278 BUFFALO LAND. 



the pan, he saw the light of the fire reflected, for an 

 instant, on a painted face peering out at him from be- 

 hind a tree. "Faith, but I shaved the lad's head 

 wid the skillet ! " said Dobeen, and sure enough we 

 found that article of culinary equipment lying at the 

 foot of the suspected cottonwood, badly bent from con- 

 tact with something, but whether that something was 

 the bark or a painted skull is known only to that 

 skulking Cheyenne. 



We waited until broad daylight, but no further 

 disturbance occurred, and what was strangest of all, 

 the valley both above and below us seemed entirel}'' 

 destitute of either Pawnee or Cheyenne. A recon- 

 noissance, which was made by the Professor, Mr. 

 Colon, and our guide, developed the fact that not 

 being able to steal any thing else, the savages had 

 executed the difficult military maneuver of stealing 

 away. Just before daybreak, the Pawnees had gone 

 due north, and the Cheyennes, about the same time, 

 due south. As White Wolf had expressed a cold- 

 blooded intention of exterminating the remnant of 

 his foes in the morning, the pitying stars may have 

 taken the matter in hand and misled him ; and if so, 

 how disappointed that blood-thirsty band must have 

 been when their path brought them into their own 

 village, instead of the Pawnee camp ! In confirma- 

 tion of this astrological suggestion, I may say that 

 while in Topeka I saw "stars," on several occasions, 

 leading Indians in the opposite direction from that 

 in which they wished to go. 



In due time our party sat down to another plenti- 

 ful breakfast, which was eaten with all the more 



