The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-10-23

fall with the lights and shades Of then
stories Old Giant, a brave once connect
ed with Little Ravens famous band, warm
ing with his theme, seized my rifle, an(
taking aim at an imaginary foe glancee
along the barrel with the expression of ;
tiend: then, dropping the weapon, he
struck his right fist twice in quick success
sion into the hollow of his left hand
snapped his finger, gave a heavy sigh,
and dropped his head upon his shoulder
'sHow, How =" uttered in tones of sup
pressed excitement. and the nervous
tightening of blankets, told of natures
strangely stirred by the eloquence of the
narrator As the twilight deepcned, the
fire without threw its bright light into the
lodge, bringing ont in bold relief upon
the canvas covering the dusky forms q
the warriors
The Niohrara. like the Missouri, is re-
markablc for its rapid current, its shift
mo bed and numerous sand-bars Fol
lowing on my trail was an old squaw
bearing 4 striking resemblance to Miss
Cushman as ''made up for Meg Merrilles
and mounted astridc huge pack fastened
to 4 tail, raw -boned American horse Al
the fordng my pony 50 tore away tho
bank of the channel that the horse of the
ancient maiden, in his struggles to gain a
foothold burst the girt, and his precious
lo.d was deposited in the stream. Such a
sp ashing. spluttering, and incoherent
chattering, The bluffs fairly echoed the
shouts of the Indians. who keenly enjoyed
the old womanS discontinue, and care
fully refrained from lending her any as
sistance With the aid of Trumbo tished
her out, and landed her safely in the mud
above, n drcnched and furious woman.
The Indian method of hunting the deel
and antelope seems to looker-on not
heated by the chase, cruel sport But
food is the object OF the Indian hunter,
and he is wonderfully successful in secur-
ing it. Notwithstanding their great speed
and bottom, these animals seldom escape
their pursuers on the open prairie. Mount
ed on their swift ponies, the Indians be
come as it were a pack of hounds that
run by sight In all directions they move,
searching the country with eyes that see
everything. On discovering deer no at
tempt is made at concealment, but with
bride rein between their teeth, loading
their guns OF adjusting their arrows as
they ride the hunters bear down on the
doomed animals. Off bound the deer, but
Indians are before them; they run to the
right - more Indians; to the lett-still
| Indians The country which at first
seemed open, narrows to a small circle.
| The deer double on themselves. Hemmed
| in on every side, there is no escape; the
bullet and the arrow do their work All
| their hunting whether Of man OF beast.
involves q system of surrounding. 1t is
| this method, thoroughly understood, and
invariably practised where numbers will
allow. that renders the Indian so formid-
able on the prairie. Although numbers
are in at the death, there is no dispute as
| 10 the distribution of the carcasses.
The meat generally goes to the hunters
| that most desire it, for the rest are sure at
some future time TO eat its equivalent
with the receivers The heart, liver, and
| parts of the throat, are often eaten raw
upon the spot, OF taken back to camp for
| the tavorite child. After selecting pOr-
| ton of the meat for immediate use, the
remainder is cut into slices and hung on
poles to dry. Thus prepared, it soon
shrivelS under the scorching rays Of the
sun, and presents the appearance otleather
covered by a thin coating of mould 1t is
musty to the taste, and by no means
satisfactory food even when boiled, for
the Indians never use salt, or condiments
of any kind in cooking Their skill in
riding and managing their ponies is Won
dertul. AT a full run they will drop to
| The animals side and shoot an arrow from
under his neck, on without in the least
slackrning their pace, pick up a turtle
| lying III the sand. The prairie hens often
fly low over the train, and il is no uncom-
mon sight to see an Indian use his lariat
with such precision Is to bring one to the
ground, on throw his tomahawk with such
accuracy as to cleaye in two an unt1edgetl
chicken hiding in the grass. Onthe march
many of the young braves occupy the time
breaking colts Securing a lariat about
his lower jaw, they lash the poor brute
into a run, occasionally Jerking the rope
with such violence as to throw him upon
his nose. He rearS and plunges, but the
Indian. although often drawn for rods,
never looses his hold, Dut at the first OPP
portunity vaults upon his back. OFF rushes
the pony like mad No attempt is made
to check him Suddenly he stops, his eyes
dilated, his nostrils quivering, and plac-
inc feet as neartogether as possible jumps
INTO the air, coming down with limbs
stiff, and 50 torcibly as almost to start the
blood from his riders nose. Still, like
Sinbad's ''Old Man Of the Sea- his tor
menter keeps his place. Bolt upright
stands the frightened animal, and the
Indian, sliding off, by a quick and dexter
Gus move throws him on his side The
work is done. Never, after such an ordeal
does the pony give any trouble, except
perhaps at the first moment Of starting.
Dogs in great numbers are found III
every Indian encampment. They arg
snarling, cowardly brlltes, singly incapable
of mischief, but the bark of one will cal
around n pack that, brave in numbers
are dangerous They are never regularly
fed Starved to-day and gorged to-mor
row, never caressed, but kicked and cutfeC
at every turn. it is D wonder that they re
tain any of the habits of domestic animals
The heat in the lodge was insuferable
The canvas snapped as protesting agains
the efforts of the sun to scorch it. What
air there was came impregnated with the
smell of drying meat. | sauntered down
to the river to battle. While splashine
about i'm the shallow water | was startled
by merry laugh on the bank, and looking
up saw several Indian girls curiously eN-
aiming my clothing. The situation did
not seem to strike them as peculiar, bu
to me it was exceedingly embarrassing
! They showed 10 signs of leaving, so attel
remaining in the water nearly half an hour
| came out With tlit best SIan,- possible
and dressed myself, they looking on the
) while. Returning TO camp, proposed tc
Trumbo that we should ride q race Will
five braves, wagering a blanket and TIVE
cans of powder on the result. The wage
was accepted and each selecting hi
favorite pony, rode back about a mile
taking a position abreast of the others
the Indians stripped to their brecch
cloths, and mounted bareback. with onl,
, noosed lariat for bride. Trumbo, re
; moving his outer garments, appeared in
costume almost As airy and l, performin!
the same operation, stepped forth in rec
: flannel underclothing. We started at
given signal. and for full quarter of tn
distance kept lope, but suddenly eac
; pony bounded forward. Yelling lik
= wildcats, We sped as arrows from bow
The braves lashed right and left, bu
l neither whip nor spur was needed for M
: little beauty Strengthened as a grey
t hound, on the run she moved with scare
n motion SppnlinU not to touch tha rrOlln(