to OmaLa as a 
 witness before the United States Court.
 
 342 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER LI. 
 
 MASSACRE OF COTTONWOOD CANON THE SCURVY AMONG THE TROOPS LACK Of 
 ANTI-SCORBUTICS THEY ARRIVE AT LAST T1IE DOCTOR'S ADVICE THE PLUM 
 GROVE CAPTAIN MITCHELL'S PARTY THE INDIAN ATTACK ESCAPE OF 
 WISE DEATH OF BENTZ A RACE FOR LIFE CORRALLED UNFORTUNATE 
 ACCIDENTS PERILOUS POSITION OF CAPTAIN MITCHELL SPOTTED TAIL DIS 
 COVERY OF ANDERSON A DESPERATE BATTLE DEATH OF ANDERSON IN 
 DIAN BARBARITY MASSACRE OF THE SICK MEN THE ESCAPE AND PURSUIT 
 A BOOTLESS CHASE. 
 
 "VTTHILE the troops lay at Camp Cottonwood, now Fort 
 McPherson, the scurvy broke out among the men and 
 caused terrible suffering. There were no anti-scorbutics nearer 
 than Leavenworth, Kansas, which could be had for issue to 
 troops, and before these could be received, the disease increased 
 to an alarming extent. At last, however, the remedies arrived, 
 and the men began rapidly to convalesce. The doctor advised 
 them to eat wild fruit and berries, and to take plenty of exer 
 cise in the open air. There was a plum grove about four miles 
 from the camp, and as this wild fruit was very wholesome, the 
 sick men went out nearly every day to gather it. 
 
 One morning, Captain Mitchell, of the Seventh Iowa Cav 
 alry, procured an ambulance, and, taking with him a drivei 
 named Anderson, an orderly named Cramer, and seven hos 
 pital patients, started for the plum grove. They arrived at th
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 343 
 
 first grove about ten o'clock, and, finding that most of the 
 plums had been gathered, drove on to another grove some three 
 miles farther up the cafion. They were now about seven miles 
 from camp, too far to be safe, but, as no Indians had been seen 
 lately in the country, they did not feel uneasy. At the upper 
 grove they found two soldiers of the First Nebraska Cavalry, 
 named Bentz and Wise, who had been sent out by the quarter 
 master to look for stray mules, and they had stopped to gather 
 some plums. As both these men were well armed, Captain 
 MiHiell attached them to his party, and felt perfectly secure. 
 
 Bentz and Wi.se went up the canon a little way, and while 
 eating fruit were suddenly fired on from the bushes by almost a 
 dozen Indians. At the first volley, Bentz had his belt cut 
 away by a ball, and lost his revolver. The soldiers turned to 
 fly, but, as they galloped off, another ball entered Bentz's side, 
 desperately wounding him. They now rode down the cafion, 
 hoping to rejoin Captain Mitchell's party, but soon saw a body 
 of Indians riding down the bluff ahead of them, evidently with 
 the design of cutting them off. Wise told Bentz to ride hard, 
 at the same time handing him one of his revolvers, to defend 
 liimself in case of emergency. Bentz was very feeble and 
 dizzy, so much so, indeed, that he could barely sit in the 
 saddle. 
 
 Wise was mounted on a superb horse belonging to Lieutenant 
 Cutler, which he had taken out to exercise, and, seeing that the 
 Indians would head them off, and that Bentz, who was riding 
 an old mule, could not keep up, he gave the powerful brute rein, 
 and shot down the cafion like an arrow. He passed the inter 
 vening Indians in safety, just as three of them dashed out of a 
 pocket in the bluff and cut off poor Bentz. 
 
 ^A ise saw Beutz knocked from his "mule, and, knowing it
 
 344 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 was useless to try to save him, left him to his fate, and thought 
 only of saving his own life. He rode hard for Captain Mitchell, 
 who was not far distant, but before he could reach him another 
 party of Sioux headed him off, and he turned and rode up the 
 bluffs to the flat lands. The Indians pursued him, and made 
 every effort to kill or capture him, but his fine horse bore him 
 out of every danger. Three times he was cut off from the 
 camp, but, by taking a wide circuit, he managed to ride around 
 the Indians, and at last succeeded in reaching the high road 
 above the camp. As many settlers lived on this road, the In 
 dians did not venture to follow him along it, and he was soon 
 safely housed in the log-cabin of a frontiersman, and relating 
 his adventures. 
 
 Meanwhile Captain Mitchell, having seen the fate of Bentz 
 and escape of Wise, made haste to assemble his party, and, 
 lifting those who were too weak to climb into the wagon, they 
 set off for the camp. Mitchell and Anderson were the only 
 two of the party who had arms, but they assured the sick men 
 they would defend them to the last. Anderson took the lines 
 and drove, while Mitchell seated himself in the rear end of the 
 ambulance, with a Henry rifle to keep off the Indians. 
 
 They had not gone far before they came upon a large force 
 of warriors drawn up across the caflon, to cut off their retreat. 
 The bluffs were very steep and high on both sides of them, and 
 ('scape seemed impossible, nevertheless Mitchell ordered Ander 
 son to run his team at the right hand bluff and try and ascend 
 it. The spirited animals dashed up the steep bank and drew 
 the wagon nearly half way up, when one of the wheelers balked 
 and nearly overturned the wagon. .A loud yell from the sav 
 ages, at this moment, so frightened the horses that they sprang 
 forward, and before the*y could appreciate it they were over the
 
 BEKDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 347 
 
 oluff on the level prairie, and flying toward the camp at the 
 tate of ten miles an hour. 
 
 They now began to hope, but had only gone as far as the first 
 plum'grcve when they saw the Indians circling around them, 
 and once more getting between them and the post. Still they 
 hoped that some soldiers might be in the first grove gathering 
 \i urns, or that Wise had reached the post and given the alarm, 
 so that help would soon come to them. Captain Mitchell fired 
 his rifle once or twice, to attract the attention of any persons 
 who might be in the plum grove, but there was no response, 
 and Anderson drove rapidly on. 
 
 The Indians now began to close in upon the ambulance from 
 all sides. They would ride swiftly by a few yards distant, and, 
 swinging themselves behind the neck and shoulders of their 
 ponies, fire arrows or balls into the wagon. Two of the sick 
 men had already been wounded, and Captain Mitchell, finding it 
 impossible to defend them while the ambulance was in motion, 
 the shaking continually destroying his aim, ordered Ander 
 son to drive to the top of a hill near by, and they would fight 
 it out with the red-skins. Cramer now took the lines, when, 
 either through fear or because he did not believe in the policy 
 of stopping, he kept straight on. Captain Mitchell twice or 
 dered Cramer to pull up, but, as he paid no attention, he told 
 Anderson .to take the lines from him. In attempting to obey 
 the captain's order, Anderson lost his footing and fell out of the 
 wagon. The captain now sprang forward, put his foot on the 
 brake to lock the wheels, when a sudden lurch of the wagon 
 caused him to lose his balance, and he fell headlong on the 
 prairie. Fortunately, he alighted near a deep gully, where the 
 water had cut out the bank, and, rolling himself into it, he 
 
 looked out and saw Anderson crawling into a bunch of bushes 
 21
 
 348 BJ-JLDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 near by. When these accidents happened, the ambulance had 
 just crossed the crest of a little hill, and, as the Indians had not 
 come over it yet, they did not see either of the men fall from 
 the wagon. The captain had only two revolvers, but Ander 
 son's gun, a Spencer rifle, had been thrown out with him, and 
 he picked it up and took it into the bushes. 
 
 In a few moments the Indians came up, riding very fast, 
 and the main body crossed the ravine near where Captain 
 Mitchell lay. Some of them jumped their horses directly over 
 the spot where he was concealed, but in a few moments they 
 were gone, and soon had disappeared behind the neighboring 
 divide, leaving the captain and Anderson to their own reflec 
 tions. What to do was the next question. That the Indians 
 would overtake the ambulance, kill all its occupants, and re 
 turn, the captain had not a doubt. He determined to go down 
 the ravine, and, calling to Anderson to follow, started off. He 
 had already crawled some distance when, hearing the clatter of 
 horses' hoofs, he peeped over the edge of his cover, and saw 
 about seventy-five Indians riding directly up to where he was 
 concealed. Giving himself up for lost he laid down, drawing 
 his revolvers and preparing them for action, for he was de 
 termined not to let. the savages have his scalp without making 
 a desperate resistance. The warriors came up, and, dismount 
 ing within thirty yards of him, began a lively conversation. 
 The chief walked up close to the brink of the ravine, and almost 
 within arm's length of the captain, and stood gazing on the 
 ground. Mitchell now saw the chief was blind of an eye ami 
 wore a spotted head-dress; and he knew by these marks he was 
 none other than the celebrated Sioux warrior, Spotted Tail. 
 On making this discovery the captain leveled both his revolver? 
 nt the chief's brtast, and was fully determined to fire. He
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF 3 1& 
 
 believed that the loss of five captains would be a small matter, 
 if by their death they could secure the destruction of the great 
 leader of the Sioux. Just as he was about to pull the triggers 
 i loud shout from the warriors caused Spotted Tail to start for 
 ward and run rapidly up the hill. The ponies were led down 
 the ravine and the warriors scattered in all directions, seeking 
 cover. One of them ensconced himself in the ravine not more 
 than thirty feet from Mitchell. Raising his head so he coulo 
 gee out, the captain endeavored to ascertain what caused all the 
 excitement among the Indians. At first he had thought he was 
 discovered, then that re-enforcements from the fort had arrived, 
 and a battle was about to begin ; but now he saw Anderson was 
 discovered. "When the captain had started down the ravine 
 Anderson had followed him, and just emerged from the bushes 
 when the Indians suddenly came up. He had dropped on thf. 
 ground, and endeavored to roll himself back among the sage 
 brush, when an Indian saw him and gave the alarm. The 
 warriors, not knowing how many white men might be in the 
 brush, with their usual caution, had immediately sought cover. 
 
 A hot fire was opened on Anderson's position, and tit first 
 he did not respond at all. A warrior, more bold or indiscreet 
 than the rest, ventured to go closer to the bushes, when a small 
 puff of white smoke was seen to rise, a loud report rang out 
 on the air, and the warrior fell, pierced through the heart. A 
 yell of rage resounded over the hills, and three more Indians 
 ran toward Anderson's cover. Three reports followed each 
 other in rapid succession, and the three Indians bit the dust. 
 There was now a general charge on Anderson, but he fired so 
 fast and true that the Indians fell back, carrying with them two 
 more of their number. 
 
 The captain now felt it his duty to help Anderson, and was
 
 350 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 i 
 aoout to open fire with his revolvers, when Anderson, who, n: 
 
 doubt, expected as much, yelled three or four times, saying, in 
 a soi c, of cry, " My arm is broken ; keep quiet ; can't work the 
 Spencer any more." The brave fellow no doubt intended this 
 as a warning to the captain not to discover himself by firing, 
 and he reluctantly accepted the admonition and kept quiet. 
 
 A rush bv some thirty warriors was now made on Ander 
 son, and, notwithstanding his disabled condition, he managed 
 to kill three more Indians before he was taken. He was over 
 powered, however, dragged out of the bushes, and scalped in 
 full sight of the captain. He fought to the last, and compelled 
 them to kill him to save their own lives. Nothing could exceed 
 the rage of the Indians, and especially old Spotted Tail, as he 
 saw the body of warrior after warrior carried down the hill, 
 until nine dead Indians were laid beside Anderson. In his 
 grief for the loss of his braves, the old chief kicked the corpse 
 of poor Anderson, and the other Indians, coming up, stuck 
 kuives into it. Then they rolled it over, cut nine gashes in 
 his back, one for each warrior he had killed, and stabbed it 
 nine times. Next, they drove a stake in the eye, drew it out, 
 and filling the hole with powder, blew his skull to pieces. 
 
 In a few minutes after the death of Anderson, a mounted 
 party was seen coming over the hills, and about thirty warriors 
 rode up to Spotted Tail, and reported that they had captured 
 the ambulance and killed all who were in it. They exhibited 
 to Spotted Tail the scalps of all Captain Mitchell's late com 
 panions, except that of Cramer. The ambulance horses were 
 brought back, each carrying a greasy mass of brutality, known 
 down east as a " noble red man." 
 
 Lira few moments the warriors had their dead comrades se 
 curely strapped to ponies, and, mounting their own, set out '
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 351 
 
 toward the Eepublican. As soon as they were out of sight, 
 and it became dark, Captain Mitchell started for the camp, 
 where he arrived about 10 o'clock, and told the story of the 
 " Cotton wood Massacre/' as I have here related it. 
 
 Early the next morning I was sent out with a strong force 
 tc pursue and, if possible, overtake and punish the Indians. 
 For two days I followed them hard, and, .on the evening of 
 the second day, came upon a small party as they were crossing 
 a stream, but, in attempting to charge them, they scattered over 
 the prairie and were soon lost in the darkness. The trail now 
 divided in every direction, and it would have been impossible 
 to follow it unless each soldier had pursued some half a dozen 
 warriors, when it is not likely he would have returned. So we 
 turned back, and marched for Cottonwood. The bodies of the 
 dead had been brought in and buried, and every thing had 
 been found just as Captain Mitchell had stated. ' 
 
 Private Wise was severely censured for not immediately go 
 ing to the camp and giving the alarm, but he said he had no 
 idea the wagon and its sick men had ever left the caflon, for 
 there were at least one hundred and fifty warriors around it 
 when he came away, so he thought he might as well rest until 
 morning before bearing such dismal news as he had to commu 
 nicate to his fellow-soldiers.
 
 352 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER LII. 
 
 CAPTAIN HANCOCK'S ADVENTURE WITH THE stoux THE STAGE COACH ATTACK- 
 DEATH OF CINNAMON A WESTERN STAGE DRIVER WHAT HE DID WHEN 
 THE COACH WAS ATTACKED THE DEAD HORSE A PREDICAMENT AMPUTA 
 TION OF A LEG HOW TO FIGHT SIOUX INDIANS OFF FOR THE RANCHE A 
 
 FUNERAL PROCESSION ARRIVAL AT OILMAN'S ALL ABOARD OFF AGAIN 
 
 BURIAL OF CINNAMON RECOVERY OP THE WOUNDED THE SIOUX TRAIL THE 
 SIGNS WHERE THEY WENT. 
 
 ~ CURING the time when we were guarding Ben Holliday'a 
 -*~s stage coaches, and when attacks on them were of fre 
 quent occurrence, I had an adventure which I think is worth 
 relating. 
 
 I was at one of the lower ranches, and the Indiana 
 were very troublesome. Our guards were nearly all sick or 
 wounded, and the coaches had to go out insufficiently pro 
 tected. 
 
 One evening the coach was late, and, as to be behind time 
 was a sure sign that something was wrong, we all felt very 
 uneasy. The drivers made it a rule to get from one station to 
 another on time, and if they did not arrive parties were imme 
 diately started out to the next ranche, ten miles below, to see 
 what the matter was, the stations being all eight, ten, and 
 twelve miles apart. 
 
 On the particular evening in question, I had got tired wait-
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 353 
 
 ing, and gone over to the stable-keeper to see if we had not 
 better take the change horses, go down the road, and try if we 
 could not find the coacL. It was due at the 1 station at 8:30 
 P. M , and it was now ten, so I was confident it had been at 
 tacked or had broken down. While we were talking, the sen 
 tinel on the outpost, whose business it was to look out for the 
 stage and give notice of its approach, signaled the coach was 
 coming. We all ran down the road to meet it, and soon saw 
 it coming slowly along with three horses instead of four, and 
 the driver driving very slowly, as if he were going to a funert' 
 or hauling wounded. 
 
 W r hen we came up to the coach we learned that he was in 
 deed both conveying a corpse and wounded. On the arrival 
 of the party at the ranche, Captain Hancock, who was a pas 
 senger, related to me all that had happened, and I repeat the 
 story as it fell from his lips. 
 
 " We were, " said the captain, " driving along smartly in 
 the bottom, about four miles below, when, just as we crossed a 
 little ravine, some twenty Indians jumped up out of the long 
 grass and fired on us. The first volley killed Mr. Cinnamon, 
 a telegraph operator, who was a passenger, and was on his way 
 from Plum Creek to some point up the river. He was riding 
 on the box with the driver at the time when he received the 
 fatal shot, and the driver caught his body just as it was falling 
 forward off the coach on the rear horses. He put Cinna 
 moil's corpse in the front boot among the mail bags, where it 
 row is. 
 
 " The first fire had also killed our nigh wheeler, and, as ihe 
 ooach was going pretty fast at the time, the horse was dragged 
 A considerable distance, and his hind leg becoming fast be 
 tween the spokes of the fore-wheel, his body was drawn up 
 
 81
 
 354 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 against the bed of the coach, and all further progress com 
 pk'tely blocked. 
 
 "The driver 'took it very coolly, first swearing fearfully al 
 
 ine Indians, toward whom he cracked his whip repeatedly, as 
 
 if flaying their naked backs, and then, having vented his 
 
 pleen, he quietly descended from his box and stripped the 
 
 arness off the dead horse. 
 
 " Meanwhile the Indians had been circling around us, firing 
 into the coach every few minutes, and I had got under- the 
 wagon with my clerks, the better to be protected and to fire at 
 the Indians, who could be seen best from the ground, as they 
 moved against the horizon. 
 
 " The driver tried in vain to extricate the leg of the dead 
 horse from the wheel, but it was firmly wedged in, and after 
 uniting my strength to his I found it necessary to take 
 my knife and amputate the leg at the knee-joint. The 
 body was at length removed, and, mounting the box, the 
 driver bid us get in, and we were off once more. One of 
 the clerks had been severely wounded, and, as his wound was 
 quite painful, we had to drive very slowly ; so we were late 
 getting in. " 
 
 While the captain was talking the driver came to the door 
 to say the coach was waiting, for on the plains stages stop not for 
 accidents or dead men. I bade my friend good-night, hoping 
 he would not again be interrupted on his journey by the red 
 bkins, and, the driver cracking his whip, the four fresh bays 
 bounded forward at a gallop, and soon carried the coach out 
 of sight of the valley. 
 
 Next day we buried poor Cinnamon, and sent the wounded 
 Euan to McPherson, where he could have medical attendance. 
 and we were pleased to learn he speedily recovered.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 355 
 
 I rode down to where the coach had been attacked, and saw 
 the dead horse and the ravine from which the Indians had 
 sprung. The fight had evidently been a sharp one. and I could 
 see by the trail that the savages had followed the coach nearly 
 to the ranche, and then struck across toward the Republican, 
 
 g 
 
 never stopping, in all probability, until they reached it, ninety 
 miles distant.
 
 <j56 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHJEF. 
 
 CHAPTER L1II. 
 
 <WNERAL SULLTS EXPEDITION AGAINST THE sioux THE MARCH UP TBS 
 
 MISSOURI ARRIVAL AT FORT SULLY - OLD KEG, THE GUIDE- INHUMANITY 
 OP HIS TRIBE SCOUTING FOR INDIANS HOT WEATHER THE INDIANS 
 FOUND RACE FOR THE BATTLE-FIELD - A DESPERATE BATTLE HORRIBLE 
 TREATMENT OF THE WOUNDED LIEUT. LEVITT HIS DESPERATE ENCOUNTER 
 WITH SQUAWS A NIGHT OF HORRORS DEATH OF LEVITT ESCAPE OF THE 
 SAVAGES THE PURSUIT THEIR DEAD ANC WOUNDED - LOSS OF THE WJIITES. 
 
 ri^HE bloody engagements between the expeditionary forces, 
 under General Sully, and the Sioux tribes of the Upper 
 Missouri, have, perhaps, never been equaled in the history of 
 Indian warfare on this continent. The incidents of that expe 
 dition, I believe, have never been published, and, as I was 
 present and engaged in it, I will here relate some of them 
 General Sully's official report, as is always the case in such 
 documents, being necessarily brief, and omitting those minor 
 details which are of most interest to the general reader. 
 
 The troops consisted of the Second Nebraska Cavalry, Col. 
 Furnas commanding; a battalion of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, 
 Major House commanding; two companies of the Seventh 
 Iowa Cavalry, and two companies of infantry with the train, 
 for guarding the supplies. 
 
 The forces moved up the Missouri, and established at Fort 
 Bully a supply depot. This place is nearly opposite eld Fort 
 Pierre.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 3^? 
 
 Early in August, 1863, we inarched for the Indian country, 
 with instructions to punish the savages, who had been com 
 mitting horrible outrages on the whites in Minnesota. The 
 wedther was intensely hot, and we toiled slowly along, march 
 ing early in the day and lying by during the afternoons. "We 
 had reached Cannon Ball River, and were moving on to 
 Painted Wood River, when our scouts found an old Indian, 
 by the name of " Keg," and brought him in. This old fellow 
 had been left by his inhuman companions to die by the side of 
 a stream. He related that he had frozen his feet during the 
 past severe winter, and the hot weather having inflamed his 
 sores so he could not travel, his tribe had stolen all his ponies 
 and blankets, and cast him out to die of starvation. Gen. Sully 
 had his wounds dressed, gave him clothing and food; and this 
 kind treatment so deeply touched him, that he felt bound to 
 answer all the general's inquiries concerning his ungrateful 
 
 He said they had gone to the lakes, some hundred miles dis 
 tant, to hunt buffalo, and would be there a long time, as they 
 wished to take enough meat to last them during the fall and 
 winter. On this intelligence, the general moved forward, tak 
 ing with him old "Keg" as a guide. 
 
 Every day the sun poured down his intense rays from nint 
 o'clock in the morning until four o'clock in the afternoon, and so 
 great was the heat that we could only march very early in the 
 morning and late in the evening; nevertheless, we made good 
 days' journeys. The nights were so cold we had to wear thick 
 woolen clothing and sleep under blankets. This condition of 
 the weather kept us constantly peeling off to keep from roast 
 ing, or shivering in great overcoats. 
 
 Scouts were out daily looking for Indian camps, and fresh
 
 358 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 trails and skeletons of recently-killed buffalo warned us that 
 the Indians were not far off. One evening we canie to a lot of 
 fr' i sh carcasses that had evidently been slaughtered but a few 
 hours before, and General Sully, halting, sent out Major House 
 tc scout. 
 
 We were now moving among a tier of beautiful little lakes, 
 Borne ten miles apart; and these were the ones alluded to by old 
 " Keg " as the hunting-grounds of his tribe. The general had 
 instructed the scouts to move with great caution, and not alarm 
 or engage the Indians, but simply report what they saw. 
 
 On the day in question, after Major House had gone out, I 
 lay down in my tent to sleep, and, as was the custom, the whole 
 camp, except the guards, was asleep, for we had been marching 
 nearly all night. About three o'clock I was awakened by a 
 great uproar, and, rushing o'ut of my tent, saw troops stream 
 ing over the prairie to the westward. It took but a moment 
 to learn the cause of all this excitement, and it was to the effe/'-'of 
 that Major House had found the Indians posted in force on a 
 ridge not far off, and a great battle was about to begin. Not 
 waiting to dress, I buckled on my revolvers, and, mounting . 
 my pony placed myself at the head of a squad of my men, 
 and galloped hard for the battle-field, eleven miles distant. It 
 was a long ride on that hot day, but we reached it at last just 
 as tha sun was going down over the western hills. We found 
 the Indians drawn up on a jutting ridge, with their women, 
 children, and ponies corralled behind them in a hollow. Gen 
 eral Sully was already on the ground, and directing the move 
 ments of the troops as they came up. The savages were soon 
 completely surrounded, and we impatiently waited for the ac 
 tion to begin. The Indians kept falling back on a spur that 
 nut into a deep ravine, and were, in a short time, closely
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 359 
 
 Crowded together on the extreme point. They had evidently 
 only halted to fight Major House's force, and were appalled on 
 seeing our great numbers. 
 
 The troops were dismounted, and, No. 4 holding the horses, 
 Nos. 1, 2, 3, of each set of fours in the cavalry advanced to 
 fight on foot. We had approached quite near the savages and 
 halted, when an orderly was seen to gallop up to Major House 
 and deliver an order from General Sully.* We saw House's 
 men slinging -their carbines, and in a moment we knew it was 
 an order not to attack. A murmur of disappointment ran 
 along the lines; and, at that moment, Captain Bayne, of the 
 Second Nebraska Cavalry, stepped out in front of the men, 
 and said : 
 
 "Boys, we have come a long way to fight the Indians, and 
 now, that we have got them, I am in favor of whaling them. 
 Shall we advance?" "Yes! yes!" ran along the lines, and 
 Bayue cried out : " Each m<tn pick his Indian." There was 
 no order to fire, but every soldier leveled his carbine. An 
 Indian was now seen advancing, wrapped in a garrison flag, 
 and crying, "How! how!" moving his. hand up and down, as 
 if shaking hands. As yet not a gun had been fired, and tho 
 Indians stood wrapped in their blankets, their arms concealed, 
 and only the top of a bow in sight here and there. They were 
 very cool, and stood perfectly still. The Indian in the flag 
 continued to advance, and when he was close to our line, a 
 little Dutchman on the left fired and killed him, he gathering 
 the flag about him as he fell, and making of it a winding 
 sheet. There were two or three more shots along the line, 
 
 * The order referred to wa from General Sully, to hold the Indians in 
 check and not attack until he had concluded the council he was then hold 
 ing with some of their chiefs.
 
 360 BELDEN : THE WHITE <?HIEF. 
 
 then a scattering volley; and the Indians on the hill throw 
 ing off their blankets, nearly every one was seen to have a 
 gun. The action soon became general along our line, and 
 Major House's battalion wished to join in the battle, but their 
 officers, stepping in front of them, declared they would cut 
 down the first man who fired a shot. About one hundred and 
 twenty-five Indians had gone up on the hill where General 
 Sully was, and were holding a council with him when the 
 battle began. They immediately began to withdraw, but Gen 
 eral Sully ordering his body-guard, two companies of cavalry, 
 to surround them, they were all taken prisoners. 
 
 The Indians were now fighting desperately, most of them 
 having mounted their ponies, charging and yelling furiously. 
 It was growing dark, and, as the darkness increased, the sav 
 ages became more bold, dashing among our men and toma 
 hawking them as they forced their ponies through the lines. 
 The soldiers, with clubbed guns, resisted them, and many 8 
 pony, Indian, and white man went down together in death in 
 that bitter hand-to-hand struggle. House's men had become 
 engaged, and the battle surged and roared over the hills, the 
 flashes of the guns lighting up the darkness of the fearful 
 scenery. Despite our exertions, many of the Indians escaped, 
 and the remainder held firmly to the hill. We lost a little 
 ground after dark, and the battle lulled. All night we lay on 
 the ground near where we had fought, and within hearing of 
 the cries of our wounded, many of whom had been left behind 
 in the hands of the Indians. Little did we know of the fear 
 ful tragedy that was enacting on the hill above us under cover 
 of night; for if we had, we would have advanced and ended it, 
 though it had cost the lives of one-half the men in the command. 
 
 As soon as it was dark the squaws had descended from the
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 361 
 
 hill, and attacking our helpless wounded with long-handled 
 tomahawks, beat their brains out, after which they took a 
 butcher-knife and cut out their tongues. 
 
 Lieut. Levitt was wounded early in the action, and his 
 horse at the same time being shot, and falling on his leg, held 
 him fast, so that when the men fell back he was, unfortunately, 
 left behind. He said next day, he saw the squaws come down 
 the hill and attack our wounded and dying men, nearly all of 
 whom bravely defended their lives, wounding many of the 
 squaws. He lay close to his dead horse, partly hidden by his 
 saddle, and he hoped they would not discover him. Presently, 
 however, he saw a squaw approaching, evidently with the de 
 sign of rifling the saddle-bags. While she was engaged in this 
 occupation she saw the lieutenant, and, springing quickly back, 
 struck at him with her tomahawk. He made a thrust at her 
 with his saber, but could not reach her. After trying for some 
 time to kill him with her long-handled weapon, she screeched, 
 and brought half a dozen other squaws to her assistance. 
 They all now al tacked him, making feints and motions, and 
 then suddenly striking him. Using his saber as well as he 
 could in his cramped and disabled condition, he, for a long 
 time, kept them at bay. He held his left hand over his head, 
 and with his right thrust out with the sword. The fingers of 
 his left hand were nearly all broken, and the flesh on his arm 
 so gashed and bruised, that it was laid bare to the bone all the 
 way from the wrist to the shoulder, and the tendons severed at 
 the elbow. At length, making a desperate thrust, he severely 
 wounded a squaw, and she set up a fearful howling; the rest 
 carried her off, and did' not again return to molest him. So 
 weak was he, from fatigue and loss of blood, that he fainted as 
 soon as the squaws left him. Next day we found the poor
 
 362 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 fellow in a terrible condition, and brought him to camp, where 
 every thing was done for him that kindness could suggest, but 
 he died after a day of great suffering. 
 
 To return once more to the battle-field. After the fighting 
 for the day had ceased the Indians crept away, and before 
 morning nearly all had escaped. We followed them up, and 
 found nearly every buffalo wallow, filled with their dead and 
 wounded. They would carry them along until they came to a 
 wallow, and then, depositing them, leave them to their fhfp. 
 We counted in all two hundred and twenty-five dead Indians, 
 and we had one hundred and twenty-five prisoners. There were 
 also seven hundred head of -Indian stock killed, wounded, 01 
 captured. Our own loss amounted, in killed and wounded, to 
 fifty-eight men, eighteen belonging to the Second Nebraska 
 Cavalry, and forty to the Sixth Iowa Cavalry.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 365 
 
 CHAPTER LIV. 
 
 AN INDIAN ATTACK ATTEMPT TO RESCUE THB PRISONERS LIEUT. BAYNB'fl 
 
 SCOUT THE WARNING MISTAKEN PRIDE SURROUNDED BY SAVAGES A 
 
 DESPERATE SITUATION BATNE's IRRESOLUTION A BRAVE SERGEANT- 
 DREADFUL CHARGE FIGHTING FOR LIFE THE COMMAND SAVED THE SER- 
 
 GEANT'S HORSE WOUNDED HE is LEFT BEHIND INGRATITUDE OF HIS COM 
 RADES NOBLE SACRIFICE HEROISM OF THE SERGEANT HE KILLS EIGHT 
 INDIANS DEATH OF THE SERGEANT THE RETURN TO CAMP BAYNE's RE 
 PORT HONORS TO THE DEAD SERGEANT'S BODY. 
 
 C1EVERAL of us were standing by the bed-side of poor 
 ^ Lieut. Levitt, who had just finished his story of suffering 
 and honor on the battle-field, and now lay dying. It was sad in 
 the extreme, for we all loved him dearly, and not a man of us, 
 as we watched his heavy and painful breathing, could refrain 
 from hating the authors of so much misery. As for myself, I 
 made a resolve I would not rest until I had at least two scalps 
 at my girdle for Levitt's death, and I fear there were many 
 similar resolves made by the hardy and hardened men who 
 surrounded that death-bed. 
 
 Scarcely had we reached our tents, when " bang ! " " bang ! " 
 went the guns of the pickets on the hill, and the cry of " Li 
 lians! Indians!" resounded through the camp. There waa 
 rushing to and fro, and mounting in hot haste; but, in less 
 time than it takes to record it, a hundred horsemen were flying 
 
 to the support of the pickets. I did not go out, thinking it a 
 99
 
 366 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 feint ; it proved, however, to be a real attack of the red rascals, 
 who had returned, hoping to surprise us, and, by a dash, suc 
 ceed in liberating the 125 of their people we held prisoners. 
 The assault was a feeble one, and soon repelled, not an Indian 
 escaping from our camp to reward the savages for their enter 
 prise. 
 
 As soon as the Indian attack was over, General Sully ordered 
 the Indian camp and supplies to be destroyed. It was a very 
 large camp, well stocked with provisions and robes, and the 
 burning of it was no small job. Teepees were pulled down 
 and heaped up on the lodge-poles, and on top of these were 
 thrown bales of robes, parfleshes of meat, and pieces of wood. 
 The whole was then fired, and stirred up until it burned down. 
 Thousands of articles were consumed, and the soldiers, in the 
 light of this burning town, looked like real fire fiends as they 
 ran about in their red shirts thrusting their torches in every 
 combustible pile. 
 
 While the town was burning a most lamentable sight was 
 witnessed. The Indian dogs that had been left in the village 
 with the property, as was customary, trotted about, howling 
 most dismally. They had little shafts strapped to their sides, 
 and on these were tied cooking utensils, and, not unfrequently, 
 Indian babies. During the battle many of the dogs had be 
 come frightened, and hid away in the rocks and ravines, and 
 the Indian mothers, making their escape in the night, had to 
 go away without their babies. The dogs, true to their charges, 
 would not allow the soldiers to approach their loads, but fled 
 over the hills when any one went toward them. In a little 
 while they would return, and, sitting on a hill-top, gaze at the 
 burning town and cry piteously. The little babies, that the 
 dogs were dragging about on their travaises, never cried, but
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 367 
 
 lay perfectly still, though the dogs galloped over ditches and 
 gullies, shaking and jolting them at a terrible rate. The sol 
 diers, not being able to catch the dogs, shot them, and it some 
 times happened the dog would move, or the aim not be good, 
 when the baby, instead of the dog, would receive the ball. It 
 was, perhaps, well it was so killed, for if left out on the prairie 
 it would have starved to death ; if brought in, we had no way 
 to keep it or take care of it, but if dead it was at rest. Poor 
 little creatures, however much we pitied them we could not 
 help them. 
 
 When the camp was burned, General Sully determined to 
 follow up the Indians and administer still further punishment, 
 as they exhibited no signs of coming to terms. It was deeply 
 to be regretted they had not been attacked in the first fight, but 
 the only way now was to fight it out and conquer if possible. 
 The general detached Lieut. Bayne, with sixty men, to scout 
 and find the Indians. Taking the old trail, Bayne pushed on, 
 and the first day out came upon two Indians who were making 
 their way on foot to the bluffs. One of them seemed to be 
 wounded, and was leaning on the shoulder of his companion, 
 who pretended to be helping him along. When first noticed 
 they were moving slowly, but, on Lieut. Bayne calling out to 
 his men, " There are two of the rascals, let us go for them, 
 gallop, march," the Indians began to run. The guide, who 
 was an old and experienced frontiersman, no sooner saw the 
 Indians set off than he rode up to Bayne, and called out: 
 
 " Look out, lieutenant, they are a decoy ; see how that lame 
 Indian mends his pace." 
 
 " Silence, sir," retorted Bayne, angrily, to this well-meant 
 admonition ; " I, not you, command here." 
 
 The guide, without uttering a word, reined up his horse and
 
 368 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 allowed the column to pass him, and then turning toward tht 
 camp, plunged the rowels into his steed's flanks, and in a mo 
 ment had disappeared behind a protecting bluff. 
 
 Bayne kept straight on following the two Indians up 9 
 narrow canon, and gaining on them every moment. He was 
 now within pistol shot of them, and they were running foi 
 dear life, when suddenly they disappeared, and instantly the 
 hills swarmed with Indians. 
 
 " They are in our rear," shouted several soldiers, and, halt 
 ing the command, Lieut. Bayne looked down the cafion and 
 saw three or four hundred savages coming out of the bluff, 
 and completely closing the passage along which he had just 
 marched. 
 
 "Look! look!" shouted the sergeant, and directing his 
 eyes up the valley, the lieutenant discovered two solid lines 
 of savages advancing upon him, stretched out from bluff 
 to bluff. 
 
 " We are lost ! " cried Bayne, and, for the moment, seemed 
 completely prostrated by the sad predicament into which he 
 had got himself and his devoted troopers. " Fours, right 
 about, wheel," shouted the sergeant, and the men mechanically 
 obeyed the order. " Now," cried the brave sergeant, " ones and 
 fours, cut right and left, and twos and threes, go ahead ; steady 
 column ! forward ! gallop, march ! " 
 
 Away went the troopers, and dashing at the solid lines of 
 Indians, rode or cut them down. Fast and furious fell tho 
 saber strokes, and the savages, appalled at the sudden and ter 
 rific onset, parted in twain, and allowed the column to pass 
 through to the open plain. Many horses were wounded, but 
 etrange to relate, not a man was killed. Lieutenant Bayne 
 fought desperately at one time with his single saber, holding
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 369 
 
 the Indians in check, until some troopers, who had got behind, 
 came up and passed through the gap. 
 
 Once out on the plain the column headed for camp and rode 
 swiftly forward. Suddenly the brave sergeant's horse was seen 
 to stagger and reel under his weight, and then fall to his knees. 
 He reined him up and allowed the column to pass, then calling 
 to some troopers, who were behind, to stop and take him up 
 behind on one of their horses, he dismounted, but the demoral 
 ized soldiera paid no attention to his request, and the column 
 swept on. Once more mounting his steed, the sergeant pushed 
 him to his utmost speed, hoping to overtake the column, but 
 seeing he was each moment losing distance, and the noble 
 horse becoming more and more feeble, the sergeant turned him 
 off the trail and rode him across the prairie. This he did for 
 the purpose of drawing as many of the Indians as possible after 
 him and thus, by sacrificing his life, increase the chances of 
 escape for his comrades. "We saw the gallant fellow dashing 
 over the prairie,- followed by a horde of hooting savages. Sud 
 denly the horse stopped, sank to the ground, and rolled over 
 dead. The sergeant lay down behind his horse, and taking 
 deliberate aim at the foremost Indian in the chase, killed him at 
 the first fire from his Enfield rifle. Quickly loading, he fired 
 again, and another Indian fell. He now drew his revolvers, and 
 sheltering his body from the arrows and bullets of his savage 
 assailants, fired away at them. It was not until he had killed 
 eight Indians, and fell weak and bleeding from wounds, that 
 they could get him from behind his horse; then they dragged 
 him out and scalped him, but seeming to respect his bravery, 
 refrained from mutilating his body. 
 
