84 A FAREWELL PARTY. 



pack-saddle for our third horse, so that we were ready to 

 start. 



I arranged to leave the bloodhound at the Fort, as the 



journey would have been too much for him, Mr. L 



promising to send him down at the first opportunity. A 

 farewell supper was given in my honour, at which the only dish 

 was " rubbiboo," and we wound up the evening with a dance, 

 not getting to bed till after midnight. At the end of the 



evening F gave a recitation from " Julius Csesar," which 



impressed the Indians very much. He had been an actor for 

 some years, and remembered portions of a great many plays, 

 and these he would recite with a blanket round him " a la 

 toga." Some of his performances at our cabin before a large 

 and select audience of Indians had been most successful, 

 though they did not understand one word of what he said. No 

 people admire eloquence more than Indians do, and a man who 

 can speak well can do what he likes with them. This was 

 shown very clearly in the case of " Sitting Bull," the supposed 

 murderer of General Custer in 1876. He was chief of a very 

 small band of Sioux, and he raised himself by his eloquence to 

 be chief of the whole nation. 



