280 Hunting the Grisly 



This turned the conversation upon Indians, 

 and it appeared that both of our hosts had 

 been actors in Indian scrapes which had 

 attracted my attention at the time they oc- 

 curred, as they took place among tribes that I 

 knew and in a country which I had sometime 

 visited, either when hunting or when pur- 

 chasing horses for the ranch. The first, 

 which occurred to Captain Edwards, hap- 

 pened late in 1886, at the time when the Crow 

 Medicine Chief, Sword-Bearer, announced 

 himself as the Messiah of the Indian race, 

 during one of the usual epidemics of ghost 

 dancing. Sword-Bearer derived his name 

 from always wearing a medicine sword that 

 is, a sabre painted red. He claimed to pos- 

 sess magic power, and, thanks to the perform- 

 ance of many dexterous feats of juggling, and 

 the lucky outcome of certain prophecies, he 

 deeply stirred the Indians, arousing the young 

 warriors in particular to the highest pitch of 

 excitement. They became sullen, began to 

 paint, and armed themselves; and the agent 

 and the settlers nearby grew so apprehensive 

 that the troops were ordered to go to the 

 reservation. A body of cavalry, including 

 Captain Edwards' troop, was accordingly 

 marched thither, and found the Crow war- 