 The guide, after leaving Lieutenant Bayne, had waited only 
 
 to see the attack begin, and then rode straight to camp, where 
 
 32
 
 370 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 he informed General Sully of all that had happened. Geuerm 
 S. lost no time in sending re-enforcements to Lieutenant Bayne 
 who was met a short distance from camp, quietly returning, the 
 Indians. having given up the pursuit after killing the brave 
 sergeant.* The whole party returned to camp, and Lieutenant 
 Bayne was immediately ordered to make out a full report of 
 the affair. He did the sergeant justice, and when Gen'eral 
 Sully read the report, he sent out a strong force, brought in 
 the body of the sergeant, and buried it with all the honors of 
 war. 
 
 * The sergeant here referred to, was Sergeant Bain, of the Second Ne 
 braska Cavalry. A short time before Lieutenant Bayne' s scout took place, 
 Sergeant Bain had been reduced to the ranks for having scalped twenty- 
 seven Indians. The circumstances were these : Sergeant Bain, while out 
 following the Indians after the battle fought by General Sully, near Gooso 
 Lake, on the third of September, 1863, came upon a buffalo-wallow, filled 
 with sick and wounded Indians, some of whom were in a dying condition, 
 and others barely able to sit up. With a ferocity unparalleled, he sprang 
 into the wallow, tomahawked twenty-seven of the Indians with their OAVH 
 tomahawks, and scalped them with their own scalping-knives. He did this, 
 he said, in revenge for the.squaws cutting the tongues out of the moutha 
 of our wounded the night before, and in order, as he observed, that the 
 Indians might know how it went to have "their own barbarity applied to 
 themselves. He was, undoubtedly, influenced by honest, but, nevertheless, 
 mistaken motives; but, for his cruelty, he was broken by General Sully, and 
 reduced to the ranks as a private. 
 
 After Bayne's scout, in consideration of the signal services he had ren 
 dered the command on that occasion, the order was revoked reducing him 
 M sergeant ; he was reappointed a sergeant, and then his poor body was 
 laid to rest, and there was not an officer or soldier in the command, but 
 felt a regret for his untimely and sad death. EDITOR.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 371 
 
 CHAPTER LV. 
 
 SCOUTING ON THE REPUBLICAN HIDING ALONG THE CREEKS SALLY OUT TO 
 KILL A BUFFALO THE WOUNDED CALF HUNTING BUFFALO WITH TWO IN 
 DIANS RACE AFTER THE HERD ANOTHER FRIGHTENED HERD THE CAUSH 
 OF ITS ALARM PERILOUS SITUATION HIDING IN THE BLUFFS RETURNING 
 TO CAMP UNEXPECTED GAME SOME STEAKS AFTER ALL A HASTY SUPPER 
 THK FLIGHT SAFE IN CAMP. 
 
 IT was while I was with Colonel Brown that I had an ad 
 venture which came near being my last, and, as I have 
 omitted to relate it in its proper place, I will here insert it. 
 
 We were camped on a tributary of the Republican, and I 
 had been sent out with a small party to scout. Our numbers 
 were too few to travel by daylight, and, besides, it was not our 
 business to be seen, but to see. We had-been traveling through 
 a buifalo range, and one evening, unable to resist the tempta 
 tion to hunt, I sallied out down the little creek on which we 
 had "been hiding, hoping to stalk a buffalo calf. I had not 
 gone far when I saw a fine fellow grazing near the water's 
 edge, and, firing, broke his shoulder. He made off for the 
 herd, which was feeding near by, and thinking I could soon 
 overtake and finish him, I mounted my pony and made after 
 him. Notwithstanding his three legs, he ran along so smartly 
 that, before I could overhaul him, he had joined his dam and 
 mingled in the herd. The buffaloes started across the prairie,
 
 372 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 and, chagrined and excited, I followed, determined to get some 
 buffalo meat before I returned to camp. I knew I was get 
 ting too for from the camp for safety, but still on we went, up 
 hill and down, my little pony each moment gaining on the 
 herd. I had got quite close, and was about to shoot, when I 
 saw another herd coming in the opposite direction at a full 
 run. Knowing buffalo did not move so rapidly unless fright 
 ened, I stopped and looked hard at them, "but seeing nothing, 
 I concluded they had been started by prairie wolves, and, 
 plunging the i ;>wels into my pony, continued the pursuit after 
 my own herd. They soon swung round to the left, and joined 
 the herd I had seen flying across the flat. I was on the right 
 of the herd, which was now very large, and had just singled 
 out a fine young bull, and was about to fire, when, seeing the 
 head of the drove suddenly lurch to the left and change the 
 direction of the whole body, I looked, and, to my horror, saw 
 two Sioux Indians hunting on the right of the herd. Quickly 
 reining my pony up, I dodged into a ravine in rear of the 
 buffalo, and, riding around the bluff, waited with fear and 
 trembling the events of the next few minutes. I scarcely 
 dared hope I had nqt been seen, and yet, singular as it may 
 appear, such was the case. Riding up on the bluff when I 
 found no one was after me, I saw the buffalo in full flight, and 
 a dozen Indians firing arrows into the now thoroughly fright 
 ened beasts. I at once took the back track, and as my route 
 to camp carried me along the trail the second herd had run, I 
 fortunately found the carcasses of two fine buffaloes sticking 
 full of Sioux arrows. I cut out some choice steaks, and then, 
 haggling the meat so as to make the Indians think a wolf had 
 been at their game, I rode back to our hiding-place, taking 
 good care to keep in the ravines 'intil I reached the creek.
 
 KELDKN* : THE WHITE CHIEF. 373 
 
 Hastily broiling some of the buffalo on the coals, we saddled 
 up and left the place, well knowing that the Sioux would re 
 turn to skin and dress their game, and fearing they might dis 
 cover it was a two-legged wolf that had been cutting up their 
 beef for them. 
 
 Had I fired a single shot at the herd, it would probably 
 have proved my last buffalo hunt, as subsequent events showed 
 I was near an Indian village, and in the midst of a large 
 Sioux hunting party. 
 
 Under cover of night we crept away, and by building only 
 small fires, eating sparingly, and riding hard, we succeeded in 
 making our escape, and returning in safety to the military camp,
 
 374 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER LVI. 
 
 APPOINTED A SECOND LIEUTENANT IN THE REGULAR ARMY GO TO Vr'ASH 
 
 INGTON CALL UPON MY OLD FRIENDS IN OHIO JOIN MY COMPANY HUNT 
 
 ING DESERTERS WITH GENERAL 8WEITZER EXTRAORDINARY SPORTSMAN 
 SHIP PRAIRIES ON FIRE A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT INDIAN ATTACK ON LIEUT 
 M'CARTHY'S COMMAND THE PHIL. KEARNEY MASSACRE GROUND LIEUT. 
 SHIRLY'S INDIAN BATTLE MARCH TO HIS RELIEF SCOUTING ON THE POWDEB 
 
 RIVER A STORM BLUE SKIES AGAIN THE CROW INDIANS A NATIOX OF 
 
 BEGGARS NOBLE CHIEFS 'RETURN TO THE FORT. 
 
 IT was on the 10th of July, 1867, that I was informed 1 
 had been appointed Second Lieutenant in the regular 
 army, the appointment to date from the 9th day of June. 
 This commission was given me for services rendered during 
 the war, and was not a little gratifying to me, as a position 
 in the army would enable me to continue, in a more regular 
 form, the wild life on the frontier, of which I had become 
 so fond. 
 
 As the law then required all officers to be examined before 
 being assigned to duty, I immediately set out for Washington, 
 to report to General David Hunter, who was President of the 
 Board of Examiners. In due time I passed the ordeal, and 
 was assigned to the Second United States Cavalry, then serv 
 ing in the Department of the Platte. On my return home tc 
 the West, I stopped for a short time at New Philadelphia,
 
 BELDEM : THE WHITE CHIEF. 375 
 
 Ohio, to visit some relatives and friends, and spent several 
 delightful days with them. All the way through the East, 
 I could not help noticing how crowded together the people 
 lived, and I can not to this day understand how it is possi 
 ble for men to be contented where there are no prairies or 
 wild game. 
 
 On the 8th of September I started to join my company, 
 which was stationed in the Powder River country of .the Rocky 
 Mountains. Our route lay up the Platte River to Julesburg, 
 and thence to old Fort Laramie, where I was placed on tem 
 porary duty, with Company F of the Second Cavalry. We 
 marched to Fort Fetterman, and then to Reno, where I met 
 the command of General Sweitzer, and reported to that 
 officer. 
 
 My first military duty was to pursue three deserters, but, after 
 searching several trains, and following them thirty-three miles, 
 I lost all trace of them, and returned, having made a dead fail 
 ure, for which I received the comforting assurance of the com 
 manding officer that I "would do better next time." 
 
 General Sweitzer sent me to Fort Phil. Kearney, and imme 
 diately on my arrival there, I was ordered out, with forty sol 
 diers, to guard some workmen who were cutting hay near the 
 post. The country abounding in game, I amused myself by 
 hunting, and the first day out killed four elk, one black-tail 
 deer, and an antelope. The next day I killed three wolves, 
 one of which was a large gray fellow, and the day. after that 
 shot a black-tail deer and a fine young antelope. Going into 
 the garrison to draw rations for my men, I carried in my game 
 with me, having several hundred pounds of meat, which I gave 
 to the officers. From the 10th to the 27th of October, during 
 which lime I was stationed near the hay-fields I killed the fol-
 
 376 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 lowing extraordinary quantity of game : two buffalo, four elk. 
 four Rocky Mountain sheep, eight black-tail deer, seven ante 
 lope, five wolves, five prairie chickens, one mountain grouse, 
 one jack rabbit, one small rabbit, and one fox squirrel, besides 
 wounding nineteen animals, which I did not get. This waa 
 considered good hunting, even IL that prolific country. 
 
 In the last days of the month the. Indians fired the grass all 
 around the post, and for a time we thought we should be burnt 
 up. The slopes of the hills, as far as the eye could reach, were 
 covered with lines of fire, and tall sheets of flame leaped up 
 from the valley or run crackling through the timber. The 
 parade ground of the garrison was lighted up at night so one 
 could see to read, and for a distance of many miles every tree 
 and shrub could be distinctly seen. The crackling of the fire 
 sounded like the discharge of thousands of small arms, and 
 every few moments the bursting of heated stones would resound 
 over the valley, resembling the booming of distant cannon. In 
 all my life I had never seen so grand and imposing a sight, 
 and never expect to witness one like it again. For three days 
 the flames raged over a vast extent of country, and then, hav 
 ing consumed all the grass and dry trees, went out, doing us 
 no harm, owing to the streams around the fort, which com 
 pletely checked the advance of the destroying element. 
 
 The first day of November a horseman approached the fort, 
 riding at full speed, and his horse covered with foam. The 
 officers gathered around the head-quarters, to learn what was 
 up, and we were soon informed that the messenger had brought 
 a note from Lieutenant McCarthy, which stated that his whole 
 command, while escorting a train to Big Horn, had been sur 
 rounded by Indians, and that he was then hard pressed, but 
 would endeaver to hold out until forces could be sent to his
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 377 
 
 relief. The messenger said he had cut his way through the 
 Fndians, and had to ride for his life all the way to the fort, 
 General John E. Smith, who commanded the post, ordered me 
 lo take Company D, Second United States Cavalry, and gc 
 immediately to the assistance . of Lieutenant McCarthy. In 
 an ho'ir we were well on the road, and soon reached the be 
 leaguered command, which had driven oif the Indians before 
 our approach, and was then moving on its journey. 
 
 As we returned to the fort, we rode over to the Phil. Kear 
 ney massacre ground, and Major Gordon pointed out to me the 
 places where the hardest fighting had taken place. There, on 
 the 21st of December, 1866, three thousand Sioux, Cheyenne, 
 and Arrapahoe warriors, under the noted Sioux chief, Red 
 Cloud, surrounded Colonel Fetterman and his command, and 
 killed every one. 
 
 The ground was still covered with the debris of the fight. 
 Skeletons of horses and mules, human bones, pieces of skulls, 
 knapsacks, torn uniforms, and broken guns lay scattered over 
 the ground for a mile or more. Major Gordon showed me 
 where Fetterman made his last stand, and where eighty-six 
 soldiers and citizens lay dead in one pile. He also pointed 
 out to me the rock behind which Jim Wheatley, the guide, 
 and Captain Brown had taken shelter, and in front of which 
 fifteen Indians lay dead. This massacre was unparalleled in 
 the history of savage warfare. The fight was desperate in the 
 extreme, each soldier firing until his ammunition gave out, 
 and then defending himself with rocks and the butt of his 
 gun. One bugler boy was seen to knock two Indians down 
 with his bugle before he was run through by an Indian 
 lance. The stones and rocks were still stained with blood 
 
 and covered with hair where the Indians had beat out the 
 
 33
 
 373 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 brains of the white soldiers with their war clubs. I picked 
 up an old flint-lock Indian gun, and it bore the brand, " Lon 
 don, 1777." The history of that gun would certainly be cu 
 rious could it be written how many battles and skirmishes 
 had it been in ? where had it traveled, and how many wild an 
 imals, Indians, and white men had it slain? These and many 
 other questions suggested themselves to my mind while looking 
 at this relic of by-gone days. 
 
 I now remained in the fort for several days, engaged in mil 
 itary duties, but found time to ride out occasionally and shoot 
 a buffalo or elk, these animals often coming down in full sight 
 of the post. 
 
 It was the 5th oT November when a runner came hastily 
 into the fort to announce that Lieutenant Shirly, who had been 
 sent out with a detachment of men, had been attacked by two 
 hundred Indians, and a severe battle had been fought. The 
 lieutenant had been shot through the foot and severely 
 wounded, one soldier killed, and seven wounded. It was late 
 in the evening when the news of the battle reached us, and at 
 one o'clock at night Colonel Green left the fort with two com 
 panies of cavalry, and arrived at the -scene of the battle about 
 daylight the next morning. We found wagons overturned, 
 and sacks of flour, sugar, rice, and bacon scattered over the 
 ground. Boxes of crackers, packages of stationery, pipes, to 
 bacco, books, belts, scabbards, swords, and broken guns lay 
 every- where. A dead horse, and a mule with a saddle yet on, 
 lay on the road, and further out on the plain were a dozen dead 
 ponies, where the Indians had charged. All the savages had 
 left, but the trail was only a few hours old, and leading east 
 ward. While most of the soldiers went in pursuit of the In 
 dians, the rest of us busied ourselves in looking after the
 
 BELDEIST: THE WHITE CHIEF. 379 
 
 wounded. One corporal had his thigh broken, and another 
 his hand shattered, rendering amputation necessary in both 
 cases A soldier was shot through the lungs, another in the 
 knee another in the shoulder, and still another in the arm. A 
 citizen, who had acted as postilion to a mounted howitzer, re 
 ceived a ball in the thigh. Lieutenant Shirly's wound was 
 very severe, and painful, the ball having passed through the 
 instep and flattened against the sole of the boot. Shirly said 
 the principal object of attack by the Indians was the howitzer, 
 the} having killed or wounded every man around it in their 
 efforts to capture it. They no doubt wished to secure the 
 piece, so as to shell and annoy the forts with it. 
 
 We gathered up the stores as well as we could, and, taking 
 the wounded men, .returned to the fort. Soon afterward the 
 cavalry came in, having failed to overtake the Indians. 
 
 I started out to scout with Major Gordon's company of cav 
 alry, and the second day a violent rain and snow-storm broke 
 upon us. The wind blew a gale, and we went into camp as 
 soon as we could find shelter. Toward evening the wind fell, 
 the rain ceased, and the sun came out bright and warm, dis 
 persing the gloomy clouds. Next morning, however, it was 
 very cold, and we took the road as soon as it was light, push 
 ing on smartly until we reached Fish Creek, a distance of four 
 teen miles. During the day I shot several prairie grouse, and 
 some birds. In the evening, after we had pitched our camp, a 
 band of Indians appeared on the hills to the west, and, on being 
 hailed, answered they were friendly Crows, and asked permis 
 sion to come in and visit us. Major Gordon said they might 
 come, but they soon annoyed us so the major was obliged to 
 drive them off. 
 
 We marched to Muddy Creek the following day and en-
 
 380 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 camped, where the Crow Indians again visited us, and begged 
 every thing they could, even to small pieces of straps. The 
 chiefs : Bad Elk, Little Wolf, and Bird-in-the-Neck were with 
 them, and these noble red men were not too proud to beg, or 
 so honest they would not steal. 
 
 Our march now lay to -$ig Horn, and, on the third day, 
 which was the evening of the 13th of November, 1867, we
 
 HELD EX: THE WHITE CHIEF 38,' 
 
 CHAPTER, LVII. 
 
 3ARRISOJ5 LIFR HUNTING KOOKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP A CHASE AFTER INDIANS 
 HOW THEY CARRY OFF THEIR DEAD SIEGE OF MCPHERSON's TRAIN TUB 
 
 RELIEF JOY OF THE RESCUED THE BATTLE-FIELD MARCH HOMEWARD 
 
 THE DESERTED LODGE INDIANS AGAIN WOLVES AND THE OLD BUFFALO 
 
 BULL AT PHIL KEARNEY BASACHE, THE RUNNER HER HISTORY HOW 
 SHE KILLED THE BEAR WHY SHE" RECEIVED HER NAMB 
 
 TTTUNTING, scouting, and reading occupied my time till the 
 -LJL end of the month, when I went out to kill buffalo and 
 Rocky Mountain sheep. We soon saw three sheep standing on 
 some shelving rocks, far up the mountain side, and leaving the 
 corporal, who was with me, to hold the horses, I climbed for an 
 hour among the rocks, and at the end of that time found my 
 self within three hundred yards of a fine buck. I fired, and 
 he fell over, when the 'ewes that were with him started to run 
 away, and, although I succeeded in putting two balls into one 
 of them, she got off. The buck had both his fore-shoulders 
 broken; but was very anxious to fight me, striking with his 
 horns, and kicking like a mule with his hind feet. I soon 
 laid him out with my big butcher, and started in pursuit of 
 the wounded ewe. Following her trail for over a mile, often 
 getting heavy falls, she at last had ascended the rocks, where 
 it was impossible for me to climb, and I turned back to secure 
 and dress my buck. His. horns were enormous, and cutting 
 
 off his head, I carried it to the fort, where I presented it to 
 23
 
 362 BF.LDEN: THF WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 our accommodating Quartermaster, Gen. Dandy, who wished ic 
 send it to some frienJs in the East. 
 
 Next morning I again started out, accompanied by Colonel 
 Smith, Dr. Gisedorf, and some soldiers. It was snowing, and 
 the thick undergrowth made so much noise that, although we 
 saw several deer, we did not succeed in killing any. Leaving 
 my companions, to see if I could not scare up something bv 
 myself, I soon came upon a fresh bear track, and followed it 
 for six miles, when I gave out, and sat down. Fortunately, 
 one of the soldiers had followed me with my horse, and mount 
 ing, I rode back to camp, having shot nothing during the day 
 but a mountain grouse. This was the poorest day's hunting I 
 had ever done in that country. 
 
 On the 29th of November the pickets on the hill overlook 
 ing the fori signaled " Indians," and a few minutes aftenvard 
 reported that they were attacking the ox train, three miles dis 
 tant. I immediately saddled up some horses, and, accompanied 
 by a small party of cavalrymen, set out for the train. On oui 
 approach the Indians, ten in number, made off, and we gave 
 chase. After following them about seven miles, we overhauled 
 four savages, and killed them. A dozen times we got within a 
 hundred yards of the others ; but could not get any more of 
 them. 
 
 It was wonderful to see the coolness and agility of the sav 
 ages. When one would get wounded or killed, the rest would . 
 halt, and, in a moment, lash him to his horse, when they would 
 set off again at a full gallop. We succeeded in getting (wo 
 ponies ; but the Indians put the dead bodies of their comrades 
 on other ponies, and carried them off. One Indian was tied by 
 the neck to the bow of his saddle, and by one leg to the cantle, 
 the other one dragging on the ground.
 
 BELDKX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Earl) 7 in December a messenger came to the fort, and re 
 ported that a train belonging to Mr. McPherson had been 
 attacked and corralled, about forty miles out on the Phil 
 Kearney road. The same night Mr. McPherson's herder came 
 in, and confirmed the report, stating that the men with the train 
 had been fighting since Sunday morning, and when he left one 
 had been killed and seven wounded. I was ordered out with 
 the cavalry company and one mountain howitzer, and directed 
 to go, with all possible haste, to the assistance of the train. 
 
 We had not marched more than ten miles from the fort, 
 when, near Rock Creek, we were fired upon by a small party of 
 Indians, who were concealed in the bluffs. Their fire did no 
 harm ; and we pushed on until near morning, when we were 
 challenged with " Who goes there ? " and upon answering, 
 " Relief from the fort," cheer after cheer burst from the throats 
 of the besieged men. They were wild with joy, and many sat 
 down, and cried like children, when they knew they were really 
 delivered from a horrible death. Over two hundred Indians 
 had surrounded them, and only left when they learned of our 
 approach. So closely had they watched, that it was impossible 
 to get word to the fort, and one man was killed while attempt 
 ing to steal through the Indian lines. The herder had only 
 escaped at great risk, and by keeping in a ravine until he got 
 among the rocks, where he crawled for over a mile on his hands 
 and knees. 
 
 The battle-field bore marks of a desperate conflict, arrows, 
 guns, blankets, dead oxen, and ponies lying thick over the 
 ground. We saw white human bones, where the wolves, in the 
 night-time, had dragged the bodies out on the prairies, and 
 eaten every particle of flesh off of them. Even the skulls were 
 broken in, and the brains sucked out by the ravenous beasts.
 
 384 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Gathering up the wounded, we set out with the besieged 
 train for the fort; and on the first night of the march camped 
 on Clear Creek, where we saw, in the evening, signals being 
 made by the Indians on the mountain sides with poles and red 
 feathers attached to the end of them. Pushing out a small 
 party in the direction of the savages, they soon came upon a 
 -odge the Indians haa just left, and which still contained cook 
 ing utensils, pipes, tobacco, and some robes. Destroying the 
 lodge, the party returned to camp ; and we saw nothing more 
 of the Indians. In the morning I witnessed a curious contest 
 between an old buffalo bull and a pack of wolves. Nearly a 
 hundred of these fierce brutes had attacked the old fellow, and 
 were endeavoring to pull him down. They had torn open the 
 scrotum, and terribly lacerated his hams. After watching the 
 unequal battle for 'some time, we put an end to it by firing a 
 volley into the wolves, who scampered off. We then killed 
 the old buffalo, and started on our march for Shell Creek. We 
 camped there all night, and the next day reached the fort, the 
 day being very cold and a rain falling at the time we entered 
 the stockade. 
 
 I now busied myself in making a suit of buckskin, taking 
 my tour as officer of the day, and occasionally shooting a few 
 sage hens and rabbits. 
 
 So time passed until the 9th of December, when I went out 
 one morning to hunt blacktail deer ; and on my return to the 
 fort in the evening, I learned that the Indians had been there, 
 and attempted to run off the herd. I determined to be more 
 careful in the future, and remain ill the fort, lest I should lose 
 my scalp. 
 
 1 had employed, as cook, an Indian girl named Basache; and 
 *s she was good looking, I was constantly annoyed by young
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 385 
 
 warriors of the friendly Crow tribe, who came to court her. 
 Basache had a history, which is worth relating. She was a 
 Crow ; and one fall, when her tribe was out hunting, a startling 
 
 adventure befell her, she 
 then being a mere child, 
 The village was pitched in 
 a valley, beside a heavily- 
 timbered stream ; and the 
 men were killing buflalo 
 while the squaws were en-- 
 gaged in cutting up and 
 preserving the meat and 
 hides. Basache had gone 
 out into the wo/)ds to gather 
 berries, and was climbing 
 up a vine on an old tree, 
 Basache. to pick some grapes, when, 
 
 through an opening in the leaves above her head, she saw two 
 great eyes glaring at her from a hole in the trunk. In a mo 
 ment she knew it was a bear, and began to descend as rapidly 
 as possible ; but the bear also slid rapidly down the inside, and 
 came out just as Basache reached the ground. She started to 
 run, the bear following close at her heels. When she emerged 
 from the timber several warriors, who were strolling near the 
 village, saw her, and aimed their guns to shoot the bear, but 
 feared to fire, lest they should hit the girl. Seeing the bear 
 would catch her, they called out to her to lay down ; and instantly 
 she dropped as though she was dead. Bruin came up, smelt 
 her face, and, taking his paw, rolled her over and over. She 
 kept her eyes shut; and presently the bear sat down beside 1 er, 
 as if to meditate upon the matter. Bears will not touch a dead
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 human body ; but Bruin seemed to *have his doubts as to 
 whether Basache was really dead. Meanwhile, the warriors 
 resorted to various artifices to attract the attention of the bear, 
 and, if possible, draw him off in. pursuit of themselves. At 
 length they succeeded, and told the girl to run for the village ; 
 but no sooner did she rise to her feet than Bruin left the war 
 riors, to pursue Basache. She ran as fast as she could ; but the 
 bear was soon again close upon her ; when, seeing no chance 
 of escape, she stopped, drew her tomahawk, and, as he came up, 
 dexterously struck him between the eyes, sinking the sharp 
 blade deep into his brain. The brute turned around, fell to 
 his knees, and, roaring furiously, rolled over on his side, and 
 died. So the Indians named the girl, who, before this occur 
 rence, had no name, Basache, " the bear-runner." 
 '
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 381 
 
 CHAPTER LVIII. 
 
 IKDIAN ALARMS THE SIOUX STANDING TO ARMS ATTACK ON THE W001> 
 CHOPPERS BATTLE AT PINEY DEATH OF THE WOOD-CHOPPERS PURSUING 
 THE INDIANS THEY WON*! FIGHT THE SOLDIERS ANOTHER ALARM FIRE 
 SUSPICIONS OF TREACHERY TO FORT RENO AND BACK NEW YEARS IN 
 CAMP THE INDIANS ON THE HILLS A COUNCIL SPEECH OF DR. MATTHEWS 
 
 TO THE CHIEFS THEIR REPLY THE COUNCIL ENDS IN SMOKE AND BAD 
 
 BLOOD TRADING WITH THE INDIANS A BRIDAL ROBE THE UPPER AND 
 LOWER ' CROWS BASACHE DETERMINES TO LEAVE ME SHE GOES TO JOIN 
 
 HER TRIBE. 
 
 t 
 
 ON the 13th of December we had a serious alarm, the 
 friendly Crows reporting a large body of Sioux warriors 
 approaching the post, evidently with the intention of making 
 an attack, as they were in war paint, and had sent all their 
 pack-horses and women to the rear. The companies were all 
 got out, the cannon and arms cleaned, and every preparation 
 made for battle. We remained under arms all night, but 
 morning came and we were still unattacked. About eight 
 o'clock it was announced that our outpost, at Piuey Creek, 
 near the fort, where the wood-cutters were, had been attacked, 
 five Indians killed, and six wood-choppers wounded, four of 
 whom had since died. The Indians had captured all the oxen 
 and wagons, and driven them off. A half-breed, who came 
 into the fort, said a number of Crow Indians were in the fight 
 with the Sioux, and, on going out, we picked up several Crow
 
 388 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 arrows, which had been fired at the wood-cutters. This was 
 not, however, considered conclusive evidence against the Crows, 
 as we knew the wily Sioux had, in all probability, fired the 
 arrows, in order to get the Crows into trouble, they having, 
 of late^ made several efforts to induce the Crows to join them 
 in their war against the whites. 
 
 "We marched out to the relief of the wood-cutters, and, 
 although ihe hills were full of Indians, we could not induce 
 any of them to come down and give us battle. We found 
 most of the cattle, and brought in the wood-men, five of whom 
 were dead. 
 
 Sioux, Cheyennes, and Arrapahoes in great numbers continued 
 around the fort, causing us much uneasiness as we knew, from 
 their sullen deportment, they were bent on mischief. One night, 
 just as we were going to bed, several shots were fired by the 
 fc sentinels, and we all sprang from our beds, anticipating every 
 moment an Indian attack. The alarm proved, however, to be 
 caused by a fire, which had broken out in the barracks, near 
 the corrall. The wind was blowing stiffly at the time, and, 
 for awhile, the whole garrison was in danger of being burned, 
 but the prompt exertions of the soldiers extinguished the 
 flames, and restored safety. To add to our troubles, while the 
 fire was burning, the Indians came around, and we were by no 
 means certain that it was not a ruse to get us off our guard 
 and then attack us. The gates were closely watched, however, 
 and the savages finally retired without making any hostile 
 demonstrations. 
 
 In the last days of December I was ordered down to Fort 
 Reno with the mails, and set out, taking with me thirty men 
 and two wagons. In three days I reached my destination in 
 safety, having had a pleasant journey, and without seeing any
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 389 
 
 / 
 
 Indians. After waiting three days for the return mails, 1 
 started for Kearney, and reached that place on the 31st of De 
 cember, thus closing the year with a most dangerous, but suc 
 cessful trip. 
 
 Next day 1 ate a New Year's dinner with Lieut. Warrens 
 W)d his accomplished lady, and spent some delightful hours. 
 
 On the second of January, the Indians again appeared around 
 the fort, and Dr. H. W. Matthews, one of the Peace Commis 
 sioners on the part of the United States Government, called 
 them to meet him in council. A number of chiefs and prin 
 cipal warriors came in, and, after they were all assembled, 
 Dr. Matthews rose, and said: 
 
 "Chiefs and warriors: There was a time when the Indian 
 and white man were friends. The Great Spirit and the white 
 father at Washington desires they should still be friends. 
 Your father has sent me to tell you this, and to try and in 
 duce you to listen to his words. He is anxious to please you, 
 and wishes you to live at peace with his children. Yesterday 
 was a great medicine day among the whites. Resolutions and 
 good intentions made on that day are sacred, and will be kept 
 throughout the year. We resolved to be at peace with you, 
 and have sent for you, that we might talk together and under 
 stand one another. I hope that the peace we now make will 
 be a lasting one, and kept, not only throughout the year, but 
 forever. I would like to make a treaty now, but the great 
 father will not permit me to do so, as I am but a subordinate 
 chief. He has authorized me, however, to say to you, that if 
 you will cease from war on his people during the winter, early 
 in the spring he will send his commissioners, who are great 
 chiefs, to sign your treaty at Laramie. This offer he makes 
 you as a last offer, and if you reject it, the white father will
 
 390 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 be very angry. He loves you, but is not afraid to punish you 
 I hope you will consider well what I have said, and decic, 
 wisely on peace." 
 
 When this speech had been translated into Sioux, Cheyenne, 
 and Arrapahoe, so that all the Indians understood it, the doctor 
 sat down, and a Sioux warrior, named " Stabber," addressed the 
 council as follows : 
 
 " Whoever our father, who has just spoken, is, I believe he is 
 a good man. We -are told that the great father (President) 
 sent word some time ago for his soldiers to leave the country, 
 and I want to tell you that we want them to hurry and go. 
 Send word to the great father to take away his warriors with 
 the snow, and he will please us. If they can go right away, 
 let it be done, so that we can bring our old men, women, and 
 children to live on these grounds in peace, as they did before 
 you all came here. The Sioux, Arrapahoes, and Cheyennes 
 never fought each other until you came and drove away the 
 game (meaning in the whole West), and then attempted to 
 drive us away. Now we fight each other for sufficient ground 
 to hunt upon, though all the lands to the East were once ours. 
 We are talking to-day on our own grounds. God Almighty 
 made this ground, and when he made it he made it for us. 
 Look about you, and see how he has stocked it with game. 
 The elk, the buffalo, and deer are our meat, and he put them 
 here for us to feed upon. Your homes are in the East, and 
 you have beef cattle to eat. Why, then, do you come here to 
 bother us? What have you your soldiers here for, unless it is 
 to fight and kill us? If you will go away to your homes and 
 leave us, we will be at peace ; but if you stay, we will fight. 
 We do not go to your homes; then why come to ours? You 
 say we steal your cattle and horses; well, do ycu not know
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 3&_ 
 
 that when you coine into our lands, and kill and drive away 
 the game, you steal from us? That is the reason we steal your 
 stock.- I am done." 
 
 When " Stabber " sat down, " Black Hawk " came forward, 
 and said: 
 
 " Where was I made? I was raised in the West, not in the 
 East. I was not raised in a chair, but grew upon the ground. 
 (He then sat down on the earth, and continued :) Here is my 
 mother, and I will stay with her and protect her. Laramie 
 has always been, our place for talking, and I did not like to 
 come here. You are getting too far West. Yen have killed 
 many of our young men, and we have killed some ot yours 
 in return. I want to quit fighting to-day. I want you to take 
 pity on us and go away." 
 
 A Cheyenne chief next addressed the council. He said : 
 
 "We have been told that these forts are to be abandoned 
 and the new road given up, and we have come in to see about 
 it. If this is true, tell me so. I never thought we would 
 come to a Council so far west; but the old men prevailed, and 
 we are here. All last summer we heard that Gen. Harney 
 wanted to see us at Laramie ; but we would not go. Gen. 
 Sherman also sent for us ; but we would not listen while you 
 were here. I do n't know the name of my father there (point 
 ing to Dr. Mathews), nor who at present is my great father 
 (President) at Washington; but this I do know, my father 
 (his parent^ Then he raised me, told me to shake hands' with 
 the white man, and try to live at peace with him, for he was 
 very powerful. But my father also told me to fight my ene 
 mies, and since the white man has made himself an enemy, 1 
 6ght him. How are you our enemy ? You come here, and 
 drive away our game; and he who does that steals from us our
 
 392 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 bread, and becomes the Indian's bitterest enemy, for the Indiaii 
 must have food to live. I have fought you, and I have stolen 
 from you ; but I have done both to live. The only road you 
 have a right to travel is the Platte road. We have never 
 crossed it to fight you. I am a soldier. I have a great many 
 young men here who are soldiers, and will do my bidding. It 
 is our duty to protect and feed our old men, women, and chil 
 dren, and we must do it. If you are friendly, why do n't you 
 give, us powder and bullets to shoot game with ? We will not 
 use them against you, unless you do us harm. I want ten 
 kegs ; and when the other tribes know that you have given 
 them to me, they -will know we are good friends, and will come 
 in and treat, and we will all live at peace. I came here to hear 
 talk ; not to make talk. We are poor. Take pity on us, and 
 deal justly by us. I have done." 
 
 The next speaker was a Crow chief, who, standing by the 
 council table, said : 
 
 " Sioux, Cheyennes, Arrapahoes, Crows, Father : I have 
 been listening to your words, and they sound good. I hope 
 you are not lying to each other. The Crows have long been 
 the friends of the whites, and we want peace for all. We want 
 powder; and when the white father makes us presents, I 
 want him to give us a good deal of ammunition." 
 
 An Arrapaho chief said : 
 
 I want to say this :**You are here with your soldiers ; and 
 what for? Soldiers are your fighting men. Do you then 
 want to fight? If so, tell us. If you desire peace, send yom 
 soldiers away. I have some of your stock. I would like to 
 gee you come, and try to get it back." 
 
 This closed the speaking on the part of the Indians, and Dr. 
 Matthews replied. He said that the Peace Commissioners
 
 BELDE.N : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 would as willingly meet at Lararaie as at any other place; but 
 that it was more convenient for the Indians to come to Fort 
 Kearney. He did not say when the posts would be abandoned, 
 or the country and roads given up. He made no reply to the 
 demands for powder ; but simply said : " If the Indians cease 
 fighting, and keep the peace during the winter, the Commis 
 sioners will meet them in the spring, and make a treaty which 
 will be satisfactory to both parties." 
 
 The council broke up, having effected no good result; and 
 the Indians left more dissatisfied than ever. When asked why 
 Red Cloud did not attend the council, a chief replied : " He 
 has sent us, as the great father has sent you. When the 
 great father comes, Red Cloud will be here." This evidently 
 meant that the haughty chief would only treat through his 
 agents or ministers, unless the President was present in person. 
 
 After the council I went down to the Arrapahoe camp to 
 trade for some buffalo robes, and finally succeeded in getting a 
 fine bridal robe ; but had to pay the enormous price of $98 for 
 it. I brought it up to the post, and showed it to tlie officers, 
 some of whom had never seen so fine a robe; and all wanted 
 to buy it. Gen. Smith wished me to get him one, and seeing 
 he had taken a great fancy to the one I had, I presented it to 
 him ; but had hard work to prevail upon the good old man to 
 accept so valuable a present. Next morning I went into the 
 Sioux camp to buy another robe ; but could not induce the In 
 dians to sell any for money, though they offered me any thing 
 they had for powder and bullets. A single charge of powder 
 was worth $4, and four ounces of the little black grains would 
 bring $40. The officers were not allowed to sell the Indians 
 ammunition, however ; and so I failed to make any trades. 
 
