enough, there was a band of Indians quite distinctly discernible. My
uncle looked at them for a moment quite intently and in silence. Then he
said:

"Boys! there is a band of Indians on the war-path. I wish you to obey my
instructions exactly. Do not stop your riding animals or the team. Keep
straight ahead, unless I tell you to halt. Do not fire a shot unless I
fire first. Then take deliberate aim and kill as many as you can before
you go under."

"Go under!" this was the almost invariable phrase, in the language of the
mountains, for death. I well remember my thoughts as we neared them. It
was indeed a formidable looking band of Aripaho Indians, hideously
painted, and looking more like demons than men, armed for a fight. They
were all mounted, and each warrior carried in his hand a long spear and a
strong shield, impervious to arrows, made of rawhide. Their bows and
arrows were slung to their backs. To my inexperienced eye they seemed
incarnate fiends. We had met several small bands of Indians before, but no
war party like this.

When we had approached within a few hundred yards of each other, my uncle
said:

"Boys! do not forget what I have told you."

Then pressing his large Mexican spurs into the sides of his horse, he
darts away towards them upon the full gallop, at the same time shouting
something in the Indian language which I did not understand. Their ranks
opened and he rode into the centre and instantly dismounted. There was the
chief on a splendid charger. He also alighted, and for a moment both were
concealed from our view, buried as it were, within the ranks of the plumed
warriors. They were, as we afterwards ascertained, fraternally embracing
each other. Both remounted their horses, the ranks opened again and they
two, my uncle and the chief, rode out upon the full run towards us as our
little cavalcade were steadily pressing forward on the trail.

When they reached us, the chief held out his hand to me, and said in
broken English, "How do, brother?" I shook hands with him, returning the
salutation of "How do." My uncle then turning to me said, "Have you plenty
of tobacco with you?" "O yes," I replied rather tremblingly, for I was ill
at ease. "You can have it all if you want it." "I don't want it all,"
uncle replied. "Give me one plug." I gave it to him and he handed it to
the chief.

The war party was directly on the trail. Four hundred mounted warriors
occupy much space, composing a formidable