1922] SKINNER, AN OSAGE WAR PARTY 167 



Let's ride down this draw among the oak and cottonwoods, and mebbe- 

 so they won't see us.' 



"Well, my friend, we did it that way. We sneaked down that draw 

 for a mile, and then out on the open praira. But it was no use. The 

 Osages sa,w us, the iirst time, all right, and when we got out in the 

 open they had already gained on us. So we whipped up our horses 

 with our elk-horn handled quirts, and we went over that praira as fast 

 as we could. But it was no use, our horses were played out. 



" 'Hay, my friend,' said Duroin, T am ready to die right now ! We 

 can't get away anyhow. Let's stand and show those Osages who we 

 loways are !' 



"There was a little round high hill, so we ran up on that, and got 

 off our horses and stood behind them. We had an old-fashioned Colt's 

 revolver with powder and ball ca'tridges and percussion caps. Some- 

 times when you shot her off it was all right, and sometimes all those 

 chambers went off at once. Anyhow, it was all we had, and this Duroin 

 and me, we began to sing our death songs. 



"When the Osages were chasing us they spread out over the praira 

 like a fan, and those that had the fast runningest horses were away 

 .out on the end to cut us off. Boy, those horses were sure running 

 things, for we weren't any more than dismounted when we were sur- 

 rounded, and those Osages were riding round and round us in a big 

 circle, singing and whooping, and hiding behind their horses. But we 

 thought it was funny they weren't doing any shooting, and then, come 

 to find out, there wasn't one of them who had anything but a bow and 

 arrows and a buffalo hide shield, except that old leader who carried the 

 bundle. Besides, they had been so busy chasing us that they hadn't 

 had time to open it up yet and sing those medicine songs. So we be- 

 gan to feel our hearts getting stronger. 'Mebbe we can get out of 

 this fix yet,' said Duroin. 



"Well, every time those Osage young men got pretty close, Duroin 

 would pop up and point his pistol, and they would sheer off, scared like. 

 But Duroin didn't want to shoot unless he had to, he was afraid that 

 his pistol would all go off at once. 



"Say, they kept up those doings until pretty near dark, then we 

 saw the old man kind of signal to them, and they rode in to council. 

 They knew our horses were too tired for us to make a break for it. 

 Pretty soon that old fellow he rode out a little ways alone, and he 

 signalled in the sign language, T want to talk,' so Duroin signalled 

 back, 'Come alone and leave your gun.' Then the old fellow he got off 