 One day Basache, my Indian cook, came to me in great glee, 
 
 34
 
 394 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF 
 
 and announced that the Upper Missouri Crows, who had not 
 visited the Montana Crows for some years, were coming down 
 to live with them. She said her father was the head chief of 
 the Upper Crows ; and she must go immediately on their ar 
 rival, and join her tribe. I readily acquiesced, and gave the 
 happy girl a present of a new dress to wear on the occasion. I 
 asked her to stay a few days longer, and tan some skins foi 
 Gen. Smith, which she said she would be pleased to do. On 
 the eighth day she went away; and I was sorry to part with 
 her, for she really was a very kind-hearted and useful servant.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHIT2 CHIEF. 395 
 
 CHAPTER LIX. 
 
 RED CLOUD ABOUT BASACHE RETURNS SHE IS TIRED OF BEING A CHIEFS 
 DAUGHTER WITH NOTHIXG TO EAT INDIAN ARTICLES OF VALUE THEIB 
 
 PRICE LETTERS FROM HOME ST ARTLING NEWS A CURIOUS CEREMONY 
 
 CHRISTENING AN INDIAN CHILD SUPERSTITION ABOUT CRYING THE DOG 
 
 LAW INDIANS EATING DOGS AN AMUSING OCCURRENCE NO FAVOR AMONG 
 
 CURS THE SPRING COMING BIRD SHOOTING. 
 
 ABOUT the middle of January, Red Cloud came down 
 and encamped within ten miles of the fort, sending word 
 he was for peace, but would not come to the post, or talk with 
 any of the officers. At the same time, Basache came back and 
 begged me to take her again into my service. She found it 
 much pleasanter, and far preferable, to being even a great chief's 
 daughter. These chiefs had little else for women, she said, than 
 plenty of hard work ; so I returned her to my pots and kettles, 
 aiid she was once more happy. She had .been with me but a 
 short time, when her father sent her word to return to the tr^be, 
 and notified me that Basache must not live any longer with the 
 whites. I advised her to go back to her father's lodge, but thie 
 she positively declined to do. 
 
 I had, by trading with Indians, secured a great many cur* 
 ous and valuable things, and as the list of articles in my 
 cabinet shows the variety and cost of Indian goods, I will here 
 append it :
 
 396 
 
 BELDI;N: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 One Lance, ...... Sioux, . . . . , $ 5 00 
 
 Two Bows, Sioux, .... 8 00 
 
 One Pipe-tomahawk, . . . Sioux, . . . . . 10 00 
 
 Seven Arrows, .... Arrapahoe, ... 1 75 
 
 Thirty Arrows, .... Sioux, . . . . . 7 50 
 
 One Arrow, .... Nee Perce, ... 25 
 
 Fifteen Arrows, .... Crow, 3 7< r 
 
 Ton Arrows, .... Cheyenne, .... 2 50 
 
 One Bow-case and Quiver, . . Crow, .... 5 00 
 
 One Gun-cover beaded, . . Sioux, . . . . 10 00 
 
 Two Knife Scabbards, . . . Sioux, 12 00 
 
 One set Scalp Feathers, . . Sioux, . . . . 1 00 
 
 One pair Moccasins, . . . Sioux, . . . . . 1 00 
 
 One pair Moccasins, . . . Cheyenne, .... 5 00 
 
 One pair Moccasins, ^. . . Crow, 10 00 
 
 Two Tobacco Pouches, . . Sioux, . . . . 10 00 
 
 One Gun Case, .... Sioux, 2 50 
 
 One Saddle Cover, . . . Sioux, .... 5 00 
 
 One Hundred Brass Beads, . . Nee Perce, . . . . 10 00 
 
 One Squaw Dress, . . . Sioux, .... 75 00 
 
 One Double-knife Scabbard, . . Sioux, . . . . . 2 50 
 
 One Single-knife Scabbard, . Sioux, . * . 1 00 
 
 One Beaded Belt, .... Crow, 5 00 
 
 One Beaded Buffalo Robe, . . Sioux, . . . . 35 00 
 
 One Painted Buffalo Eobe, . . Sioux, 25 00 
 
 One Painted Buffalo Robe, . Cheyenne, . . . 20 00 
 
 One Porcupine Garnished Robe, . Sioux, . . . . . 20 00 
 
 Two other fine Robes, . . . Sioux, .... 60 00 
 
 One tanned Grizzly Bear Skin, . Sioux, 25 00 
 
 One Red Stone Pipe, . . . Sioux, .... 5 00 
 
 One pair Leggings beaded, . . Sioux, . . . . . 2 50 
 
 Six Arrapahoe Arrows, . . Arrapahoe, ... 1 50 
 
 Three Buffalo Robes plain, . . Sioux, . . . . . 10 00 
 
 One Indian Blanket painted, . Sioux, . . . . 20 00 
 
 Twenty-seven Strings Beads, . . Sioux, . . . . . 27 00 
 
 Thirty-five Strings Beads, . . Sioux, .... 17 50 
 
 One Indian Pony, .... Crow, . . . . . 75 00 
 
 One Garnished Bridal Robe, . Sioux, .... 98 80 
 
 One Garnished Bridal Robe, . . Cheyenne, . . . . 73 00 
 
 The routine of garrison duty occupied us until the fifth day 
 of February, when I received letters from home informing me 
 of the marriageof my eldest sister, and the dsath of a lady
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 397 
 
 ivh.o was an old and esteemed friend of the family. The letter 
 )f the husband of this lady, written to a brother then at our 
 jost, was, to me, one of the most touching epistles I had ever 
 *oad, and it made a deep impression upon my mind. 
 
 While at Fort Phil. Kearney, I was called upon to partici- 
 3ato in the curious ceremony of christening an Indian child. 
 Che father, Raphael Galleges, was a half-breed, and the rnothtr 
 i Sioux Indian. A Sioux warrior stood up on the mother's 
 jart, and I represented the father. All the women, except the 
 nother, were excluded from the building, and then a bunch of 
 sweet-scented grass was rolled up with some " Indian medicine," 
 n a piece of elkskin, and set on fire. The room was soon filled 
 vith smoke, and the mother, taking the child, held him over the 
 ire until the little fellow was completely smoked, when the 
 ather, taking him by the left hand, called him by name, 
 ' George Galleges." The mother next dropped some cleai 
 vater on his face, and rubbing him thoroughly, the ceremony 
 ,vas ended. It was considered a good omen, that during the 
 ;eremony the child did not cry, for if he had, it would have 
 )een emblematical of a troublesome life, and that he w r ould 
 Become an enemy of his "godfather." I was thoroughly glad, 
 therefore, when the little fellow thus showed his good temper, 
 br it would have given me great pain to reflect that, in after 
 ife, I should be obliged to kill my Indian namesake. 
 
 About this time there was an amusing occurrence at the gar- 
 'ison that will bear relating. The post had become filled with 
 logs, and General Smith, the commanding officer, determined 
 :o get rid of the nuisance. An order was accordingly issued to 
 jhoot all dogs found running at large during the daytime; and 
 soon several cur& who had no masters to tie them up were killed 
 
 ind thrown outside the stockade. The Indians, who wera 
 24
 
 398 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 camped near, were not long in learning of the order ; and t 
 every morning, presented themselves to receive the dead car 
 casses. One day, the officer of the day -shot a large dog near 
 the guard-house, and, on turning around, to his horror saw his 
 own favorite dog following him. He ordered the sentinel not 
 to shoot him, and immediately sent him home and had him tied 
 ip; but the officer to whom the dog that had been shot be 
 longed, watched his chance, and threw the dog belonging to the 
 officer of the day over the stockade, when he was immediately 
 nabbed, killed, and cooked by the Indians. This created a 
 great row about the dog-law, but it was finally decided that il 
 would not do to be partial, and that, if one loose dog was killed, 
 all must share the same fate. 
 
 It was now well along in the month of March, and the sun 
 was becoming quite warm, so that we knew the spring was 
 approaching. Birds were numerous, and I often went out 
 hunting near the post and met with good success, but did not 
 dare venture far enough away to kill larger game than rabbits, 
 sage hens, and occasionally an antelope or deer.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 399 
 
 CHAPTER LX. 
 
 B SIOCX TURETEN FORT KEARNEY-wATT.YCK ON INFANTRYMEN RUN INTJ 
 THE FORT GENERAL SMITH'S INTERVIEW WITH THE SIOUX WHO THEY 
 WERE AND WHAT THEY SAID A CAVALRY SCARE THE INDIANS ENCAMP 
 
 NEAR THE FORT THEIR DEFIANCE A TRAIN SIGNALED WE GO OUT TO 
 
 MEET IT CORRALLED BY INDIANS DESPERATE SITUATION A FIGHT 
 TWENTY AGAINST TWO A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE THE GATES OF THE FORT 
 THROWN OPEN SAVED PUNISHMENT OF THE INDIANS RETURN TO 
 VRIENDS A JOYFUL EVENING. 
 
 the 8th day of April the Sioux, mounted on fleet horses, 
 appeared in large numbers on the bluffs north of the fort, 
 and rode furiously around the hilltops, yelling and brandishing 
 their weapons in a hostile manner. Many of them carried scalp 
 poles, and were dressed in feathers and war paint. Most of the 
 former parties had professed friendship, but these fellows would 
 not come down to the fort, and were defiant in their actions. 
 Some of the officers went outside of the stookade to see the In 
 dians, but the sa\ r ages would not allow them to approach th^ 
 bill on which they were. General Smith then signaled them 
 to come into the fort, but they refused. Three or four of them 
 crossed the creek and galloped toward the fort, but wheeled 
 suddenly and made off". Presently we saw three infantry sol 
 diers, who had been out hunting, running for the fort, and a 
 long line of Indians, stretched out like skirmishers, following
 
 400 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 close in pursuit of them. The men were nearly exhausted, and 
 the Indians could easily have overtaken them, but seemed only 
 desirous of giving them a good fright. We opened the gates 
 and let the poor fellows in, who, perhaps, never were so happy 
 in their lives as when they saw the gates of the fort close be 
 tween them and their enemies. The stockade was crowded witl 
 men, and the Indians sat quietly on their horses, apparently 
 watching to see what we would do. General Smith ordered 
 the cavalry to saddle up and stand to horse, and then, taking 
 Boyer, the interpreter, rode out of the fort and approached the 
 hill where the Indians were. He wished to go up to the sav 
 ages, but Boyer advised him not to do so, and, yielding to his 
 advice, General Smith told him to call to the Indians to come 
 down and talk with him, which he did, but for some time could 
 succeed in getting no reply, when General Smith, advancing a 
 few steps, cried out, "How! " This was immediately answered 
 by some one on the hill with " How ! " The general then 
 directed Boyer to repeat again that he wished to talk with 
 them, and an Indian, who seemed to be a chief, inquired, 
 " What do you want to talk about ? " 
 
 Gen. Smith (to Boyer). " Ask him who they are and what 
 they want." 
 
 T/ie Chief. " We are part of Red Cloud's warriors, and come 
 to see when you are going to leave our country with y6ur 
 soldiers." 
 
 Gen. Smith. " Ask them where they have come from, and 
 where they are going." 
 
 The Chief. " We have been fighting the Snakes on the 
 Laramie road, and are going north." 
 
 The chief and three or four warriors then rode down quit* 
 near the general, and the interview continued.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 401 
 
 Gen. Smith. " Tell them they have been expected for some 
 time by the Peace Commissioners at Laramie, to sign the treaty 
 o.\ out these lands." 
 
 The Chief. " We have been at the big talk at Laramie ; and 
 the Commissioners promised us the forts should be pulled down 
 and the country abandoned in two months." 
 
 Ger.. Smith. " Ask him if the time is up." 
 
 The Chief. " It is, and we want to know why you stay here 
 with your soldiers." 
 
 Gen. Smith. " We have made preparations to go ; and will 
 leave as soon as we are ready, but if your warriors commit 
 depredations or kill any more white men, we will not go at 
 all, but stay here, kill you, and drive off your game." 
 
 The Chief. " We are not afraid, but I want you to go, and 
 meantime give me some food for my young men to eat. Do 
 you see that creek over there? Give me something to eat, and 
 I will go over and encamp on its banks to-night." 
 
 Gen. Smith. " I have nothing to give you, but I want to 
 
 * 
 
 warn you to restrain your young men from committing any 
 depredations around here." 
 
 At this stage of the interview, the cavalry company, which 
 General Smith had ordered to saddle up and stand to horse, 
 but not to show themselves, was seen marching out of the gates 
 of the fort, and as soon as the Indians caught sight of it they 
 wheeled their ponies, and, putting the whip to them, never 
 stopped until they were out of sight. 
 
 General Smith ordered the company back, and was much 
 provoked at the interruption of his talk, as well as the false 
 impression it had made on the minds of the Indians of treach 
 ery on his part. Toward evening the Indians again returned 
 
 to the hill, but they could not be induced to come down or 
 
 35
 
 402 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 talk. One of them, who was Red Cloud's son, rode down,; 
 and, passing around the fort, minutely examined the works,' 
 but would not come in, or talk. 
 
 Near sunset the Indians were seen crossing the flat toward ^ 
 the creek where the chief had indicated that he would canip.l 
 The evening gun was fired as they crossed the stream, and thai 
 whole party halted and looked at the fort. After consultation, ! 
 they seemed to think some sort of defiance had been given 
 them, and a warrior, aiming at the fort with his gun, fired. 
 The ball struck on the parade-ground, but did no harm. The; 
 Indians then went into camp, but left the next morning for Red 
 Cloud's head-quarters, which were supposed to be near by. 
 
 Two days later, another party of Sioux came down near the 
 fort, and, on the day following, a large baud of Arrapahoes 
 encamped within a mile of us. There was no doubt now in 
 our minds that the Indians meant mischief, and were gather 
 ing around the fort with the intention of attacking it as soon 
 as their numbers should be sufficiently strong. 
 
 All remained quiet, however, until the 10th of June, when, 
 about five o'clock in the evening, the pickets signaled a train 
 was approaching, and I rode out with Lieutenant McCaulley, 
 of the Twenty-seventh Infantry, to meet it. We had gone 
 across a small knoll to the south of the pickets, and passed out 
 of sight of them but a short distance, when suddenly we saw 
 ten Indians riding down upon us. I called out to McCaulley 
 that they were hostile, and we must ride for the fort as hard a. 
 we could. Turning our horses, we set off at full speed, and had 
 got within full sight of it, and only about a mile and a half 
 from the gates, when we observed some twenty Indians passing 
 directly between us and the fort, evidently with the design of 
 cutting us off. We were passing along the base of a steep hil.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 403 
 
 at the time, and I told McCaulley we must climb the hill and 
 fight it out until help could reach us. Dismounting, we clam 
 bered up the hill, dragging our horses after us, who made the 
 ascent with the utmost difficulty. When M r e had got about half 
 way up, several Indians came to the foot of the bluffs and fired 
 at us. We had no guns, but I could easily have killed one of 
 hem with my revolver, and was about to fire, when McCaulley 
 called out not to shoot until they came closer. 
 
 We had now got to the top of the hill, and took up our posi 
 tion on the very crest. The Indians, going around to where the 
 ascent was not so steep, were soon seen coming up, so as to sur 
 round us on three sides. Sheltering our horses behind the crest, 
 on the side where there were no Indians, I told McCaulley to 
 hold the animals while I drove back the enemy. Covering a 
 big savage with my revolver, I was again about to fire, when 
 McCaulley said, " Do n't shoot until they charge," and at the 
 same time the Indian, seeing my pistol pointed at him, turned 
 and ran down the hill, followed by several others. I now 
 brought it to bear on other parts of the line, and the cowardly 
 rascals ran whenever I aimed at them. 
 
 We were in full sight of the fort, and anxiously looked for 
 help, but as yet could see no one coming to our assistance. I 
 now examined my revolvers, and to my horror, discovered I 
 had but two charges in the barrels, and no ammunition with 
 nie. The situation was perilous in -the extreme, and I almost 
 gave myself up for lost, but determined not to die without a 
 struggle. 
 
 Suddenly McCaulley called to me to look out, and turning 
 my head, I saw an InJian crawling on the ground within 
 twenty feet of the hoises. As McCaulley spoke, the savage 
 fired an arrow, which barely missed the lieutenant, and buried
 
 404 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 itself deep in the shoulder of his horse. The animal reared 
 and plunged with pain, but McCaulley hung to .him, while I 
 pointed my revolver at the Indian, who sprang to his feet and 
 ran down the hill, leaping twenty feet at a jump. 
 
 I now had to be very active, and bring my pistol to bear in 
 every direction, but observing I did not fire, the Indians be 
 came more bold, and approached within a few yards of us. 
 Then, taking deliberate aim, I pulled the trigger, and an In 
 dian dropped from his pony and rolled down the hill. The 
 other savages fell back some eighty yards and commenced 
 firing at us. The wounded horse was very restive, and I told 
 McCaulley to let him go, which he did, when the animal 
 bounded down the hill, and, to our delight, most of the sav 
 ages put after him. About a dozen, however, again began to 
 ascend the hill, and borrowing one of McCaulley's revolvers, 
 I waited until they were within thirty feet of us, when I fired, 
 and one fellow fell, but clung to the neck of his pony, and with 
 the help of his comrades got away. 
 
 They were close upon us again, when a shout of joy burst 
 from the lips of McCaulley, and turning my eyes toward the 
 fort, I saw the gates swing open, and the cavalry come stream 
 ing out. The Indians had seen it, too, and were preparing to 
 charge, when I called out to McCaulley, if we could hold on 
 a few minutes longer, we would be saved, at the same time 
 directing him to let the remaining horse go and give me his 
 other revolver. He did as I desired, and, running around the 
 hill-top, I fired seven shots in rapid succession, with such good 
 aifect as to cause the Indians to take to their heels. The 
 shouts of the approaching troopers could now be distinctly 
 heard, and the Indians, putting whip to their ponies, soon dis 
 appeared over the hills.
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 40? 
 
 During the fight, one red rascal, who had a rifle, had gone 
 up on the ridge opposite us, and which commanded our posi 
 tion, and taking shelter behind a rock, had amused himself by 
 firing at us for over an hour. One of his balls ripped open 
 my jacket, and another cut Lieutenant McCaulley's sleeve. I 
 ako got an arrow through my collar, and one struck the vizor 
 of my new uniform-cap, completely ruining it. We lost one 
 horse which belonged to me, and had on when captured, a 
 fifty-dollar saddle, and a Mexican hair-bridle, that I had paid 
 one hundred and twenty-five dollars for, but a few days be 
 fore. 
 
 The cavalry that rescued us, pursued the Indians and over 
 took them, when they had a sharp fight, but it is not known 
 how many were killed, as it was took dark to see. We had 
 had a narrow escape, and late in the evening, when we returned 
 to the fort, and received the congratulations of our friends, I 
 felt happier than J had done for many a day.
 
 408 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER LXI. 
 
 MT AKMY DUTIKS TROUBLES CUSTOMS OF SEKV1CK THE WRITTEN AND UN 
 
 WRITTEN LAW MODERN SLAVERY PERPLEXITIES OF A YOUNG OFFICER'S 
 
 LIKE GUARD MOUNTING OLD ARMY OFFICERS MILDNESS OF THEIR MAN 
 NERS HOW THEY TREAT YOUNG OFFICERS VENERABLE BUFFERS GUARC 
 
 CEREMONY THE OFFICER OF THE GUARD POST ADJUTANTS OLD AND NEW 
 
 GUARDS RELIEVING THE GUARD POSTING THE SENTINELS MINUTENESS OF 
 MILITARY DUTY ERRORS THE PUNISHMENT. 
 
 I DID not get along very smoothly in the army, the wild 
 life I had led having in a great measure unfitted me for 
 the duties of a soldier. Thus, one day, after finishing my nice 
 new buckskin suit, I put it 011 and went out to show it to my 
 friends, when the Adjutant of the post placed me under arrest 
 for not wearing the United States uniform. On another occa 
 sion I was caught with a pair of moccasins on, and imme 
 diately sent to my quarters and threatened with arrest. Then 
 I could not be at roll-calls at the precise moment I should have 
 been there, and this enraged that peculiar old clock, Major 
 Gordon, who was constantly blowing me up. Other sources 
 of annoyance, such as omissions to cross a t or dot an i in pro- 
 (Jeedings of courts-martial and boards, constantly presented 
 themselves, so it did not take me a great while to become 
 thoroughly disgusted with the service. Those who think an 
 officer has an easy time of it are most wofully mistaken, for J
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 409 
 
 certainly know of no harder or more thankless labor than serv 
 ing in the army of the United States. Every man who ranks 
 you is your master, and you are, to all intents and purposes, his 
 slave, though they call it by the polite names of senior and jun 
 ior. I did not like the dry old " Blue-book," and still less that 
 excellent and entertaining cobweb of Hardee's, called " Tactics," 
 while as to the unwritten " customs of service," there was no 
 end to them, and they were, if any thing, more obnoxious 
 than the written ones. 
 
 A single example will serve to show some of the difficulties 
 that beset the young officer on entering service, and I can 
 assure the readei the problem given is only one of many more 
 difficult that the youthful soldier is compelled to work out im 
 mediately on joining his regiment. A day or two after report 
 ing at the garrison, he receives a neatly-folded three-cornered 
 note, elaborately done in red ink, informing him that he has 
 been detailed for " Officer of the Guard to-morrow." The cer- 
 emouy of " Mounting the Guard" generally takes. place in the 
 cool hours of the morning, in the presence of the commanding 
 officer, the old officers, and the ladies. If a new lieutenant is 
 to mount guard for the first time, the turnout is always unusu 
 ally large, and should the poor devil make a single mistake in 
 the long rigmarole that follows, he is not only laughed at by 
 his comrades, but severely scolded by the commanding officer. 
 There is a form in the " Blue-book " for mounting the guard, 
 which is about as clear as the " Rule in Shelly's Case," but much 
 of what takes place is the " custom of service," or the whim of the 
 commanding officer, who wishes his guard mounted in a "PAR 
 TICULAR manner" These old bummers, who sail through the 
 world under the general title of "commanding officer," are 
 mostly dried Up with age, and as cross as a Texas cow. They
 
 410 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 scrutinize every movement, and a saber held a little out of the 
 perpendicular, or a hand half an inch too high upon the piece, 
 will cause them to rear and charge like a bull in a china-shop. 
 As to a downright mistake, should you be so unfortunate as to 
 ;nake one, they no sooner observe it than they grow purple in 
 the face with rage, and if they did n't swear they certainly 
 would burst. 
 
 I give the problem of guard mounting in the regular army, 
 as I worked it out when in the service, though it is a long time 
 since I " mounted a guard," and it is probable I may have for 
 gotten something. 
 
 The line has been formed, and the officer of the guard takes 
 his post in front of the center of his guard and about four paces 
 from it. At the command, "Front!" given by the adjutant, 
 the officer of the guard marches forward eight paces, and at 
 the command given by the adjutant, " Officers and non-commis 
 sioned officers ! About face ! Inspect your guard ! March ! " the 
 officer of the guard makes an about-face, stands fast until Ihe 
 sergeants and corporals reach their stations, when he commands, 
 " Order arms ! Inspection arms ! " and, returning his saber, 
 marches to the center of the guard, faces to the left, and, march 
 ing to the right of the guard, inspects the arms from right to 
 left of the front rank, then passes in rear of the rank from left 
 to right, scrutinizing the uniforms of the front rank men. Next 
 he goes to the rear rank, which is inspected from right to left, 
 and the uniforms of this rank are examined, and then the ser 
 geants and corporals are inspected. He then inarches from the 
 rear to thn right of the front rank, draws his saber, and, step 
 ping one pace to the front, faces to the left, and commands, 
 " Open boxes ! " If there is cavalry in the front rank, lie passca 
 it, going down the front line, and inspecting only the boxes of
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 41 ^ 
 
 the Infantry. The rear rank is then inspected, and, af'tei all is 
 done, he takes post four paces in front of the guard, and the 
 adjutant commands, "Parade rest!" when the officer of the 
 guard lowers the point of his saber to the ground, places the 
 center of the right foot in rear of the left heel, and, crossing his 
 hands on top of the hilt of his saber, stands still. The adjutant 
 next commands, " Troop beat off ! " when the musicians march 
 to the front, turn to the left, and play down in front of the 
 officer of the guard. When they have returned to the right 
 again, the adjutant commands, " Attention guard ! Carry arms ! 
 Close order, march ! " at which the officer of the guard brings 
 his saber to a carry, and, facing his guard, marches to the center, 
 then turns to the left, and takes his position on the right of the 
 guard. The adjutant, seeing his last orders complied with, 
 commands, "Present arms!" when both the officer of the 
 guard and the adjutant salute with the saber, and the adjutant, 
 facing about, reports to the officer of the day : " Sir, the guard is 
 formed." The officer of the day then instructs the adjutant how 
 he shall march the guard, generally commanding, " March the 
 guard in review, sir! " when the adjutant faces about, and com 
 mands, " Carry arms ! " at which the officer of the guard also 
 comes to a carry with his saber. The adjutant then commands, 
 " Platoons right wheel, march ! " and the officer of the guard 
 repeats the command, and then steps to the left of the first 
 platoon, and commands, after it has wheeled, " First platoon 
 left dress ! " and, seeing it dressed, takes his position in front 
 of the center of the leading platoon and one pace from it. 
 
 The adjutant now commands, "Forward, guide left, march!" 
 and, as the guard marches in review past the officer of the day, 
 the officer of the guard salutes with his saber. He also must 
 command the guard in its march, and give all necessary orders.
 
 412 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 When he leaves the parade ground, he will command, " Right 
 srioulder shift arms ! " and march his guard to the guard-house. 
 The old guard has turned out and formed in line, and, on ap 
 proaching the left of it, the old guard will present arms, at 
 which the new officer of the guard will command. "Carry 
 arms!" and march down the front of the old guard. Arrived 
 on the right, he will halt and dress on the old guard, and com 
 mand, " Present arms ! " and salute the old officer of the guard. 
 Both guards now come to an order arms, and await the approach 
 of the old and new officer of the day, and when they come near, 
 the new officer of the guard will command, "Old and new 
 guard carry arms ! Present arms ! " at the same time saluting 
 with the saber. The guard is then brought to a carry and an 
 order arms, when the prisoners are turned over, the reports ex 
 amined, the old guard relieved, details for the day made, and 
 the posts relieved, all of which, without going further into 
 details, takes about as long as what has gone before. 
 
 All this duty has to be done with a minuteness and precision 
 wonderful to behold, and if an error is committed, the unfor 
 tunate officer is sure to catch it from the commanding officer.
 
 THE WHITE CHIEF. 413 
 
 CHAPTER LXII. 
 
 TH"S REGULAR ARMY ITS USE IN SETTLING AND DEVELOPING THE COUNTRT 
 HOW ARMY PEOPLE LIVE, AND WHAT THEY DO OCCUPATION OP NEW LINES OF 
 COUNTRY THE REGULAR ARMY ON THE MARCH CAMPING OUT WHAT IS 
 CARRIED, AND HOW SOLDIERING IS DONE IN PEACE TIMES BUILDING FORTS 
 GETTING UP SUPPLIES FIGHTING INDIANS SETTLING THE COUNTRY WHAT 
 THE CAVALRY DOES HARDSHIPS OF A SOLDIER'S LIFE THE UNCERTAINTIES 
 OF SERVICE WHAT ARMY OFICERS ARE PAID. 
 
 A S soon as the traveler crosses the Missouri, and enters the 
 -* territories, he begins to find the bluejackets, and the far 
 ther west he goes the more numerous they become. It is only 
 just to the army to say tnat it has ever been the pioneer of 
 civilization in America. Ever since Washington crossed the 
 Alleghanies, and, with his brave Virginians, pushed to the 
 Ohio, the work has been steadily going on. From Pittsburg, 
 far down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and thence along the 
 Father of Waters to New Orleans ; next west to the Miami, 
 and far up the lakes; then to the Missouri, and so on for thou 
 sands of miles until the other ocean was reached through 
 Oregon and California. A. line of forts are pushed out into 
 the new and uninhabited country, and presently people come 
 in and settle near the posts. A few years elapse, and there are 
 hundreds of citizens in all directions. Then the forts are sold 
 or pulled down, and the troops march farther west to found 
 new posts.
 
 414 
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The knapsacks are packed, the cavalry are mounted, and we 
 are ready to occupy a new line of country. " Head of column 
 west, forward, march!" and away we go. What an outfit! 
 The long lines of cavalry wind over the hills, aud then follows 
 the compact column of infantry. Then come a few pieces oi 
 artillery and the train. What a sight ! Hundreds of wagons, 
 filled with every conceivable article of food and implement of 
 labor : steam-engines, saw-mills, picks, shovels, hoes, masses of 
 iron, piles of lumber, tons of pork, hard bread, flour, rice, 
 sugar, coffee, tea, and potatoes, all drawn in huge wagons. Six 
 mules or ten oxen are seen tugging the monster wheeled ma 
 chines along. The train is generally preceded by a score or 
 two of carriages, ambulances, and light wagons, containing the 
 families of officers, women, children, and laundresses. In rear 
 of the train are driven the herds of cattle aud sheep, and, last 
 of all, comes a company of infantry, and, perhaps, one of 
 cavalry. 
 
 Day after day the living, moving mass toils on toward the 
 setting sun. Bridges are built, gulleys filled, hill-sides dug 
 down, and roads cut along precipices. We wonder how the 
 pioneer corps can keep out of our way ; but each day we go 
 steadily forward, seeing only their work, never overtaking them. 
 A ride to the front will show us how this is done. It is mid 
 day, and a company is going out to relieve the pioneers. The 
 knapsacks are lightened, and off we go at a quick pace. At 
 sundown we come upon the pioneers, and find some building a 
 bridge, while others cut down the hill so the wagons can pass. 
 We relieve them of their shovels, picks, and axes, and ona- 
 half of the company goes into camp, and the other half goes 
 to work. At midnight we are aroused by the beating of the 
 drum aud the half of the company that is in camp goes out
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 41 { 
 
 to relieve the working party. At daylight we are relieved iii 
 turn ; the work goes on day and night, and that is the way 
 *he pioneers keep ahead of the train. 
 
 Let us return to the column. It is near sunset, the bugles 
 sound the halt, and the columns file off into camp. The cav 
 alry horses are sent out to graze, the tents put up, fires lighted, 
 and the suppers put on to cook. The white canvas gleams in 
 the setting sun, and the camp resounds with mirth and laugh 
 ter. Water is brought from the brook, and soap and towels 
 are in great demand to remove the- dust and stains of travel. 
 Folding chairs, tables, beds, mattresses, are opened out, and car 
 pets spread on the ground. The butchers have slaughtered a 
 beef or two, and the fresh meat is brought in for distribution. 
 The commissary Avagons are opened, and sugar, coffee, rice, 
 hominy, and canned fruits dealt out. In an hour we sit down 
 to a smoking hot dinner and supper of roast beef, hot coffee, 
 fried potatoes, fresh biscuit, and canned peaches. If the air ia 
 cool the little peaked Sibley stoves are put up, and the even 
 ing is spent in telling stories, playing at cards, and singing 
 songs. Here is heard the thrumming of a guitar, and the 
 sweet voice of woman ; there are a lot of officers playing 
 euchre, and yonder a group of soldiers gathered about their 
 camp-fire telling tales of how they campaigned in Oregon, or 
 fought the Comanches and Apaches in Texas and New Mexico 
 twenty years ago. 
 
 The bugles sound tattoo, the rolls are called, taps blow, the 
 lights are put out, and the busy camp sinks into stillness. 
 Only here and there a light is left burning, where the quarter 
 master, in his tent, is busy over his papers, the adjutant 
 Jiaking the orders for the morrow's march, or a noisy trio of 
 
 officers continuing to an unseasonable hour their jests and 
 25
 
 41 G BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. % 
 
 songs. No soldier is allowed to have his light burning aftei 
 taps, but the officers can do as they please. - 
 
 Every one sleeps soundly, for each knows he is well guarded, 
 It is near midnight, and, if you like, we will walk about the 
 camp a little. Here is the officer of the day, and we will ac 
 company him. We go out to the edge of the camp, where a 
 large group of men are gathered about a blazing fire. " Who 
 comes there?" rings out upon the still night air. " Friends," 
 is answered back. " Advance one arid be recognized. " This 
 is done, and then comes the cry of " Officer of day, turn out 
 the guard. " There is a rattling of muskets, a hurrying and 
 bustling to and fro, and the guard falls into line and is in 
 spected so far as to ascertain that all are present and every 
 thing right. Frequently an officer, but most generally a ser 
 geant of experience, commands the guard, and all the sentinels 
 are posted according to the directions of the officer of the day, 
 who receives his instructions from the commanding officer of 
 the camp. ' 
 
 The wagons are drawn up in long lines or semicircles, with 
 the tongues inward, to which are tied the mules and oxen. 
 Sentinels pace up and down to see that all goes right, and 
 rouse the teamsters to tie up the mules that are constantly 
 getting loose. The cry of " loose mules " will bring a dozen 
 teamsters out of their wagons, and at least a hundred oaths 
 before the animal is caught and secured. The cavalry wagons 
 are placed twenty or thirty feet apart, and long ropes drawn 
 through the hind wheels, to which are picketed the horses. 
 Guards are every-where, and the sentinels are keenly on the 
 alert. Each hill-top has its silent watcher. The herds are 
 kept where there is as much grass as possible, and mounted 
 herders constantly watch them, ready for an Indian alarm
 
 BELIN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 41', 
 
 or a stampede. A cry of " Indians, Indians, " produces great 
 life and commotion among the herders, guards, and sentinels, 
 but the body of the camp does not deign to move unless the 
 firing is very heavy, and the order given to "turn out." This 
 is the Regular Army on the march. 
 
 When the troops enter the Indian country, and the attacks 
 become frequent, the column marches more compactly ; the 
 herds and wagons are kept well up ; the women and children 
 put among the infantry; flankers thrown out, and a howitzer 
 sent to the front to throw shells and frighten off the savages. 
 The boom of a cannon seems to be the voice of advancing 
 civilization, and greatly terrifies the Indians. 
 
 At last the line of country that is to be occupied has been 
 reached, and a fort is built. This consists of a stockade, log- 
 houses, and shelters for the stores. Then the troops are 
 divided, and another fort is built fifty or a hundred miles from 
 the first, and so on until the whole line is "occupied." If 
 there is danger, earthworks are thrown up, and one or two 
 pieces mounted. Now begins the work in earnest; keeping 
 open the communication between the forts ; getting up supplies 
 from the rear, and securing the way for immigration. The 
 country is mapped, the land surveyed, the streams looked up 
 and named, and saw-mills built. Settlers come in and open 
 farms near the forts, and they creep up and down the valleys, 
 and over the hills, until they stretch away for hundreds of 
 miles. Meanwhile, there are Indian battles, surprises and 
 massacres by scores. Hundreds lose their lives, but the set 
 tlements go OB. There is a little grocery, a rum shop, a town, 
 and by and by a city. 
 
 Every spring, as soon as the grass grows, the cavalry takes 
 
 tine field and scours over the country for hundreds of miles. 
 
 36
 
 418 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The infantry remains in the posts, or guards trains to and fro 
 From April until December, the cavalry is on the go con 
 stantly, and the officers separated from their families. When 
 the snows fall they come into the forts to winter, but are 
 often routed out by the approach of their savage foes, and mada 
 to march hundreds of miles when the thermometer is far below 
 zero. It is this that makes the troops so savage, and often, 
 oausee them to slaughter the Indians without mercy. After a 
 long and hard summer's campaign, the officers and men come 
 in tired, weary, and only too glad to rejoin their families and 
 rest, when scarcely have they removed the saddles from their 
 horses' backs, when murders, robberies, and burnings, announce 
 the approach of the fierce foe, and they are ordered out for a 
 winter campaign. Full of rage and chagrin, they go forth 
 breathing vengeance on all Indians, and after toiling a month 
 or more, through ice and snow, with freezing hands, feet, and 
 ears, they overtake the savages and punish them with terrible 
 severity. 
 
 The soldier's life is, indeed, one of danger, exposure, and 
 trouble. The hard-earned reputation of twenty years, often, is 
 lost by the misfortunes of an hour. Old gray-headed officers, 
 who have gained a score of Indian fights, are surprised once, 
 fose their stock, and if they survive the conflict, are dismissed 
 the service for "neglect of duty." Others, after years of toil, 
 in a moment of rage, utter some hasty words, and are dismissed 
 for " disrespect to their superiors," and others, again, for, in au 
 unhappy mood, taking too much barleycorn. 
 
 Nothing will give a man more aches, make him feel old 
 sooner, or is a more uncertain business than soldiering. I 
 know that a different opinion prevails in the east, but it is 
 founded wholly in error, and is dispelled the moment one
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 41 fl 
 
 arrives on the frontier, and sees what an important part our 
 little army plays in the great work of civilizing and develop 
 ing our country. 
 
