The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1905-11-10
AN INDIANS CUNNING
THE eLAcKFEETs' STORY or THE
GREAT WHITE HORSE.

DnTIu8 DtfmNeBy ~ Whlch IhlA
F1~etest OF All steeds Was Secured
For His own Tribe by the Smartest
Thief Among the Crows.
All IDdlans who use horses are very
fond OF horse racing aud not only race
their own horses against one another
but they race their own az inst those
OF other tribes and used 10 do this even
In the wild era OF tie buffalo aid Of
constant warfare. Even at that time
friendly tribes AMI bands Joined ia the
two grand buTaio hunts OF each year
ana after the hunting was over pit,cl
the fastest horses OF the various bands
one against the other. At one time not
80 very long ago the Biackfeet la i the
very fastest horse that any one knew
Of. the fastest horse OF which am one
could tell or which any one had seen.
He was source OF wealth - the tribe.
for Indians are very fond Of betting
ana this animal always won every.
thing Ill { was bet against him. YOU
can imagine how proud the Blackfect
were Of this creature. You can also
the Crows. the Sioux. the Creeks ana
all the other Indians Of the plains.
Stealing IS considered fair between,
tribes, ana IL &c can be successfully
done those savage people think it very
honorable, even glorious. The Black
feet, therefore. kept the wonderful
race hDrfc in tent ut night. They did
not dare leave him Out with their other
horses. They bought string Of bells
ut the Hudson Bay c0mpnny's nearest
fort, put the bells around the horses
neck, tied him 70 n t"Dcc pole inside n
h'g tepcr and set four men to sleep IN
the tent with him. This was the rule
every night, and on no night dill the
Ron forget 10 close the door Of the
tcpce ana "clnCh" 1t tight with thongs
II buckskin. Whoever could steal that
Zig white beauty Of horse had to be
very C!e"cr thief, they thought; but In
truth, they never dreamed that he
could be stolen.
The snartest thief among the Grow
Indians told his chief and the head
men that he was going to try to get
that horse away from the BlaCkfeet.
one evening he craw,ed through the
asa TO the tall bluff along the Bow
river north OF our Idaho, think. was
the lOca.ty), where the Blackfeet had
their camp. He saw the noble horse
led into certain tent, and he saw the
four watchers go In and close the door.
Night fell, an he crept down the
slnntlng blum into the camp. The only
thing he hal II fear was the barking
Of some dog. II dog saw or heard
him and barkcl that would set all the
other dogs barking, and he would be
obliged to run for his life. Stealthily,
as only nm Indian can move on his soft
~ moccasncd f'et, tbs arch thief Of
the thlevlng Grow Nation crept into the
Blackfcot camp. lie bad to step over
several sleeping dogs, and he did not
awaken one lie came to the tent Of
the white horse. lie looked 1t all over
lie went TO another tcpec and took
travels from It's side and carried 1t and
set It up against the horses tent.
a travels Is the wheel-leSs wagon the
Indians use In the summer 1t Is made
of two long poles with the upper ends
near together: the lower ends spread
apart and drag upon the ground. You
see by this description that II travels
Is stood on end II can be made to serve
ns sort OF ladder. Thus the arch thief
Of the Crows used the one he put up
against the horse tent. On 1t he climb
cd to the top OF tepec, and from