April 20, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
was sandy in places, and where an Indian’s foot 
had been, we discovered grains of sand still 
active, unsettled, dropping down from the sides 
of the track, a sure sign that they had been made 
recently. The same sign holds good with horse 
tracks, and this sign can be read by any person 
with a quick eye. Let him put his foot on 
some sand and then carefully and patiently 
watch how long it takes for the sand to become 
inactive. All such signs are carefully studied by 
mountaineers and Indians. It was plain enough 
to us. We went on, keeping a sharp lookout. 
Some three-quarters of a mile before 11s. we 
could see some timbered buttes, and the trail 
led directly toward these trees. There was a 
possibility that those five Indians might be 
there, and we put our tools in condition for in¬ 
stant use. We got within 300 yards of the 
buttes, wheeled to the right, and putting our 
horses on a run, passed between two small hills 
and got beyond the first butte. Nothing was 
discovered. When we reached the trail. Jack 
dismounted, looked at it carefully, followed it a 
. short distance and returned, saying. “The In¬ 
dians are running here.” In front of us were 
other buttes with trees on them, and we were 
now satisfied that the Blackfeet had discovered 
us and were at this moment planning a coup 
by which they could take us in without loss 
to themselves. To avoid being ambushed, we 
bore to the left, keeping a long rifle shot from 
[ the timber and a keen lookout. We had passed 
perhaps 150 yards beyond the first butte, when 
two rifle shots were fired, the bullets going wide 
of the mark. We wheeled to the left, rode 
! behind a small knoll and dismounted. Before 
we got there, three more shots were fired, the 
bullets coming unpleasantly close, but doing no 
harm. 
| We had no sooner dismounted than five In¬ 
dians charged us with a yell, for they made sure 
they had us. Our outfit was a tempting bait 
for them. There were five good horses, to say 
| nothing of arms and other property. If they 
had succeeded in taking us in, they could have 
returned to their people as great warriors, and 
1 would have been allowed to paint their spouses’ 
faces to their hearts’ content, and these would 
I have been envied by all the other women in the 
village, who would not have been permitted 
to take part in the scalp dance that would 
follow. 
We let the Indians come within sixty yards, 
j md then we showed ourselves and ducked. The 
1 Indians, fool-like, all fired; and, before they 
:ould reload or draw bow and arrows, the 
' Sharp and the Henry got to work, and, in less 
ime than it takes to write this, five Blackfeet 
:.vere on their way to their happy hunting 
[ground. We got five Hudson’s Bay flintlock 
‘ ?uns, bows and arrows and other plunder. 
1 ’ack scalped two of the Indians. I took a fancy 
var bonnet. 
When we got back. Jack told the circum- 
tances to his friends in the Piegan camp. They 
; flamed us for killing these people, saying that 
s we were mounted we should have run away. 
! f we had run. the Blackfeet would have been 
I >n our trail like a wolf on the trail of a wounded 
. leer. They are hard to shake free from or to 
| hrow off the trail. Jack justified our acts, 
a ying that they fired upon and charged us. If 
1 he y had succeeded in getting us they would 
j ave scalped us both, they knowing him to be 
Piegan. He aded that any Indian, whether 
Blackfoot, Blood or Piegan that shot at him and 
missed, must expect to be scalped. He was 
asked if he were not afraid that some of the 
friends of those we had put to sleep would re¬ 
venge themselves by putting him to sleep. I 
could not but admire Jack when he answered 
them, his eyes sparkling like fire, “No! If any 
one or more want to try that, they all know 
when and where to find me.” As it was we 
would not be annoyed any more by this war 
party. 
Jack told me that West Porcupine Creek 
took its rise a short distance from here. Passing 
by this timbered country, we came to one that 
was open, where a few buffalo were in sight. 
Here the trail bore to the right, going south 
and followed a ridge. Jack said that this ridge 
lay between East and West Porcupine creeks. 
We traveled some twelve miles and, when we 
passed over a ridge, discovered the smoke of 
a village on the lower or easternmost stream. It 
seemed to be about eight miles distant. We 
moved toward it at a lively gait, but when we 
were about a mile from the village, we could 
discern a great commotion beyond or south of 
it. Horsemen were galloping back and forth in 
every direction as if in a sham battle. Jack- 
said that he heard shots and that he believed 
that a fight was on. We pushed ahead and got 
to the village, and found, sure enough, that the 
Sioux had attacked it, trying to run off the 
Crow ponies. They had been discovered by the 
young Crow herders and the alarm was given; 
and, since Indians always keep their best horses 
close to the village, the warriors soon mounted 
and rushed out to protect their herds. Nothing 
is more disastrous to a camp than to lose its 
horses, and they will fight as desperately tor 
them as for their families. 