 Even in winter time, when in quarters and resting, the sol 
 diers are kept very busy. At day-break there is reveille, and 
 immediately afterward, grooming of horses for one hour and a 
 half. After stables, three-quarters of an hour for breakfast; 
 then fatigue call and sick call. At 10 o'clock drill for one 
 hour. Dinner call at 12 o'clock; fatigue call at 1 o'clock; 
 drill at 2 o'clock ; stables at half- past 3 o'clock to half-past 4 ; 
 supper and retreat at 5 o'clock, and to bed at 9 o'clock, to go 
 through the same routine to-morrow. Besides these duties, 
 there are boards of survey, boards of inspection, schools of 
 instruction in tactics, signals, and various other matters. 
 Where is the business man, or the professional man, who 
 works more steadily ? 
 
 For these services, it is generally supposed the officers receive 
 large pay, yet, the fact is, they get but a miserable pittance, as 
 the following list of salaries will show : A second lieutenant of 
 infantry gets $1,368 per year ; a first lieutenant of infantry, 
 $1,428; a captain of infantry, $1,648; a second lieutenant of 
 cavalry, $1,467.96 per year; a first lieutenant the same as 
 second; a captain, $1,648; majors of infantry, cavalry, and 
 artillery, $2,160; lieutenant-colonels, $2,460; colonels, $2,748. 
 This does not include service rations, quarters and fuel in kind, 
 or commutation of quarters and fuel when not with troops. An 
 officer receives a service ration for every five years he has re 
 mained in the service; it is worth $9 per month, or $108 per 
 year. When officers are serving with troops they are provided 
 by the Government with quarters and fuel free of charge, but 
 when they are stationed in a city, or on staff duty, they are
 
 4*20 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 allowed to commute their quarters and fuel money, at a price 
 fixed by the army regulations. If an officer is married, it is 
 'heaper for him to be with troops, and be furnished with quar 
 ters and fuel in kind for himself and family; bu.t, if he is a 
 single man, then he can board in a family in the city, and his 
 money allowance for quarters and fuel will go a long way in 
 paying his expenses.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 421 
 
 CHAPTER LXIII 
 
 FURTHER ACCOUNT OF HOW INDIANS GET THEIR NAMES MOCK-PE-LUTAH TA.- 
 8HCJNK-AH-KO-KE-PAH-PE CIN-TA-GEL-LES-SCA, SPOTTED TAIL'S ' DAUGHTER 
 CLOSED HAND WHITE FOREHEAD - NO KNIFE SUPERSTITION AMONG THE 
 CROWS ABOUT TAILS TICKLING A CROW GIRL, AND WHAT CAME OF IT 
 RASACHE BA-RA-WE-A-PAK-PEIS PEN-KE-PAH LEAVING THE POWDER RIVER 
 COUNTRY ARRIVAL AT RENO, FETTER MAN, AND FORT STEELE RETURN TO 
 FETTERMAN FINE HUNTING. 
 
 day at Fort Kearney I sent for my cook Basache, and 
 asked her the meaning of Mock-pe-Lutah. She said it 
 was the Indian name for lied Cloud or Bloody Hand, and that 
 this terrible warrior had derived his name from 'his deeds of 
 blood and the red blankets his warriors wore, who never moved 
 on their enemies without appearing as a cloud, so great were 
 their numbers. Sweeping down with his hosts on the border, 
 he covered the hills like a red cloud in the heavens, and nevei 
 returned until he had almost exterminated the tribe or settle 
 ment against which his wrath was directed. . 
 
 Basache then went on to give me some most interesting in 
 formation concerning the manner in which Indians obtained 
 their names. 
 
 Ta-shunk-ah-ko-ke-pah-pe was " Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses," 
 and obtained his name from having captured a great many 
 h )rses, which lie was constantly afraid he would lose. On one 
 occasion, when the Shoshonee Indians attacked his camp, Ta-
 
 422 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 ehunk-ah-ko-ke-pah-pe left his family in the hands of the 
 Snakes, to carry off his horses. 
 
 As has been said in another chapter, most Indians receive 
 their names from some peculiarity of person or costume, or from 
 some misfortune. Thus, Ba-oo-Kish, or Closed Hand, a noted 
 Crow Indian, was so named from the fact that when young 
 hif hand was so badly burned as to cause his fingers to close 
 into the palm, and grow fast. Another was called White 
 Forehead, because he always wore a white band across his fore 
 head to conceal a scar that had been given him by a squaw. 
 
 The Omaha Indians name nearly every child from some inci 
 dent or event that occurs at the time of its birth. Thus, a 
 child was born on the march, and the mother having no knife 
 to cut the naval string, broke it, and the child was ever after 
 ward known by the singular name of No Knife, and became 
 a noted man in his tribe. 
 
 I will here give place to a touching incident concerning a 
 daughter of the noted chief Spotted Tail, the origin of whose 
 name has been given in a preceding chapter. This girl, whc 
 was said to be very beautiful, fell deeply in love with an officei 
 stationed at Fort Laramie. He did not reciprocate her passion, 
 and told her he could never marry her ; but the poor girl came 
 day after day to the fort, and would sit on the steps of the offi 
 cer's house until he came out, when she would quietly follow 
 him about like a dog. She seemed to ask no greater pleasure 
 than to see him, and be near him, and was always miserable^ 
 when out of his sight. Spotted Tail, who knew of his 
 daughter's love, remonstrated with her in vain ; and, when he 
 found he could not conquer her foolish passion, sent her to a 
 band of his people several hundred miles away. She went 
 without murmuring; but, arrived at her destination, she re-
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 423 
 
 fused food, and pined away, until she became a mere skeleton. 
 Spotted Tail was sent for, to come, and see her die ; and being 
 a favorite daughter, he hastened to her side. He found her 
 almost gone but, with her remaining strength, she told him 
 of her great love for the whites, and made him promise that he 
 would live at peace with them. Then she seemed very happy, 
 and, closing her eyes, said : " This is my last request, bury me 
 at Laramie;" and then died. The old chief carried the body 
 to Laramie, and buried it with the whites, where she wished 
 to lie. The grave has been carefully marked, and is still an 
 object of great interest to people who visit the fort. Spotted 
 Tail, since the death of his daughter, never speaks in council 
 with the whites but he mentions her request, and declares it 
 to be his wish to live at peace with the people she loved so 
 well. 
 
 Several romping Crow girls being present, at my quarters 
 one day, one of them, for sport, commenced tickling another, 
 who could not bear to have any one touch her under the arms. 
 The poor girl screamed frantically, and rolled over and over, 
 but the other kept on poking her in the ribs until she fainted 
 outright. Basache then, in great alarm, raised her up and called 
 to me to bring quickly the scented grass; for the girl's tail wag 
 coming up in her throat and choking her to death. I brought 
 the grass, of which Basache always kept a good supply on hand, 
 and lighting some of it, one held the fainting girl over it while 
 the other threw a shawl about her head. She soon revived and 
 took her departure, when I asl^ed Basache to explain to me what 
 she meant by saying the girl's tail had come up in her throat. 
 She said very gravely, " Every human being has a tail in his 
 stomach, and it is this that always makes him sick. Some 
 have fox tails, others cow tails, others again tails of birds, and
 
 424 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 still others dog, mink, beaver, raccoon, and horse tails. The lattei 
 are very dangerous, and constantly liable to get out of ordei. 
 No one can be sick while their tail is in order, but as soon as 
 any thing gets the matter with it then they are sick. If a man 
 has cold, it is his tail; if he has fever, vomit, rash, boils, and, 
 above all, pains in his stomach, there is something wrong -with 
 his tail." 
 
 This theory was so absurd I could not help laughingj at which 
 Basache was very angry, and left my presence, but I called her 
 back to inquire what kind of a tail she had in her stomach, 
 when, to my surprise, she promptly answered, " A wolf's tail, 
 sir." I said, " Do each of you indeed know what kind of a tail 
 is in your stomach ? " "Oh yes," she replied, " every body 
 knows that, and there is my sister, Ba-ra-we-a-pak-peis, who has 
 a cow's tail, and Pen-ke-pah, whom you know very well, has a 
 horse tail, which is constantly making her sick. . When Ba- 
 ra-we-a-pak-peis was younger, her tail troubled her a great deal, 
 and mother says it often came up in her mouth, and sometimes 
 protruded from her throat, but it never does so now, since the 
 Indian doctor gave her some bitter-herbs to swallow." 
 
 All this was very curious and ridiculous to me, but, upon in 
 quiry among the Crows, I learned it to be a well-founded super 
 stition, and nearly every Crow believed a tail of one kind or 
 another dwelt in his stomach, which was the sole cause of his 
 ills, aches, and pains. 
 
 On the 29th of June, 1868, 1 received orders to escort a train 
 over the mountains, to Fort Steele,, on the Platte, and as it was 
 understood we would not return, this order occasioned no little 
 joy. We signalized the event by starting on the 4th of July, 
 and in due time arrived at Fort Reno. From Reno we marched 
 to Fort Fetterman, where Major Gordon left me, and I con-
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 425 
 
 I 
 
 tinned to march toward Steele with Major Gregg. We arrived 
 safel) at Steele, on the 29th of July, and went into camp. 
 
 On the 6th of August I set out to return to Fort Fetterman, 
 and had marched as far as Elk Mountain, by the 8th of the 
 same month. Here I found the lumber-men had just lynched a 
 whik man, and I went up to see the body, but it was gone 
 thjugti a tripod with a hangman's noose at the top was still 
 standing. Under this rude scaffold was a fresh grave, and 
 in it the unfortunate man slept his last sleep. 
 
 While marching up to Fetterman we found the hunting ex 
 cellent, and killed in all forty-three antelope, three white-tailed 
 deer, five elk, besides an immense number of prairie-hens, rab 
 bits, and mountain grouse. 
 
 We remained at Fettermau until late in September, and 
 while the command was out cutting hay, guarding trains, and 
 scouting, I had some splendid hunting, and enjoyed myself 
 better than I had at any time since joining the army. 
 
 87
 
 426 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER LXIV. 
 
 THE SH08HONEE INDIANS THEIR FIRST INTRODUCTION TO THE WHITES- 
 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION UP THE MISSOURI IN 1806 THEIR RECEP 
 TION BY THE SNAKES THEIR EARLY HISTORY AND POSSESSIONS WARS OF 
 
 THE SNAKES THEIR ALLIES: THE BANNACKS WHERE THE BAN-DS OF SNAKES 
 ROAM WASHAKIE'S BAND HIS RESERVATION HOW HE KEEPS HIS TREATIES 
 GOOD INDIANS WHAT IS LIKELY TO BECOME OF WASHAK1E AND HIS PEOPLE. 
 
 r INHERE is a people -of more than common interest, living 
 -*- in the west, called the Shoshonees, or Snakes. They in 
 habit a belt of country lying on the north-west border of the 
 territory of Wyoming. Their earliest recollection of the whites 
 dates from 1806, when Lewis and Clarke made their famous 
 expedition up the Missouri. In a battle with the Minnetarees, 
 of Knife River, the Shoshonees were defeated, and several of 
 their women and children captured. One of these, Sacajawea, the 
 wife of a warrior, was carried far down the Missouri, and there 
 Lewis and his companions found her. She showed them the 
 way up the Missouri, to where the Jefferson Fork empties, 
 which was the place where the battle had been fought. Cap-- 
 tain Lewis, with three men, proceeded up the Jefferson, in search 
 of the tribe, but could not find them. This was on the first day 
 of August, 1806. On the third day of the same month, Lewis 
 made another attempt to find the Snakes, and, although he saw 
 fresh moccasin tracks, and knew the Indians were near at hand, 
 and hiding among the hills, he could not induce any of the
 
 EEL.DEX : THE WHITE CHIEF 4$} 
 
 savages to show themselves. On the eleventh day of.Augtisl, 
 however, he sav an Indian on horseback, near the river, anc 
 spreading down a blanket, which is the sign of friendship among 
 the Indians, the captain motioned the warrior to come and sit 
 by him, but he fled swiftly away into the hills. Taking soini 
 provisions, Lewis set out on the track of the Indian, and on tb 
 third day saw several men and women gathering berries. Tin 
 men sprang upon their horses and made off, and the women hid 
 'in a ravine; but Lewis and his men captured one old squaw 
 and a little girl. When the woman saw them near her she sat 
 down, as is their custom, and holding out her neck, waited for 
 death. Lewis raised her up, and cried "tabba bone" which 
 means white man, at the same time stripping up his sleeve and 
 showing her his arm, for his hands and face were as bronzed as 
 an Indian's. Little by little the poor woman took courage, and 
 looked up when Lewis put beads on her neck, and gave the 
 little girl a pewter mirror. Then he told her to call the women 
 who were hiding in the ravine, and she did so, but only two 
 young squaws had the courage to come out. Lewis painted the 
 cheeks of all three women red, with vermilion, and showed them 
 their faces in the pewter mirror, which pleased them mightily. 
 Presently a troop of sixty warriors were seen riding at full speed 
 toward Lewis and his companions. The women ran out to meet 
 them, and showed the warriors the presents they had received. 
 A parley took place, and after some explanations, three Indians 
 advanced, and embracing Lewis cried out, Ah-hi-e, ah-hi-e. " I 
 am glad to see you," or, " I am pleased you have come." All 
 the warriors embraced Lewis's men, and then they smoked the 
 shoshonec, taking off their moccasins, which means, " If we are 
 false, may we be barefooted forever," a terrible penalty on the 
 thorny plains.
 
 428 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The whole party soon set off for the village, and when withiii 
 two miles of it, they were met by the great chief, who made a 
 friendly speech, welcoming the whites. 
 
 In the village, Captain Lewis and his party were given leathern 
 lodges, which were nicely fitted up with the skins of wild animals, 
 and young men came to build fires, bring water, and wait upon 
 them. The chief came in state to smoke with the white men, 
 first removing his moccasins, as a token of his good faith toward 
 them. Lewis remained several days with the Shoshonees, and 
 was hospitably entertained and pressed to stay longer, but hear- 
 ' ing his boats had ascended to the Jefferson, he set off for the 
 river, accompanied by the chief and his whole tribe, all wishing 
 to see the boats. This branch of the Snakes was under a chief 
 named. Cameahwait, and numbered about four hundred, but 
 Captain Lewis learned that the whole nation then contained some 
 thirteen thousand souls, and was scattered over a vast extent 
 of territory. They claimed all the lands between the Missouri 
 valley and the Columbia River. They spread over the upper 
 Platte, and roamed along the Green, Bear, Sweetwater, Colorado, 
 and Wind rivers. Their eastern neighbors were the Dakotas 
 (Sioux), and their northern lands extended to the country of the 
 bloody Blackfeet. West and south of them ranged the Coman- 
 ches. At the time, however, of Captain Lewis's visit, the Sho 
 shonees were at war with the Pawnees and Minnetarees, who were 
 found as far north as the mouth of Jefferson River, on the Missouri. 
 
 Lewis found the Snakes armed with bows, arrows, and shields, 
 but a few had fusils, which they had obtained from the Yellow 
 stone Indians, who had got them from the North-west Fur 
 Company's traders. Though they had often heard of them, 
 and had guns, it is doubtful if ever the Shoshonees saw a white 
 man before Lewis and Clarke's expedition.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 429 
 
 The supposition by Schoolcraft and other Indian writers, tLat 
 the Snakes are one of the primary stocks of the Rocky Mount 
 ain Indians is a mistake. They speak the same language a? 
 the Cornanches, and are undoubtedly an off-shoot of that tribe. 
 So says General Alvord, on the testimony of an American, who 
 had lived thirty years west of the mountains ; and Colonel Cady, 
 who has been in the United States service since 1829, confirmed 
 the statement, at Fort Larainie, in 1863. 
 
 When the division of the Snakes and Comanches took place 
 is not so clear, but probably about 1 780. Nothing is known as 
 to the cause of separation. The Snake Indians found by Lewis, 
 lived in the rugged and cold country bordering on the Jefferson 
 River, and they were extremely poor and miserable, being com 
 pelled to live at times for weeks without meat, subsisting upon 
 roots and fish. They had but feAV horses, but were fierce and 
 war-like, their enemies greatly fearing them on account of their 
 hardihood and bravery. Notwithstanding their wretched con 
 dition, they were honest, polite to strangers, and -dignified in 
 their bearing. 
 
 In 1845, we find the Snake, or Shoshonee nation, divided 
 into the Yam-pal ick-ara, or Root Eaters, and Bo-na-acks, or 
 Bannacks. They then, with the Utahs, inhabited the basin of 
 the Great Salt Lake, and extended as far south and west as the 
 borders of California and New Mexico. Their numbers at this 
 date is not known. In 1850, we find them divided into the 
 assimilated tribes of Bannacks; Yam-palick-ara, Root Eaters; 
 Kerlsatik-ara, Buffalo Eaters ; and Penentik-ara, or Honey 
 Eaters. Their whole number then was four thousand and five 
 hundred souls. 
 
 General Fremont, in his expedition, came upon the Snakes 
 first in the north latitude 42, and longitude 109. They had
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 no h rses, and lived principally upon roots. In the topo 
 graphical maps of 1846, the land between Red Buttes, i; Norfh 
 Platte River, and junction of Big Sandy with Green River, in 
 laid down as " War ground of the Sioux and Snake Indians." 
 The distance between the two points thus marked was one 
 hundred and ninety-two miles, and it was the dark and bloody 
 ground of the west. There raged the terrible contests of the 
 great Dakotas and the fierce Shoshonees for more than half a 
 century. The Snake lands then began, as they claimed, at the 
 mouth of the Sweetwater, but they seldom ventured so far east, 
 even in time of war. Their western boundary was at the Co 
 lumbia and along the Snake River, or Lewis's Fork. The breadth 
 of these lands was one hundred and fifty miles. The eastern 
 part consisted of sandy plains covered with sage brush, except 
 the Sweetwater and Wind River valleys, which were rich and 
 tolerably well timbered. The central moiety lay across the 
 summits of mountains; and the western lands, for one hundred 
 and forty miles, consisted of small valleys and bristling spurs 
 of volcanic formation, through a fissure of which the Bear River 
 wound, and then poured into Salt Lake. 
 
 The Shoshonees, as we before said, extended under various 
 names as far north as the sources of the Missouri, and south to 
 New Mexico, Texas, and Arkansas. The overland route, first 
 opened by the Mormons to the west, lay directly through the 
 Snake lands, and, mustering all their force, the Shoshonees 
 sought for years to drive back the pale faces. From the Sweet- 
 water to the Great Salt Lake Basin the road is marked with 
 graves. Here, on this lonely plain, they killed a straggler, 
 there, by the little stream, they surprised the encampment; 
 and yonder, in the gorge, they pounced down upon the train 
 and murdered men, women, and children. A rude pile of
 
 BEI/DEX: TIPE WHITE CHIEF. 4ol 
 
 stones, or a rough cross, marks where the bones of the emi 
 grants molcler with the dust. 
 
 In 1864, we find the Snakes greatly reduced in numbers 
 (not over fifteen hundred in all), but still scattered over a vast 
 extent of territory. Their ancient allies, the Bannacks, still lived 
 with them, and had intermarried with the Shoshonees, but spcke 
 a different language. Who the Bannacks are, or where they 
 come from, is not certainly known, but, most probably, they are 
 one of the numerous branches of the Dakota or Sioux family. 
 
 At present, the Bannacks are divided into two bands, the 
 most numerous of which is Ti-gee's. This chief and his war 
 riors roam in summer from Soda -Springs, Idaho, to Fort Hall, 
 and in winter live with the Snakes, on Wind River, in Wyom 
 ing. Pivi-a-mos, or Big Finger, who leads the other band of. 
 Bannacks, lives in summer, near Virginia City, Montana, and 
 in winter they go to -the Yellowstone River. They have fine 
 trout fishing during the warm months, along the Snake River, 
 and in the cold months, live on buffalo and dried salmon. 
 
 The Snakes proper are the Ho-can-dik-ara, or Lake Diggers, 
 who live near Salt Lake City, in Utah. On the 19th of Jan 
 uary, 1863, this band having become hostile, General Conner 
 made a forced march with the Second Regiment of California 
 Volunteers to Bear River, where he surprised them and almost 
 annihilated the band. The Aga-dik-ara, or Salmon Eating 
 Snakes, live on Snake River, and subsist on salmon. 
 
 The largest band of Snakes is Wash-a-kees, which roatns in 
 BU miner on Green River, and winters on Wind River, They 
 <?at deer, antelope, and fish in summer, and buffalo in winter. 
 The Salmon River Snakes, called Took-a-rik-aras, or Sheep 
 Eaters, live on Salmon River. As indicated by their name, 
 they subsist on rnusmen, or musimen, or muffou, or wild sheep. 
 26
 
 432 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 It closely resembles the wild sheep of Barbara, Corsica, ami 
 Sardinia, and is supposed by Buffon " to be the sheep in a wild 
 state." 
 
 It is of the Eastern Snakes or "Wash-a-kees band I wish 
 more particularly to speak. The chief is sixty years old, tal! 
 Di stature, and of dignified manners. This noble old Indian 
 maintains his treaty with an exactitude that would be credit 
 able to the most enlightened ruler. Several years ago he ceased 
 from war, and since then has done all he agreed to perform in 
 the treaty with the whites. In 1864, some of his young men, 
 having become dissatisfied, wished to go and fight the whites; 
 Wash-a-kee made a speech, and tried to dissuade them. 
 Among other things, he said: "I am not only your chief, but 
 an old man, and your father. It, therefore, becomes my duty 
 to advise you. I know how hard it is for youth to listen to 
 the voice of old age. The old blood creeps with the snail, but 
 the young blood leaps with the torrent. Once I was young, 
 my sons, and thought as you do now. Then my people were 
 strong, and my voice was ever for war. We fought long years, 
 and at length, when wasted by the bullet and torn by disease, 
 the nation sought for peace. Go count the graves of the slain, 
 and you will. learn my reasons for being anxious to save you 
 who are still left me. Behold our women and children ; if you 
 go to battle, who will hunt and feed them ? Make no more 
 enemies, but save your valor for the Sioux, who come every 
 year to fight us. We said it in the council, and we wrote it 
 on the 4>aper, that we would war no more. What we have 
 signed we will keep; what we have said to the white father 
 wo would do, that we will do. No, a Shoshonee can not lie. 
 You must not fight the whites ; and I not only advise against 
 it, but 7 forbid (7." Seeing the young men were determined on
 
 BEKDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 433 
 
 war, the old chief covered his head with a blanket, that he 
 might not see them depart. For three days he mourned for 
 them as for the dead, and then arose and denounced them as 
 rebels against their chief. 
 
 Soon after their departure the rebel band was caught by the 
 whites and nearly all the warriors killed. Those who escaped 
 came back, and humbly begged to be taken into the tribe again, 
 but Wash-a-kee refused, and bid them begone, for rebels.' For 
 a whole year he would not see them ; but, at last, softened by 
 the lapse of time and the petitions of his people, he said : 
 " Wash-a-kee knows his duty, but his heart is too weak to 
 withstand your voices. Tell the rebellious warriors to come 
 home." He, however, deprived the chief who had led them, 
 of his authority, and appointed a new chief over them. All 
 this Wash-a-kee did from convictions of duty, to comply 
 strictly with the terms of his treaty, and, as he said, " show 
 the white father that I would do what I had promised him in 
 the council, and written on the paper." 
 
 The present reservation of the Shoshonees commences at the 
 mouth of Owl Creek, runs due south to the middle of the 
 divide between the waters of Wind River and the waters of 
 the Sweetwater; thence west along the divide and crest of 
 Wind River Mountains to the longitude of the north fork of 
 Wind River ; thence north to the north Fork, and up the same, 
 thirty miles ; thence east to the south bank of Owl Creek, and 
 down Owl Creek to its mouth, to the point of beginning. 
 
 The belt of land lying within these lines is ninety miles 
 wide and about one hundred and ten miles long. It was set 
 aside two years ago by the Peace Commissioners, for the sole 
 and exclusive use of the Shoshonees and Bannack Indians ; but 
 white men have already gone in and opened several fine farms.
 
 434 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The beautiful valleys, pure water, rich soil, excellent timber, and 
 delightful climate of the reservation make it a particularly de 
 sirable region for agriculture. It is, undoubtedly, the best por 
 tion of Wyoming Territory ; and the Sweetwater gold mines, 
 lying on the edge and partly in the reservation, have brought 
 together thousands of miners, who readily buy up all the veg 
 etables, corn, and grain that can be raised in the valleys be 
 yond. South Pass City, Atlantic City, and Miner's Delight 
 are fine towns, and furnish ready markets for produce. Miner's 
 Delight is on the reservation, and husbandmen are every year 
 coming in and opening farms. The increasing immigration 
 will soon repeat the old story, and the white man will have the 
 Indian's land. 
 
 Wash-a-kee, when told that the whites would soon want his 
 land, bowed his head, and replied, with trembling voice, " I 
 feared it, but I had hoped it would not come in my day. Look 
 at me; I am old, and won't trouble the white father long. My 
 people are rapidly passing away. Every year I see them fall 
 ing around me. They will soon be gone. Once we owned all 
 the mountains and valleys to the Missouri. See what a little 
 mite we have left. We are weak; we are poor; we can not 
 resist the wrongs that are put upon us. Let the white father 
 have pity. Let him spare us this great sorrow, and leave us 
 our last home ! " 
 
 And what reply did the white father make to this sad and 
 touching appeal? In their last convention, "The People" of 
 Wyoming " Resolved : That the proper development of the ter 
 ritory requires that the lands known as the Snake Indian Res 
 ervation, should be opened as speedily as possible for settlement 
 by white men." 
 
 That was the answer sent back to the old chief and his peo
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 435 
 
 pie, and the governor of Wyoming reiterates the ery of the 
 people, in his message, and then goes to "Washington to have the 
 Indians Removed from his territory. So it has been for more 
 than two hundred years: civilization touches -barbarism, and 
 barbarism recoils like a burnt child from fire. 
 
 The face of the white man, like an insatiable fiend, presents 
 Itself constantly before the Indian, and a voice cries, " Back, 
 back, to the setting sun. I want your laud, your game, your 
 home^ even the graves of your people; and I will have all! 
 all!" ' 
 
 Some nations fight, some implore; but the result is the same 
 the white man becomes the possessor. So the beautiful valleys 
 of the Snake lands will soon teem with population; towns 
 will spring up, and the iron and coal, plaster and copper, be 
 dug from the hills; mills will be heard on the clear streams 
 of the Poppoagie, church bells will ring along the silent waters 
 of Wind River, and poor TTash-a-kee and his children, where 
 will they be ? Dead ! Under the earth. Gone to the happy 
 hunting-grounds of their fathers with King Philip and his 
 people, the Pawnees, the Minnetarees, the Mohicans, the Man- 
 Jaus. and all who have gone before.
 
 436 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 CHAPTER LXV. 
 
 fDB POWDER RIVER COUNTRY ITS OCCUPATION BY TROOPS IN 1366 IB H 
 REASONS FOR OCCUPYING IT CAUSE OF THE INDIAN WAR THAT FOLLOWED 
 ABANDONMENT OF THE BIG. HORN TERRITORY TREATMENT OF THE INDIANS 
 WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH THEM THE CROW TRIBE SETTLING INDIANS 
 ON RESERVATIONS HOW IT HAS WORKED CIVILISATION OR STARVATION THE 
 ONLY RESULT OUR DUTY - CONTESTS WITH INDIANS IN 1366-67 THE PHIL 
 KEARNEY MASSACRE THE POWDER RIVER COUNTRY DESCRIBED CLIMATE, 
 SOIL, MINERALS, AND GAME THE GREAT CASfON OF BIG HORN ROCKY 
 MOUNTAIN SHEEP AGRICULTURAL CAPACITY OF TH3 BIG HORN COUNTRY. 
 
 Powder River country, as it has been known since 
 1866, embraces all that unsettled tract between the head 
 waters of Powder River on the south and the mouth of the 
 Big Horn on the north, and between the Big Horn Mountains 
 and the waters of the Missouri, an area that one day will be 
 divided into several large States. This country was unknown 
 except as an Indian hunting-ground until 1866, when an emi 
 grant road was opened through it to reach the Montana mines, 
 but trappers and hunters had been familiar with it for many 
 years, and had found it one of the best fur-producing sections in 
 the West. Here the buffalo, bear, elk, deer, antelope, beaver, 
 martin, mink, and white weasel, were found in abundance, and 
 the pelts of all these wild animals were collected by the bold 
 trappers or Indian traders, packed on rude boats built in the 
 forests, and floated down the Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Mis 
 souri Rivers to the great fur mart of St. Louis.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 437 
 
 Just after the war of the rebellion, General Conner was sent 
 into this country to chastise the Indian tribes, who had taken 
 advantage of the state of war and the absence of troops from 
 the border, to commence their raids on the unprotected settle 
 ments in Montana and Dakota. Conner had some Western 
 regiments, raised on the frontier, and, though he possessed a 
 good deal of merit and ability as a commander, and pushed his 
 column into the center of the Indian country, he could not do 
 much toward punishing or quieting the hostile Indians. 
 
 In 1866, General Pope, who commanded in the West, ordered 
 a road opened through the Powder River country, for emigrants 
 bound to the Montana mines and Oregon. Troops were sent 
 into the country to protect the route, and they built three -forts, 
 which have become historical on the border, Forts Reno, Phil 
 Kearney, and C. F. Smith, all named after distinguished officers 
 of the Union army, who lost their lives during the war of the 
 rebellion. Reno was built on Powder River, Phil Kearney on 
 the Piney, and C. F. Smith on the Big Horn. 
 
 The building of these forts in the Indian country gave great 
 offense to the tribes inhabiting it, both hostile and friendly, be 
 cause the Government took possession of the country without 
 the consent of the Indians, and in violation of the common, but 
 pernicious system, of making treaties before going on to their 
 lands. After two years of active war with these Indians, during 
 which one regiment of the army lost one hundred and fifteen 
 men and three officers killed, in various combats, the Govern 
 ment decided, upon the recommendation of a commission of 
 distinguished officers and citizens, to restore this" territory to the 
 Indians for a hunting-ground, withdrawing the troops, aban 
 doning the forts, and giving up to the caprices of a savage race 
 a vast and fertile region, which had once been occupied in the
 
 438 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 interests of civilization, and for which many scores of valuable 
 lives had been sacrificed. The policy of surrendering this ter 
 ritory to the Indians, after occupying it with a military force 
 for years, has often been questioned, and the discussion of this 
 matter has produced many sharp criticisms on the conduct of 
 officials who advised and secured the abandonment of a rich, 
 fertile, and beautiful country to a few thousand savages, who 
 can make no use of it but to chase the lessening herds of buffalo 
 and deer, and fit out from distant camps their yearly raids on 
 the peaceful settlements of border States and Territories. 
 
 In the summer of 1868, the troops and settlers who were in 
 the Powder River country, left it for the lower settlements, and 
 since then nothing has been heard of it, except from half-breeds 
 or friendly Indians. It is known that the Indians burned the 
 f jrts almost as soon as they were abandoned, and no white men 
 would be safe there now, unless in sufficient strength to defy 
 the Indians. 
 
 Those people who are interested in the West will naturally 
 wonder that the Government should withdraw its outposts, built 
 for the protection of the border, and restore to the savage tribes 
 what had been claimed for civilization, and it is a question that 
 interests all of us : how long fifteen or twenty thousand Indians, 
 less than the population of a farming county, shall hold for 
 their exclusive use a valuable country as large as three or four 
 States the size of Illinois ? 
 
 So long as the Indians live by hunting alone, they will re 
 quire a large country to subsist them of course, and just so long 
 they will be vagabonds, living a precarious life, often hungry, 
 and always poor, their hand against every man, and every man 'a 
 hand (in the civilized sense) against them. 
 
 It is time the Government adopted a policy that should be
 
 BEL-DEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 439 
 
 beneficial to the Indians, instead of pursuing the old plan of 
 taking their lands by treaty, in exchange for a few trinkets, and 
 then leaving them to decay by the inevitable results of vice 
 and poverty. 
 
 The contest between civilization and savage superstition Is 
 decided, and it is a problem for this generation to solve, whether 
 the remnants of the savage tribes can be saved, and reduced to 
 a state of self-supporting peace. Just how this can be done it 
 is difficult to say, but it has been done with some tribes, and 
 undoubtedly can be done with others. A few devoted and self- 
 sacrificing men are now making efforts among Indians on the 
 upper Missouri, and meeting with a success which warrants the 
 belief that all tribes can, by proper effort, be turned gradually 
 from their wild habits of roving, and living from 'day to day, 
 to settle on reservations and live as herders and farmers. 
 . Until we adopt the policy of putting the Indians upon small 
 reservations and compelling them to stay there, we shall have 
 constant trouble with them, and they will all the time be grow 
 ing poorer in men and the means of living, for it is" well knoAvn 
 that large game is growing scarce every year, and before an 
 other generation comes on the ground, the buffalo, the Indian's 
 meat and bread, will have become as scarce on the Powder, the 
 Big Horn, and the Yellowstone, as it is now on the Platte. 
 
 The Indians understand this, and it is no wonder they are 
 determined to fight for the Powder River country, for it fur 
 nishes the only valuable hunting-ground in the North, and they 
 see no way but to keep the whites out of it, or starve. 
 
 Red Cloud, chief of the Sioux, one of the ablest and most in 
 telligent Indians in the country, lately said, to an officer of the 
 army, that he knew the white men could wipe out his 'tribe, but 
 he was fighting for his home ; it was a question of starving or
 
 440 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 taing killed, and of the two he had rather be killed. This is 
 Indian philosophy, and from his stand-point it is right; but 
 (should not the civilization of the nineteenth century find a 
 better solution to the question than starvation and the destruc 
 tion of a race ? 
 
 Civilization brings its benefits and its pleasures, but it brings 
 is duties and penalties also, and the verdict of impartial his 
 tory, die verdict of the higher law, in which we all believe, and 
 to which we defer, will condemn us, unless we save and hand 
 down to posterity at least a remnant of the race which we have 
 driven across the continent, and to whom our example has been 
 evil and not good for over two hundred years. 
 
 The Indian tribes inhabiting the Powder River country are 
 the Sioux, Oows, and small bands of Cheyennes and Arrapa- 
 hoes. This country properly belongs to the Crows, or rather 
 the western half of it, and is known in the Indian tongue as 
 Absaraka, " The Home of the Crows." The Sioux, however, 
 have driven the Crows from nearly all this country, by their 
 superior numbers, and now claim it as theirs by right of con 
 quest. The principle of meum andJwum is as little regarded 
 among Indian nations as among white, and they rule very 
 much as we do, the stronger taking about what it wants. 
 
 The Sioux are the strongest tribe in the North, and probably 
 the strongest in the whole country. The tribe is made up of 
 eight different bands, under different chiefs. Of these the Ogal- 
 lalas, Minneconjoes, and Unkpapas are hostile, while the Brule, 
 Yankton, Santee, Blackfect, and Saus-arcs bands are friendly 
 iu the main, though they often send out war parties to attack 
 the settlements and emigrants. The Yankton and Santee bands 
 are probably as friendly to the whites as any Indians in tht 
 country. They are settled on reservations on the upper Mis
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 441 
 
 souri, and have commenced planting crops and raising stock in 
 a civilized way. The Government furnishes them agents, who 
 employ farmers and mechanics to instruct them in the various 
 branches of industry, and two or three devoted men are living 
 with them as missionaries, and are gaining a good deal of influ- 
 euc<> among them, even inducing them to build school-houses 
 and churches. 
 
 This effort among the Sioux may lead to a solution of the 
 Indian difficulty, and it is certain it is leading in the only 
 right direction. The men who are devoting themselves to it 
 should be sustained, and if they succeed they should be hon 
 ored for the signal service rendered two races. 
 
 The hostile Sioux are led by chiefs of ability and determina 
 tion. Some of them are very capable men, and fully posted 
 on the Indian situation as affecting them and us, and it will 
 be difficult to control them unless we can convince the think 
 ing men of the tribe that we are sincere in our plans for their 
 future. The Indian is naturally suspicious, but he is now des 
 perate and revengeful, because he feels his poverty and sees no 
 hope of better times. 
 
 The northern Cheyenues, a small band split off from the 
 southern tribe, are allies of the Sioux, and have joined them in 
 all their operations against us. The northern Arrapahoes were 
 allies of the Sioux until 1868, when they separated from them, 
 and have since been at peace with the whites. 1866-67 were 
 active years in the Powder River country the Sioux, Chey- 
 ennes, and Arrapahoes were on the war-path continually, deter 
 mined to drive the white men out of the country, and number 
 less combats ensued, involving a large loss of life, on both sides. 
 
 The odds in numbers were always on the side of the In- 
 
 iians, but the troops generally came off victorious, owing to 
 
 38
 
 442 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 superior arms and discipline. The Indians could nmiibei 
 about 2,500 warriors at this time, and there were never more 
 than 700 troops employed against them. The engagements 
 were always between detachments of troops, one or two com 
 panies or less, and bodies of Indians numbering from one hun 
 dred to two thousand. 
 
