been very strong. An eagle had promised
a great victory. Now he said that during the fight he would stay in
the village and make more medicine. So Chief Gall it was who commanded.

But Sitting Bull did not stay in the village. When the bullets of the
soldiers pelted into the lodges he lost faith in his own prophecy.
Taking his two wives and whatever else he might gather, he bolted for a
safer place. He missed one of his twin boys, but he did not stop to
look for him.

He was ten miles out, when he received news of the victory. And a
terrible victory that had been: of the five companies of General
Custer, the Long Hair, only one man had escaped--although the Sioux did
not know of that escape. He was Curly, a Crow scout. At any rate, the
Long Hair's warriors, to the number of two hundred and twelve, had been
killed in an hour.

The other soldiers were penned up, and could be killed, too.

So Sitting Bull rode back again, with his family. He said that he had
not intended to run away. He had been out in the hills, making his
medicine; and the bodies of the soldiers would prove it.

That certainly seemed true. The Indians had lost only twenty, and had
killed more than two hundred.

Sitting Bull was greater than ever. Never before had such a victory
been won at such little cost. This night the village danced and sang,
and Sitting Bull kept by himself, and accepted the presents given to
him.

Chief Gall had thought to starve out the soldiers who were penned up,
and were being watched by warriors. These were the two other columns,
of the Seventh Cavalry. But the next day, General Terry and Colonel
Gibbon approached, in order (they had planned) to meet the Custer
detachment. When Chief Gall heard that the "walking soldiers" were
nearing, he decided that there had been fighting enough.

So he ordered the village to be broken, and the warriors to come in;
they all left before dark, depending upon the medicine of Sitting Bull
to lead them to new hunting grounds.

Soon Crazy Horse took his band and branched off for himself. He was a
nephew of Chief Spotted Tail, but fierce against the whites. The rest
followed Chief Sitting Bull and Chief Gall.

For a while they saw no more soldiers. Now and then other Indians from
the reservation joined them, bringing supplies; and now and then
parties left, to scout by themselves. Sitting Bull and Gall and all
knew this country very well; it was Sioux country. They