ld of him; so I gave
him up, and seizing my rifle, darted off as hard as I could to meet my
friend.

[Illustration: {Clarke being pursued by the Indians}]

The men also turned out with their guns; and soon afterwards Clarke
rode up, both he and his pony looking much distressed. Clarke was as
white as a sheet, and his pony was completely blown. The Indians
sheered off on seeing us ready with our rifles. So no shot was fired;
for they never came within range.

I then asked Clarke what had happened; and I give you his story of the
affair.

On leaving camp in the morning, he had gone in search of the dead
buffalo of the previous night. He soon found the carcass; and wishing
to bring home the meat, he got off his pony, tied the animal to the
horns of the buffalo,--as you are always taught to do in the Indian
country,--and straightway began to cut off the pieces of meat which he
wished to bring back to camp. Whilst so employed, he thought he saw
another herd of buffalo not far away; so he finished cutting off the
meat, and rode towards the new herd, on murderous thoughts intent.

He stalked the herd for some distance, until he thought himself
tolerably near, when he looked round the corner of a hillock, and then
to his horror found he had been carefully approaching five Indians,
who were congregated round a dead buffalo, their horses close by, and
the men occupied in cutting up the beast.

Before he could turn to flee out of sight the Indians discovered him.
They were Sioux, and at war with the whites. Instantly they jumped on
their horses and gave chase, fired, no doubt, with the noble zeal to
hang a white scalp in a Sioux lodge. Off went Clarke as hard as his
little pony could carry him, the Indians shouting behind, and
brandishing their guns in the air as they became excited by the chase,
whilst he was thinking of the probability that existed of his scalp
returning to camp, or dangling at the saddle-bow of one of these
bloodthirsty savages.

Clarke supposes that he was five or six miles from camp when the chase
began; and he recollected well throwing the cover away from his rifle,
in preparation for a fight should his pony fall, or the Indians catch
him through the superior speed of their animals.

Imagine the horrible feelings of a young fellow galloping away from
five wild redskins, who not only desire to kill him then and there,
but have, further, the sportsman-like anxiety to strip his scalp, and
hang the de