WITH THE BLUECOATS OX THE BORDER. 163 



red brethren, sometimes sitting in their tepees and endeav- 

 oring to learn as much as we can of the mysteries of the 

 sign language, and to master some of their guttural phrases. 

 Once, while chatting in the quarters, a well - built, rather fine- 

 looking savage flattens his nose against the window-pane, 

 shading his glittering eyes with his hand and gazing curiously 

 into the room. " By Jove ! one of your professional brethren, 

 a Simon - pure American artist, as you shall see. We must 

 have the fellow in here ;" and our host beckons to the Indian, 

 who the next moment stalks calmly into the room, and with a 

 o^uttural " how " and shake of the hand with one and all of us, 

 seats himself without further ceremony on the floor. Lighting 

 a cigarette which we hand him, he folds his hands over his 

 knees, and with half -shut eyes lazily puffs away for a few mo- 

 ments, when, thrusting one hand into the breast of his tunic, 

 he draws out a piece of white muslin, which he unfolds and 

 spreads out on the floor before him, disclosing a colored draw- 

 ing of the " Sun Dance," executed in the conventional Indian 

 manner, and with a naive attention to detail of costume and 

 " local color.'' This done, he placidly resumes his smoking 

 again. We express due admiration of his talent, and our 

 friends induls^ino^ in much o-ood-natured chaff as to the advisa- 

 bility of our purchase of this specimen of aboriginal art, the 

 time and trouble saved us in sketching by our doing so, and 

 the ^reat addition it would be to the art treasures of some 

 gallery in the East, we open negotiations by placing a silver 

 dollar on the floor alongside of the picture. The artist scarcely 

 lifts his heavy eyelids, but slowly blowing a long, thin line of 

 smoke from between his thick lips, he raises his hand indolently 

 and holds up three grimy fingers, muttering in a hoarse voice 

 the word " dollar." We shake our heads nes^ativelv, and after a 

 long silence he indicates by signs, twice waving his arm from 



