dians, to be under the command of their
old interpreter, Major North, who I knew to be a brave, level-headed
leader. This authority was immediately given me, and Major North was given
confidential instructions to proceed to the Sioux country, apparently on
scout duty, but to watch his opportunity and rescue these prisoners, while
their braves were down fighting us. He started, but storms of snow came
down so heavy that his ponies could get nothing to eat, and during the
latter part of February and all of March these storms were continuous, the
snow falling to the depth of two feet over the entire plains. Major North
was compelled to seek shelter in the river bottoms, and browsed his stock
on cottonwood limbs to save them. In the campaign of the summer and winter
of 1865 and 1866 Major North, with his two enlisted companies, to which I
added two more, made some wonderful marches, scouts, battles, and
captures, and during that campaign we recaptured and had surrendered to us
many of these women and children prisoners.

After the war Major North became manager of the Indians in Buffalo Bill's
Wild West Show, and died in that service. He was a noted man on the
plains. My acquaintance with him commenced in 1856, and together we had
seen and endured many hardships. It was seldom one met his equal in any of
the different phases of plains life. Although he had led an eventful
career, still I never heard him refer to what he had done or accomplished,
or the part he had taken in battles, and probably no man was ever more
worshiped than he was by the two tribes of Pawnee Indians; and his death
was virtually their destruction, for during his life among them he held
them under good discipline and kept them away from vice, diseases, and
war.

A great many amusing reports came to me from my scouts and the captured
Indians. When on the plains in the 50's I was known among the Indians by
the name, in their language, that signified "Long Eye," "Sharp Eye," and
"Hawk Eye." This came from the fact that when I first went among them it
was as an engineer making surveys through their country. With my
engineering instruments I could set a head-flag two or three miles away,
even further than an Indian could see, and it is their custom to give a
practical name to everything. Of course I was not many days on the plains
until it reached the Indians that "Long Eye" was there, and in every fight
that occurred they had me present. They said I could s