lankets,
twenty rifles, and ten kegs of powder. In the meantime the prisoners
were to be carried into the country of the Crows, where the goods were
to follow them as soon as obtained; upon the reception of which, the
white men should be set at liberty. Understanding now the intention of
their enemies, and being certain that, once in the strongholds of the
Crows, they would never be allowed to return, the Prince rejected the
offer; wishing, however, to gain time, he made several others, which, of
course, were not agreed upon. When the chief saw that he was not likely
to obtain anything more than that which he had already become master of,
he threw away his mask of hypocrisy, and resuming at once his real
character, began to abuse his victims.

"The Pale-faces," he said, "were base dogs, and too great cowards to
fight against the Crows. They were less than women, concealing
themselves in the lodges of the Shoshones, and lending them their
rifles, so that having now plenty of arms and ammunition, that tribe had
become strong, and feared by all. But now they would kill the
Pale-faces, and they would see what colour was the blood of cowards.
When dead, they could not give any more rifles, or powder, to the
Shoshones, who would then bury themselves like prairie dogs in their
burrows, and never again dare to cross the path of a Crow."

The Prince replied to the chief with scorn. "The Crows," he said, "ought
not to speak so loud, lest they should be heard by the Shoshone braves,
and lies should never be uttered in open air. What were the Crows before
the coming of the white men, on the shores of the Buona Ventura? They
had no country of their own, for one part of it had been taken by the
Black-feet, and the other by the Arrapahoes and the Shoshones. Then the
Crows were like doves hunted by the hawks of the mountains. They would
lie concealed in deep fissures of the earth, and never stir but during
night, so afraid were they of encountering a Shoshone. But the white men
assembled the Shoshones around their settlements, and taught them to
remain at peace with their neighbours. They had been so for four years;
the Crows had had time to build other wigwams. Why did they act like
wolves, biting their benefactors, instead of showing to them their
gratitude?"

The Prince, though an old man, had much mettle in him, especially when
his blood was up. He had become a Shoshone in all except ferocity; he
heartily despised the rascally C