ew that he
had taken no part in the fight, this was considered natural enough, when
his advice to give up the captive had been rejected.

'My brothers,' he began, 'the Great Spirit is very angry. He has hidden
his face from his children. Yesterday he blinded their eyes and made
them foolish; last night he made them as water before the white men. Why
were the ears of the chiefs closed to the words of the Raven? If the
Raven had set out with the little White Bird, the great white chief
would have been glad, and the hatchet would have been buried in peace.
But the chiefs would not hear the words of the Raven. The Stag said,
Kill! and the war chiefs shouted, Kill! and where are they now? Their
wigwams are empty, and their women have none to bring in the deer for
food. The Great Spirit is angry.'

The Raven then took his seat; but, as he anticipated, no one rose to
speak after him. The depression was too general; and the fact that, had
the Raven's advice been followed, the evils would have been avoided, was
too manifest for any one to attempt to utter a word.

After a profound silence of some minutes' duration, the Raven again
rose.

'What will my brothers do? The flying fires will burn down our village,
and there is no retreat. The guns that shoot without loading carry very
far. We are as water before them. We are in the hands of the white
chief, and our bones will feed the crows. What will my brothers do?'

There was still a profound silence, and then he continued: 'The Raven is
a great chief, and he will tell them what to do. The Raven has stood by
the side of the little White Bird, and the great white chief will listen
to his voice. He will say, Let there be peace between us. The men who
would have harmed the little White Bird are dead; there is no more cause
of quarrel. Let us bury the hatchet. Take horses and cattle for your
journey, and forgive us if we have done wrong. If the white men were on
the plains, the Raven would say, Let my young man charge; but they hold
the pass, and the guns that shoot without loading are too strong. Have I
spoken well?'

There was a low murmur of applause. The feeling that the position of the
white men was impregnable was general; and they all felt convinced that
those terrible enemies would devise some unknown scheme which would end
in the total annihilation of the tribe.

The Raven's proposition was therefore unanimously assented to.

The Raven then laid aside his arms, and, a