hirty-two buffaloes.

As they were cutting up the animals, another herd appeared. The Pawnees
were getting ready to surround it, when I asked Major North to keep
them back to let me show them what I could do. He did as I requested. I
knew Buckskin Joe was a good buffalo horse, and, feeling confident that
I would astonish the Indians, I galloped in among the herd. I did
astonish them. In less than a half-mile run I dropped thirty-six,
killing a buffalo at nearly every shot. The dead animals were strung
out over the prairie less than fifty feet apart. This manner of killing
greatly pleased the Indians. They called me "Big Chief," and thereafter
I had a high place in their esteem.

We soon left the camp and took a westward course up the Republican
River. Major North, with two companies of his Pawnees, and Colonel
Royal, with two or three companies of cavalry, made a scout north of
the river.

After making camp on the Blacktail Deer Fork we observed a band of
Indians coming over the prairie at full gallop, singing and yelling and
waving their lances and long poles. We first supposed them to be the
hostile Sioux, and for a few moments all was excitement. But the
Pawnees, to our surprise, made no effort to go out to attack them.
Presently they began singing themselves. Major North walked over to
General Carr and said:

"General, those are our men. They had had a fight. That is the way they
act when they come back from battle with captured scalps."

The Pawnees came into camp on the run. We soon learned that they had
run across a party of Sioux who were following a big Indian trail. The
Sioux had evidently been in a fight. Two or three had been wounded, and
were being carried by the others. The Pawnees "jumped" them, and killed
three or four of their number.

Next morning our command came up to the Indian trail where the Sioux
had been found. We followed it for several days. From the number of
campfires we passed we could see that we were gaining on the Sioux.

Wherever they had camped we found the print of a woman's shoe. This
made us all the more eager to overtake them, for it was plain that they
had a white woman as their captive.

All the best horses were selected by the general, and orders were given
for a forced march. The wagon-train was to follow as rapidly as
possible, while the command pushed on ahead.

I was ordered to pick out five or six of the best Pawnees and proceed
in advance of the command, keeping