150 Life of a Fossil Hunter 



was, learned that a chief lay dying in one of the 

 houses, and after supper he left me and went to 

 witness the death ceremonies. After stowing away 

 the bread and coffee between our mattresses and 

 covering them with blankets, and hiding the bacon 

 at the bottom of the mess box with tin dishes piled 

 on top of it so that I should hear the rattle if a 

 thieving Indian attempted to get at it, I, being tired, 

 dropped off to sleep. 



About three o'clock in the morning, George ap- 

 peared, having been shut up in the house with the 

 dying chief all night. When the medicine man 

 began his incantations, the doors and windows were 

 closed, while the steaming Indians danced in a circle 

 around the dying chief, forcing the unwilling 

 George to take part in the ceremonies. All night 

 long they moved around in their death dance to the 

 music of their drums and the wild gesticulations of 

 the medicine man, and when George finally got 

 away, he was about exhausted. He was soon lost in 

 sleep, and as I habitually lie on my sound ear, 

 neither of us heard anything through the night. 

 But the next morning, when George had put on the 

 coffee to boil and went into the mess box for the 

 bacon, it had disappeared. The dishes had been 

 carefully replaced. 



After a breakfast of bread and coffee, we were 

 early in the saddle, taking a heavy trail that led north 