Chief Bull Goes a Hunting met us, and, as 
he did so, put his hand over his mouth, signi¬ 
fying his astonishment at seeing us. He was 
an old acquaintance, a friend, and we went to 
his lodge. I left Jack and our outfit in the 
care of the chief, while I mounted Dick to go 
out and see the fight. Jack wished to go, but 
I would not allow it, for he might do some 
desperate act. such as to charge through the 
Sioux and might go under. At this time, he 
was too valuable a man to lose. A few young 
warriors went with me, and we soon got to the 
battle field. The first man we met was Spotted 
Horse, a war chief. There were not over 200 
Sioux, and fully 300 Crows. We joined in the 
half fight half runaway that was going on; 
though they had been fighting some time, not 
over six on either side had been placed hors dc 
combat. A few were wounded, and a few ponies 
put out of action. Neither of the opposing 
forces showed any generalship. 
Without underrating the Indian, or overrating 
the paleface, I may say that I have been with 
white men on the plains where forty of them 
would have made short work of either of these 
contending forces. By some poetical writers, 
the Indian is credited with possessing Spartan 
bravery; but. with a few exceptions, the reverse 
is true. There are but few mountain men who 
cannot outgeneral an Indian. 
After a while, the Crow chiefs got together 
for a council, and the result was more like the 
work of schoolboys than of warriors and chiefs. 
I sat in the council. They spoke in their own 
tongue, half of which I understood. They also 
made signs for every word spoken, and each 
609 
sign was as a, b, c to me, as of course they 
knew. 1 hey wished me to understand every 
word that they spoke. They asked my opinion 
of the fight, and what they should do. I ad¬ 
vised them to call off their warriors, to form 
three equal bodies of men, and to charge the 
Sioux on both flanks and at the front at the 
same time. Then the fight would end, and the 
Sioux would retreat. The Indians gave a grunt 
and said nothing. 
We all joined again in what one might call 
playful fighting. I could see that the Sioux 
were growing discouraged, but a desultory 
fighting continued for a short time, when some 
fifty of the bravest Crow warriors charged the 
right flank of the Sioux and emptied a few 
saddles, but were checked by a stand made by 
a few Sioux. This stand was made in order to 
give some of their wounded an opportunity to 
leave the field. As the Sioux were better 
mounted than the Crows, they outstripped us on 
the retreat. We followed them about a mile, 
forcing them to abandon some thirty tired 
ponies, which the Crows captured. They 
scalped and mutilated a few Sioux and collected 
all the plunder on the field. All the wounded 
Sioux had retired before the fight was over. 
Indians will remove the slain to keep the 
enemies from scalping them. Whites do the 
the same. 
We returned to the village. The chiefs now 
asked my object in coming to their village. We 
were then sitting in his lodge where our things 
were, and I got out the large envelope contain¬ 
ing my letter. It was sealed with wax, and 
had an eagle stamped on it as large as a dollar. 
All this show had a moral effect on the Indians, 
and when they saw it they believed that I was 
a messenger from the Great Father. After 
smoking the medicine pipe, as is customary be¬ 
fore a council, I interpreted the contents of the 
letter in condensed form, the substance of which 
I have already given. I urged the Crows to go 
to Benton, telling them that it would be to their 
advantage to do so. They would receive many 
presents, and besides would make peace with 
their ancient enemies. They listened to me at¬ 
tentively, and then gave reply in the negative, 
saying that their ponies’ feet were getting tender 
and the animals thin in flesh, that there were 
no buffalo between where we were and Fort 
Benton, and that they must remain where they 
were in order to secure meat for their families. 
All this was common sense from their point of 
view, and left me no ground for argument. A 
Crow party had recently been to Fort Union 
and had been informed by the traders there 
that the next moon some white chiefs would 
be there to meet the Crows in council. This 
proved to be the fact, as we afterward learned. 
The Crows could go to Fort Union by easy 
stages and be among buffalo all the way—pro¬ 
vided their enemies did not run the game out 
of the country. 
Jack gave the Crows the two scalps, the guns 
and other things that he had taken, and they 
gave him a good mule and complimented him 
on being a great warrior. We told them that 
another Blackfoot war party was out, said to 
he looking for Crows, but that we did not know 
where they were. We got the women to cut 
some bunch grass for our stock in order that 
they might be in good condition to make an 
early start next morning. During the night 
Jack and I stood guard turn about, and many 
