aters were up to my mother's neck, and my
feet were beginning to feel the grip of the treacherous sand.

"All at once I saw the horse coming down to the water to drink. Around
his neck was tied the long Indian lariat made of braided deerskin, and
therefore very strong. As I saw the horse, hope sprang up in my heart,
and I began to feel that we were going to be saved. The water was now
close up to my mother's lips, but we both called to the horse, which had
been in our camp for years. He raised up his head and seemed startled
at first, and then he plunged into the river. It did not take him long
to get through the deep water, and then as his feet began to touch the
quicksands he seemed at once to know that it was not right, so he kept
lifting up his feet one after the other very rapidly. Still on he came,
until he was so close that I was able to seize hold of the lariat.

"Then spake my mother: `My son, you will escape. Tie the lariat quickly
around your waist, and the horse will be able to drag you out. Here I
must die. The spirits of my ancestors call me away to the happy hunting
grounds, and I must obey. Remember your mother tried hard to save you,
and only failed with her life. Tell my people how I perished, and give
my message to the avengers of blood, and tell them not to be angry
toward you. Farewell. Remember you are the grandson of a chief.'

"At first I wanted to die with my mother. It seemed dreadful to leave
her alone, but she would not hear of it. As the waters were coming into
her mouth she cried, `Obey me, my son; obey me, and do it quickly, for
the horse is impatient and knows the place is dangerous.'

"So I called sharply to the horse, and he sprang forward, and with a
great wrench jerked me from my mother's shoulders out of the quicksands,
and dashed through the water with me to the shore.

"As soon as I could loose myself from the lariat I turned round to look,
and there I saw my mother's head just sinking out of sight. I was wild
with terror and sorrow, and bitterly chided myself for not having died
with her. But I had the consolation that she herself had insisted on my
escaping when the strange chance offered itself.

"What was I to do now? My father and other friends were far away; my
mother had perished; and here I was an almost helpless cripple on the
great prairies, and night was rapidly approaching.

"Fortunately my horse stuck to me, and I saw that I must keep him close