244 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



deeds, and elevated themselves into tlie greatest of heroes. 

 I noticed that one scalp aroused two of them into the greatest 

 state of frenzy, for they screamed and roared, barked, yelped, 

 stamped with their feet, snapped their teeth, distorted their 

 facial muscles, and hissed as they pointed at it, and brandished 

 their arms and weapons in the most frantic manner, to show 

 how hard its owner had struggled to keep it on his head. 

 When they had finished their wild harangue an unusually 

 loud and prolonged "wach" from all announced that it was 

 a great feat indeed; and when the braves left the ring an old 

 chief told the audience how many men they had lost in trying 

 to get that scalp. 



I did not understand a word of what they said, but I could 

 readily comprehend their gestures, and deduced from them 

 that one of the greatest deeds ever performed by the tribe was 

 to secure that scalp. Turning to the French half-breed who 

 \vas with me, I asked him to translate their speeches for me, 

 and he said that the scalp was that of a white man which 

 they had taken in the Wind River region a few months pre- 

 viously. The party of whites of which he was a member had 

 killed or wounded fifteen of their men, and then escaped in the 

 great chasm ; but that he, being the last in the line, had his 

 horse shot under him, and he fell to the ground. He mounted 

 another, however, in a moment, but before he could escape one 

 of the two braves stunned him with a shot in the head, and 

 then pulled him off his horse, while the second shot him 

 through the right arm with an arrow. On recovering con- 

 sciousness, the white man drew his revolver, and shot three 

 warriors as they were crowding round him, but before he could 

 inflict any further injury he was seized by the two terpsk'ho- 

 reans, unarmed, bound, and tied to a tree, where he was 

 burned alive, after being terribly mutilated and having his 

 body filled with arrows. He bore his fate with Indian stoicism, 

 and this and his bravery had induced his captors to consider 

 him a great warrior,, and his seal]) to be therefore unusually 

 important. When I heard the tale, I felt as if I should like 

 to see the whole murderous, boasting 1 throng shot like dogs ; 

 and so anxious was I that they should be punished, that I 



