Omaha daily bee., 1905-07-31
STORY OF INDIAN CUNNING
How n clever Crow stole n Famous
Race Horse from the
BIa cI feet

All Indians who use horses are very fond
Of horse racing, and not only race their
own horses against one another. but they
race their own against those of other tribes
and used to do this even In the wild era
Of the buffalo and of constant warfare.
Even at that time friendly tribes and bands
Joined In the two grand buffalo hunts of
each year. and. after the hunting was over,
pitted the fastest horses OF the -rrious
bands one against the other. At c"e time
not so very long ago. the Blackfee md the
very fastest horse than any one knew OF;
the fastest horse OF which any one could
tell or which any one had seen. He was
source OF wealth to the tribe for Indians
are very fond OF betting and this animal al
ways won everything that was bet against
him You can imagine how proud the
Blackfeet were OF this creature. You can
also imagine how envlous were the Stoneys.
the Crows, the Sioux. the Crees and all the
other Indians of the plains.
Stealing is considered fair between tribes,
and II II can be successfully done those
savage people think It very honorable, even
| glorious. The Blackfeet, therefore, kept
the wonderful racehorse In a tent at night.
They did not dare leave him out with their
other horses. They bought a string Of bells
at the Hudson Bay company's nearest fort,
<hIm to a tepee pole inside a big tepee and
set four men to sleep In the tent with him.
This was the rule every night, and on no
| night did the men forget to close the door
| of the tepee and "cinch" II tight with
thongs OF buckskin. Whoever could steal
| that big white beauty of a horse had to be
very clever thief, they thought; but, In
truth, they never dreamed that he could be
| stolen.
The snartest thief among the Grow In
| dians told his chief and the head men that
he was going to try to get that horse
away from the Blackfeet. One evening he
crawled through the grass to the tall blum
along the Bow river (north OF our Idaho, I
think was the locality, where the Black
feet had their camp. He saw the noble
horse led into a certain tent and he saw
the four watchers go In and close the door.
Night fell and he crept down the slanting
blum into the camp. The only thing he had
to fear was the barking OF some dog. II a
dog saw or heard him and barked that
would set all the other dogs barking and he
would be obliged to run for his life.
SteRlthily. as only an Indian cnn move on
his softly moccasned feet, this arch-thiei
OF the thieving Crow nation crept into the
BlaelSfoot camp. He had to step over sew
oral sleeping dogs, and he did not awaken
one. He came to the tent OF the white
horse. He looked It all over He went &c
another tepee and took a travels from its
side and carried 1t and set It up against the
horses tent.
A travels is the wheelless wagon the In.
dams use in the summer. It is made OF
two long poles with the upper ends neal
together: the lower ends spread apart and
drag upon the ground. You see by this
description that II a travois is stood or
end It can be made to serve as a sort OF
ladder. Thus the arch-thef OF the Crows
used the one he put up against the horse
tent. On II he climbed TO the top of tht
tepee. and from there he got view of tbs
interior, looking down between the ten
} poles that form the sides OF the chimney
> hole He saw the horse dimly. and ever
, more dimly he saw the four men besid,
! the horse, all asleep. He climbed upon tn,
, tent poles; he poised his body very nicel,
in the chimney opening; he dropped fairl!
and squarely upon the white horses back
] The instant he felt himself on the bacl
4 of the beast his knife. which was in hi
s hand. swept through the cord that tethere,
the horse. His heels shot IN against tn
horses sides. the bells rang out sharp ant
= | clear, and the horse snorted with surprise
q But the pressure Of the thiefs heels urge,
q the animal forward. and he took on
0 step the man reached out and slit a gasl
' straight up and down through the fastene,
: door which was only buckskin. The fou
5 Indians leaped to their feet. but the hors
3 and his captor were now out In the ope
! ground and like the wind shot away fror
. the camp. The watchers ran and yelled
: the dogs barked. the whole tribe rushe
a out OF the tents and every man sprang I
= horse! But what was the use? There wa
A no borse that could catch the animal, an
) so they all turned sadly home again afte
a a mad ride of mile or two. The THE
! rode In triumph home to the tents of tn
:, Crows, and from that day his tribe owne
the great white horse. and his fame an
their riches increased.-Julian Ralph in Az
= gust 81. Nicholas.