 The most important engagement in the Powder River coun 
 try, the only one in which the Indians were successful against 
 an organized force, was what is known as the Phil Kearney 
 massacre, fought on the 21st of December, 1866, between a de 
 tachment of ninety-one, men of the Eighteenth and Twenty- 
 seventh Infantry and Second Cavalry, and 2,000 Sioux, Choy- 
 ennes, and Arrapahoes. The troops were commanded by 
 Colonel Fetterman, a gallant man, and most excellent officer, 
 who had served with distinction during the war, and the In 
 dians were led by Red Leaf, Iron-clad, and other noted chiefs. 
 This fight shows a good example of Indian tactics and cunning. 
 The garrison of Fort Phil Kearney consisted at this date of 
 five companies of infantry and one of cavalry, commanded by 
 Colonel Carrington. The Indians knew that trains left the 
 fort daily for the mountains, to procure timber and wood, and 
 that they had a small guard to escort them. So, collecting their 
 forces, they reached the vicinity of the fort the day previous to 
 tne attack, and concealed their men behin^ the mountains, four 
 or five miles distant. On the morning of the 21st December 
 the train went out as usual, and, before it was out of sight of 
 the fort, was attacked by fifty Indians. The attack was soon 
 signaled to the fort by the picket on a neighboring height, 
 and a detachment of ninety -one men, under Colonel Fet 
 terman, were sent out to drive off the Indians and relieve the 
 train.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 443 
 
 Fetterman, Instead of moving directly for the train, took a 
 line to get in rear of the Indians, and cut off their retreat; see 
 ing this, the Indians fell back, skirmishing with the troops, and 
 were followed over the hills, being pressed sharply by Fetter 
 man, until about five miles from the fort, when he found his 
 command suddenly beset by about two thousand savages, part 
 mounted and part on foot, and all eager to fight. Fetterman's 
 forre was probably scattered at the moment the ambush was 
 discovered, and many of his men fell at the first shock, but he 
 drew back his party, and after retreating a mile, closely followed, 
 he made a stand on the top of a high ridge, determined to fight 
 it out; and here, after two hours of life-and-death struggle, the 
 whole party of ninety-one men and three officers were killed, 
 not even a wounded man escaping to tell the story. 
 
 All that is known of the fight, after Fetterman's party dis 
 appeared from the sight of their friends at the fort," is gleaned 
 from the reports of the Indians, coming to us through half- 
 breeds on the frontier, and from the position of the dead bodies 
 when found after the fight. 
 
 The faults which led to the sacrifice of ninety-four men, well 
 armed and well commanded, were purely military, and should 
 not be discussed here ; but they were well understood, and were 
 not repeated. The Indians frequently attacked trains and de 
 tached parties of troops in 1867, but were always defeated, a 
 small company on two occasions defeating seven and eight hun 
 dred Indians. 
 
 The losses which the Indians suffered in the Phil Kearney 
 fight, and in other affairs with the troops, have never been 
 known, as they always carry off the bodies of the dead or wound- 
 fid as soon as they fall, holding it greater misfortune to lose 
 the body of one of their men than to lose his life, and they will
 
 444 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 often sacrifice two or- three in their efforts to carry off cne who 
 has fallen. 
 
 The Crows are the peaceful Indians of the Powder River 
 country, and are old and firm friends of the white man. They 
 are a fine set of people, and the best specimens of the Indian 
 race to be found. They are superior to the Sioux in courage 
 and ability, and often fight them successfully two to one. If 
 the Crows were enlisted in our cause, armed, and sent" against 
 the Sioux, they would soon take the fight off our hands, and 
 either subdue the Sioux or drive them out of the country. 
 
 The Government has adopted the policy of using friendly 
 Indians to fight hostile ones, as in the case of the Pawnees, and 
 they could not do a better thing, if hostilities are to continue, 
 than to arm the Crows and other friendly tribes to settle the 
 matter with the Sioux and others, who will not be quiet until 
 they are soundly whipped. 
 
 The Powder River country is destined to be the home of a 
 large and rich population at no distant day. It possesses all 
 the elements of wealth, a fine soil and good climate, coal in 
 abundance, limestone, and superior building stone, and undoubt 
 edly great mineral wealth ; iron is found in many places, and 
 gold has been discovered by chance prospectors, in quantities to 
 warrant the belief that the Big Horn Mountains and the Black 
 Hills will prove to be very rich in precious metals, when they 
 can be safely and thoroughly explored. Abundant streams of 
 pure water run through the country, and they will furnish more 
 water power than all the streams of New England, when the 
 time comes to use them. 
 
 The climate of the Powder River country is much finer than 
 would be supposed from the latitude. From 43 to 45 it is 
 about like the climate on the line of the Pacific Railroad, but
 
 BELDEX : THE WHITE CHIEF. 445 
 
 from 45 to 46 it is much milder, being influenced by almost 
 constant westerly winds, which bring to it the soft airs of the 
 Pacific. The Indians call this section " Medicine Ground/' 
 because it is so pleasant and healthful. Snow falls in small 
 quantities, and most of the winter the weather is delightful for 
 out-of-door life. 
 
 The average temperature on the Big Horn is about that of 
 the country bordering the Ohio. Cattle and all kinds of stock 
 couJd live out all winter without shelter, and with no food but 
 what they pick up; the grass, in this pure air, dies on the 
 ground without losing its nutriment, and is just as good for 
 food as that cut and cured in the usual way. 
 
 For stock raising, no country could be finer than this, for the 
 conditions are such as to insure the minimum of expense and' 
 labor, and the fine air and water insure health to the herds. 
 This country, including and bordering the Big Horn Mountains, 
 is particularly fitted for sheep raising. Sheep like high land 
 and dry air, and these, with the fine rich grasses of the mount 
 ain slopes, would produce fleeces not excelled in any part of the 
 world. Sheep husbandry is in its infancy with us, but the time 
 will come when the Big Horn country will be as famous for its 
 flocks and wool as any parts of the old world, and perhaps aa 
 famous for its looms and mills too. 
 
 Game is more abundant on the Powder River than in any 
 part of our possessions. Here the buffalo range in herds of 
 twenty to fifty thousand together, sometimes blackening the 
 country for miles with their huge bodies; but, though they are 
 found in large masses, still all experience of border men shows 
 that they are lessening in numbers, and the sections in which 
 large herds are found are becoming narrower every year. The 
 
 tribes in the North subsist almost entirely on buffalo meat, and 
 
 i
 
 446 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 they probably kill a quarter of a million of buffalo every 
 year. 
 
 As they kill cows mainly, on account of the better quality of 
 meat, they reduce the herds much faster than is needful, with 
 proper management. The elk, the finest of the large game, is 
 found in large numbers, often one or two thousand in a band. 
 Black- tail and white-tail deer, antelope; black, cinnamon, and 
 grizzly bear; beaver, otter, and all the fur-producing animals, 
 are very abundant. The streams are full of excellent salmon, 
 trout, catfish, and bass; and of the feathered game, gerso, 
 brant, ducks, and grouse are as plentiful as any sportsman 
 could wish. 
 
 Wild fruits, such as plums, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, 
 buffalo berries, and soervice berries, grow almost every-where, 
 and are excellent. The Indians make a good deal of use of 
 them for food, drying large quantities, and mixing them with 
 the marrow of buffalo bones, for winter use ; the dried berries- 
 are sometimes pounded up with buffalo meat and fat, making 
 a sort of "pemican/' which is packed in skins, and called 
 towro. 
 
 The most singular of all the wild animals in the country is 
 the mountain sheep, which- lives in the mountain ranges, the 
 higher and wilder the better, and which are seldom seen in the 
 low country. The mountain sheep, allusion to which is 
 made elsewhere, is about the size of the common deer, 
 weighing from one to two hundred pounds; the flesh is 
 good, and very much like venison, having no flavor of mut 
 ton ; the hair is coarse, like the antelope, and perfectly straight ; 
 the only resemblance to sheep is in the horns ; these greatly 
 eclipse any thing seen in domestic flocks, being long, spiral, and 
 giving the head a massive and imposing look. It is difficult to
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 447 
 
 see what the animal was furnished such head-gear for, unless, 
 as the hunters say, he uses them to break his fall when taking 
 dangerous leaps, striking on his horns instead of his feet , 
 whether this is so or not, he is a great leaper, and difficult to 
 kill on account of his inaccessible haunts, and his boldness in 
 eluding pursuit. If these animals could be caught and tamed, 
 they would be great curiosities in our parks ; but we have never 
 heard of their being captured while young, and there are few 
 opportunities to secure living specimens.* 
 
 One of the greatest natural curiosities on the continent is the 
 Big Horn cafion, where the Big Horn River breaks through 
 the mountains, and when it is known, it will rival the famous 
 cafion of the Colorado. It is about sixty miles long, as nearly 
 as can be' ascertained from those who have seen mqst of it, 
 but it is not likely that any one has seen its whole length 
 yet. 
 
 Old Bridger, the trapper and guide, has been through a part of 
 it in a boat, and tells many marvelous stories of its wonders and 
 dangers; and in 1867, Mackenzie, an adventurous frontiersman, 
 saw a good deal of it, in attempting to run timber through for 
 the use of the fort on the Big Horn, but he came to grief, losing 
 his timber, which lodged on rocks, and wrecking himsolf and 
 companions, with a loss of every thing but their arms. The 
 cafion is more than half a mile high in many places, and 
 varies in width, like all breaks in the mountains, being nar 
 row in places, and in others very wide. It is one of the 
 
 * A kid of the Rocky Mountain sheep was caught, about a year ago, on 
 the Platte River, and brought into Fort Steele, Wyoming Territory. Every 
 care was taken of the animal, and efforts made to raise it, but it died, 
 though it became quite tame and would follow the soldiers all around the 
 fort. ED. 
 
 27
 
 148 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 most picturesque spots imaginable ; its perfect seclusion gives* 
 it an air of mystery, and the slight sense of awe which creeps 
 over one, in threading its wild pa r hs. ib not lessened by the 
 sight of an occasional grizzly. 
 
 The chief beauty of the cafion is in the multiform shapes 
 taken by rock, and tree, and foliage; the rocks take every 
 shape imaginable : turrets, spires, minarets, towers, and nat 
 ural bridges. The timber covers the slopes sometimes from 
 the bank of the river to where the top breaks abruptly 
 against the sky, and beautiful streams twine themselves 
 around the rude masses of rock, until one can often fancy he 
 sees the old ruins of an abbey, with an English ivy creeping 
 over it. \ 
 
 Whatever there is of beauty in the wildest scenes of nature, 
 in the massive grandeur of rock, in the grace of vines and 
 foliage, and the charm of running water, is furnished by this 
 lonely cafion. And one of these days, when the Yellowstone 
 and Big Horn are navigated by steamers, the traveler will 
 seek this spot in pursuit of health and pleasure, as he now 
 does Niagara and the Alps. 
 
 The agricultural value of the Big Horn country will be 
 as great as Minnesota, or any of the Northern States. All 
 the cereals will grow there without doubt. The valleys are 
 fertile and well watered, and much of the high land will 
 raise the small grains. 
 
 The valley of the Powder River is the poorest country in 
 this section, but the valleys of Clear Fork, Piney, Goose, 
 Wolf, Trout, Tongue, Little Horn, and Big Horn, are as 
 fine as men need to live in, and much better land than a 
 majority of farmers cultivate in the East.
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 449 
 
 CHAPTER LXVI. 
 
 TBE LANDS WEST OF POWDER RIVER AND NORTH OF THE SNAKE LANDS THH 
 
 CLIMATE AND GRAZING IN MONTANA INDIANS AND HUNTING GROUNDS AN 
 
 INDIAN BATTLE THE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER INDIAN CAMPS ALONG BOWLDER 
 CREEK HOW SAVAGES AMUSE THEMSELVES THE CROW NATION A TRIBE OF 
 GOURMANDS AND BEGGARS PRIDE AND IGNORANCE OF THE SAVAGES TUM 
 ROADS IN MONTANA SOME REMARKS ON TRADE, STREAMS AND FORTS TROUT 
 
 FISHING NO HARD WOOD BEYOND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS MONTANA 
 
 MOUNTAINS GOLD FIELDS THEIR YIELD MINES AND MINING NEW DIS 
 COVERIES CHARACTERISTIC LETTERS EXPENSIVE LIVING ISOLATED POSI 
 TION OF MONTANA HER FUTURE FARMING LANDS COAL FIELDS THE IN 
 HABITANTS OF MONTANA THEIR PECULIARITIES AND HABITS 
 
 "TUST west of the Powder River country, and north of the 
 *-* Snake lands is a very rich territory called Montana. The 
 climate is delightful during the summer months, it not being 
 too warm, and at night a person finds it necessary to sleep 
 under one or more blankets. Much of the time the atmosphere 
 is hazy, not unlike an Indian summer in the Eastern States. 
 During the winter the weather is extremely cold, and people 
 easily get frostbitten by exposure. It is never very windy, but 
 quiet, still, cold weather, which is sometimes exceedingly 
 pleasant. 
 
 The grazing can not be excelled in any country, and much 
 of the stock runs out all the winter, though there is by m 
 means any lack of snow. In spring-time the stock is fat, and 
 it is fair to say that no better beef can be found. Horses and 
 
 39
 
 450 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 cattle thrive, and look fine and sleek. There is plenty of tim 
 ber on the mountain sides and in the callous, and a thick under 
 growth of bushes in which there is an abundance of berries. 
 In such a country game must abound, and here are found the 
 moose, elk, buffalo, deer, antelope, cinnamon or black bears, 
 badgers, beavers, martins, mink, and a variety of other wild 
 animals. 
 
 The Upper Crow Indians, who are friendly, live in the 
 middle of the territory, in the unsettled portion, and seem to 
 get along pretty well in their wild and savage way. Their 
 reservation is on the Yellowstone River, in a fine game coun 
 try ; and a small, compact fort for the use of the agent has 
 been built there. Here the Indians live, and hence they make 
 their way to the buffalo grounds, and return laden with dried 
 meat and robes. 
 
 In November, 1869, there were over three thousand five 
 hundred Mountain Crows at the agency for the purpose of 
 receiving the annuities given to them by the Government. 
 The Crows had had a fight with the Cheyennes, in the country 
 of the Sioux, in which the Crows were victorious. They killed 
 six adult Cheyennes and captured four young ones. These they 
 tortured in the most barbarous manner, cutting off their hands, 
 then their feet, and finally killing them. One Crow warrior 
 was badly wounded, and died afterward. The daughter of 
 "Iron Bull," a principal chief, also died at the agency, and 
 her body was wrapped in furs and placed upon a scaffold in 
 great pomp. Iron Bull burnt his lodge, destroyed his property, 
 and killed his horses as a sign of mourning. 
 
 Over her and the warrior who died of his wounds, the camp 
 was in a general state of mourning, black paint was daubed on 
 many hideous faces, gashes being cut with knives, and hair torn
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 4M 
 
 out by the handful. The Indians were mostly encamped on 
 Bowlder Creek, near its confluence with the Yellowstone, and 
 a great many River Crows were encamped below. After con 
 siderable difficulty about the character of the goods, the annui 
 ties were distributed. 
 
 The Crows had a very successful fall hunt, and it was estima* 
 ted that there were over six thousand buffalo robes in their 
 camp, which was also bountifully stocked with buffalo meat. 
 The buffalo at that time were ranging within twenty-five miles 
 of the agency, and after receiving their goods many of the 
 Indians returned to the hunting-grounds. Tindoy's band of 
 Baimack Indians were out hunting during the whole fall with 
 the Crows, and brought back many robes and a good supply of 
 meat. 
 
 The lodges of th Crows along the bank of Bowlder Creek 
 were made of dressed buffalo skins, and presented a picturesque 
 appearance, half hidden as they were amid the bushes and trees. 
 It was late in the fall, and the leaves had fallen, but the gray 
 hues were softened, and the russet of the grass in the creek 
 bottoms was enlivened by the presence of hundreds, perhaps 
 thousands, of Indian ponies. Night was made hideous by the 
 singing of the Indian songs and the howling of Indian dogs. 
 In the daytime there was a grand display of Indian firing by 
 the young dandies, and scalp dances over the scalps of the un 
 fortunate Cheyennes who had been killed. 
 
 The Crows have always been friendly to the whites, with 
 perhaps a few exceptions. They are arrant thieves, and on 
 more than one occasion have been accused of eowardice, though 
 that is not true of them. A more persistent nation v of beggars, 
 however, does not exist upon earth. An Indian always expects 
 a present of some kind, but it has been remarked that few, if
 
 452 BELDKN : THJs W Hills CHIEF. 
 
 any, Indians make presents in return. " Get all you can and 
 keep all you get " is the maxim of the Aborigines. One of 
 them never was known to give away any thing that was not 
 absolutely worthless. A squaw of the Crow tribe, or as they 
 call themselves Absarcis, never visits a white man's house 
 without saying in the most pitiful aud drawling tones, "Awush- 
 nie ; Avmsh-me ; " meaning, " I am hungry ; I am hungry ; '' 
 even though she has just eaten enough food to kill a white 
 woman outright. A more sorrowful and melancholy cadence 
 can not be given to any language than that given by the Crows 
 to their own. I had the honor to become acquainted with 
 some of the big-nosed and nobby-complexioned leaders of this 
 nation of Indians, among whom I recollect with peculiar feel 
 ings the chiefs Iron Bull, Black Foot, Show-his-face, Old Wolf, 
 The Coat, Black Bird, and several others whose distinguished 
 names do not now occur to me. They have an immense idea 
 of their own importance, " and feel so big," as the Califoruians 
 say, " that a very large overcoat would only make for them a 
 moderate-sized vest." Their highest delight is to smoke kee- 
 nick kee-nick from the bowl of a red pipe with a long stem. 
 They are excessively dignified and correspondingly ignorant. 
 
 There are some excellent roads in the territory of Montana. 
 The one leading from Virginia City to Helena, and thence to 
 Fort Benton, is a most excellent thoroughfare. A road was 
 made in the summer of 1869 from Borzemau across the coun 
 try to the mouth of the Muscleshell, and thence back to Helena. 
 It was thought that all freignt would be brought up to the 
 mouth of the river, by boats on the Missouri River, and 
 freighted across the country to such points as it might be des 
 tined for, but this has been superseded by the railroad ; and 
 now, unless the cost of carriage is too high, the freighting will
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 453 
 
 all be done that way, and from Corinne it will be carried up 
 into the territory. It may cost somewhat more this way, 
 but it is more expeditious, and .on the whole far more satis 
 factory. 
 
 Montana has within her borders several rivers, the largest of 
 which are the Missouri, Clarke's Fork of the Columbia, and the 
 Yellowstone. The former is navigable as far as Fort Benton, 
 but this is only for an exceedingly limited portion of the year, 
 and ordinarily boats can make but one trip from St. Louis to 
 Fort Benton and back again during the season. In some ex 
 ceptional cases, however, two trips have been made. Clark's 
 Fork is on the west side of the Rocky Mountains, and is formed 
 by the junction of the Bitter Root and Flat Head Rivers, the 
 Bitter Root being itsdf formed by the junction of the Big 
 Blackfoot, Missoula, and the Hellgate Rivers. The whole in 
 terior of Montana is remarkably well watered, and there are 
 gold placers on many of the creeks, the names of which it would 
 be useless to give, as it would only lead to confusion in obtain 
 ing a knowledge of the country. The Missouri is formed by 
 the junction of the " Three Forks," called respectively the 
 Jefferson, the Madison, and the Gallatin Rivers, so named by 
 Lewis and Clarke. 
 
 These are all noble and beautiful streams, lined with fine 
 growths of timber, and abounding in trout. In the Madison 
 are found the "half trout," a peculiar kind of a fish, which has 
 specks and scales, being half trout and hatf whitefish. The 
 timber and underbrush along these streams is a favorite resort 
 for Indians who are now friendly. It is somewhat singukr 
 that no hard weod, such as hickory and maple, is found west 
 of the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 There are several ranges of mountains, as the name of the
 
 454 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 territory indicates, and long before the whites came it 
 known to the Snake or Shoshonee Indians as " To-yabe-shock- 
 up" or " the Country of the Mountains." The only consider 
 able body of water is Flat Head Lake, in the north-western 
 corner, and the source of the river of the same name. 
 
 As the main importance abroad given to Montana is wholly 
 connected with the gold mines, an account of them may be in 
 teresting, though it is exceedingly difficult to convey to the 
 reader a good idea of them. Gold is not picked up by the 
 handful, even in the best of diggings; and long lines of sluice 
 boxes, piles of cobble stones, and thick beds of mud in the 
 shape of " tailings," have all to be taken into account when 
 thinking of getting out gold in the placers. To this must be 
 added the heavily-booted and thickly-bearded miners, who are 
 a distinct class of people, having their own peculiar phrases, 
 their own laws, their own amusements, and their own ways of 
 dressing, living, and working. That they do work is certain : 
 in no country on earth do they work so hard, and all the 
 mining that has ever been done in the United States has not 
 paid in coin more than ten cents per day. When people think 
 of going to the gold mines, it would be well to bear this fact 
 in view. 
 
 It would be useless to go into dry mining details, which at 
 best are unsatisfactory, and therefore only the general results 
 will be given in round numbers. It must be said that this 
 statement has been drawn up by a warm friend of the Mon 
 tana mines, and must be received "with some caution. Since 
 the discovery that gold has been found in the territory, it is 
 supposed the following-named sums have been taken out of the 
 placer mines in the several counties of the territory :
 
 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 458 
 
 Madison County, $40,000,000 
 
 Lewis & Clarke County, . . . . 19,360,000 
 
 Deer Lodge County, . . . . 13,250,000 
 
 Moagher County, . . . . . . 6,949,200 
 
 Jefferson County, 4,500,000 
 
 Beaver Head County, 2,245,000 
 
 Emigrant Gulch on the Yellowstone Neighbor- 
 
 ingburg ,80,000 
 
 $86,384,200 
 Yield for Quartz, 6,000,000 
 
 Total, $92,384,200* 
 
 In addition there are Choteau, Missoula, Muscleshell, and 
 Gallatin Counties from which there are no returns. 
 
 In the autumn of 1869 rich gold discoveries were made in 
 Missoula County. The new diggings are said to be very ex 
 tensive, and a large mining camp sprung up there during the 
 winter of 1869-70. A great many people left Helena and 
 other towns on both sides of the range, and the roads leading 
 in the direction of Missoula were dotted with eager gold-seek 
 ers bound for speedy fortunes. 
 
 As all gold discoveries run about the same course, the follow 
 ing characteristic letters are given relative to these mines : 
 
 LETTER TO W. H. TODD. 
 
 "FISH CREEK FERRY, MISSOULA COUNTY, 
 
 MONTANA TERRITORY, Dec. 4, 1869 
 
 J 
 
 "About two weeks since a few Frenchmen passed here, and 
 the report was a 'big strike' had been made somewhere near 
 Ix>sa's Ranche, situated some twenty miles below Frenchtown. 
 Two or three days more and the stampede was up in earnest,
 
 456 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 men passing at all hours of the day and night. 1 started at 
 dark, and reached Losa's Ranche at 2 o'clock. Next morning 
 we followed our guide across the Missouri River, thence five 
 miles down, crossed a stream, and followed it up about four 
 miles. Here we left our horses, took a little grub and cur 
 blankets, and footed it nine miles up the creek, and were in the 
 diggings. They were discovered last summer by French, who 
 panned out over three hundred dollars in six days' time, from 
 different places up and down the gulch. One nugget of eight 
 een dollars was found. I located claim 63 below discovery. 
 Ten cents to the pan has been taken out of the top gravel for 
 two thousand feet below my ground, and, in one instance, as 
 high as fifty-eight cents was taken out of two pans. It is 
 thought the whole length of the main creek is good ; also, the 
 right-hand fork, which is seven or eight miles long, and empties 
 in below discovery. Respectfully, etc., 
 
 " NELSON J. COCHEANE. 
 
 A Missoula correspondent, writing under date of December 
 6, 1869, communicates the following: 
 
 " I will now come to another excitement, which, I am sure, 
 will be of more interest to the public. I refer to the stampede 
 now going on to the new Eldorado of Montana, and located on 
 the west side of the Missouri River, some seventy-five miles 
 below here, and to which place every body has gone or is going 
 as soon as he can. The excitement commenced last week, but 
 little was then thought of it. Last week parties arrived in 
 town from there, when the news spread like fire, and never, 
 since the memorable stampede from Bannack to Alder Gulch, in 
 1863, have I seen the like. Every one who can get a horse 
 has gone. A creek ten or twelve miles long has been pros-
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 457 
 
 pected, and the result shows it to be of fabulous- richness even 
 too rich to be told by a newspaper correspondent. Suffice it tc 
 say that it bids fair to rival Alder Gulch in its best days. I 
 saw and talked with the discoverer to-day, and others direct 
 from there. The gulch or creek proper was discovered by a 
 Canadian named Louis Bassette, and the majority of the men 
 in there are Canadians. I have seen some of the gold, and it 
 much resembles that from McClellan Gulch quite coarse and 
 of good quality. Runners have been sent to the camps in 
 Deer Lodge, and a general stampede from the other country is 
 expected to commence in a few days, as men can not hold 
 
 ground unless they are there in person. 
 
 " J. N. RmaoLD." 
 
 In April, 1865, flour sold in Virginia City for one hundred 
 and ten dollars a hundred pounds, or one dollar and ten cents 
 in gold per pound. It must be confessed this was a high price, 
 and every thing else was in proportion. At that time men 
 lived on " beef straight," and gave the flour to the women and 
 children. 
 
 The largest nugget yet found in the territory was one which 
 was discovered in Nelson's Gulch, on the 3d July, 1863, which 
 was worth two thousand and sixty-three dollars. Near this 
 gulch the outline of the mountains present a most singular 
 appearance. In Arizona a bold outline on the mountain side, 
 a short distance west of Maricopa Wells, is called " Montezu- 
 ma's Face," and is, indeed, a most perfect representation of the 
 face of a man lying on his back, dead. It is looked upon with 
 awe by the neighboring Indians. 
 
 Montana is now almost isolated from the great and stirring 
 events which are going on in the new path of commerce which 
 stretches across the continent. It seems to be, and really is,
 
 458 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 one of the most remote portions of our country, blocked in by 
 the far Western States and those of the Pacific, and having for 
 its boundary on the north the bleak and almost limitless Brit 
 ish Possessions. It is a majestic, wild, and solitary laud. 
 
 Embracing that region lying between the 45th and 49th 
 parallels of north latitude, and the 27th and 39th meridian* 
 west from Washington, it contains an area of one hundred and 
 forty-three thousand seven hundred and seventy-six square 
 miles, equal to ninety-two million sixteen thousand six hun 
 dred and forty acres, extending from east to west about seven 
 hundred and fifty miles, and from north to south about two 
 hundred and seventy-five miles. This area is nearly equal to 
 that of California, and three times that of New York. 
 
 Of this region the Surveyor-general, in his report for 1869, 
 estimates that fully thirty millions six hundred and seventy- 
 two thousand two hundred and sixteen acres are susceptible of. 
 cultivation. This is about one-third of the territory ; the 
 other two-thirds comprise the main range of the Rocky Mount 
 ains, running north and south across the territory, and numer 
 ous subordinate spors, whose peaks often surpass in altitude 
 those of the main range. 
 
 Among the spurs may be mentioned the Coeur d'Alene and 
 Bitter Hoot Mountains, making the dividing line between 
 Montana and Idaho on the west, between which and the main 
 range lies the rich and productive country embraced in Deer 
 Lodge and Missoula Counties ; the Belt and Judith Mount 
 ains, separating the sparsely settlecT Musleshell County on the 
 north-east, and Choteau County on the north-west, from the 
 rich mining regions of Meagher County on the south, extend 
 ing to the Missouri River, which is also the north-eastern 
 boundo .ry of Lewis & Clark County ; the Bear's Paw and
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 459 
 
 Little Rocky Mountains, still to the north; the Big Horn 
 Mountains extending into Dakota, in the south-east, north and 
 east of which lies the unorganized county of Big Horn or 
 Vaughan, embracing the Yellowstone region, with Gallatin 
 County to the north-west, and Madison and Beaver Head lying 
 west and south-west ; and the western spurs of the Wind 
 River Mountains, on the extreme eastern border. 
 
 Coal of a good quality has been found in Montana, and as 
 rapidly as the country settles up, and it becomes necessary to 
 develop this source of wealth, it will no doubt be found in 
 great abundance, and perhaps of a superior quality. Near 
 Borzeman a fine vein of bituminous coal has been developed. 
 Just above Benton a promising vein has been opened ; above 
 Baunack, and also near Virginia City, and on the Dearborn, 
 veins from four to five feet have been discovered. 
 
 The inhabitants of Montana are a generous, open-hearted 
 people, full of life and activity, and noted for that boundless 
 hospitality which is peculiar to the frontiers. They change 
 their places of abode readily, build up a town rapidly, and with 
 little or no ceremony, and abandon it as readily with no symp 
 toms of regret. Wherever mines are there they are also. They 
 believe in themselves ; take an immense amount of stock in the 
 Great West ; do not object to " whisky straight ; " are always on 
 hand to assist a friend in distress, and take kindly to -theaters 
 and hurdy-gurdy saloons. " Plug " hats and store clothes are 
 their abomination. A buckskin rig is considered the height of 
 the ton, with a broad-brimmed soft hat " reared back " in front.
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTERS.
 
 I. 
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 
 
 nMHE British traveler, Atkinson, has already told the tale 
 -*- of Souk, and had he laid his story among the Ogallala 
 Sioux, instead of the wild Kirghis, and dated it about the 
 middle, instead of the beginning of the present century, he 
 would have been entirely correct. 
 
 Souk, was the son of the great chief of his tribe, and a 
 young man of remarkable ability. His father had great con 
 fidence in the sagacity of his son, and intrusted him with all 
 important expeditions of war and diplomacy. So great, indeed, 
 was the belief of the old chief in his son, that he would under 
 take no enterprise without first consulting him. 
 
 The Ogallalas and Brules had sprung from the same parent 
 stock, and had long been friendly. They were the two most 
 powerful tribes on the plains, and by uniting their councils and 
 forces, gave law to all the weaker tribes. At the head of the 
 Brules was an old and experienced chief, who often met Souk's 
 father to consult about the welfare of their tribes, and, on all 
 such occasions, Souk was present as the prime minister of hirj 
 chief and father. The old Brule frequently noticed the young 
 Ogallala, and seemed mightily pleased with him. On one or 
 two occasions, he spoke to Souk encouragingly, and one day 
 
 .went so far as to invite him to visit his tribe, and spend a few 
 28 (463)
 
 46 i BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 days at his lodge. These visits were often repeated, and it way 
 during one of them, Souk met the daughter of his friend, who 
 was the belle of her tribe, and, besides her great personal 
 charms, was esteemed to be the most virtuous and accomplished 
 young woman in the nation. It did not take long for her tc 
 make an impression on the huart of Souk, and seon both the 
 young people found themselves over head and ears in love witli 
 each other. 
 
 The Indian girl was proud of her lover, as well she might 
 be, for he was only twenty-eight years of age, tall, handsome, 
 good-tempered, and manly in his deportment. Besides these 
 considerations in his favor, he was virtually the head of his 
 tribe, and no warrior was more renowned for deeds of valor. 
 A born chief, the idol of his aged father, prepossessing in his 
 appearance, already at the head of his tribe, and its chief war 
 rior, he was just such a person as was likely to move the heart 
 and excite the admiration of a young girl. 
 
 Atchafalaya* was the only daughter of the Brule chief, and 
 the spoiled pet of her father. She was tall, lithe, and agile as 
 an antelope. She could ride the wildest steed in her father's 
 heads, and no maiden in the tribe could shoot her painted bow 
 so well, so daintily braid her hair, or bead moccasins as nicely 
 as Atchafalaya. Giving all the love of her passionate nature to 
 Souk, he loved her with the whole strength of his manly heart 
 in return. Day after day, the lovers lingered side by side, sat 
 under the shade of the great trees by the clear running brook, 
 or hand in hand, gathered wild flowers by the shadows of the 
 tail hills. 
 
 Sometimes Souk was at the village of his father, but he 
 
 * Pronounced Chaf-fa-lv-a.
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 465 
 
 always made haste to excuse himself, and hurried back to the 
 camps of the Brule chief; indeed, he was never content, except 
 when by the side of the bewitching Atchafalaya. The old men 
 knew of the growing attachment between their children, and 
 seemed rather to encourage than oppose it. Atchafalaya was 
 buoyantly happy, and a golden future seemed opening up before 
 her. Souk often reflected how happy he would be when he 
 and his darling were married ; and, frequently, at night, when 
 the stars were out, the young lovers would sit for hours and 
 plan the future happiness of themselves, and the people over 
 whom they would rule. 
 
 One day, Souk returned to his father's camp, and formally 
 notified him of his love for Atchafalaya, and demanded her in 
 marriage. The old chief listened attentively, aijd at the close 
 of Souk's harangue, rose and struck the ground three times 
 with his spear, declaring that he knew of no reason why his 
 son should not be made happy, and have Atchafalaya to wife. 
 The grateful Souk was so overjoyed, that forgetting his position, 
 and the rank of his chief, he fell upon his neck, and kissing 
 him again and again, actually shed tears. Putting him. kindly 
 aside, the father, well knowing the impatience of young lovers, 
 hastily summoned three of his most distinguished chiefs, and 
 said to them, " Mount your swiftest horses ! go to the camps of 
 the Brule, and when you have come to him, say, Souk, the son 
 of his old friend, loves his only daughter, Atchafalaya, and that 
 I demand her of him in marriage to my son. You will also say, 
 that, according to the 'ancient customs of our tribes, I will pay 
 to him whatever presents he may demand for the maiden, and 
 that it is my d-sire, the friendship long existing between our 
 selves and o'u people may be cemented by the marriage of om 
 children." 
 
 40
 
 466 BEfcDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Bowing low, the chiefs retired, and were soon on their way 
 to the Brule village, which was three days' journey distant. 
 Rather than wait impatiently in the camp until the chiefs 
 would return, Souk proposed to go on a short hunting excur 
 sion with some young warrior friends to whom he could 
 unbosom himself. 
 
 Meantime, the chiefs had proceeded on their errand, and on 
 the evening of the third day, caught sight of the Brule camp. 
 They were hospitably received by the venerable chief, who did 
 all in his power to make them comfortable after their fatiguing 
 ride. On the following morning, the chief assembled his coun 
 selors, and making a great dog-feast, heard the request of the 
 embassadors. When they had done speaking, the JBrule rose 
 and announced his consent to the marriage, saying, he was 
 delighted to know that his daughter was to be the wife of so 
 brave and worthy a young man as the son of his friend. He 
 then dismissed the chiefs, stating that he would shortly send an 
 embassy to receive the promised presents, and complete the 
 arrangements for the marriage of the young couple. * 
 
 "When the chiefs returned to their camp and announced the 
 result of their mission, there was great rejoicing, and Souk, 
 who had cut his hunt short and returned before the chiefs, was 
 now, perhaps, the happiest man in the world. There was still, 
 however, one thing which greatly troubled him. He knew his 
 father was very proud, and considered the honor of an alliance 
 with his family so great that but few presents would be re 
 quired to be made. On the other hand, the old Brule was 
 exceedingly parsimonious, and, no doubt, would take this 
 opportunity to enrich himself by demanding a great price for 
 his daughter's hand. 
 
 Determined not to wait the pending negotiations before see-
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 467 
 
 ing his sweetheart, Souk summoned a band of his young 
 warriors, and burning with love, set 'out for the Brule camp. 
 It being the month of June, Souk knew the old chief would 
 have removed from his winter encampment to liis summer hunt 
 ing-grounds and pasture, on the Lower Platte. This would 
 require some seven or eight, days more travel, and carry him 
 through a portion of the territory of his enemies; but love 
 laughs at danger, and selecting eight tried companions, he set 
 out. The evening of the second day brought him to the bor 
 der of his father's dominions, and, selecting a sheltered camp 
 by the side of a little stream, they determined to rest their 
 animals for a day before crossing the- country of the hostile 
 Cheyennes. 
 
 As soon as it was dark they saddled their horses, and, swim 
 ming the Upp?r Platte, set out to cross the enemy's lands. 
 Their route lay in a south-easterly direction, and led them over 
 a fine hilly country, almost destitute of wood, except in the' 
 deep valleys and narrow ravines.. The sun had long passed 
 the meridian, the horses had rested, and the travelers taken 
 their midday meal, but as yet had seen nothing to indicate that 
 man was anywhere in this vast region. 
 
 The sun was fast going down, and they were endeavoring to 
 reach a good camping-ground known to several of the party, 
 when suddenly, as they were descending a mountain, they saw 
 below them smoke em-ling up, and, in the distance, two objects 
 which looked like ants on the plain. From their position they 
 could not see the fires from whence the smoke arose, but the 
 sight' of it caused them hastily to dismount and lead their 
 horses under shelter of the projecting rocks, that they might 
 not be discovered. 
 
