The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-15

 warned over and over again, would get a bullet through me. We rode about thirty miles in northwesterly direction and then reached the head village on the banks of White Clay creek. A war party of one hundred and forty men, under Gray Wolf was out, but the warriors, old men, squaws and boys at home, numbered fully five hundred. As we rode into camp there was great excitement and looked for personal abuse, but I was safely con- ducted through the crowd and confined in lodge in the center of the village. It was three days before the band came in, and during this interval l had nothing to complain of in the way of food or treatment. After Gray Wolf had feasted and smoked I was con- ducted to his lodge and left alone with him. As I had seen him in the guard | house he was ragged, unkempt and suffering. Here he was king of tribe and he looked it in word and action. saw his eyes light up in a revengeful way as I stood before him and 1t was | two long minutes before he said: "They should have captured all your men as well. We can burn six or eight at the stake as well as one."
 | had been wondering what sort of | attitude to assume toward him. That | he should remember to my credit what passed in the guardhouse I did not for | moment believe. To beg my life would only be to win his contempt and spin out the torture. In an even voice, therefore, I replied:
 Gray Wolf was only a subchief when saw him last. He Is now chief of all and I am glad to know it. Black Eagle was chief, but not brave man. He tortured soldiers at the stake instead of shooting them"
 T was dog under their feet at the fort" he said as his face grew hard | and wicked.
 | And yet you escaped."'
 Here was an Indian who had been born to hate pale-face. Every. day of his life he had been told they were his foes-that he must have no feeling of mercy for old or young-that he | could invent no torture too cruel for those who had overrun his territory and brought death and wounds to his | friends and relatives. At that moment he was waging war of extermination, and outside his tent the young warri- ors were shaking fresh scalps in the | air and boasting of their prowess. On | the other hand, I had aided him to es- cape from degrading imprisonment | and to become what he was. He owed me debt of hatred and one of grati- tude. As warrior he would have paid the first with rejoicing. As a chief he felt the obligation of the last. The mental struggle lasted fully ten minutes and there were times when the weight of hair would have turned the scales against me. At length he said:
 Yes, I escaped, and it was owing to you. I heard that they wanted to inn prison you in my place. Gray Wolf has never yet spared a pale-face, and his heart Is full of hate and revenge. I do not know what I shall do. will take the night to think 1t over"
 As soon as was taken back to the lodge where I had been confined there was great excitement in camp. The word went around that Gray Wolf wanted to spare me. Every warrior raised his voice in opposition, and the talk which was entered upon lasted till midnight. I figured it out that the chief would give me some sort of show in the morning and then fell into a troubled sleep and did not awaken un- til he sent for me at sunrise. A glance at him seemed to show that he was in better temper.
 | T wanted to send you back to the fort" he began, "but my young men talked me down. You shall not die of torture, however. You are to be bound to a wild, fast pony, given 6 good start, and if come up with you they will kill you"
 I thanked him for his mercy" and was hustled out to find five or six war riors holding an unbroken pony by ropes. It may have been an animal lately captured from wild herd, but I am sure no one had ever been on his | back. It took two warriors ten min- utes to seat me and tie my legs under his belly. and he was then led straight out on the bush covered plain, yelled at until almost frightened to death, then suddenly let loose.
 As he bounded away I heard the yells of mounted warriors behind, with cheers from the squaws and boys, and the race had begun. I was an old rider and had seen some pretty hard mounts in my day, but that pony capped the climax. Even while run ming at top speed he tried every trick to shake me loose, and, but for being tied, I could not have kept my place five minutes. What feared was that he would make a circle and return but he had been so frightened that he was glad to cut loose from camp, and noth- ing on legs could have overhauled him. The Indians hung to us for couple of miles, probably hoping to see the anil nal turn or stop, but after that I heard no more of them. The first ten miles was down long and narrow valley; the next five was across broken ground leading up to the foothills. It was only after we got among the rough hills that the pony slackened up, and by reaching forward and cuf- fing his head with my hand I guided him fairly well. A little more than two hours after being turned loose I struck the trail leading to the fort, and it is a matter of military record that the orderly sergeant of company e rode into that post on wild cayuse of a certain August morning, and that it took most of the men of his company !. to hold the animal and cast the fugi-