TWENTY YEARS IN THE ROCKIES. 99 



when they had reached a little rise on the hillside, he 

 called to them in a voice of desperation, loud enough to be 

 heard by the Sioux chief who at first thought he was call- 

 ing for quarter and halted his men that the Great Spirit 

 would come to their aid mounted upon a white horse, that 

 strength would be given them to kill their enemies. And 

 lo ! at that very moment, there appeared at his side a large, 

 white horse, bearing a white rider with yellow eyes. When 

 the Sioux, who had heard the words of Rotten Belly, saw 

 his prophecy fulfilled, they were panic-stricken, and, but for 

 the commands of their chief, would have fled from the field. 



The Crows, feeling confident that the Great Spirit was 

 fighting for them, with an unearthly yell bore down upon 

 the enemy. They pulled the warriors from their horses. 

 They drove spears through them or crushed them to the 

 earth with battle axes. The Sioux seemed rooted to the 

 spot, stunned by the sudden turn of affairs. The Crows 

 pressed forward to the work of destruction, singing their 

 scalping songs, their chief riding in the van and chanting 

 the bloody song with savage glee, occasionally stopping 

 long enough to cheer on his braves in the name of the White 

 Spirit. 



Unable longer to bear the terrible slaughter, the Sioux 

 turned and fled, but were pursued, dragged from their 

 horses, scalped and their mutilated bodies tramped under 

 foot. Thus were they slaughtered until the kindly darkness 

 hid the few survivors from sight. Their squaws were taken 

 prisoners, and the Crows claim that some of them are still 

 living in captivity. The Sioux tell the same story and be- 

 lieve it implicitly. Since that battle the Crow.s have been 

 firm friends of the palefaces, through their love for the 

 White Spirit with yellow eyes, and they call the white man 

 their good medicine. I heard this story from several dif- 