 Two advanced on foot to reconnoiter, creeping cautiously
 
 468 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 round the base of the rocks, and then onward among fallen 
 masses that completely screened them. At length they reached 
 a point from which they beheld, about half a mile below them, 
 an encampment of over one hundred men. Three large fires 
 were blazing, and while groups were gathered around them, 
 others were picketing out the horses, and evidently preparing 
 to encamp for the night. Souk's men had not long been in 
 their observatory when they saw two men riding furiously 
 down the valley toward the camp, and they instantly surmised 
 that these were the two black spots they had seen on the plain, 
 and that Souk and his party had been discovered. They were 
 not long left in doubt, however, for 'as soon as the horsemen 
 reached the camp they rode to the chiefs lodge, commenced 
 gesticulating violently, and pointing toward the cliffs where 
 Souk and his men were. A crowd gathered around the new 
 comers, and presently several were seen to rim to their horses 
 and commence saddling up. The scouts now hastily left 
 their hiding-place, and hurried back to Souk, whom they in 
 formed of all that was transpiring below. 
 
 Not a moment was to be lost, and, ordering his men to 
 mount, Souk turned up the mountain along the path he had 
 just come. He knew he had a dangerous and wily enemy to 
 deal with, ten times his own in numbers, and that it would re 
 quire all his skill to elude them, or the greatest bravery to de 
 feat them, should it become necessary to fight. 
 
 Fortunately he knew a pass further to the west that was 
 rarely used, and for this he pushed with all his might. On 
 reaching the mountain-top, and looking back, black objects 
 could be seen moving rapidly up the valley, and they knew the 
 enemy was in pursuit of them. All night Souk toiled along, 
 and. when the rooming began to break, saw the pass he was
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 4G9 
 
 seeking still several miles ahead. Reaching the mountain's 
 edge at sunrise, they dismounted and began the perilous descent 
 into the gorge. In two hours it was accomplished, and they 
 entered the somber shadows of the great canon. They had 
 begun to feel safe, when suddenly the man in front reined up 
 his horse and pointed to several pony tracks in the sand. Souk 
 dismounted and examined them, and, on looking round, saw 
 where the animals had been picketed, apparently, about two 
 hours before. 
 
 Could it be possible that the enemy had reached the pass 
 before him, and were waiting to attack him higher up in the 
 gorge? He could hardly credit it, and yet it must be so, 
 for who else could be in that lonely glen. Recollecting that 
 the cafion to the right would carry him into the great pass 
 some ten miles higher up, he still hoped to get through be 
 fore the enemy reached it, and, hastily mounting, they galloped 
 furiously forward. They had come in sight of the great pass, 
 when, just as they were about to enter it, they saw a man sit 
 ting on a horse a few hundred yards ahead of them, and 
 
 ^" 
 
 directly in the trail. On observing the Ogallalas, the horse 
 man gave the Cheyenne war-whoop, and, in a moment, a dozen 
 other mounted men appeared in rear of the first. 
 
 Grasping his spear, Souk shouted his war-whoop, and, or 
 dering his men to charge, dashed down upon the enemy. 
 Plunging his spear into the nearest foe, he drew his battle-ax 
 and clove open the head of the one in rear, and before his 
 comrades could come up with him had unhorsed a third. A 
 shout down the great cafion caused Souk to hurriedly look 
 that %\ay, when he saw about fifty warriors galloping toward 
 him. He now knew he had reached the pass ahead of the 
 main body, and encountered only the scouts of the Cheyeunes,
 
 470 EELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Ordering his men to push on up the pass to the great vallev 
 beyond, he, with two companions, remained behind to covei 
 their retreat. On corning to their dead and wounded warriors 
 the Cheyennes halted and held a conference, while Souk and 
 his friends leisurely pursued their journey. In the gorge in 
 yiiich he then was, Souk knew ten men were as good as a hun 
 dred, and he was in no hurry to leave the friendly shelter of the 
 rocks. Taking up a position behind a sharp butte, he fortified 
 the place, and quietly waited for the Cheyennes. Hour'after hour 
 passed, but they did not appear. The shadows of evening were 
 beginning to creep into the ravines, and several of Souk's party 
 were anxious to quit their retreat and continue their journey, 
 confident that the Cheyennes had returned to their camp, but 
 the wily young Sioux told them to be patient, and he would 
 inform them when it was time to go. The evening deepened 
 into twilight, the moon rose over the peaks and stood overhead, 
 indicating that it was midnight, but still Souk would not go 
 His men had begun to grumble, when suddenly a noise was 
 heard in the gorge below, and presently voices and the tramp 
 of horses could be distinguished. Souk ordered four of his 
 men to mount and be ready to leap the rude rock breastworks 
 when he gave them notice, and to cheer and shout as loudly as 
 possible. He then lay down with the other four, and waited 
 for the foe. To his delight he noticed, as the Cheyennes came 
 up, many of them were dismounted, and leading their ponies. 
 They came within a few feet of the barricade before they per 
 ceived it, and then Souk and his comrades commenced a rapid 
 discharge of arrows into their midst. Three or four shots had 
 been fired before the Cheyennes knew what the matter was, or 
 where the whizzing shafts came from. Then Souk shouted his 
 battle-cry, and the four mounted Sioux, repeating it from lie-
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 471 
 
 hind the butte, dashed over the barricade and charged the 
 enemy, who broke and fled in the utmost confusion down the 
 gorge. In a moment Souk, with his remaining Sioux, was 
 mounted and after them. The animals of 'the Cheyennes 
 broke loose from some of the dismounted warriors before they 
 could mount, and left them on foot. Several hid among the 
 rocks, but four, Souk overtook and killed. The pursuit was 
 kept up for nearly five niiles, when Souk turned back and 
 hastily continued bis journey to the Brule camp, where he ar 
 rived in safety on the evening of the seventh day. 
 
 He was kindly received by the father of his bride,, and given 
 a dozen fine* lodges for himself and friends. The neeting be 
 tween Souk and his sweetheart Avas as tender as that of lovers 
 could be, and now, that they were once together, both were 
 perfectly happy. Xear the Brule encampment were some 
 mountain vines covered with flowers, and here Souk ahd 
 Atchafalaya each day spent hour after hour in sweet com 
 munion with each other. The stream was dotted for miles 
 with hundreds of richly-painted teepees; thousands of horf;e? 
 and ponies were constantly to be seen grazing in the green 
 valley, and scores of ^arriors in their gay and various-colored 
 costumes galloped to and fro among the villages. It was a 
 pleasant sight at the home of the old Brule, and OL<? that fille^ 
 their young hearts with pride and joy, for all these herds and 
 people were one day to be theirs. 
 
 After lingering a month in the camp, the old Brule one day 
 announced to Souk he was about to send the "chiefs to receive 
 the presents for Atchafalaya's hand, and if the young man ana 
 his friends wished to return home it would be a favorable op 
 portunity for them to do so. Souk took the hint and 
 preparations accordingly.
 
 472 EELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 By the advice of the old chief, the party took another route, 
 and, although it was two days longer, it brought them in safety 
 to the Ogalltila encampment. 
 
 At Souk's request, his father immediately assembled the coun 
 cil, and the negotiations for Atchafalaya's hand began. An aged 
 Brule made the first speech, expatiating on the power of his 
 chief, the richness of the tribe, and the beauty of Atchafalaya. 
 This was followed by an Ogallala, who dwelt at length upon 
 the power of his chief, his rank, and age, and upon the noble 
 ness, bravery, and skill of Souk. Several other speeches were 
 made on each side, in which the young man and woman were 
 alternately praised, and the glory of their fathers extolled to the 
 skies. The council then adjourned until the following day, the 
 important point of the conference the price of the lady's hand 
 not having been touched upon at all. 
 
 Next day the conference continued, and toward evening the 
 Brule chiefs, after having spoken a great deal, abruptly demanded 
 fifty horses and two hundred ponies, as the price for Atchafalaya. 
 
 The friends of Souk were a good deal surprised at the ex 
 travagant demand of the Brules, it being about three times mort 
 than they expected to give. Souk's father could not conceal hie 
 indignation, and saying he would give but twenty-five horses 
 and one hundred ponies, adjourned the council, directing the 
 Brule chiefs to return home and inform their venerable head oi 
 his decision. 
 
 Souk returned to his lodge with a heavy heart, for he clearly 
 foresaw trouble, and that his love, like all other " true loves/' 
 was not to run smoothly. Summoning his friends, he desired 
 them to make as many presents as possible to the Brule chiefs, 
 anl before they started he added five fine horses of his own, 
 hoping by this liberality to secure their good will. He aisc
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 47?, 
 
 caused them to be secretly informed, that if they could induce 
 the Brule chief to accept his father's offer he would, on the day 
 of his marriage, present to each of them, a fine American horse. 
 
 Before leaving the Brule camp, Souk and Atchafalaya had 
 vowed a true lover's vow, that, come what would of the council, 
 they would be faithful to each other, and die rather than break 
 their plighted troth. Souk had also promised his betrothecT he 
 would return in the fall and make her his wife, with or with 
 out the consent of the tribes. 
 
 As the summer months wore away, and no word was received 
 from the Brule camp, Souk became each day more restless, and, 
 finally, calling together a few of his friends, started once more 
 for the Brules' home. 
 
 He was received most cordially by the old chief, and as be 
 fore, given most hospitable entertainment. Often, however, he 
 thought he detected sadness on the old man's face, and on ques 
 tioning Atchafalaya as to the cause of her father's trouble, the 
 poor girl burst into tears and confessed she was about to be 
 sacrificed for her father's good. She said that the Cheyenne 
 chief, with whom her father had long been at war, had asked 
 her hand, and promised, on. receiving her as one of his wives, 
 to cease from warring with the Sioux. Her father, actuated by 
 a desire to do his people and friends good, had, after the refusal 
 of Souk's father to furnish the required presents, given the 
 Cheyenne a promise, and they were to be married the fol 
 lowing year, when the grass grew green on the earth. The old 
 chief preferred greatly to have Souk for a son-in-law, but he 
 wished also to serve his people and old friends. The treaty 
 was to be binding on the Cheyennes, for the Ogallalas as well 
 as the Brules, and therefore Souk and his father would be greatly 
 
 benefited by her marriage to the Cheyenne. 
 
 41
 
 474 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF, 
 
 This astounding intelligence came near upsetting Souk's bettei 
 judgment, and for awhile he was nearly demented. Taking 
 the fond girl in his arms, he swore, rather than see her the wife 
 of the hated Cheyenne, he would spill both his own and her 
 blood, and they would go to the happy hunting-grounds to 
 gether. Atchafalaya begged him to be calm, and she would make 
 her escape with him and fly to his people. It was agreed that, 
 early in the spring, before the encampment moved to its sum 
 mer pastures, Souk, with a chosen band, should come over the 
 mountains, and in the confusion, when the tribe was on the 
 march, they would seize a favorable opportunity Jto escape into i 
 the mountains, from which, they could inake their way to Souk's 
 father and implore his protection. 
 
 Cautioning him to conceal, even by a look, all knowledge of 
 her engagement to the Cheyenne, the lovers parted, and next 
 day Souk set out for his home, apparently utterly indifferent 
 as to the result of the negotiations for his marriage. 
 
 Slowly the winter months dragged along, and to the impatient 
 Souk they seemed 'in terminable, but at length the water began 
 to come down from the mountains, and the ice grew soft on the 
 streams. As soon, as he .saw these indications of returning 
 spring, Souk called his bravest friends together and set out from 
 the camp. He did not tell any one where he was going, and it 
 was only when they began to ascend the mountains they sus 
 pected they were on their way to the Brule camp. In eight days 
 they descended the plain into the old chiefs home. 
 
 He was greatly astonished to see Souk, for he believed it im 
 possible, at that season of the year, for any one to cross the 
 mountain. However, he gave Souk and his friends a hearty 
 v/elcome, and again provided them with every thing they 
 needed.
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 475 
 
 Next day the chief rode down the river to prepare the campa 
 for moving, and Sonk and Atchafalaya, being left alone in the 
 canip ; had all the oppportunity they desired for laying their 
 plans. Atchafalaya said the camp would move in four days, 
 and that in the meantime they must make every preparation for 
 their flight. There was one horse in the herd, she said, that 
 was the swiftest in the tribe, and he must be either killed or 
 she would ride him. Her father had always objected to -her 
 mounting this animal, because he was so vicious, but, now that 
 he was away, it would be a good time for her to ride the ani 
 mal, and show to her .father that she was a better horsewoman 
 than he thought. Once upon him, she could pretend a fond 
 ness for the beast, and thus secure him to ride on the trip. 
 Souk agreed to all she said, and the W 7 ild horse was at once 
 sent for. He reared and plunged fearfully, but at length he 
 was conquered, and Atchafalaya mounted his back. Souk rode 
 by her side, and they galloped down the river, to meet the old 
 chief, who they knew must by that time be returning home- 
 ware^ as it was nearly evening. They soon met him, and 
 whra he saw his daughter on the wild horse, he was greatly 
 surprised, but not displeased, for all Indians are proud of their 
 horsemanship. Cautioning her to be very careful, and hold 
 him fast, Souk, the old chief, and Atchafalaya rode back to 
 gether to the village. 
 
 Next day Atchafalaya again rode the wild horse, and in the 
 evening slyly extracted a promise from her father that she 
 should be permitted to ride him when the village changed its 
 ca mpin g-ground. 
 
 On the morning of the fourth day the herds were gathered, 
 jhe teepees pulled down, and the village commenced its march 
 to the summer pastures. The men had got the herds fairly on
 
 476 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 the way, and the sun was just tipping the icy peaks of the 
 mountains, when Souk and Atchafalaya mounted their steeds 
 and galloped swiftly forward. Atchafalaya rode the wild horse, 
 and Souk was mounted on a splendid stallion. All of Souk's 
 warriors had been sent the day before to Pole Creek, a day in*. 
 advance, under the pretense of hunting. 
 
 Riding on until they reached the head of the herd, they were 
 about to pass, when the herders informed the young couple that 
 it was the chief's orders no one should go ahead of the herd 
 and they could proceed no further. Giving the men a pleasant 
 answer, Atchafalaya said she was only trying the mettle of hei 
 horse, and at once turned back. They had gone but a little 
 distance, when they entered the sand-hills, and, making a wide 
 circuit, came out far in advance of the herd. They were now 
 on the banks of a little lake, and, giving their horses full rein, 
 sped by its clear waters. 
 
 Long before night the young people reached Pole Creek, and 
 found Souk's warriors. He hastily explained to them what had 
 happened, and, charging them to remain, and if possible draw oft' 
 the enemy from the trail, Souk and his sweetheart again set 
 forward. 
 
 One of the warriors who remained behind was to personate a 
 woman, and, if possible, make the old chief's people think he 
 was Atchafalaya. Souk said he knew a pass through the Black 
 Hills that would bring them to his father's country two days 
 sooner than by any other route, and, although the way was 
 somewhat dangerous, they must take all risks, and depend on 
 the swiftness of their horses for escape. 
 
 All night they rode on, and at sunrise halted on the top of a 
 high hill, to breakfast on cold roast antelope and wild arti 
 chokes. Atehafalaya's horse bore her light weight without
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 477 
 
 seeming fatigue, but Souk was heavy, and his steed began to 
 slvnv signs of distress. 
 
 Far in the distance they could see the blue line of the gap 
 that still lay between them and safety, and, hurriedly refresh 
 ing themselves from a spring of pure water, they again set out, 
 noping to reach it before night. 
 
 It was near sundown when they began to ascend the high 
 ridge that led into the gap, and they had just reached the crest 
 when Atchafalaya, scanning the valley below them, descried 
 horsemen following on their trail. They had hoped they were 
 not yet discovered, and under cover of night might still reach 
 the pass in safety, but the horsemen soon divided, and one-half 
 went up the valley, while the others continued to follow the trail. 
 Souk knew in a moment that those who went up the valley 
 were going to head them off, and, although they had nearly 
 double the distance to ride, their road was comparatively smooth, 
 while Souk's lay along precipices and over crags. Calling to 
 Atchafulaya that . they must now ride for their lives, Souk 
 whipped up the horses, and they began to climb rapidly the 
 rugged pathway. 
 
 All night they pushed along, and at daylight found themselves 
 quite near the pass. Souk scanned the valley through the hazy 
 light, but could detect no traces of the Brules people. He began 
 io hope that they had not yet arrived, and spoke encouragingly 
 to Atchafalaya, who, pale with fatigue, now sat upon her horse 
 like a statue. Descending into the deep canon, Souk directed 
 Atchafalaya to ride rapidly for the pass, while he followed close 
 in the' rear, ready to attack any enemy that might appear. 
 They had gone half a mile, and were just entering the jaws of 
 the great gorge, when a cry of distress rose from the lips" of the 
 girl, and, looking to his right, Souk saw about twenty Brulea
 
 478 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 rapidly closing on the pass. The noble girl whipped up hei 
 horse, and, darting forward like an arrow, shot through the 
 pass full fifty yards ahead of the foremost Brule warrior. ' 
 
 Souk grasped his battle-ax, and, reaching the pass just as- 
 the first Brule came up, struck his horse on the head, dropping 
 him on the ground and sending the rider rolling over the rocks t 
 The second warrior, seeing the fate of his companion, swerved 
 his steed to one side and strove to pass Souk, but he quickly 
 drew his bow and drove an arrow through the horse behind 
 the fore-shoultler, causing him to drop to his knees and fling 
 his rider on the ground. 
 
 The lovers were now ahead of all their pursuers, and, urging 
 their gallant steeds to their utmost, they soon had the satisfac 
 tion of hearing the shouts of the Brules dying in the distance 
 behind them. In an hour they halted, refreshed themselves, 
 and rested their horses. In the distance they could see the 
 Brules halting by a stream, and apparently resting also. The 
 lovers were the first to move on, and, when opce in the saddle, 
 they lost no time. 
 
 It was past noon when Souk saw some objects several miles 
 off on the left, and soon made them out to be part of the 
 Brules, who were making for the river, to cut him off from 
 the ford. The race was a long, one, but the lovers won it, 
 and crossed in safety. 
 
 On the third day they entered the great mountains, and 
 drew near the borders of the country of Souk's father. At 
 sunset they crossed a little creek, which Souk pointed out to 
 Atchafalaya as the boundary of the Ogallala lands. Riding 
 forward a dozen miles, they halted in a wild, mountainous re 
 gion, and, for the first time since starting, prepared to take 
 some rest. Souk comforted Atchafalaya with the assuramx
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 
 
 that another day would take then> to his home, and that they 
 were now well out of danger. 
 
 A sheltered spot was selected for their camp, near a bfoeam, 
 and, while Souk gathered some sticks to make a small fire, his 
 bride walked down to ihe water's edge. He saw her turn up 
 the stream, and in a moment more she was lost to view. The 
 fire was soon lighted, and Souk busy preparing the evening 
 meal, when suddenly he heard a fearful shriek at no -great 
 distance. 
 
 Seizing his battle-ax, he rushed toward the spot from whence 
 the sound proceeded, but could see no one. Calling the name 
 of his bride, he dashed forward through the thicket, but could 
 see or hear nothing of her. He called loudly again, but re 
 ceived no response. The silence was agonizing, and he listened 
 for several moments, when he heard the crackling of >some 
 branches in the distance. He rushed frantically to the spot, Jbut 
 his career was quickly stopped by an object on the ground. It 
 was the torn and now bloody mantle of his beloved. JChe 
 mystery was in part explained : she had retired to this secluded 
 spot to offer up a prayer to the Great Spirit for their safe-de 
 liverance, and, as was her custom, had taken off her mantle 
 and spread it on the earth. On this she had knelt, when a 
 grizzly bear, those terrible beasts of the Rocky Mountains, -had 
 rushed upon her and killed her before she could utter a second 
 cry. His huge paws were deeply imprinted on the sand, and 
 the trail was distinctly visible along which he had dragged 
 his victim. Souk, taking the rent garment, plunged into th 
 brushwood. 
 
 'He crossed the thicket in several directions, but in ain; it 
 was dark, and he could not follow the trail. He returned to 
 
 the camp in a frame of mind bordering on despair, ^liaising 
 29
 
 484 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 his hand to heaven, he swore by the great Wa-con Ton-ka to 
 track the beast to his den and slay him, or perish in the con 
 flict. It seemed to him an age before the light appeared, lut 
 at length the gray streamers began to streak the east, and Scuk 
 was on the trail. Again and again he. lost it, but the growing 
 light enabled him to find it, and he pushed on. He found the 
 lair half a mile out, where the beast had eaten a part of his 
 beloved, and, as he looked at the blood stains on the ground, 
 his brain seemed about to burst from his skull. Pieces of gar 
 ments 'were left on some of the bushes where the bear had 
 dragged the body along. Far up into the mountains Souk 
 followed the trail, but at length lost it among the rocks. AH 
 day he hunted for it in vain, and when night came he returned 
 to his camp. He expected the enemy had come up during his 
 absence, but he found the horses where he had left them, 
 and the camp undisturbed. How he wished the Brules would 
 come and kill him. He cursed himself, and wished to die, but 
 could not. Then he slept, how long he knew not, but the 
 sun was far up in the heavens and shining brightly when he 
 awoke. * * 
 
 Mounting one of the horses, and leading the other, he started 
 at full speed. He wished to leave as quickly as possible, and 
 forever, the cursed spot that had witnessed the destruction of all 
 his earthly happiness. It afforded him some relief to ride fast, 
 and he dashed onward, he neither knew nor cared where. His 
 well-trained steed took the road for him, and as the evening 
 shadows were beginning to creep over. the valley, he saw far 
 ahead the teepees of his father's village. He lashed his horse 
 and rode like a madman into the town. His faithful warriors 
 had returned, but they hardly knew their beloved young 
 chie/, so changed was he. At the door of his father's lodge
 
 AN INDIAN ELOPEMENT. 
 
 his brave horse fell dead, and Souk rolled over on the ground 
 insensible. 
 
 He was carefully lifted up and laid on his own bed, where 
 for many days he remained in a raging fever, at times delirious, 
 and calling wildly on the name of Atchafalaya. Little by lit 
 tle ne recovered, and at length went about the village again, 
 but he hardly ever spoke to any one; and for years the Brulea 
 and Ogallalas never visited each other.
 
 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF, 
 
 II. 
 
 THE HUNTER'S DREAM. 
 
 (From the Ottawa.) 
 
 THERE was once a beautiful girl, who died suddenly on 
 the day she was to have been married to a handsome 
 young hunter, who had also proved his bravery in war, so 
 that he enjoyed the praises of his tribe, but his heart was not 
 proof against this loss. From the hour his betrothed was 
 buried, there was no more joy or peace for him. He went 
 often to visit the spot where the women had buried her, and 
 sat musing there for hours, when, it was thought by some of 
 his friends, he would have done better to try and amuse him 
 self in the chase, or by diverting his thoughts in the war-path. 
 But war and hunting had lost their charms for him. His heart 
 was already dead within him, and he wholly neglected both his 
 war-club and his bow. 
 
 He had heard the old people say, that there was a path that 
 led to the land of souls, and he determined to follow it, and 
 accordingly set out one morning, after having completed his 
 preparations for the journey. At first he hardly knew which 
 way to go. He was only guided by the tradition that he must 
 go south. For awhile, he could see no change in the face of 
 the country. Forests, and hills, and valleys, and streams, had 
 the same look which they wore on his native plains. There waa
 
 THE HUNTER'S DREAM. 487 
 
 sno\v on the ground when he set out, and it was sometimes seen 
 to be piled and matted on the thick trees and bushes. At 
 length, however, it began to diminish, and, as he walked on, 
 finally disappeared. The forest assumed a more cheerful ap 
 pearance, the leaves put forth their buds, and before he wa a 
 aware of the completeness of the change, he found he had left 
 behind him the land of snow and ice. The air became mild 
 and balmy ; the dark clouds had rolled away from the sky ; a 
 pure field of blue was above him; and, as he went forward in 
 his journey, he saw flowers beside his path, and heard the 
 song of birds. By these signs he knew that he was going the 
 right way, for they agreed with the traditions of his tribe/ At 
 length he spied a path, which led him through a grove, then up 
 a long and elevated ridge, on the very top of which, he came to 
 a lodge. At the door, stood an old man with white hair, whose 
 ayes, though deeply' sunk, had a fiery brilliancy. He had a 
 long robe of skins thrown loosely around his shoulders, and 
 a staff in his hands. 
 
 The young man began to tell his story ; but the venerable 
 chief arrested him before he had spoken" ten words. " I have 
 expected you," he replied, " and had just risen to bid you wel 
 come to my abode. She, whom you seek, passed here but a 
 short time since, and being fatigued with her journey, rested 
 herself here. Enter my lodge and be seated, and I will then 
 satisfy your inquiries, and give you directions for your journey 
 from this point." Having done this, and refreshed himself by 
 rest, they both issued forth from the lodge door. " iou see 
 yonder gulf/' said the old man, "and the wide-stretching 
 plain beyond : it is the land of souls. You stand upon its 
 borders, and my lodge is the gate of entrance. But you can 
 not take your body along. Leave it here with your bow and
 
 488 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 arrows, your bundle aiid your dog. You will find them saf 
 upon your return." So saying, he re-entered the lodge, and 
 the freed traveler bounded forward as if his feet had suddenly 
 been endowed with the power of wings. But all things re 
 tained their natural colors and shapes. The woods, and leaves, 
 and streams, and lakes, were only more bright and comely 
 than he had ever witnessed. Animals bounded across his path 
 with a freedom and confidence, which seemed to tell him 
 that there was no blood shed there. Birds of beautiful plu 
 mage were in the groves, and sported in the waters. There 
 was but one thing which he noticed as unusual. He noticed 
 that his passage was not stopped by trees and other objects. 
 He appeared to walk directly through them: they were, in 
 fact, but the images or shadows of material forms, and he be 
 came sensible that he was in the land of souls. 
 
 When he had traveled half a day's journey, through a coun 
 try which was continually becoming more and more attractive, 
 he came to the banks of a broad lake, in the center of which 
 was a large and beautiful island. He found a canoe of white 
 shining stone tied to tlie shore, and was now sure that he had 
 come to the right path, for the aged man had told him of this. 
 Immediately entering the canoe, and taking the shining paddles 
 in his hands, to his joy and surprise, on turning round, he 
 beheld the object of his search in another canoe, exactly the 
 counterpart of his, in every respect. It seemed, in fact, to be 
 the shadow of his own. She had exactly imitated his motions, 
 and they were side by side, and they at once pushed out from 
 the shore and began to cross the lake. Its waves seemed to be 
 rising, and, at a distance, looked ready to swallow them up; 
 but, just as they entered the whitened edge, they seemed to melt 
 away, as if they were but the images of waves. But no sooner
 
 THE HUNTER'S DREAM. 489 
 
 was one wreath of foam passed, than another, more threatening 
 still, rose up. Thus they were in perpetual fear; which was 
 increased by the clearness of the water, through which they 
 could see heaps of the bones of persons who had perished 
 before. 
 
 The master of life had, however, decreed to let them pass, 
 for the thoughts and acts of neither had been bad. But they 
 saw many others struggling and sinking in the waves. Old 
 men and young men, males and females, of all ages and ranks, 
 were there ; some passed, and some sank. It was only the little 
 children, whose canoes seemed to meet no waves. At length 
 every difficulty was gone, as in a moment, and they both leaped 
 out on the happy island. They felt that the very air was food. 
 It strengthened and nourished them, and they wandered together 
 over the blissful fields, where every thing was formed to please 
 the eye and ear. There were no tempests; there was no ice, 
 nor chilly winds; no one shivered for the want of warm 
 clothes; no one suffered for hunger; no one mourned for the 
 dead. They saw no graves ; they heard of no wars* Animals 
 ran freely about, but there was no blood spilled in hunting 
 them: for the air itself nourished them. Gladly would the 
 young warrior have remained there forever, but he was obliged 
 to go back for his body. He did not see the Master of Life, 
 but he heard his voice, as ?f it were a soft breeze. " Go back," 
 said this voice, "to the land from whence you came. Your 
 time has not yet come. The duties for which I made you, and 
 which you are to perform, are not yet finished. Return to your 
 people, and accomplish the acts of a good man. You will be 
 the ruler of your tribe for many days. The rules you will 
 observe will be told you by my messenger who keeps the gate. 
 
 When he surrenders back your body, he will tell you what to 
 
 42
 
 490 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF.' 
 
 do. Listen to hiin, and you shall afterward rejoin the spirit 
 which you have followed, but whom you must now leave be 
 hind. She is accepted, and will be ever here, as young and as 
 happy as she was when I first called her from the land of 
 snows." When this voice ceased, the narrator awoke. It wa 
 the fancy work of a dream, and he was still in the bitter land 
 of snows and hunger, death and tears.
 
 JIM BAKEil. 
 
 III. 
 
 JIM BAKER. 
 
 BAKER was born in Illinois, and live< xl home Mitil he 
 was eighteen years of age, when he en isted in the Amer 
 ican Far Company, went to the Rocky Mountains, and re 
 mained there foi many years. He married an Indian wife, ac 
 cording to the Indian custom, from the S) ake tribe, and lived 
 with the Indians several years, adopting th ir habits, ideas, and 
 superstitions. He firmly believed in the efficacy of charms, 
 and incantations of the medicine men. He contended zealously 
 that they could cure diseases, divine wheiv the enemy was to 
 be found, and foretell the result of war expeditions. Unfor 
 tunately he would occasionally take a glass or two too much 
 whisky, and, while under its influence, would commit many in 
 discretions. When sober, Baker was a noble, generous, big- 
 hearted man, as, indeed, are nearly all trappers," hunters, and 
 guides on the border. He was the friend and companion of 
 Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, and Jack Robinson, and would 
 divide his last crust with an associate or stranger. 
 
 "Jim Baker," as he was familiarly known all along the 
 border, accompanied General Marcy, in 185758, in his expe 
 dition over the Rocky Mountains, from Fort Bridger to New 
 Mexico, and proved himself a most valuable assistant, guide, 
 and interpreter. Marcy had engaged a Digger Ute Indian as
 
 492 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 guide, and promised him many presents as soon as they should 
 reach New Mexico. On the first day out the Indian pretended 
 not to believe he would receive the promised presents, and hi 
 the evening announced his intention of returning to Fort 
 Bridger. Marcy told the Indian he had the presents with, 
 him, but still seeming not to be satisfied, Baker advised the 
 general to show him the presents. This was done, and, know 
 ing their propensity to steal, Marcy ordered the presents to be 
 closely guarded ; yet, notwithstanding every precaution, the 
 wily savage managed, during the night, to get hold of the most 
 of them, and then deserted. Next morning, when Baker learned 
 of his treachery, he was so enraged that he wished to follow 
 (he Digger Ute and scalp him, but General Marcy restrained 
 him. 
 
 During the expedition Marcy came upon a band of Utes at 
 the western base of the Rocky Mountains, and, as he was 
 scarce of ponies, he tried to buy some, but, although these 
 people subsisted on rabbits, bugs, and crickets, they could not 
 be induced to part with their ponies at any price. The gen 
 eral then tried to hire one of them as a guide across the mount 
 ains, but in this he also failed, when Baker came to the rescue. 
 He said to the chief, " Come, show us the way to New Mex 
 ico, " and upon the chiefs replying that the snow was too deep 
 for any human being to attempt the passage of the mountains, 
 Baker slapped his breast and said, " Do you think we are old 
 women ? I at first took you for a warrior, but I see now you 
 are a squaw," and the Indian becoming very much enraged 
 at this taunt, Baker added : " Go home now, and cover up 
 warm, or assist your squaw in taking care of the babies. " The 
 Ute was beside himself with rage, but still he pointed to the 
 mountains, and said : "You think I dc not tell you the truth,
 
 JIM BAKER. 493 
 
 but look, you can see the white snow upon the peaks from here. 
 When I crossed in the autumn the leaves were beginning to 
 fall, and the snow was then a foot deep in the passes, but it is 
 now above my middle, and I could not possibly wade through." 
 Nevertheless, General Marcy undertook the passage of the 
 mountains, and, after losing nearly all his, animals, and endur 
 ing months of suffering and privation, he forced his way to 
 Fort Massachusetts, and accomplished what General Fremont 
 had failed to do. This was really one of the most remarkable 
 marches on record, and entitles its conductor to lasting feme. 
 In saying that Baker, Tyburn, and Mariano were invaluable, 
 and probably saved the expedition, I am only repeating what 
 General Marcy has often himself said in both public and 
 private. 
 
 When General Marcy first met "Jim," he inquired if he 
 had traveled much in the States before coming out into the 
 mountains, to which he replied: " Right smart, Cap." Marcy 
 asked : 
 
 " Where have you been ? " 
 
 " To Chicago, " was the reply. 
 
 " Have you ever been to New York ? " 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 "To New Orleans?" 
 
 '' No, Cap, I has n't been to Horleans, but I'll tell you whar 
 I have been. I've traveled miglitynigh all over four counties 
 in Illinois, " and this, it appeared, was the extent of his wan 
 derings before leaving home. 
 
 When sober, Baker was a mild and sensible man, but when 
 ia liquor he was violent, boisterous, and dangerous. He ap 
 peared to be very fond of his squaw and children, but on one. 
 occasion, coming into his house and finding a friend there, he
 
 494 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 pretended to get jealous, and abused his wife. His friend, see 
 ing he had a drop too much liquor, tried to appease him and 
 convince him of the injustice of his suspicions, but " Jim " 
 only became more indignant and furious, and, seizing a hunt 
 ing-knife, swore he would cut off one of her ears, and it was 
 with the greatest difficulty his friend could prevent him from 
 doing so. This was one of the Indian methods of punishing a 
 truant spouse, and it seemed to Jim the most appropriate for 
 that occasion. 
 
 When Marcy's expedition reached New Mexico, Baker con 
 cluded it would be a good opportunity to cast aside his leg 
 gings, moccasins, and other mountain gear, and adopt the ha 
 biliments of civilization. He accordingly bought a full outfit of 
 citizens clothing, and when the general met him soon after 
 ward, so great was the change that he hardly knew him. 
 " Why, " said Marcy, " Jim, you are so metamorphosed I 
 hardly knew you. " 
 
 " I do n't know what you call it, " replied Baker, " but con 
 found these store clothes, they choke my feet like . " It 
 
 was the first time in twenty years Jim had worn any thing 
 but moccasins, and his feet were not prepared for the torture 
 of breaking in new boots. In a little while he was seen walk 
 ing along in his bare feet, and carrying his boots in his hand, 
 and when asked about it, he said, " I specks these store clothes 
 makes me look kind o' 'spectable, but they hurt, and I feel 
 l^e a durned fool. " An hour afterward he came out in his 
 mountain rig and moccasins, and said he would never again 
 " attempt to wear store clothes, or act the gentleman. " 
 
 Baker had been in at the death of many a grizzly bear, and 
 related many stories of his terrible encounters with these mon 
 sters of the mountains, but he had one great bear fight that he
 
 JIM BAKER. 4?/ 
 
 loved most to recount. He and his friend Bridger were one day 
 getting traps on the head waters of Grand River, when they 
 .came suddenly upon two young grizzly bears, about the size of 
 well-grown dogs. Baker remarked that if they could pitch in 
 and scalp the varmints with their knives, it would be an ex 
 ploit to boast of. They accordingly laid aside their rifles am 
 went at them, Bridger attacking one, and his companion the 
 other. He says the bears immediately raised on their hind 
 feet, and, squatting upon their haunches, were ready for battle. 
 He ran around, endeavoring to get an opportunity to give a 
 blow from behind with his long sharp knife, but the young 
 brute was too quick for him, and turned, as he passed around, 
 so as always to confront him face to face. He knew, if he 
 came within reach of him, though young, he could strike ter 
 rible blows and inflict severe wounds with his claws ; moreover, 
 he felt great apprehensions that the piteous howls of the cub 
 would bring the old dam to its rescue, when the chances of es 
 cape from death would be small. Anxious to terminate the 
 contest as soon as possible, he made several passes at the bear, 
 who warded off his strokes with the skill of a pugilist. Several 
 of the lunges cut the cub's paws, and the pain greatly enraged 
 him. At length, exasperated, the grizzly took the offensive, 
 and sprung at his antagonist. Baker grappled with him, 
 and, after a most terrible conflict, in which his arms and legs 
 were torn and lacerated nearly to the bone, the mountaineer 
 succeeded in giving the animal a death wound. 
 
 Meanwhile Bridger was fighting a terrible battle with hia 
 bear, and had become greatly exhausted, and the odds were 
 turning decidedly against him, when he entreated his companion 
 to come to his relief, and, although Jim said he did not like to 
 
 " meddle with another man's bar fite," he finally Went fti$ "rohen, 
 
 43
 
 498 BELDEN: THE AVHITE CHIEF. 
 
 to his surprise, Bridger immediately retired from the contest; 
 and left him to fight it out alone. In vain Baker begged him 
 to help him by shooting or stabbing the bear, but Bridger only, 
 replied, "Gc ahead, Jim; you kin kill and skulp him ycur- 
 self." After a severe struggle, Jim was again victorious, and, 
 when he demanded an explanation of his conduct, Bridger re 
 plied, " Yer tarnal fool, Jim, yer got me into yer scrape, and 1 
 got meself out. Yer wanted ter kill and skulp bars with 
 butcher-knives, and I made up my mind I'd jest shoot mine; 
 so as the bar fite were yours, I thort I would 'nt interfere." 
 
 Baker reflected a moment, and then responded, " Dod rot it, 
 Jim, if yer aint rite, and I '11 never fite nary 'nother grizzly 
 without I have a good shootin' iron in my paws." 
 
