MALLERY.] MEGAQUE’S LAST BATTLE. 561 
In the old times there was a certain Indian chief and hunter. He was so cruel 
and braye in time of war and his success in conquering his enemies and taking so 
many scalps was so great that he was called Megaque, or the Scalping Man. In hunt- 
ing seasons he always went to his hunting grounds with his warriors to defend and 
guard their hunting grounds from the trespassing of other hunters. He was well 
known by other Indians for his bravery and his cruelty to his prisoners. He con- 
qnered so many other warriors and tortured them that he was hated, and they tried 
to capture him alive. Some of the warriors from other tribes gathered an army and 
marched to his hunting grounds when they knew that he could not escape from their 
hands. When they come near where he is they send messengers to him and notify 
him of the approaching army; he is out hunting when they reach his camp, but they 
make marks on a piece of birch bark, a figure of an Indian warrior with tomahawk 
in one hand and spear in the other, similar to that seen in g, which is put up in a 
village of wigwams, i. When Megaque returned from his hunt and found someone 
had visited him during his absence, he also found the pieces of bark which read to 
mean a band of warriors. He has no time. He was so brave and proud he did not 
try to escape. In a day or two the band of warriors had reached him. After fight- 
ing, when he killed many as usual, he was finally captured and taken to the tnemy’s 
country to be tortured. He can stand all the usual tortures bravely and sing his 
usual war songs while he is tormented. Finally he was killed. 
The following is the explanation of the details: a, Megaque; b, his braves; c, the 
course by which the enemy comes; d, e, f, Megaque’s rivers and lakes; y, the enemy; 
h, their warriors; i, their village; j, river boundary line. 
The figures now following are those notices of battle pictured in the 
several Winter Counts which have been selected as being of more than 
ordinary interest either from the importance and notoriety of the events 
or from their mode of delineation : 
Fig. 788.—The Oglalas killed three 
lodges of Omahas. Cloud-Shield’s Win- 
ter Count, 1785-86. The Omaha is 
prostrate and sealped. 
Fig. 789.—The Omahas made an as- 
sault on a Dakota village. Cloud- 
Shield’s Winter Count, 1802-03. Bul- 
lets are flying back and forth. The 
single rider represents the whole of the 
troop. He is partially covered by the 
shield and the horse’s neck, behind 
which he hangs in a manner common 
among the Indian horsemen. The or- 
namented shield with its device of a Fic. 789, 
10 ETH 36 
