166 THE STORY OF THE TRAPPER 



No man admires courage more than the Indian; 

 and the Blackfeet recognised in their captive one who 

 had been ready to defend his comrade against them all, 

 and who had led the Crows to victory against their own 

 band. 



The prisoner surrendered his weapons. He was 

 stripped naked, but neither showed sign of fear nor 

 made a move to escape. Evidently the Blackfeet could 

 have rare sport with this game white man. His life 

 in the Indian country had taught him a few words of 

 the Blackfoot language. He heard them conferring as 

 to how he should be tortured to atone for all that the 

 Blackfeet had suffered at white men s hands. One war 

 rior suggested that the hunter be set up as a target and 

 shot at. Would he then be so brave? 



But the chief shook his head. That was not game 

 enough sport for Blackfeet warriors. That would be 

 letting a man die passively. And how this man could 

 fight if he had an opportunity ! How he could resist 

 torture if he had any chance of escaping the torture ! 



But Colter stood impassive and listened. Doubt 

 less he regretted having left the well-defended bri 

 gades of the fur companies to hunt alone in the wilder 

 ness. But the fascination of the wild life is as a gam 

 bler s vice the more a man has, the more he wants. 

 Had not Colter crossed the Eockies with Lewis and 

 Clark and spent two years in the mountain fastnesses ? 

 Yet when he reached the Mandans on the way home, 

 the revulsion against all the trammels of civilization 

 moved him so strongly that he asked permission to 

 return to the wilderness, where he spent two more 

 years. Had he not set out for St. Louis a second time, 

 met Lisa coming up the Missouri with a brigade of 



