The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1897-09-16


blers, fierce and passionate, one dare
not trust the impartiality Of an
other OF course we agreed. We
were young and ready for adventure.
They gave us each an Interpreter,
with whom we went freely every
where about the camp. 1t sd Il
thousand tents, some Of skins, come
of bark, the larger part of blanket,
or what appeared 50 to us. /. was
ea-Iy fall, and 30 mild many of the
braves slept 10 rings about the camp
free. The old women worked from
morning - night; the younger ores
went about shyly in bands of five to
twenty, singing, picking wild berries,
or fishing in the river. Rising fawn
was the shyest Of them all. Still
we got now and again smiling nod
from her. But il We tried to come
within ten feet Of her, she was away
like real fawn. 80 scon We gave
over trying.
"Eve-y brave had pony or two
and matches were made daily. The
real racers, though, belonged to the
war chiefs; so the races we were to
Judge were tribal events. Until the y
began, High Poplar, Rising Fawn'.
father, held a little aloof. He lived
down on the Tomb;gbee. His roniee,
it was said, were the swiftest on
the ground. Certainly they were
the sligh test--sleek, saucy things,
clean III wind and limit, aud full OF
muscle if they were not 30 round as
those Of Chief Ross. Chief Van
had fine lot ready for the course,
too. Indeed, every chi f had to have
or lose standing with his tribe.
'They were quar- ter races, OF
course. Betting was at fever heat
before racer showed upon the track
a big pole stockade had been built
inside it There, under guard of the
three oldest chiefs, the bettOrs depos
tied their stakes TO await the issue.
The Indians were simply wild. Guns,
blanket, bows and arrows, tent fur
nishings, beads, belts, moccasins,
made great heap at one side. A
little way eff a dozen slaves huddled
together, not down cast, as you might
think, but themselves betting one
with another such trihes as nuts
ears of corr, strings of beads
lengths of cotton cloth or the ragge
blankets in which they slept. They
chartered like black birdie, too, Civ.
ing the speech of their owners the
queerest, soft infections. They haC
TO more concern over the event than
the herded poniss swaying back and
forth around the edg of the in.
closure. If anything, they were
more in differ Mt, sincethe ponies BIZ
and kicked at each passing stranger
The slaves merely stared with low
laughing grunt.
The purses themselves were alb.
surdly small-from two to five dol.
lars. But the money WAS there
hard, white, silver money, in a
beaded buck;kn pouch, which was
swung from tall pole just beyond
the winning post. We stood oppo-
site that upon "a rough platform
built arould slim, young hickory.
The bark had been freshly blaz d
off a tree exactly opposite; by look
at it we could tell which pony 8 nose
was home first. The starting point
had deep mark down in the earth.
Each horse owner stood with a foot
upon the mark; as his own beast
flashed past he gave it smart slash
with the whip. The riders were boys
who had neither saddle nor stirrup.
They wore only deerskin leggings
and lay almost flat upon the necks Of
their ponies.
"lndians of every age, shape, sex
and color crowed and jammed the
course till lace seemed out of the
question. Bat all at once, q ~~"nt-
ed brave dashed in view crying oa,,
'Yunto! Yunto! Yunto!' And there
was a wild scurrying to either side.
There the throng stood fast, dense,
palpltant, copper-colored mass, while
the dozen lads, yelling and bowling
Ike demons, shot through the clear
lane, on, on, three had passed the
winning post nose and nose.