TWENTY YEARS IN THE ROCKIES. QI 



large bay colt, which could not run at all, by galloping him 

 up and down the track, in sight of the Indian camp. This 

 colt was not to run, but the racer was another horse, which 

 very nearly resembled him in color. This was a cunning 

 device to deceive the crafty Indians and to induce them to 

 make large bets. The race was to take place at dusk, some 

 distance from camp, and the deception would probably not 

 be noticed until afterward. 



I learned the time set for the racing,, and was glad that 

 the down coach would land me at H. Countryman's in time 

 to witness the event. The time was changed to three o'clock 

 in the afternoon, and the settlers from one hundred miles 

 around were there, all eager and excited. There were about 

 four hundred Indians present, including squaws and 

 papooses. The Indian racehorse was brought out, and the 

 boys produced the clumsy bay they had been training. The 

 Crows gather around him, looked him all over, commenced 

 betting freely, but when the stake had reached fifty dollars, 

 the boys refused to go any higher. 



The race was to be six hundred yards. The horses 

 were to start at the drop of a hat. The Indian rider was a 

 boy ten years old, and the white jockey was a full-grown 

 man. The white man got about six feet the start and kept 

 whipping his horse with his hat, which scared the Indian 

 pony from the track, but the boy gave his pony the raw- 

 hide on the side of his neck, succeeded in getting him back, 

 and, in spite of this loss of time,, he beat the bay two lengths. 

 Thereupon the air was filled with yells and howls, the 

 squaws and papooses dancing in their excitement. 



The boys pretended to be very angry, but said they had 

 another horse which could beat him, so it was brought out, 

 and this time the bets ran up to one hundred dollars. A 

 little buckskin pony was selected this time by the Crows, 



