Notes on Memories of a Bear Hunter 



with many people. They were accused not only of 

 taking horses from the Delawares, but even of steal- 

 ing from their friends, the Comanches. Some of them, 

 however, joined in expeditions with the Pawnees to 

 make peace with the Cheyennes and the Arapahoes. 



In former times the Cheyennes had been on terms 

 of friendship with the Missouri village tribes, Ari- 

 kara, Hidatsa and Mandans, and frequently visited 

 and traded with them. Colonel Henry Dodge speaks 

 of this, and of a break in the friendship which took 

 place a little later. He says: 



"The Arikaras were formerly on very friendly 

 terms with the Cheyennes and lived with them for 

 some time; after the Cheyennes had concluded an 

 alliance with the Arepahas, the Arikaras commenced 

 stealing their horses. Still they would not go to 

 war; they said they did not care for a few horses. 

 The Arikaras soon after killed several whites who 

 were trading with Arepahas. They then determined 

 to declare war against them, and soon after the Are- 

 pahas, meeting a war party of twenty or thirty Ari- 

 karas who were coming to steal their horses, they 

 attacked them and killed them all, not one escaping. 

 The Cheyennes soon after met a war party of Ari- 

 karas and killed them all except one; him they told 

 to go home and tell his people it was the Cheyennes 

 who had killed the party. Since that period they have 

 carried on a predatory warfare until the present 

 time/' 



After this, a peace was made, but no one knows 

 very clearly how long it lasted. The Cheyennes de- 

 clare White Bull being my informant that about 



249 



