212 FOLLY OF MY MEN. 



that I had never beheld a much more powerful and cer 

 tainly not a more ill-looking rascal, and his, perhaps, that 

 he had never seen a better-armed man, for I had a double 

 gun on my shoulder and a revolver and an immensely 

 long East Indian dirk, or couteau de chasse, in my belt, 

 while at the same time, close at my heels, with a furious 

 desire to bite him which I could with difficulty suppress, 

 was a large and faithful dog. At the back of the Indian 

 was fastened what seemed to be his blankets, and, above 

 the large sort of bundle they made, his bow and arrows, 

 and these latter were in a case. 



Having gazed at him to the full, and consequently 

 christened him after the manner of " Satanka, or the Sit 

 ting Bear," of whom I shall have to speak anon, " Tack- 

 alyoucanget," or the " Big Thief," I marched off down 

 the stream and continued looking for fowl, and on my 

 returning to my camp found that, after seeing me, the 

 Indian paid my men a visit, asking for whiskey, but get 

 ting nothing but tobacco. I also regretted to find that 

 the huge "Kaw," for he belonged to that tribe, being 

 alone, and my men being nine to one, in direct variance 

 with my orders they had teased and jeered him, sending 

 him away in high dudgeon ; and had it been anywhere 

 where he could have mustered his tribe, or had his miser 

 able tribe been a warlike one, and in any "strength, per 

 haps their jeers might have got us into trouble. As it 

 was, the incident made me resolve on going my rounds 

 at night, and seeing that all picket-pins were properly 

 secured. Having refreshed the men and mules, we then 

 put to, and regaining the beaten track we met more fron 

 tier men driven in, all of them agreeing that in the 

 direction of Pawnee Fork there was at all events a large 

 force of redskins in war paint those who had attacked 



