e until Mr. Chief came
riding by.

When he was not more than thirty yards distant I fired, and the next
moment he tumbled from his saddle, and the horse kept on without his
rider. Instead of running toward the Indians, however, he galloped toward
our men, by one of whom he was caught. Lieutenant Mason, who had been
very conspicuous in the fight and who had killed two or three Indians
himself, single-handed, came galloping up to the ravine and jumping from
his horse, secured the fancy war bonnet from the head of the dead chief,
together with all his other accoutrements. We both then rejoined the
soldiers, and I at once went in search of the horse; I found him in the
possession of Sergeant McGrath, who had caught him. The Sergeant knew
that I had been trying to get the animal and having seen me kill his
rider, he handed him over to me at once.

Little did I think at that time that I had captured a horse which, for
four years afterwards was the fastest runner in the state of Nebraska,
but such proved to be the fact.

[Illustration: THE KILLING OF TALL BULL.]

I jumped on his back and rode him down to the spot where the prisoners
were corraled. One of the squaws among the prisoners suddenly began
crying in a pitiful and hysterical manner at the sight of this horse,
and upon inquiry I found that she was Tall Bull's wife, the same squaw
that had killed one of the white women and wounded the other. She stated
that this was her husband's favorite war-horse, and that only a short
time ago she had seen Tall Bull riding him. I gave her to understand
that her liege lord had passed in his mortal chips and that it would be
sometime before he would ride his favorite horse again, and I informed
her that henceforth I should call the gallant steed "Tall Bull," in
honor of her husband.

Late in the evening our wagon train arrived, and placing the wounded
woman, Mrs. Weichel, in the ambulance--she having been kindly attended to
by the surgeons,--and gathering up the prisoners--the squaws and
papooses--and captured stock, we started at once for the South Platte
River, eight miles distant, and there went into camp.

Next morning General Carr issued an order that all the money found in the
village should be turned over to the adjutant. About one thousand dollars
was thus collected, and the entire amount was given to Mrs. Weichel. The
command then proceeded to Fort Sedgwick, from which point the particulars
of our fight, which took plac