 Like most mountaineers, Baker was liberal to a fault, and 
 consequently was very improvident. He" had made a great deal 
 of money in trading and trapping, but, at the annual rendez 
 vous of traders he would spend the earnings of a whole season 
 in a few days. He had been particularly lucky one year, and 
 laid up the snug sum of nine thousand dollars, when he. made 
 up his mind he would abandon his mountain life, return to tho 
 States, purchase a farm, and settle down. He accordingly made 
 his preparations to start, and was on the point of departure, 
 when he concluded to have a little blow out with some friends, 
 whom he never expected to see again. They got some grog, and 
 finally wandered into a monte-bank, which had been opened in 
 the camp. He was easily persuaded to take some more drinks 
 and try his luck, and the result was, that the next morning 
 Baker found himself without a cent. To a friend whom he met 
 BOOU afterward, he said, " Guess I won't buy a farm this year/ 
 and next day returned to his hunting-grounds. 
 
 After a time Baker left the Indians, and established a little
 
 JIM BAKER. , 499 
 
 btore on tne old Mormon trail, at the crossing of Green River. 
 Here for some years he did a fair business in trading with In 
 dians and trafficking with passing emigrants, but one day a 
 Frenchman appeared and set up a rival establishment, which 
 greatly reduced Baker's profits. This terribly enraged the old 
 frontiersman, who claimed the exclusive " rite to trade on them 
 erossiu'," and he posted a " notis " for the Frenchman " tew 
 quit." The Frenchman, however, went on with his business, 
 and soon all intercourse of a friendly nature-ceased between the 
 neighbors. One day Baker declared war, and sent a challenge 
 to the Frenchman, which was promptly accepted. They both 
 retired to their cabins, which were facing each other, and 
 prepared for battle. Baker had no liquor, and the polite 
 Frenchman sent over his antagonist a quart. After liquoring 
 up, they appeared at the doors of their cabins and fired with 
 revolvers. Between each round they would go in and drink, 
 and soon got so drunk and unsteady there was little danger of 
 their hitting each other. This peculiar duel had lasted for sev 
 eral hours, when Baker's old friend Marcy happened by, return 
 ing from Utah to the States. He asked Baker what was up, 
 and he replied, " Yer see, Cap, that thar yaller-bellied, toad- 
 eatin' parly-voo over thar come here to trade agin me, and we 
 have had a bit of a skrimmage to-day." 
 
 Marcy lectured him on the sin of monopoly, but Baker only 
 replied, " This yer 's my crossin', I reckon, Cap, and I '11 raise 
 the har o' that sneakin' pole-cat yet. I x ll skulp him, Cap, if 
 he do n't leave these diggin's, darned if I do n't." 
 
 He then gave notice to Marcy to stand aside, for he was 
 going to blaze away, but Marcy stepped up to Baker, and took 
 his pislol away, telling him he was greatly astonished to see a 
 man of his sense make such a fool of himself. Baker submit-
 
 500 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 ted quietly, but upbraided Marcy, saying he wished to disgrace 
 him by making him take insults from a cowardly, frog-eating 
 Frenchman. 
 
 Next morning, however, he called on Marcy, and apologized 
 for what had taken place the day before, said he was drunk, 
 and when he allowed himself to drink whisky he had "nary 
 sense." He also said he would leave the country, and the 
 " cussed toad-eater might keep the durned old crossin." 
 
 Baker is still living in Colorado, but has left the mountains, 
 and, being very old, is waiting to take the long journey whence 
 no mortal has yet returned.
 
 THE MAGIC CIRCLE. . 50 i 
 
 IV. 
 
 TITE MAGIC CIRCLE OX THE PRAIRTR. 
 
 A YOUNG hunter, following the trail of a deer on th 
 * prairie, suddenly came upon a circular path trodden 
 smooth by long use. It gave evidence of recent footsteps, 
 made by dainty feet, but nowhere could he discover a trail 
 leading to or from it. This puzzled him not a little, and he 
 resolved to ferret out the mystery. Accordingly he concealed 
 himself in the tall prairie grass near by, and patiently awaited 
 the coming of the being or beings who had trodden the path 
 so smoothly, for he knew this could have been done only by 
 long-continued and frequent use. After a short time his vigil 
 was broken by music, very faint at first, but exceeding sweet, 
 which seemed to descend out of the heavens. Glided by the 
 melody, his keen eye discovered speck far up in the sky. 
 Soon the speck grew larger, and the music plainer and sweeter 
 still, and it was evident that the bird-like speck and the music 
 were approaching the earth together. Never for a moment did 
 the young hunter take his eye off the object that seemed com 
 ing right down upon him, and soon he discovered it was a very 
 large basket, but, as it was made of ozier, very light. But he 
 forgot the basket when he saw its wonderful burden. Twelve 
 charming maidens sat upon cushions in the basket, and each 
 had a little drum which she beat with the grace of an angel 
 80
 
 :/; . BELUEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Lowermnd lower came this magic car, with its precious freight 
 until it rested exactly in the center of the ring formed by the 
 mysterious path. Scarcely had it touched the ground, when 
 the twelve maidens sprang out and began to dance around the 
 eirclo, and to strike a shining ball from one to another. 
 
 The. young hunter had seen many a gay dance among all 
 (he tribes of the prairie, but never had he seen any thing to 
 compare with this. The music had at first delighted him, but 
 now the matchless beauty and charming grace of the maidens 
 made him forget all the world beside. All of them charmed 
 him. but one, the youngest and loveliest, completely entranced 
 him, and he resolved to seize and carry her home at any risk. 
 Slowly and quietly he crept toward the circle, and succeeded 
 in getting entirely up to it without making the least noise, or 
 in -any way attracting attention. Then, when his idol ap 
 proached the side where he lay hid, he attempted, by a sudden 
 spring, to capture her. But no sooner did the maidens see 
 him, than they all sprang nimbly into the basket, and were 
 sped, with the quickness of thought, back to the skies and out 
 of .sight. 
 
 Poor Algqn, the hunter, was completely foiled. He stood 
 gazing upward after his new love till the music of the singing 
 maidens faded from his ear and the car vanished from his sight. 
 Then he who an hour before was the bold hunter, brave, and 
 fancy free, began to bewail his fate. "She is gone, forever 
 gone, and I shall see her no more!" he said, and sadly turned 
 away. He hunted no more, but went home to his lodge. All 
 night he thought of this new wonder, and he determined to go 
 back to the prairie next day, and once more try to win the fair 
 maiden, the youngest of the twelve. Warned by his former 
 failure, he did not attempt to seize her openly, but, by his magic
 
 THE MAGIC CIEOLE. 503 
 
 power, changed himself into an opossum. He did not wait 
 long before he heard again the sweet music, and saw the cai 
 descend into the center of the ring. Again the maidens com 
 menced the same gay dance and play. They seemed even more 
 beautiful than the day before, and she, the youngest, was the 
 perfection of grace. Slowly and cautiously the opossum, crept 
 toward the ring, but even this disguise could not deceive the 
 wary maidens. The instant they saw him they sprang into the 
 basket and rose in the air. The car stopped when a little way 
 from the earth, however, and one of the older maidens spoke. 
 " Perhaps," said she, " it is come to show us how the game is 
 played by mortals;" but the youngest replied, "Oh no! quick ! 
 let us ascend," and, all joining in a heavenly chant, they rose 
 out of sight. 
 
 Algon returned to his lodge again, sadder and more dejected 
 than ever, but still resolved not to give up his new-found 
 treasure. The night seemed an eternity to him, and early in 
 the morning he set out over the prairie again, his head full of 
 expedients to decoy and capture the cause of all his rapture 
 and of all his uneasiness. Directly in his path lay an old hol 
 low stump, in which a number of mice had made their nest. 
 Surely, thought he, these diminutive forms can not create alarm, 
 I will be one of them. So, moving the stump as near the circle 
 as he dared, he became a little, harmless mouse, and mingled 
 with the rest in the old stump. He had not been long in his 
 new character, when the car descended and the sports began. 
 "But see!" cried the youngest sister, "that stump was not 
 there yesterday," and she ran, aifrighted, to the car. The others 
 only smiled, and, gathering around the stump to show her there 
 was no danger, began to strike it in jest, when the mice all ran 
 out and Algon among them. The sisters killed them all but
 
 504 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 one, which the youngest pursued out into the prairie, where 
 she was no longer protected by the charm of the circle. Just 
 as she raised her stick to kill the mouse, it changed to a brave 
 hunter before her eyes, and she was clasped in the arms of 
 Algon. The other sisters all sprang into the ozier basket, and 
 were drawn up to the skies, but the youngest was carried, an 
 unwilling captive, to the hunter's lodge. 
 
 The young hunter exhausted all his skill and invention to 
 win the affections of his fairy bride. He wiped the tears from 
 her eyes, told in pictured words his adventures in the chase, 
 painted .all the charms of life on the earth, and told his never- 
 dying love. He was incessant in his attentions, and picked out 
 the smoothest path as he led her toward his home. How his 
 heart beat with joy and love as she entered his lodge ! From 
 that moment he was the happiest of men. Winter and sum 
 mer quickly sped away, and another joy came. A little boy, 
 pledge of their love, was added to the lodge-circle. The nov 
 el ty of the scenes at first amused the young bride, and the lov- 
 iug devotion of Algou made her content to live on earth, but 
 by and by she began to pine to see her sisters once more, and 
 to visit her father for she was the daughter of one of the 
 stars. But she was obliged to hide these feelings from her 
 husband, and to appear cheerful and contented before him, for 
 she knew he would thwart any attempt she might make to 
 leave the earth. She remembered the charm that would carry 
 her up, and secretly made a wicker basket, large enough to hold 
 herself and her son, and kept it hid away. Now she collected 
 all the rare and beautiful things of earth that she thought would 
 please her father, together with the most dainty kinds of food. 
 At last all was ready, and she only awaited an opportunity to 
 escape. Taking her child and her treasures, with tht basket,
 
 THE MAGIC CIRCLE. 605 
 
 one day while Algon was absent in the chase, she set out across 
 the prairie to the magic circle. Taking her little son in her 
 arms, she sat down in the basket and commenced her song. 
 The charm was still potent, and as her song rose on the air the 
 basket began to ascend. 
 
 Algon was hunting on the prairie, and, as the song was borne 
 by the winds, it struck his ear with ineffable sweetness. In a 
 moment he recognized the voice, and, in an agony of surprise, 
 realized that his wife and son, all that he cared for on earth, 
 were being wafted to the skies. Wild with suspense, he ran 
 with the swiftness of the deer toward the fatal spot, but, before 
 he could reach the ring, the basket, with its precious burden, 
 was high in the air. Loudly and anxiously he cried to his 
 dear ones to come back, but all of no avail. Higher, higher 
 went the basket, the happy song of his wife, dirge of air his 
 hopes, grew fainter and fainter, and finally died away. He 
 watched the receding speck, straining his eyes until it entirely 
 vanished ; then, gazing up into heaven where his loved ones 
 had gone, long after they had disappeared, he stood alone on 
 the prairie, alone in the world. Then he bowed his proud 
 head in agony to the ground and wept like a child. 
 
 A long, dreary winter and a cheerless summer passed, and 
 still Algon bewailed his loss. The chase had lost its charm to 
 him now, and he loathed his food since the loving hands that 
 were wont to prepare it were absent. He mourned the loss of 
 his beautiful wife, but his son, who was all his hope and who 
 was to perpetuate his race, was still a greater loss. His smile 
 was gone, and he who had been the life of the village was now 
 Bad and gloomy. 
 
 Meanwhile his wife had reached her starry home, and almost 
 
 forgot, in the renewed joys and blissful employments of her child- 
 
 44
 
 506 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 hood's home, -that she had left a husband on the earth. Bui 
 her son, true to his race, longed to visit the place of his birth, 
 and* to see his father, whom he could just remember as the 
 proud hunter. The little fellow's entreaties so won the heart 
 of his grandfather that, calling his daughter to him one day, 
 " Go, mv child/' he said, " take your son down to his father, 
 and ask him to come up and live with us, and tell him to 
 bring a specimen of every bird and animal he kills in the 
 chase." 
 
 So she took the boy and returned to earth. Algon, who 
 ever hovered near the enchanted spot, heard her voice, singing 
 as she had sung the first time he saw her. How slow the de 
 scent of the car seemed to him I His heart beat with impa 
 tience and hope as he saw the forms of his wife and child, and 
 soon he clasped them in his arms, and was happy once more. 
 He heard the message from the star, and accepted the invita 
 tion with alacrity. Now he began to hunt with the utmost 
 activity, that he might collect the presents for the grandfather 
 of his son. Whole nights as well as days he spent on the 
 prairie, searching for every curious and beautiful bird and use 
 ful animal. He only kept a foot, tail, or wing of each, and 
 when he had collected specimens of all that was beautiful or 
 useful in the chase, he took them with his wife and child, and 
 was wafted up in the wicker-basket, to the music of his wife's 
 voice. 
 
 Great joy was shown when they arrived on the starry plains. 
 The star-chief summoned *ill his people to a great feast, and, 
 when they had assembled, he proclaimed aloud that each one 
 of the g.uests might take of the earthly gifts whatever he liked 
 best. Immediately a very strange scene of confusion com 
 menced. One chose a foot, another a wing, another a tail,
 
 THE MAGIC CIUCf.E. 507 
 
 and another a claw, until all the guests had chosen gifts. Then 
 those who had chosen a tail or a foot became animals and ran 
 off; the others chose a wing or a cla\v, and became birds and 
 flew away. Algon chose a white hawk's feather, which was 
 his token. His wife and son followed his example, and all 
 three became white hawks, and flew down to earth and mingled 
 with the feathered tribes. From that day the white hawk be 
 came the boldest of birds.
 
 f>08 BELDE.X : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 V. 
 
 STRIKING THE POST. 
 
 "VVfHOEVEE, has observed the varying phases bf Indian 
 society, as it exists both in the forests and in the plains 
 must have become sensible that the feature of military glory 
 constitutes the prime object of savage attainment. It is not, 
 indeed, such glory as is gained among civilized nations at the 
 cannon's mouth, or in charging the enemy in well-drilled squad 
 rons, but it is none the less gratifying to the savage hero. 
 There are no walled towns to batter down or moats to scale, 
 but the object to be attained is the same, viz., that of renown. 
 It is to prove that one set of men are braver or stronger than 
 another. The civilized warrior receives a badge of honor, and 
 the Indian is content to wear an eagle's feather in his hair, 
 which marks him as a brave man to all his tribe. His step is 
 proud, and his satisfaction for the honor as great as that of any 
 civilized warrior. 
 
 Oe of the principal means of cultivating a heroic spirit in 
 the Indian is the public assemblage for reciting deeds of bravery 
 done in the tribe. For this purpose a post is erected on some 
 eligible spot where the whole village can observe the ceremony. 
 This post is painted red, the usual symbolic color .of war. 
 Music is provided by the Indian drum and rattles, and by 
 having present a corps of singers. After a few preliminary
 
 STRIKING THE POST. 511 
 
 flourishes, a sharp yell gives notice that one of the warriors 
 present is about to recite his exploits. The music immediately 
 ceases, and he receives the most profound attention of the as 
 semblage. Dressed out in his finest robes, and wearing all his 
 marks of war and honor, the warrior steps forward and, with 
 his club or lance, strikes the painted post. He then reehifl, 
 with all the enthusiasm of an orator, his deeds, accompanying 
 every word with appropriate gestures and actions, and when he 
 has finished his recital all the warriors join in yells of victory 
 and defiance. The music then recommences, and is continued 
 until some other warrior signifies his willingness to. tell of his 
 deeds. Hours on hours are thus employed, and the music and 
 singing is continued until all who wish have spoken. Striking 
 the post is the forest school in which the young boys learn 
 their first lesson of war. They are always seen in large crowds 
 at the ceremonies, eagerly drinking in the words of the speak 
 ers, and their stories fill their youthful bosoms with an ambi 
 tion that is never satisfied till they bavr- torn th?. bloody scalp 
 from the head of an euemy.
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 
 
 ~TT7"HEN I began writing the life of Geo. P. Belden, twelve 
 
 * * years ago, I had little thought that a dozen years hence, I 
 would be called upon to write a new addition to the work. But 
 the adventurous White Chief Soldier, Hunter, Trapper and Guide, 
 seems to have found a warm spot in the hearts of the people. 
 Thousands and Tens of Thousands of boys have read and re-read 
 his life with increasing interest, and to-day Belden stands as the 
 representative of all that is manly and noble in the character of the 
 real back-woodsman. A book of genuine adventure is a treasure, 
 and that Belden was a real adventurer and the Daniel Boone of the 
 West, is no longer a matter of dispute. 
 
 Since his life was first written and published, Belden has passed 
 a,w&y gone to join that innumerable throng who wait beyond the 
 river. He died as he lived an adventurer to the last, and fell by 
 the hands of the people among whom he had lived so long The 
 Wild Indians of the Plains. 
 
 One day soon after his life had been published, he showed me a 
 copy of the book, and turning over its leaves said. " The reading 
 of this book has given me a desire to renew my wild life on the 
 plains." 
 
 "But" said I, " that is impossible ; you have abandoned that 
 life, are now a commissioned officer in the Regular Army, a.nd have 
 a charming young wife." 
 
 "No matter," he replied, "I long for the mountains, and for 
 the wild, free life I used so much to enjoy." 
 
 I tried to dissuade him, but soon saw his mind was made up, and 
 knew that before long he would quit the service, and go back to 
 the Indians.
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 513 
 
 It was a month or more before he could muster courage to break 
 the sad intelligence to his beautiful young wife, but finally it came 
 and almost crushed her. 
 
 He had promised to write an appendix to his life, but instead of 
 the promised manuscript, I one day, unexpectedly, received the 
 following letter : 
 
 OLD FORT KEARNEY, 
 
 Neb., March 1st, 1870. 
 Dear General: 
 
 Yesterday on my return from the Republican 
 River, I received your two letters which had been forwarded to me 
 from Wind River. I am out of the army, and once more a free 
 man. My ponies are packed, and I am* about to be off for the 
 trapping and hunting grounds. For the present, pen writing with 
 me is over. Good-bye, and ho for the Mountains. 
 
 Yours Truly, 
 
 "GEO. P. BELDEN." 
 
 Not long afterwards I heard Belden was trapping alone on the 
 Republican, in the country of the hostile Indians. An officer of 
 the Army who visited my camp, told me he saw a wild white man 
 dressed in buck-skins with an eagle's feather braided in his hair, 
 and a huge rifle on his shoulder. This man I knew in a moment 
 from the description to be Belden, who had come into the Railroad 
 to buy ammunition and sell his pelts. Later, I heard of a white 
 man being on Medicine Creek, whom the Indians had repeatedly 
 attacked and tried to drive away, but after loosing two of their 
 number, gave up the attempt, saying he was bad medicine. Soon 
 after that I received two or three rude lines scrawled on the fly 
 leaf of a book, and sent by the hands of a hunter. They read 
 thus : 
 
 " I am hunting and trapping on the Medicine, and while over at 
 the Republican and Loup, I met with a couple of splendid adven 
 tures. All safe and sound yet and my hair in the proper place. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 "GEO. P. BELDEN." 
 
 It was a long time before I again heard from him. I was about 
 to engage in an Indian campaign, and while on the march received 
 from a scout the following note :
 
 514 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 
 
 " Hear you are coming up the Crow, and will probably go over 
 to the Republican after the Cheyennes. I know where they are 
 and am following their trail alone. Go across Frenchman and 
 strike for the Forks of the Republican. Good water and grass all 
 the way. Look in big tree at the Forks for a letter from me. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 "BELDEX." 
 
 When we got to the Forks of the Republican, I found on the 
 limb of a tree this note : 
 
 " Cheyennes on Beaver. If you can send one company to 
 Thickwood, I will meet them there ; tell them to camp in bottom, 
 make no smoke, and wait .for me. I don't like to suggest, but if 
 Eagan is with you, please let him come with his company, and 
 caution the men not to shoot me for an Indian. I am a Cheyenne 
 now and can't speak or write a word of English. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 "BELDEN." 
 
 The company was sent, and about and hour after they went 
 into camp, the pickets reported an Indian approaching. He was 
 mounted on a pony, wore leggings, and was painted like a Cheyenne 
 warrior. As he came up he said in good Cheyenne, ' ' Me big 
 .Cheyenne brave. How Cola," and then bursting into a laugh cried 
 out in English, " How are you boys ! How are you Captain !" No 
 one would have known him as a white man, and as he sat on his 
 pony with his back humped up as the savages ride he was the very 
 picture of an Indian warrior. 
 
 Captain Eagan asked him where the Indians were. " On the Bea 
 ver," Belden replied, " But you see, he added, I am lame and 
 very sick ;" (bending over and holding his stomach with his hands,) 
 though I am one of them. But they are very sharp and keep a 
 good look out. I have followed them every day and kept in sight, 
 but did not care to take the risk of entering their camp until I 
 knew something would come of it. To-night I will go over and 
 count them if the General is ready to attack, but where and how 
 is he?" 
 
 Captain Eagan replied, I was on the Republican, and only 
 waiting for reliable news to advance.
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEX. 515 
 
 "All right! " said Belclen, " then to-night I will go over to the 
 Chej-enne camp and to-morrow bring you reliable news." 
 
 After he had eaten a hearty supper, he carefully repainted him 
 self, and arranging his hair in the Cheyenne fashion, mounted his 
 pony and rode away. 
 
 His story of an eventful night adventure in an Indian camp is 
 best told in his own words ; he said : 
 
 " After leaving Captain Eagan's camp, I went down on the Beaver 
 and carefully approached the Cheyenne village. It was in a strong 
 bend, and covered by high bluffs, on which were posted the pickets. 
 I crawled up as carefully as possible and called out in Cheyenne : 
 
 4 'Hello there! ". 
 
 4 'Hello! " came back. 
 
 " Is this the Cheyenne camp? " 
 
 " Yes," what do you want ! 
 I am a Cheyenne, hurt by my pony and sick." 
 
 " All right? " replied the picket, pass in. 
 
 I then passed in and went down to the village ; as I approached 
 the lodges I found some squaws out attending to the ponies. 
 
 " What are you doing," I asked. 
 
 " Only taking in the ponies," they replied. 
 
 "What for." 
 
 " They say the soldiers are on the Republican and we fear an 
 attack." 
 
 " Nonsense," I am going to leave mine here, and you leave yours 
 too, " I said," at the same time driving down my picket-pin quite 
 near their ponies. They seemed reassured and proceeded to 
 repicket their animals. 
 
 " We all then returned to the edge of the village, where I parted 
 with them." 
 
 Just as I was entering the lodges, I met a warrior wrapped in 
 his blanket and was passing by him, when he stopped, and said, 
 " Good evening." 
 
 " Good evening," I replied. 
 
 ' ' What news have you ? ' ' 
 
 " Nothing, what have you?" 
 
 "The soldiers are at the Forks of the Republican." 
 
 "Do }'ou believe it?"
 
 516 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 " Yes," he answered," "and the Chief says we must look for an 
 attack. ' ' 
 
 " Does the Chief think we can stand them off." 
 
 " No, he says there are too many of them for us." 
 
 44 How many soldiers does he think there are at the Forks of the 
 Republican." 
 
 " Five hundred." 
 
 "Well," said I, feeling the next question might expose me 
 to discovery and instant death. " Can't we risk a battle? Where 
 are all our warriors ? ' ' 
 
 "What! " he replied, " Fight five hundred soldiers with three 
 hundred warriors, you are crazy to think of such a thing." 
 
 "You are right," I answered, "but I hate this continually 
 running away, and would rather fight like a man, than retreat 
 like a coward." 
 
 ' ' I guess there are as good fighting men as you are in this 
 camp," he replied contemptiously, " and the chief knows what he 
 is about." 
 
 I now feared I had gone too. far, but laughingly answered, "All 
 right, keep your opinions and I will keep mine. ' ' 
 
 "Good evening," he said, striding away, to my infinite relief; 
 for the situation was becoming embarrassing. 
 
 I squatted down among the grass, and drawing my blanket over 
 my head, began to think; what should I do next? I knew the 
 position of the camp, their numbers and intentions ; what more 
 did I desire to know? Had I not better return at once to the 
 soldier's camp, and not risk all by further inquiry? Still, the spirit 
 of adventure was so strong Tipon me I could not resist, and, rising, 
 walked forward through the camp. I saw many Indians, but 
 avoided talking to them ; keeping my blanket over my head and 
 walking slowly as if I was sick. 
 
 " What is the matter? " inquired a squaw, who was coming up 
 from the creek, with a kettle of water on her head. 
 
 "Sick! " I answered, and when she stopped and put down her 
 kettle, as if disposed to gossip, I merely grunted and passed on, 
 knowing a brave is not compelled by savage politeness to talk to a 
 woman, unless he wants to do so. 
 
 " Seems to me if I was sick I would go home and go to bed ! "
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 517 
 
 she called out, with all the spitefnllness of a woman, and picking 
 up her kettle again and placing it on her head, she walked angrily 
 away. 
 
 After strolling through the village until I was tired, I went back 
 to where I had entered it, and was about untying my pony, when 
 a warrior rose up out of the grass, and inquired : 
 
 " What are you doing there? " 
 
 Like a Yankee, I knew the best way to answer an unexpected 
 question ; was to ask another, and I inquired : 
 
 ' ' Who put these ponies here ? ' ' 
 
 "I did." 
 
 " You must want to lose them, I reckon, don't you? " I asked. 
 
 " No," ho replied, " why do*3 r ou say that? " 
 
 " Because I believe the soldiers are coming, and I want mine to 
 get away on." 
 
 " You are a coward !" he answered. x 
 
 " Coward or no coward ! " I replied, " my pony sleeps with me 
 this night," at the same time untying the lariat, and leading the 
 little animal awaj r . 
 
 The fellow merely grunted and laid down again in the grass. 
 
 Going around the outer edge of the village until I came to a 
 dark spot, I mounted and rode out on the prairie. 
 
 I knew the real danger was still to be encountered, that of 
 passing through the pickets, for the village was completely 
 encircled by vigilant Indians. To slip through unobserved was 
 impossible ; so, going boldly up to the videttes, I asked one of 
 them : 
 
 ' ' Did you hear anything up there ? " At the same time pointing 
 up the Beaver. 
 
 "No," he replied. 
 
 " I thought I heard some shots," I said carelessly. 
 
 " We heard nothing, and I guess our ears are as sharp as yours," 
 replied the Indian. 
 
 "That may be, but you could not hear so well up here ; I was 
 in the water."* 
 
 ".Well, go and tell the Chief," said the vidette. / 
 
 *It is a well-known fact, that the s^und of a report can be heaid on water when 
 it cannot be heard on the laud.
 
 518 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 "No," I answered, " I may have been mistaken, and he would 
 punish nie if I gave a false alarm." 
 
 "Very well," answered the vidette; "you watch here and I 
 will take your pony and go up the stream a wa} r s, and see if any 
 one is there." 
 
 " The pony is a fool ; " said I ; "he scares at every bush, and 
 would throw you. You remain where you are, and I will go up 
 the creek and bring you word. 
 
 To this the vidette readily assented, and mounting my animal I 
 rode safely up the stream, and back to the soldier camp." 
 
 As so<3n as I got Belden's report, whioh did not reach me until 
 noon the following day, I started for the Indian village with my 
 whole force, but found it gone, arid although we followed it for a 
 week, they traveled so fast we could not overtake it, and it 
 finally escaped into the mountains. 
 
 This adventure shows the desperate character of Belden as a 
 scout, and his wonderful readiness and cunning when confronted 
 by danger. 
 
 For a long time, Belden hunted and trapped on the Eepublican, 
 and hearing; one day he was at Plum Creek, on the Union Pacific 
 Railroad, I sent him word I wished him to accompany me to 
 Pike's Peak. He replied with alacrity : 
 
 ." Whispering George gave me your note last night, in which you 
 ask me if I would like to accompany you on a trip across the 
 country to the Peak/ Would a cat like a dish of fresh milk? Of 
 course I will go, old man. Why God bless you ; T was just 
 spoiling for something to turn up, and as old Straddle* has gone 
 baclc.on me, your note is a regular God-send. Count me in, and 
 say where I shall join you." 
 
 "BELDEN." 
 
 I started from Old Fort Scdgwick on the Platte River with 
 Belden, Scout Nelson and a small escort of soldiers. Fording the 
 Platte we took the old overland trail, and followed it. Belden 
 was in excellent spirits and full of humor ; every mile of the journey 
 had its history, and Belden chatted as we rode along. He pointed 
 out the spot where famous ranches once stood ; showed us where 
 Indian battles had been fought, and related a thousand anecdotes 
 
 "General Palmer.
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 519 
 
 of the people who once inhabited the trail, but were now all gone, 
 and their houses in ruins. There, had stood the American Ranche, 
 which. had been burned in 1867 by Indians, even the women 
 assisting to defend it to the last ; when after eleven Indians had 
 been slain, the ranche was captured, five men killed and scalped 
 and the women all cariied off into captivity. Beyond, was the 
 Wisconsin Ranche, where two men had fought twenty savages, all 
 one afternoon until night, killing five, and then escaped under 
 cover of darkness. 
 
 At a little mound Mr. Belden showed us a head-board, larger 
 than usual, on which was inscribed: " W. J. Morris, killed by 
 Indians, January loth, 1865." It was a sad legend, but such a 
 one as is common on the plains. The occupant of this lonely 
 grave by the wayside had a history ; he was murdered at his own 
 ranche by the Sioux, and his wife and children carried off into 
 captivity. The Chief one day took from Mrs. Morris her little 
 child, eighteen months old, and tried to make it play with him, 
 but the child was afraid of the burly savage, and would not play, 
 when the Indian became enraged, and dashing it on the ground, 
 trampled it to death before the agonized mother's eyes. 
 
 In the evening we encamped on the site of "Old Fort Wicked." 
 The buildings were all gone, but a sign in the grass read : ' ' Fort 
 Wicked, kept by W. Godfrey, Grocery Store." 
 
 Mr. Belden said; "Here lived, in 1865, a ranchman by the 
 name of W. Hollen Godfrey,* he was a native of Western New 
 York, and came to the Plains at an early day. Keen, sharp-eyed, 
 brawny and intelligent ; "he soon made his mark, and became a 
 terror, alike to noble red-men and white horse-thieves. He had a 
 wife and children, who shared his adventures in the far west, and 
 the woman was no less courageous than her husband. Starting- 
 west, Godfrey halted here and built a ranche, at which he sold 
 whisky, tobacco,*canned fruits and notions to emigrants. His hut 
 was a strong one, and answered both for a fort and residence ; it 
 had llared embrasures, and a wall six feet high, well loop-holed. 
 The building was covered with sods to protect it from fire, and 
 
 *IIolleu Godfrey was originally from Onondago County, Xew York, lie flirt 
 settled in Ozankee County, Wisconsin, and then moved to California and became 
 a ranchman, in 1860, since which time lie has lived on the Plains.
 
 520 BELDEX: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 indeed, the whole place was as strong as it could be made out of 
 the materials the country afforded. 
 
 In 1865 when the Indians broke out and destroyed nearly all the 
 ranches along the Platte, Godfrey was advised to leave, but he 
 declared he would stick to his home and take the chances of 
 repelling any attack made upon him. His place was very much 
 exposed, and it was not long until the Indians assaulted it. One 
 afternoon a war party of one hundred and thirty Cheyenne and 
 Sioux warriors came down upon the ranche, and demanded that the 
 occupants should come out and surrender. Godfrey had four men 
 with him, and although the odds were one to thirty-six, he at once 
 began the fight. The Indians after driving off the stock and trying 
 in vain to draw out the men after them, made a direct assault? 
 while some kept up a heavy fire on the ranche, others set fire to 
 the grass, the wind blowing at the time almost a gale. Under 
 cover of the smoke Godfrey and his companions sallied out and 
 wet the grass so that the fire would not burn up to the ranche. At 
 one time the Indians got into the stable which almost connected 
 with the house, and set it on fire, but the white men drove them 
 out, and Godfrey with buckets of water went on the roof and 
 drowned out the flames. Sixty balls struck the corner of the 
 stable where Godfrey was working, but he escaped unharmed. 
 The Indians next divided their warriors and one party circled 
 around the buildings, while the others charged up and fired at close 
 range. It was lively work for an hour or two. Mrs. Godfrey 
 loading the rifles and keeping them clean and cool, while the men 
 stood at the embrasures and fired them. After five hours fighting 
 night came on and the Indians drew off, having made up their 
 minds that they could not capture the ranche. Godfrey said it 
 was "the Gol-darndest wickedest fight he ever did see in all his 
 born days," and in commemoration of the event, he named his 
 place, "Fort Wicked," by which designation It was ever ef ter- 
 wards known on the plains, and Godfrey became celebrated among 
 travelers as " Old Wicked." 
 
 An Indian had fallen during, the battle near the ranche, and, 
 Godfrey knowing his companions would make an effort to carry; 
 him off kept close watch ; three charges were made to recover the 
 wounded Indian and two more warriors fell, when Old Wicked
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 521 
 
 called out to his wife, "They're coming on again Betsy, 
 hurry up and bring me another rifle, I want to get enough hair to 
 make yer a bed quilt." The Indians had to leave their dead in 
 the hands of the whites, and Godfrey said, " I took more pains in 
 skinnin' them fellows heads than I ever did in peelin' any animal 
 in my life."* 
 
 It was after the camp fires were lighted, the supper over, and the 
 pipes filled that Mr. Belden was most interesting. He was full of 
 anecdotes and had a vast fund of information which his varied and 
 wonderful life had enabled him to accumulate during his long 
 residence on the plains, and upon this he drew for hours, always 
 talking interestingly and well. 
 
 One evening I said to Mr. Belden, "The captivities of the 
 white people by Indians have greatly interested me, pray tell me 
 what do the Indians do with the white women they capture?" 
 
 " Gamble for them," he replied. 
 
 " Will you explain that a little, Mr. Belden?" 
 
 " Yes. You see when they take a white woman or girl prisoner 
 she is generally given to the Chief or the one who has the best 
 right to her by having risked his life to take her. "When her proper 
 owner gets tired of her, which is generally very soon, he sells her, 
 or puts her up at a raffle, and the lucky man gets her. After she 
 has been in the tribe for some time, she is gambled off almost 
 every day and has a hard time of it. When I was with the Indians 
 on the Missouri, I won two girls and protecting them from outrage, 
 sent them to their homes for which I deserve some credit I tkink. 
 I could tell you many strange tales about white captives if you 
 had the desire and patience to listen to them." 
 
 I begged him to proceed, and he then related to me the captivity 
 and sufferings of Mrs. Morton, of Denver, Miss Eoper, Mrs. 
 
 *Whcn Colonel Meline crossed the plains in 1866, he noticed at an angle of the 
 sod canal a ditch about three feet deep, and the same in width. There was no water 
 to fill it, and it was too narrow to prevent an Indian from stepping across it. Many 
 wjjrc the guesses as to what the ditch was made for. The Colonel to settle the matter 
 rode up to the Port- Cullis, and draw-bridge of Fort Wicked and hailed the Command- 
 i-g Officer, Old Wicked himself with " What place is this." " Well, I guess the Sioux 
 and Cheycnnes can tell you well enough," was Old Wicked's reply. Why, that castle 
 moat by the corners of the canal," inquired the Colonel. " Oh," replied Wicked with 
 the utmost simplicity, " that is a contrivance of my own to prevent the cattle from 
 rubbing agin' the corners and knocking the sod out." The inquisitive Colonel retired 
 entirely satisfied.
 
 522 BELDEN: THE AVHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Ewbanks, Mrs. Kelly, Mrs. Larimer, Mrs. Jones and man}' others. 
 These stories lie before me in huge chapters which would almost 
 make a volume, but they cainuot be referred to, even in brief, in a 
 sketch like this. 
 
 Nelson one day said Belden was a poet of no mean ability and I 
 asked him to let me see some of his productions. 
 
 "I have'nt a specimen about me," said Belden, but after we 
 get into camp this evening if you will loan me your pencil and 
 scratch book I will see what I can do in that line." 
 
 After the camp was made and the supper despatched, I called 
 on Mr. Belden for a poem. "Without saj-ing a word he rose from 
 the fire and taking my pencil and paper went into the tent, where 
 by the uncertain light of a tallow candle he commenced writing. 
 
 "Now," said Nelson who was an enthusiastic admirer of Mr. 
 Beldens literary productions, you will hear poetry as is poetry ; 
 none of your slobbery, smooth, soft stuff, such as Longfellow and 
 them other fellows down liast write, but real story poetry of a 
 fight or adventure full of fact and incident, and the whole thing 
 set down just as it tuk place. He writes mighty slow, however, 
 and not to bother him by waitin' while he is composin', I will tell 
 you a story. 
 
 "Hello ! Belden, old Alligator, draw her fine and don't hurry your 
 self, for I have been a braggin' on yer and I am goin' to sling a 
 story so as to give you plenty of time, cried Nelson." 
 
 " All right! Go ahead old man," came from the inside of the 
 tent. 
 
