t me in the leg, passing clear through it and
then through my horse, killing him. Quickly falling behind him I used
his dead body for a breast work and stood the Indians off for a long
time, as my aim was so deadly and they had lost so many that they were
careful to keep out of range.

But finally my ammunition gave out, and the Indians were quick to find
this out, and they at once closed in on me, but I was by no means
subdued, wounded as I was and almost out of my head, and I fought with
my empty gun until finally overpowered. When I came to my senses I was
in the Indians' camp.

My wounds had been dressed with some kind of herbs, the wound in my
breast just over the heart was covered thickly with herbs and bound up.
My nose had been nearly cut off, also one of my fingers had been nearly
cut off. These wounds I received when I was fighting my captors with my
empty gun. What caused them to spare my life I cannot tell, but it was I
think partly because I had proved, myself a brave man, and all savages
admire a brave man and when they captured a man whose fighting powers
were out of the ordinary they generally kept him if possible as he was
needed in the tribe.

Then again Yellow Dog's tribe was composed largely of half breeds, and
there was a large percentage of colored blood in the tribe, and as I was
a colored man they wanted to keep me, as they thought I was too good a
man to die. Be that as it may, they dressed my wounds and gave me plenty
to eat, but the only grub they had was buffalo meat which they cooked
over a fire of buffalo chips, but of this I had all I wanted to eat. For
the first two days after my capture they kept me tied hand and foot. At
the end of that time they untied my feet, but kept my hands tied for a
couple of days longer, when I was given my freedom, but was always
closely watched by members of the tribe. Three days after my capture my
ears were pierced and I was adopted into the tribe. The operation of
piercing my ears was quite painful, in the method used, as they had a
small bone secured from a deer's leg, a small thin bone, rounded at the
end and as sharp as a needle. This they used to make the holes, then
strings made from the tendons of a deer were inserted in place of
thread, of which the Indians had none. Then horn ear rings were placed
in my ears and the same kind of salve made from herbs which they placed
on my wounds was placed on my ears and they soon healed.

[Illustration: I am