380 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bill, ei 



moccasins and tied them very firmly. We fastened our belts tight and arranged our 

 buffalo-hair lariat* so they could be let out most freely. As we started for the Crow- 

 camp I said: "Don't take too many horses, or they will make a wide track in the 

 snow and we shall be followed. Whoever first reaches the trees where the food is stored 

 must wait for the others. " 



Although llie snow was deep we secured 21 hor.-^cs. I hud fi horses and no colts, so I 

 could travel rapidly. The man with mo rode 1 horse and led 4. I heard a sound, 

 and looking back, I saw a mule following us. The mule came up and joined us, as 

 he had probably been raised with the horses, ^fules were highly valued by the 

 Sioux, and I claimed this mule as mine. 



A few of our men reached the meeting place before I and my companion arrived. 

 W^e waited for the rest, but two men did not come. We fastened our moccasins and 

 were about to go back for them when they came in eight. "Hurry!" they cried; 

 there is excitement in the Crow camp. They have seen us and are jumping on their 

 horses." Some of us were eating when the alarm came, but we made ready to start 

 at once. Four went ahead so the horses would follow, and the rest of ua drove the 

 herd. The cold was intense. We traveled all that night, and I often went back to see 

 if we were being pursued . The next morning we made a fire and put on dry moccasins. 

 We were afraid that if we traveled slowly we would be caught and killed, so we has- 

 tened. That day we let the horses trot awhile and then walk awhile, but we did not 

 dare stop to rest. The second night a man who had been on the lookout said, "The 

 Crows are after us; they are right on our trail. " 



I said: "We are not cowards. We must stand our ground and not run away." 

 My companions cried, "What shall we do?" I said, "We will go to that little rough 

 ravine and take the horses down there." It was a "draw" in the prairie, and at the 

 end of it there were some great rocks. It was a moonlight night, and bright as day. 

 We got the horses info the ravine and could hear the voices of the Crows. Evidently 

 there were many of them. I made up my mind that we had a hard time before us, 

 but we had good guns and plenty of bullets. I said: "We will crawl up on top of the 

 ridge of land and lie flat in a line, far apart. We can see them on the prairie, and as 

 soon as they are in range we will fire." We threw off our blankets and were clad 

 only in our calf-skin sliirts. So we lay in a row watching for the Crows. I said, "Be 

 ready with your guns." 



There was a great crowd of the Crows. They were following the horses' tracks, 

 and when they came near us we sprang uj), yelled, and fired at random. The Crows 

 turned and ran. leaving one man dead whoso horse had run away, and one horse whose 

 rider was going on foot. W^e all got together and ran a little way after them, firing 

 as fast as we could reload our guns. We shot from above their heads so they could not 

 tell where to shoot at us, and only once in awhile they shot in our direction. I said 

 to my companions: "The Crows are too many for us. If we go out on the prairie to 

 run away they will see how few of us there are. We will keep on shooting and stay 

 out of sight. Then they will think there are a great many of us. ' ' 



We could see the (^rows. They were still there, like a big burned spot on the 

 prairie. Once in awhile one of our men went toward them and shouted: "Come and 

 fight. It is good to fight." [Cf. song No. 157.] This continued all day, and the (^rows 

 thought there were a great many of us because we called them to come back and 

 fight. At last our scouts reported that the Crows had given up and gone away. I said , 

 ' ' Hurry; let us start for home. " We rode our fastest horses, drove the herd before us, 

 and went as fast as we could across the prairie. We camped three nights before we 

 reached home with our horses. 



The Sioux occasionally sent a man ahead of a returning war party, who gave a false 

 report to the village. Thu.s when an old man came forward to receive his report, the 

 man might say, ' 'All were killed except me. " Then would follow great wailing on the 