 Nelson then related to us the story of the life of the famous des 
 perado, Jack Slade ; how he cut off the ears of people, carried them 
 in his pockets, and when he called for drinks offered the bar-keepers 
 human ears in change. How he tied up poor old Jules Benard, 
 made a target of his living body, first clipping off a finger, then 
 aa ear, then his nose, until the old man begged for death, and 
 Siade kindly shot him through the head ; but it is of Belden, and not 
 Slade or Nelson, I am writing this sketch, so when Nelson had 
 related his story and it was growing late, Belden came forth from 
 the tent with a bundle of manuscript in his hand and signified his 
 readiness to proceed. Nelson piled up the fire and when the wood
 
 LAST DATS OF BELDEN. 523 
 
 burned brightly we all settled ourselves down to listen to the 
 reading. 
 
 " Some years ago," began "Mr. Bel den," ten trappers of the 
 plains formed a League, agreeing to stand by each other through, 
 life. They were to defend each other, come when called for, how 
 ever distant and inconvenient the journey might be, and minister 
 to one another in sickness or misfortune. They were also to meet 
 every year until the League should be reduced to one member. 
 Death, Indians, lightning or snow, were the only excuses sufficient 
 to warrant the absence of a member from the annual meeting. At 
 one of these meetings only nine trappers appeared; the tenth, 
 Ben Harding, or "Slippery Ben," as he was called, being dead. 
 Just as the trappers were about to disperse for their yearly hunt, a 
 tall figure on a white horse was seen approaching and the ghost of 
 Ben Harding appeared and took its accustomed seat in the circle 
 at the trapper's Council. It is of this particular meeting of the 
 League I shall treat in my poem." 
 
 Mr. Belden having delivered this prologue, rose and read as 
 follows ; 
 
 " SLIPPERY BEN." 
 
 Shake ! Darn my buttons, I'm mighty glad 
 
 To meet so many old chums ; 
 
 Dick and I have been lying around here 
 
 'Till we began to get tired of the whisky and beer, 
 
 And we made up our minds to go trapping this year, 
 
 So we would'nt get on " the Hard Bums."* 
 
 Bless my eyes if here ain't Jack Gray, 
 
 You darling infernal old cuss, 
 
 I smelled you, I did, though I didn't see 
 
 Your tarnal old carcass behind the tree ; 
 
 I'll bet you a ten, you can't hide from me, 
 
 When a tramp's on the board or a muss. 
 
 Where's your horse? Oh, right thar, yes you're right, 
 
 Tied up to that cottonwood tree ; 
 
 Well, you're going along with us on this tramp? 
 
 None of your lying, you bully old scamp ; 
 
 You are! Now, thats s'aid. Suppose we all damp 
 
 To success of Jack Gray's company.* 
 
 *The winter sprees of trappers when they generally lay about the Forts and spend 
 their money in gambling and drinkling are culled " Bums." 
 
 *jack Gray was President of the League, or as the trappers would say, " Foreman 
 of the Company."
 
 524 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 Why, dang it ; Its more than a year since we met 
 
 At the foot of Old Court House Rock ; 
 
 And if memory don't fail me, I reckon that then 
 
 Another was with us to make up our ten, 
 
 That tall, gawky cuss you know Slippery Ben, 
 
 Who wore the long fringe on his frock. 
 
 Does any one know what became of the boy ; 
 You do? Well, let us all know, 
 For he gave us his word, that on this very day 
 He'd meet us all here by the old mountain way, 
 H nothing should happen to cause his delay, 
 Such as Lightning, Injuns or Snow. 
 
 Dead? Died in your house ? The devil you say ; 
 
 You can't shove down any such chaff; 
 
 Now, just tell us the truth let up on the lies 
 
 Why, what in blazes has got into my eye? 
 
 It stings so darned bad ; it almost makes me cry, 
 
 When I should at that joke take a laugh. 
 
 Well no more of this; you're blubbering Jack Gray; 
 
 A pretty backwoodsman you are! 
 
 Why not a man of this crowd, but has in his day, 
 
 Wrapped in his blanket and laid away ; 
 
 Some long tried friend, and no one to say 
 
 A scriptural verse or a prayer. 
 
 But Slippery Ben I can scarcely believe, 
 
 Has given life the slip in this way ; 
 
 For every one knows he was confounded tough, 
 
 With a great, kind heart, though his manners were rough. 
 
 Well ! ! Well ! ! Now ! I feel queer, sure enough, 
 
 But Death you see, must have his say. 
 
 Jack, please call the roll; see if any more's gone 
 
 The way Slippery Ben has done ; 
 
 Then we'll mount and away for another year, 
 
 On the prairies green, and mountains drear, 
 
 To trap the Beaver, and hunt the Deer, 
 
 Far away on the Big Yellowstone.
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEX. 525 
 
 Jim Bridger is one ; John Nelson's another, 
 
 And Gilman he's two by himself, 
 
 But we'll count him the third; then Dick and me; 
 
 Jack Jones, Jack Morrow and Jack Gray Jack's three ; 
 
 A good poker hand, but by yonder tree 
 
 Is a flush Bill Cody,* himself. 
 
 Nine in all ! only nine ! O how I do wish 
 Slippery Ben could have bluffed death a year; 
 But what's done is did, we can't bring him back, 
 So catch up the^horses and hurry and pack, 
 And we'll push on a head o'er the same old track, 
 We've followed so oft without fear. 
 
 You're all ready ! I see, well, move on ahead 
 While Dick and I stop awhile; 
 For something is raising a dust back behind ; 
 And if it is Injuns we'll soon make them find 
 They have no business here, when we go it blind, 
 And must take t'other road or " strike ile." 
 
 Why there's only one, a horseman at that, 
 And Dick, us two can get off with7'?n; 
 Easy enough, can't we? be he friend or a foe, 
 For there's no two men have better rifles I know, 
 Don,t 'pear to you's as though he's coming darned slow, 
 That horse and his rider so slim? 
 
 Give me your coat tail to wipe out my eyes, 
 
 For I swear I can't make out a thing; 
 
 There now I see better; Hello! I say men; 
 
 Come back here 1 for dang it here comes Slippery Ban ; 
 
 Or his ghost and his horse; I knew them sure when 
 
 I saw those long gawky legs swing. 
 
 Welcome old boy! by you're absence you made, 
 
 Many an old chums heart bleed ; 
 
 But ghost or flesh, 'tis the same to the men, 
 
 Who have rode side by side through forest and glen, 
 
 So again we are ten counting in Slippery Ben ! 
 
 Ghostly Ben! and his shadowy steed. 
 
 Buffalo Bill the celebrated Scout and Frontiersman.
 
 52G BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 The reading, or rather acting of this poem, was one of the most 
 singular and affecting performances I had ever witnessed. Belden 
 stood before the fire, his body swaying back and forth, his voice 
 rising and falling in strange cadence, as he repeated the lines. 
 When he announced the death of Slippery Ben, there were tears 
 not only in his voice, but on his cheeks, and his tones sank away 
 until we could with difficulty repress our own tears. When he 
 called the roll and mentioned Nelson's name, the Scout bowed his 
 head, and at the conclusion of the reading of the poem, I saw the 
 tears were running down the brave fellow's cheeks. I could not 
 but admire the admirable manner in which Belden read the verses, 
 referring to Slippery Ben's Ghost, and it seemed as though the 
 Dead Trapper stood before us on "his Shadowy Steed." I 
 doubt if there are a dozen actors in the world who could read 
 these verses well, or at least so. affectingly. I have often since 
 tried to read the poem, but cannot do it justice and make it sound 
 as Belden did. Since hearing this poem read, I can readily 
 understand the strange fascination and wide popularity of Bret 
 Harte's and Joaquin Miller's poems among this class of men. 
 They may not be said to contain poetry, but their quaint sayings 
 recite the every day life of the frontiersmen and people of whom 
 they treat, and they therefore appeal to both their hearts rnd 
 understandings. They are delicious pieces of word paintings, and 
 when properly rendered, the figures rise and troop before us as 
 did "Ghostly Ben and his Shadowy Steed." Mr. Belden left 
 me many of his poems, and they still lie in my desk unpublished. 
 I have studied them for hours, but cannot read them, at least not 
 as they should be read, or as Mr. Belden could make them sound. 
 The accent is most difficult, and if placed in the wrong word in a 
 single line, it throws the whole verse out of rhythme. There is one 
 poem of Mr. Belden's on the "Lone Tree Massacre," which I 
 think quite wonderful, but it is too long for a place in this narrative 
 of his last days. 
 
 Next morning after the recitation of Belden's poem we began 
 to prepare for our onward journey, when as one of the soldiers 
 was grooming his horse, the animal suddenly kicked him, the 
 iron-shoe burying itself deep in his leg, making an ugly gash 
 and fracturing one of the small bones. The poor fellow suffered
 
 LAST DATS OF BELDEN. 527 
 
 terribly, and rather than leave him behind we determined to wait 
 over a day. Mr. Belden, among his other accomplishments, 
 numbered that of Surgeon, and always carried with him a small 
 chest of instruments and medicines. The man's leg was soon 
 dressed as well as any practicing physician could have done it, 
 and we began to cast about for amusements with which to pass 
 the day. A hunt on the prairie was proposed, and we -eagerly 
 sallied forth, guns in hand ; but after a weary tramp of over two 
 hours, we took only one small rabbit and a few birds, and returned 
 to camp fatigued and disgusted. Mr. Belden was then requested 
 to give us an exhibition of his skill at handling the bow and rifle. 
 A small squirrel was suspended by the tail at a distance of eighty 
 yards, and Mr. Belden taking his bow and arrow at the first shot 
 severed the squirrel's tail from its body. A quarter of a dollar 
 was then put in a split-stick, and Belden knocked it out three 
 times in five shots. Next a brass tack, highly polished, was 
 driven into a board and set up at one hundred yards distant ; Mr. 
 Belden took his rifle and fired one shot and the tack disappeared. 
 An examination showed that the tack had been hit exactly on the 
 head, and had been driven through the board. Several other 
 exhibitions of his skill as a marksman were given, but these are 
 sufficient to show his wonderful ability. Such proficiency in the 
 handling of deadly weapons can only be attained by the frontiers 
 men, whose lives often depend on a single shot. 
 
 The day passed pleasantly enough, and at night when the camp 
 fires were lighted I was not sorry we had stopped over. Story 
 telling was again in order, and Belden related to us the history of 
 Black Bear and his wife, an intelligent white woman, who he had 
 captured from a train on the North Platte in 1852. I regret that 
 this interesting narrative must again be omitted ; but I am com 
 pelled to hasten on to the conclusion of Mr. Belden' s life. 
 
 In a clay or two we reached Denver, where eating a mess of 
 fresh cabbage, I fell sick, and being unable to leave my room for 
 several days, I told Belden to take my note book and go on to 
 Pike's Peak, make the ascent alone and write down all that he 
 experienced and saw. I have his notes before me still, and I have 
 always considered his account of the ascent of the Peak, by fav, 
 the most interesting ever given by any traveler. Of course it is
 
 528 BELDEN : THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 too long to quote ; but one or two extracts will show its complete 
 ness. He says : 
 
 " I verified Pike's, Riqhardson and other tourist's experience 
 with my own in order that by comparison, I might get as near the 
 truth as possible. Mr. Jules E. Coffey went with me and I hired 
 old Gallages as guide." After describing his first days ascent 
 Mr. Belden goes on to say, " at sun-down we encamped for the 
 night and eating our boiled pork and bread, rolled ourselves in our 
 blankets and slept soundly until morning." The next days' ascent 
 was more difficult, "over two little valleys, along canons of de 
 composed rock, by land slides and masses of ugly granite, to the 
 great stone chain over-hanging the'valh y and hills below. We saw 
 the rock where Richardson and his friends had taken shelter from 
 the rain in I860, when they made their ascent. The guide pointed 
 out the spot where the two ladies of Richardson's party had slept 
 and the log on which their breakfast was spread after the weary 
 night had passed. We camped on a shelving rock hard by, and I 
 could readily understand and appreciate the astonishing courage 
 and resolution of these delicate women in climbing the dizzy 
 heights. ' ' 
 
 Next day Belden ' ' passed through the clouds and saw them 
 whirling about on the mountain side below." In the afternoon 
 he says my lungs began to bleed, and I experienced great dfficulty 
 in breathing. So much was I oppressed that I had to lay down at 
 one time and I thought I should die. I gave up all hopes of ever 
 completing the journey, but presently feeling better, thought I 
 would push on a little further. Mr. Coffey was taken with violent 
 vomiting, and even old Gallages complained of being sick at his 
 stomach. We made a cup of strong tea, and while the water was 
 boiling, old Gallages entertained us by relating anecdotes of how 
 people had died while making the ascent. "After that days' 
 journey Belden goes on to say:" We had now reached the main 
 Peak and began to ascend it. It is bleak, barren and rocky ; 
 vegetation has ceased, and pines, firs, shrubs and ccdavs all luy 
 at our feet, while below them again float the clouds. The air is 
 growing colder, and the damp forms icicles, while above, the snow 
 begins to appear. We follow up a little canon toward the top of 
 the Peak ; the mist has broken away and befow, the harvest fields,
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 529 
 
 woods, plains and prairies in panoramas of gold and green, with 
 lakes and streams can just be seen. We are just five miles from 
 the town where we started up ; five miles as the crow flies and 
 fifteen by the road over which we have traveled. The men and 
 animals in the streets of the little town look no larger than ants, 
 even when seen through a powerful glass, and the cattle in the 
 fields appear as mere black spots." 
 
 "We are now at the top and seem quite near the sky, and while 
 we look at the Rocky Mountain Sheep which inhabit this lonely 
 Peak, old Gallages the guide, slily suggests we are about as near 
 heaven as most of us will ever get. I started a loose rock down the 
 Peak, and as it rolls from ledge to ledge showering sparks of fire 
 wherever it strikes, a noise like thunder comes up the Peak from a 
 thousand feet below. Gallages showed us where Richardson and 
 his ladies stood and sang : 
 
 r 
 
 " This is the way I long have sought, 
 And mourned because I found it not." 
 
 And as we could not sing, we gave three cheers for the brave 
 Boston woman and her spunky companions from Denytown, New 
 Hampshire." 
 
 " It is mid-summer but all. around us lie the unmelted snow. It 
 is cold, and a sign on a rock explains the fact by informing us that 
 the spot on which we stand is 13,400 feet above the level of the 
 sea. The summit of this wonderful Peak is not a cone, as most 
 people would suppose, but a little level plain of perhaps fifty acres 
 in extent and is covered with blocks of disintegrated granite." 
 
 " Here we sit down and look into four Territories and States, 
 all of which we can see from the Peak ; straight ahead is Kansas, 
 to the right, Utah, to the left, Colorado, and behind us New 
 Mexico ; North is the Platte for seventy miles ; West the Peaks of 
 Colorado ; East for hundreds of miles the prairie, near gems of 
 lakes ; at our feet the green timbers of the Fountain Qui Berrille, 
 the Arkansas and Hernfano, while behind them rise the Spanish 
 Peaks of New Mexico and stretch away for hundreds of miles.'' 
 
 I make these long quotations to show what a wonderfully 
 intelligent and interesting writer Mr. Belden could be when he 
 desired.
 
 530 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 \ 
 
 One day I asked Mr. Belden if the Indians had airy real poetry 
 in their songs, or if they were as they sounded, a mere conglomera 
 tion of gutturals. 
 
 "The Indians, he said, have no books and their record and 
 history is therefore wholly oral. The difficulty of handing down 
 correct traditions from father to son as a connecting link between 
 the present and the past, is very great. What may have been 
 their literature in the past, if they had any, I do not know, but it 
 is likely they had, and being only oral has been lost. They sang, 
 as they now do, when Columbus landed,- but who would believe 
 that the songs of those days are still sung. Probably they were 
 replaced in a few years by new ones. Indeed, this is a fact, for 
 even while I was with the Sioux I remember two or three ~new sets 
 of songs appeared and those sang when I first joined the tribe 
 have been entirely superseded and forgotten." 
 
 " What are their songs all about" I inquired. 
 
 "Of war, love and the chase, he said, these are the three 
 principal topics, but the clouds, the sun, moon and stars, wind, 
 rain and lightning, come in for a fair share of attention from 
 their poets." 
 
 " Will you give us some specimens of Indian poetry" I asked. 
 
 41 With pleasure," he replied, and -then clearing his throat sang 
 
 in good voice : 
 
 " Wagemin ! Wagemin 
 Paimosaid, 
 Wagemin Wagemin 
 Paimosaid. 
 Bakan. Kenazee 
 Ka. Sangizzesee 
 Wagemin. Wagemin 
 
 Kinabowid 
 Wagemin Wagemin 
 Ningah. Nugamowid." 
 
 " But what is it I inquired." 
 
 " A red ear of corn," he replied, and then related the following 
 legend: "You must know at the corn husking season there is 
 great hilarity among the Indians, and the young people gather at 
 social huskings. On such occasions if a young female finds a red 
 ear of corn it is indicative that she has a brave sweetheart, and she 
 must present it to the warrior she likes b? .
 
 LAST DAYS OF BEJJ5EX. 531 
 
 ear is crooked, or tapering to a point, it is considered the image 
 of an old man-thief who would cast his life with hers, and the 
 whole circle is set in a roar. ' ' Wagemin, Wa-ge-min," they shout, 
 and the whole troop set up the corn song, which liberally rendered 
 would read in English about as follows: 
 
 "Crooked ear, Crooked ear, 
 
 Walker at night, 
 
 Stop little old man 
 
 And take not to flight. 
 
 Crooked ear, Crooked ear, 
 
 Stand up strong ; 
 
 Little old crooked man 
 
 I'll give you a song." 
 
 Mr. Belden then sang the Indian children's -'Fire-Fly Song," 
 which, rendered in English, read as follows : 
 
 "Fire-fly! Fire-fly! bright little thing, 
 Light me to bed while my song I sing. 
 Give me your light as you fly o'er my head, 
 That I may merrily go to my bed ; 
 Give me the light o'er the grass as you creep, 
 That I may joyfully go to my sleep. 
 
 Come, little flre-fly! come little beast, 
 Come, and I'll make you to-morrow a feast. 
 Come, little candle that flies as I sing, 
 Bright little fairy-bug night's little king, 
 Come, and I'll dance as you guide me along, 
 Come, and I'll pay you, my bug, with a song." 
 
 The story of Par Kabilonocca, the God of Winter, and the song 
 of Singebiss, is too good to lose. Par Kabilonocca froze up 
 all the country and drove the inhabitants to the south, all but one 
 poor old Indian,- Singebiss, who, in defiance of the icy God, re 
 mained by the side of the lake. Kabilonocca, offended, blew his 
 bitterest blast, determined to drive away Singebiss, but the brave 
 man declared he would not go, and continued to subsist on fish. 
 "He shall not withstand me," cried the enraged Ice God, and 
 summoning all his cold, said: "I will now go and freeze him 
 stiff." Singebiss, who knew of his coming, had a warm fire on his 
 hearth, and when Winter knocked at his cabin door, he said, 
 blithly, " Come in, Sir." The Ice God entered and did his best
 
 532 BELDE1O THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 to freeze Singebiss, but he only piled on the logs, poked up the 
 fire and never minded him. Finally, "Winter, finding unless he 
 made off, fearing that he should be melted, with tears in his 
 eyes, cried out : " Egad! I can not stand this I am roasting," 
 began his retreat, when Singebiss struck up his song of defiance : 
 
 " Windy God, I know your plan ; 
 You are but my fellow-man, 
 Blow you may your coldest breeze, 
 Singebiss you cannot freeze. 
 
 Sweep the strongest breeze you can, 
 Singebiss is still your man. 
 Heigh for life ! and ho for bliss ! 
 Who so free as Singebiss." 
 
 This conception of an Indian in his cabin, defying Winter, is 
 certainly very beautiful and poetical. 
 
 There is another song of the Chippewas, composed by a Chief, 
 Waub O. Jeeg, which is as follows : 
 
 " On that day when our heroes lay low lay low 
 On that day when our heroes lay low, 
 
 I fought by their side, and thought ere I died, 
 Just vengeance to take on the foe- -on the foe 
 Just vengeance to take on the foe. 
 
 On the day when our Chieftain lay dead lay dead 
 On that day when our Chieftain lay dead, 
 
 I fought hand to hand, at the head of my band, 
 And here on my breast have I bled have I bled 
 And here on my breast have I bled. 
 
 Our Chiefs shall return no more no more 
 Our Chiefs shall return no more, 
 
 Nor their brethren of war, who can show scar for 
 Like women, their fate shall deplore deplore 
 Like women, their fate shall deplore. 
 
 Five winters in hunting we'll spend we'll spend 
 Five winters in hunting we'll spend, 
 
 When our youth, grown to men, we'll to war lead again. 
 And our days, like our fathers', will end will end 
 And our days, like our fathers', will end." 
 
 'The Indians have a great deal to say about the birds in their
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEX. OOO 
 
 songs. The Sioux, when they see a flight of eagles toward their 
 enemies, say: 
 
 " The eagles scream on high, 
 
 They whet their forked beaks ; 
 Raise raise the battle-cry, 
 
 'Tis fame our leader seeks." 
 
 They have another bird-song which they sing to arouse their 
 young men to battle : 
 
 " The birds of the brave take flight round the sky, 
 They cross the enemy's line 
 
 Full happy am I if my body shall fall 
 Where brave men love to die." 
 
 The Frog Song, or "The Frog in the Spring," as the Indians 
 call it, is one of their prettiest songs, and Tom Hood or Burns 
 might have been proud to be the author of it. This song repre 
 sents the winter and the coming of spring, which means much 
 more to the Indian than the white man in his warm house. It runs : 
 
 " Robed in his mantle of snow from the sky, 
 
 See how the white spirit presses our breath, 
 Heavily coldly the masses they lie ; 
 
 Sighing and panting we struggle for breath. 
 
 Spirit, oh spirit! who first in the air, 
 The great Master Monedo* wonderously made, 
 
 Cease to be pressing the sons of his care, 
 And fly to the blue heights from whence ye have strayed. 
 
 There we shall cheerfully, praisingly sing, 
 Okagislf Okagis! the heralds of spring, 
 First to renounce to the winter-bound ball 
 Sunshine and verdure and gladness for all." 
 
 " The Indians," said Mr. Belden, "believe the birds are intelli 
 gent creatures and that they can foretell man's destiny ; they 
 therefore regard their presence as indicative of good will and often 
 undertake to interpret the messages they are supposed to bring. 
 There is a chant which they sing and which best illustrates this 
 strange conception of the savage mind : 
 
 *The God of the Earth. 
 
 fThe Frogs.
 
 534 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 " The hawks turn their heads nimbly round, 
 They turn to look back in their flight ; 
 The spirit of sun place have whispered them words, 
 They fly with their messages swift. 
 They look to the furthermost end of the world, 
 Their eyes glancing bright and their beaks boding harm." 
 
 There is one more song about the falcon, a, bird which the In 
 dians say lives in the open air with the Great Spirit, and possesses a 
 mysterious knowledge of His will. Here it is : 
 
 " Birds! ye wild birds whom the high Gods have made, 
 
 And gifted with powers of a wonderous kind, 
 Why turn ye so fearfully shy and dismayed, 
 
 To gaze on the heavens you are leaving behind. 
 
 Come ye with news of a mystical cast, 
 
 Speaking of enemies crouched in the grass, 
 Who on our people shall burst like a blast, 
 
 Heralding ruin, destruction and blood. 
 
 Come ye with messages sent from on high, 
 Warning of what the wide heavens shall pour 
 
 Whirlwinds, tornadoes and pestilence nigh, 
 Wailing, starvation and death on our shore? 
 
 Come ye with words from the Master of Life, 
 
 Bringing intelligence good in your track. 
 Ah! then ye bright birds, wiih messages rife, 
 
 Why do ye turn your heads doubtingly back?" 
 
 "There," said Mr. Belden, "I think that will do for one time 
 on the subject of Indian poetry." 
 
 I could not but thank him for his wonderful rendering of the 
 Indian songs, and said I had not the slightest idea before that 
 there was so much that was beautiful and wonderful in the savage 
 language. 
 
 "Oh! well," he replied, "white people do not understand In 
 dians, that is all, and never will, never will, I tell you," he added 
 emphatically. 
 
 At Denver Mr. Belden left me and returned to the Republican 
 "River to hunt, and for a long time I lost sight of him. Then I 
 heard he was living at Plum Tree, in an Indian Lodge, and his fair 
 vouiig wife was with him. She was trving to assimilate herself
 
 LAST DATS OF BELDEN. 535 
 
 to his wild life, but she soon tired of it, and Belden begged her to 
 go to her uncle in Indiana, who was very wealthy, and had offered 
 her a home. She went accordingly, and I never heard of her 
 afterwards. She was a mere girl in 1868, when I knew her, and is 
 probably living yet in Indiana. 
 
 A year later, Belden went to Omaha to live, and being a good 
 compositor, was engaged on the Republican. He often wrote to 
 me from Omaha, and was evidently ill at ease and discontented. 
 I next heard of him at Sioux City, Iowa, where he was local edi 
 tor of the Sioux City Journal. He wrote a series of admirable 
 articles for the Journal on the "Western country," and sent them 
 to me. Then he drifted to the Black Hills, and from there up the 
 Missouri, where he returned to his wild life with the Indians. I 
 had a nattering offer for him if he would write some Indian stories, 
 or legends about the West, and I wrote him twice that a large East 
 ern firm would pay him well if he would only send for one of their 
 periodicals, a few short articles. After a long time I heard from 
 him at the Cheyenne Agency, on the Missouri, in Dakota, and he 
 sent me one short story, saying he would send more, but they 
 never came. As the story referred to above is probably the very 
 last one poor Belden ever wrote, and it is short, I will try to give it. 
 
 THE TRAPPER'S ROCK. 
 
 Just above old Julesburg on the Union Pacific Railroad is a rock 
 at the foot of which was once enacted a horrible tragedy. The 
 place is a deep canon surmounted by high bluffs, and there is a 
 loneliness and silence about the place which oppresses every one, 
 and makes the visitor glad to hasten away. Many years ago two 
 young men came from the east and ascending the Missouri, en 
 gaged in the fur business near its head waters. They were bosom 
 friends, and prospered in all their undertakings ; money flowed 
 into their pockets, and they became rich in course of tune from 
 the sale of their furs ; still they stayed in the West, that had been 
 so generous to them, and having become fond of their wild life, 
 determined to make the Missouri their permanent home. One of 
 the young men had lived at St. Louis, where he had a mother and 
 sisters. It was to St. Louis the partners went annually to sell 
 their pelts and divide the profits of their now large business. The
 
 536 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 younger sister of the brother, infatuated by the tales of adventure 
 told her by the traders, longed to visit them in their home in the 1 
 West, and begged so hard that the brother finally consented she j 
 might go. For a whole year she lived at the trappers home in the | 
 far West, and when the time came for the partners to go down the ! 
 river, and sell their furs, the brother could not go. The girl was 
 loth to leave her brother, but he urged her to return home with his 
 friend, and see their mother, saying, he would soon follow her. 
 Entrusting his beloved sister to his partner and friend, the two set 
 out in a Mackinaw, well provided with every comfort for their 
 journey. The brother, who was sick, grew worse, and the sum 
 mer wore away before he was able to travel. In the meantime 
 the partner returned, bringing with him news from home, 
 and a division of the annual profits of the business, which 
 was larger than ever before. The brother was pleased with the 
 manner in which their business had been conducted, and readily 
 yielded to the suggestion of his partner to delay his visit East for 
 another year, devote the winter to trapping, and go down in the 
 spring. All went well until about mid-winter, when the brother 
 received, by the hands of a trapper, a letter from his home, 
 which well nigh crazed him. It was from his mother, and gave a 
 long and circumstantial account of the ruin of his sister by Ms 
 partner. It was the old story of woman's trust and man's perfidy. 
 The girl, unable to bear her shame, had lost her reason and was a 
 hopeless maniac. On reading this letter, the first impulse of the 
 brother was to go and kill his partner, but dissembling, he deviset 
 a plan of revenge which no Indian could have outdone for diabol 
 ical cruelty. Keeping the receipt of the letter a profound secret, 
 he went on with his business as usual, and eveiy day met his part 
 ner on the same terms of friendly intimacy as formerly. When 
 the skins were packed and all in readiness to go down the river, 
 the brother went to Fort Benton, in Montana, and there had exe 
 cuted a will, leaving the name of the person who had executed it 
 blank. He then returned to his camp, on the Jefferson Fork. 
 Devising a cunning story, representing to his partner that on the 
 Platte River there were to be made great profits in furs, and pro 
 posed that instead of going down the Missouri, they should cross 
 overland, descend the Platte River to its mouth and there intercept
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 537 
 
 their boats on the Missouri. As an inducement, he said, if they 
 found all as represented, they could establish a branch of their 
 business at old Fort Laramie, where the brother had friends, and 
 thus increase the 'profits of their trade. The partner readily 
 assented to a proposal so manifestly to the advantage of both, and 
 alone they set out together, taking with them only riding ponies 
 and two to carry their blankets, and the flour and bacon they ex 
 pected to use on the JQurney. They traveled for many days, and 
 finally came to the Platte River, which they followed by the over 
 land trail until they reached Jules Barands ranch. Under some 
 pretense or other, the brother here induced his partner to accom 
 pany him into a lonely canon, where, quickly disarming him, he 
 tied his partner hand and foot, and securely bound him to the rock 
 above referred to. At first the partner thought it was some cruel 
 joke or trick, but when the brother produced his mother's letter 
 and read it to him, the poor man knew his time had come to die, 
 and begged to be shot on the spot ; but the brother had another 
 fate in store for the seducer of his sister. Coolly camping Tt>y the 
 rock, he sat down to see his victim starve to death. On the third 
 day the ill-fated man signed the deed bequeathing all his property 
 to the injured girl, and the brother attached a fictitious signature 
 to the instrument, by the terms o'f which he was made the executor of 
 Ms partners will. He then wrote a letter for his partner to sign, 
 saj'ing, he had fallen very ill of fever on the plains, and if he did not 
 recover, the letter would be delivered to his friends by the hand of 
 his beloved partner. All this the infuriated brother compelled his 
 partner to sign, and then quietly waited for the end. Day by day 
 he grew weaker, and the brother gloated over his misery, often 
 reading to him the letter from his mother. 
 
 The poor man promised to marry the girl and make all the resti 
 tution in his power if the brother would spare his life ; but to all 
 his entreaties the partner turned a deaf ear and left him to die. 
 At last he was reduced to a mere skeleton, and on the ninth day 
 died. After burying his emaciated victim's corpse the brother 
 resumed his journey down the Platte. At the mouth of the 
 river he found the fleet of boats waiting, which had been there a 
 long time, and the boatmen were wondering what had become of 
 the owners. To the boatmen he represented his partner had died
 
 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 of fever, and his delay was for the purpose of nursing him. In 
 St. Louis he repeated the same story and showed the letter to his 
 partner's relatives. The will was also proved and the girl became 
 the dead man's heir. As the wrong done to the girl was well 
 known to his friends, they thought little of the matter, believing 
 the will to be an act of restitution and justice to the injured one. 
 After a time the brother returned to the Rocky Mountains and 
 resumed his trade with the Indians. Two years ago he was shot 
 by the Sioux, and before dying confessed his crime. Some hunters 
 visited the rock and dug up the skeleton. Around the neck of the 
 poor fellow was still the chain by which he had been fastened to 
 the rock. They reburied the bones on the spot, and the tale is still 
 told to travelers of how the hard-hearted brother day after day 
 eat his meals in the presence of his wretched and starving pris 
 oner, never so much as offering him a crumb to appease his hun 
 ger, or a cup of water to slake his thirst. The sister recovered her 
 reason and still lives in St. Louis ; but after she learned of her 
 brother's horrible punishment of her false lover, she turned over 
 his property to his relatives and she and her mother live upon the 
 ample fortune inherited from the dead brother and son. 
 
 Once after this, I heard from tyTr. Belden. I had written him 
 making certain inquiries about matters in which I was greatly 
 interested, well knowing his prodigious knowledge of the west 
 would enable him to inform me correct!}-. He replied from far up 
 the Missouri river and said : 
 
 4 ' I have been absent so long from the river and the places of 
 civilized men, I suppose you think I am dead ; but my hair is still 
 on the top of my head. We have had some glorious sports, and 
 I can set down one more Indian fight in my experience of the 
 Plains, besides having had no end of hunts, bear fights and races. 
 We went out early to the buffalo land and took a great many 
 beasts, but they will not last long if the present destruction of 
 these noble animals is allowed to go on as in the past few years. 
 There are a lot of mean white men who are called buffalo skinners, 
 and they slaughter the buffalo merely for their skins, no regard 
 being paid to the meat, which is allowed to rot on the ground. 
 These men are hated by the Indians, who would soon make an end 
 of them if it were not for fear of the troops. It seems to me this
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 539 
 
 indiscriminate slaughter of buffalo iawrrong and should be stopped. 
 Congress ought to prohibit it by statute. Will you not write to 
 some of your friends and urge the passage of a law to this 
 effect: That buffalo shall only be killed hereafter for food? 
 Unless this is done and the buffalo skinners leave the country, 
 there will be trouble between them and the Indians. They 
 had a mind to drive them off this summer, but I told them 
 they must wait until the Great Father heard about it, and then he 
 would see their beef cattle were not wantonly destroyed. 
 
 "Now, as to the questions in your letter 1st, you were quite 
 right in what you said in my life about the Schoshonee Indians 
 being an off-shoot of the Comanches, and those Washington 
 fellows don't know anything abont it. How could they know 
 belter than you when they have never been west of Pittsburg, and 
 wouldn't know a Comanche from a Sioux if they were to run 
 against them ? The Schoshonees speak the same language as the 
 Comanches, and are like them in all respects. ' A primary stock 
 of the Rocky Mountain Indian? ' indeed. Just you write that 
 Washington man and tell him he don't know anything about the 
 Schoshonees or any other Indians, for that matter, and if he don't 
 believe you and me, that the Snakes are Comanches, let him con 
 sult Col. Cady, Gen. Alvord, United States Army, or any other 
 old officer who knows about Indians, and he will soon find out his 
 mistake. 
 
 "As to the change of climate on the Plains since I came West, 
 it has been material, and the rainfall has doubled and is increasing 
 every year, especially along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad. 
 This I attribute in a great measure is due to the settlement of the 
 country and to tree planting. I think when the country is settled 
 up thickly the stirring of the soil will produce humidity of the 
 atmosphere sufficient to produce enough rain to make the crops 
 grow and ripen well." 
 
 After this letter I lost sight of Belden and did not hear of him 
 again, until one day I received a letter from his cousin, John "VV. 
 Hugus, a Post Trader, informing me Belden was dead had been 
 murdered by Indians on the Upper Missouri. This letter I have 
 lost, but the facts are still fresh in my mind. Mr. Belden had
 
 540 BELDEN: THE WHITE CHIEF. 
 
 been living with the Cheyennes on the Missouri in Dakota, but 
 had gone into the interior to trade with some bands. One day he 
 came down to the trader's establishment with his horse and pack 
 pony, and having bought three hundred dollars' worth of beads, 
 cloth and Indian trinkets, he packed them on his pony and set out 
 for the interior. It is supposed some Indian saw him, and act 
 uated by motives of cupidity, went on ahead and hid by the side 
 of a little lake, where he knew Belden would stop to water his 
 animals. Belden came to the lake, dismounted and stooped to 
 dip up a cup of water, when just as he was in the act of placing 
 it to his lips, an Indian raised up out of the grass and fired, shoot 
 ing him through the head. The great scout fell forward on his 
 face and died almost immediately. His body was found by some 
 hunters by the side of the lake and brought into the Agency and 
 buried. His ponies and goods were gone, the thief having made 
 good his escape into the interior. I never heard that the mur 
 derer of Belden was discovered, and he probably never will be, or 
 be punished if he is found out. Such events are so common on 
 the Plains that little attention is paid to them, even at the time, 
 and they are forgotten in a month after they have occurred, 
 except by relatives and personal friends of the murdered man. I 
 understand Belden' s mother has had his body taken to Omaha and 
 buried in the family burying ground at that place. Belden' s father 
 had been dead many years, but his mother, a smart, active old 
 lady, was living a year ago at Omaha, and I believe lives there 
 still. Belden had a brother who was a quiet farmer and resided 
 near Omaha on his mother's farm. He had three sisters, charm 
 ing women, the eldest of whom married a gentleman of wealth and 
 position at Omaha ; his second sister was married to Mr. Wallace, 
 an Omaha banker, and resides in that city ; his youngest sister, 
 llattie, and of whom he was very fond, is married to an army 
 officer, and is now stationed with the Fourteenth Infantry in Utah. 
 Tims ends the history of Geo. P. Belden, the Daniel Boone of 
 the West. A great many people have thought him a fictitious 
 character, not believing any man could have so many real adven 
 tures, but I can assure them Belden was real flesh and blood, and 
 tluvt nothing in the following pages has been exaggerated or mis 
 represented. His life as he lived it is set down in the exact words
 
 LAST DAYS OF BELDEN. 541 
 
 cf the adventurous chief, soldier, hunter, trapper aud guide, and 
 varied and remarkable as it may appear, it is true to the letter. 
 
 JAMES S. BRISBIN, 
 
 U. S. Army. 
 Fort Assinniboine, Montana, January 29, 1881.
 
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