Jack the Young Explorer

. He rose and walked toward the wagon and then turned and said, "I'm just going over with the woman to Red Eagle's camp; the baby's been sick and she wants

he hasn't. What do you sa

be mighty glad to go. We won't be

ce, "not a bit

dge, it was surrounded by a pack of dogs which, with furious barkings and snappings, threatened the visitors, but when no attention was paid to them they quieted down at once, and stood about with welcoming waggings of their tails. Mrs. Bruce climbed out of the wagon and carrying her baby, some food and tobacco and a la

," said Hugh, "and see where t

he valley. Here the ground was strewn with weathered bones of which the soil itself seemed

ffalo up on the prairie near here, so that they could lead them over the cliff. You see that pile of horns over there?" and he pointe

ent, for it was something the

cliff, and fix things so that they would be running fast when they got to the edge of the cliff. The leaders might perhaps try to stop, but they could not stop because those behind pushed them along and shoved them over. Those that were behind could not see what was in front of the leaders and kept running until they got to the edge of the cliff and then they went over. The fall killed some of the buffalo and crippled others. Besides that, there was a big pen built about the place where the buffalo fell down; a fence made of stones and logs and brush,

lo over the cut bank and catching them in pens, but I never

d you don't need anybody to tell you so, because you can l

that's so; the plac

comes down from the cliff. Old Black Coming In Sight Over The Hill, who lives right above here, has found lots of arrow points. A couple of years ago he showed me a double handful that he had picked up, and also a bone flesher made from the cannon bone of

ome from one of these places. It surely seems as if it would make the who

round and see if we can't get hold of som

ing consisted of several strings of beads, a buckskin string about his neck, to which was attached a stone charm, and a very short shirt which came down to his lower ribs. He had been playing in the stream or in some half-dried puddle, and the lower part of his person was covered by a thick coating of mud. The little fellow marched up to Jack in a confident way, shook hands with him in a matter-of-fact fashion and clambered up on his knee, and after lo

sonage, sat at the back of the lodge with the fire between himself and the door. At his left was an unoccupied space, to which the three newcomers were motioned. To the left of the door

indly and benignant in expression, was framed in long gray hair which hung down o

drew out a small pouch, which he passed to the Bear Woman. She slowly untied it and took from it a pinch of the dried needles of the sweet pine, which she held over the coal. Then the Bear Man sang four times, and as the music rose and fell the Bear Woman's hand rose and fell over the coal. At the end of the fourth song Red Eagle stretched out his hand and made a downward gesture, and the Bear Woman let fall the incense on the coal, and immediately the fragrant perfume of the burning pine needles filled the lodge. The singing continued a little longer and then stopped. Then both Red Eagle and his assistant stretched out

bad beasts or dangers that are on the trail. Let his wife and his boy, this child with the shining hair, live to be very old and let them have plenty of everything. Let White Bull live, keep him when he is traveling, protect him from all dangers, from perils from animals, an

the pipe: "Oh, tell them to have pity on us. Let the young people grow, increase their flesh. Let all m

gave a long-drawn ah-h-h-h, meaning

would not let Him go. He implored, he urged, he insisted, and would not be denied, and as Jack saw the great beads of sweat stand out on the old man's brow his memory went back to one of hi

the coal, and again the priest and priestess purified themselves by passing the smoke over their arms, heads, and bodies. Then they seemed again to take handfuls of it and to hold the smoke under the large package tied to

e as it walks. Then, at a change in the air, the fingers were all bent, but the hand not closed, and the up-and-down motions became deliberate and heavy, representing the slow tread of a walking bear. At another change the old man raised his hands, partly closed, the forefinger extended, pointing upward and slightly bent inward, to the side of his head, and moving his face this way

d them up and down, making the sign for walking, which represented going to war, and the sign for danger or watchfulness, the forefinger

drew from it a long bundle, wrapped in cloths of various colors. One by one he took off these cloths, until, after many had been removed, the medicine pipe was revealed. It was a handsome pipe stem about four feet long, wrapped for a part of its length with large showy beads and profusely ornamented with ermine skins and tails

the music. When he had finished he again prayed, and said, "O Sun, O Moon and Stars, pity us, pity us. Look down." Then followed again the substance of the first prayer, and he ended with the petition for men who were now away on the warpath, saying, "Little Plume, let him survive. Tearing Lodge and Double Rider, let them survive and return, bringing the heads." Then turning, he passed the pipe to Hugh, who held it before his face and bent his head. Then it went to Jack, who imitated Hugh. Then Bruce took it and made a prayer, and from him it passed to an old blind warrior, who pray

, pity us." Then, putting the stem on the robe between himself and his wife, he rose, began a new song and began to dance, first to the east, and then turning about toward the west. The people sitting in the lodge accompanied him in a melodious but plaintive mino

y felt like doing so of Bruce, especially in the presence of his wife, whose faith in the religion of which the old man was the pr

ty to speak to Hugh, and to ask him some qu

er before had had anything make me feel as solemn as that prayer did, and that's just the way I felt to-day when Red Eagle was praying. It seems to me that when these Indians pray, they pray as if they meant what they were saying. They seem to be in earnest about it. Now, when I hear a white man praying,-that is, mo

arned by heart and just saying it because they have to; they mean all that they say and they are really asking favors. People say that they're nothing but

ceremonies, like the medicine lodge and like opening the beaver bundle, but I

o good. They're changing all the time, and before you are many years older you won't be able to see any of these old-time ways. There are three or four railroads now running across through the country that used to belong all to the Indians,

t they've got to change! Why can't they be lef

wing up settlements of people that will soon be towns. The white people are coming in crowds, and as soon as they've taken all the best locations along the railroad they'll begin to spread out and take up other locations, and I believe that I'll live long enough to see this Montana Territory full of people. It'll be here just as I've seen it happen in the South. First the cattle will come into the country, lots of them, and for a while it will be all cows and cowboys; and then, little by little, the ranchers will come in,

time, coming out, I could see the little towns starting all along the Northern Pacific, back in Minnesota and west of there, but it does seem awfully rough that these Indians should al

the Indians used to take awful good care of their ponies, and if they could be taught to take good care of cows, they could make a good living just as long as they've got the range that most any reservati

uce what he thought of the probability

ge Indian hasn't much feeling of responsibility, and instead of spending the day on his horse looking after the cattle, he's likely to get off and lie down in the sun and sleep for half a day and let the stock get away from him. They haven't yet got any idea of the importance of staying with a job. They'll work hard until they get tired of it, and then they'l

en about all we need to around here, haven't we? What do yo

dy, and I don't see why we

and pack up our stuff and start. I reckon we can have a good time up at the lakes hunting around there. You see, nobody's eve

would," s

to-morrow, and maybe we'll start the next day.