9O ADVENTURES OF DR. ALLEN. 



the snake and gave it another good shaking, to make sure 

 of its death. I was tempted to take him home as a trophy 

 of the battle, but his unshaken confidence in me unnerved 

 my arm. When the agonies of death were over and his 

 enemy had ceased writhing, he stretched his wings, seized 

 his prey where the skin was not broken, and, with a steady 

 flight, bore it to the highest crag of the neighboring moun- 

 tain. As he slowly winged his way, the huge serpent was 

 visible hanging from his powerful claws. The fight had 

 lasted about three-quarters of an hour, and, had the eagle 

 been less careful of his head, he could have torn the snake 

 to atoms in a moment, but he seemed to realize the poison- 

 ous nature of the snake, and gained his victory by the exer- 

 cise of his strategic instinct. 



In the fall of 1877, the few straggling settlers and the 

 Indians of the Yellowstone valley were seized with a mania 

 for horse racing. Betting ran high, and, as the Indians 

 were generally the winners,, the boys were in very hard 

 circumstances, owing to this strange passion, which seemed 

 to have taken full possession of them. The best horse in the 

 settlement had come out far behind a homely, little scrub 

 belonging to the Crow tribe, and the boys were in despair 

 until a bright thought struck them. 



While the Indians were out gathering their winter sup- 

 plies, the boys around Stillwater sent to Oregon and made 

 arrangements whereby three renowned racehorses should be 

 brought to them. They kept the affair very secret, for fear 

 the Indians would hear of it. Early in September the war- 

 riors returned, with an immense upply of venison, dried 

 buffalo meat and robes. They went into camp near the 

 mouth of the Stillwater, and soon commenced bantering the 

 whites to make races. Finally the boys agreed to race in 

 two weeks. Every day they pretended to be training a 



