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kots wore thus embellished and so made
to puss current as real certificates of a
choice brand of character for their
wearers. Each horse depicted on the
robe was notice that the owner and
wearer had stolen such horse. Finally ,
after expressions of friendship and good
will the expedition in charge of "The
Fox" bade us adieu and briskly walked
southward on ( heir mission for getting
horses away from their traditional ene
mies.
AUTUMNAL CO1.OKS.
It is perhaps worth while to mention
that , it being in the autumn of the year ,
all these Indians were carefully and
deftly arrayed in autumn-colored cos
tumes. Their blankets , head-gear and
everything else were the color of dead
and dried prairie grass. This disguise
was for the purpose of making them
selves as nearly indistinguishable as pos
sible on the brown surface of the far-
stretching plains. For then the weeds
and grasses had all been bleached by the
fall frosts. We were given an exhibi
tion of the nearly perfect invisibleness
of "The Fox" by his taking a pos
ition near a badger hole around which
a lot of tall weeds had grown upon the
prairie , and really the almost exact sim
ilitude of coloring which he had cun
ningly reproduced in his raiment made
him even at a short distance indistin
guishable among the faded weeds and
grasses by which he was surrounded.
HOMEWAHl ) 15OUNI ) .
In duo time we reached Fort Kearney
and after a pleasant and most agreeable
visit with Mr. Heth and his family ,
Colonel Alexander and Lieutenant
Bush , I pushed alone for the Missouri
river , by the North Platte route , bring
ing homo with me two or three turkeys
and a quarter of buffalo meat.
About the second evening , as I re
member it , I arrived at the agency of
the four bauds of the Pawnees on the
Loup fork of the Platte river , near
where the village of Genoa in Nance
county now stands. Judge Gillis of
Pennsylvania was the U. S. government
agent then in charge of that tribe , and
Mr. Allis was his interpreter. There I
experienced the satisfaction of going
leisurely and observingly through the
villages of the four bands of Pawnees
which there made their habitation. The
names of the four confederate bands
of Pawnee Indians wore Grand Pawnees ,
Pawnee Loups , Pawnee Republicans
and Pawnee Pappahs. At that time they
all together numbered between foui
thousand and live thousand.
A I'AWNEE UAVE.
Distinguished among them for fear
lessness and impetuous courage am
constant success in war was an. Indian ,
who had been born with his left hanc
so shrunken and shriveled that it looked
like the contracted claw of a bird. Ho
was celebrated among all the tribes of
the plains as "Crooked Hand , the
Fighter. " Hearing mo express a
'or making the acquaintance of this
amous warrior and scalp accumulator
ludgo Gillis and Mr. Allis kindly volun-
eered to escort me to his domicile and
brmally introduce me. Wo took the
rail which lay across Beaver Creek up
nto the village. This village was com-
losed of very large , earthen , mound-like
vigwams. From a distance they looked
ike a number of great kettles turned
vrong side up on the prairie. Finally
ve came to the entrance of the abode of
Crooked Hand. He was at home. I
vas presented to him by the interpreter ,
Sir. Allis. Through him , addressing
ho tawny hero who stood before mo , I
said :
"It has come to my ears that you are
ind always have been a very bravo man
n battle. Therefore I have made a long
ourney to see you and to shako the
land of a great warrior. "
This seemed to suit his bellicose
eminence and to appeal to his barbaric
vanity. Consequently I continued , say-
ng : "I hear that you have skillfully
filled a great many Sioux and that you
lave kept the scalp of each warrior slain
by you. If this bo true , I wish you
would show me these trophies of your
ourago and victories ? "
Immediately Crooked Hand reached
under a sort of rude settee and pulled out
i very cheap traveling trunk , which was
.ocked. Then taking a string from around
lis neck ho found the key thereunto
ittached , inserted it in the lock , turned
it , and with gloating satisfaction threw
back the lid of the trunk. It is fair testate
state , that notwithstanding Mr. Crooked
Eland's personal adornments in the way
of paint , ear-rings and battle mementoes ,
he was evidently not a man of much
personal property , for the trunk con
tained not one other portable thing ex
cept a string of thirteen scalps. This ho
Lifted out with his right hand and held
up before me as a connoisseur would
exhibit a beautiful cameo with intense
satisfaction and self-praise expressed in
his features.
SAVAGE TROPHIES.
The scalps were not large , averaging
not much more in circumference than a
silver dollar ( before the crime of 1873) ) .
Each scalp was big enough to firmly and
gracefully retain the scalplook which it
original possessor had nourished.
Each scalp was neatly lined with flam
ing red flannel and encircled by am :
stitched to a willow twig just as boys so
stretch and preserve squirrel skins
Then there was a strong twine whicl
ran through the center of each of the
thirteen scalps leaving a space of some'
thing like three or four inches betweei
each two.
After looking at these ghastly certifi
cates of prowess in Indian warfare
said to their possessor : "Do you stil
like to go into fights with the Sioux V
Ho replied hesitatingly :
"Yes , I go into the fights with the
Sioux but I stay only until I can kill one
nan , get his scalp and get out of the
battle. "
Then I asked : "Why do you do this
vay now , and so act differently from
ho lighting plans of your earlier years
vhon you remained to the end of the
onfliet. " Instantly ho replied and
; ave me this aboriginal explanation :
THE nOCTUINE OF CHANCE.
"You see , my friend , /have only one
ifo. To me death must come only
ce. But I have taken thirteen lives.
Vnd now when I go into battle there
ire thirteen chances of my being killed
o one of my coming out of the fight
ilive. "
This aboriginal application of the
loctrinc of chance is equally as'reason
able as some of the propositions relating
chances found in " ' "
o "Hedges' Logic ,
which I studied in the regular college
onrse. There is more excuse for a
savage faith in chance than can be made
'or the superstitious belief in it which is
lold by some oivili/ed people.
AN EAKUIMl EXPEDITION.
My last buffalo hunt was finished and
ts trophies and its choicest memories
safely stored for exhibition or romi-
liscenco at Arbor Lodge. More than
thirty-seven years afterwards I am
permitted this evening by your in-
lulgenco and consideration to at
tempt faintly to portray the country
and its primitive condition at that time
.u that particular section of Nebraska
which is now Franklin county.
But in concluding this discursive and
lesultory narrative I cannot refrain from
referring to and briefly descanting on
mother and an earlier and a larger ex
pedition into the valley of the Republi-
iaii which set out from Mexico in the
year 1540 under the comm n of Cor- (
onado.
COKONAUO.
That explorer was undoubtedly the
first white man to visit Nebraska. In
his report to the Spanish government is
a description of buffalo which for
graphic minuteness and correctness has
never been excelled. Thus it pictures
them as they appeared to him and his
followers more than three hundred and
fifty years ago :
"These oxen are of the bigness
and color of our bulls , but their
horns are not so great. They have a
great bunch upon their foreshoulders ,
and more hair upon their fore-part than
on their hinder-part ; and it is like wool.
They have , as it were , a horse mane
upon their back bone , and much hair ,
and very long from the knees down
ward. They have great tufts of hair
hanging down their foreheads , and it
seemeth they have beards , because of
the great store of hair hanging down at
their chins and throats. The males have
very long tails , and a great knob or flock
at the end , so that in some respects they
resemble the lion , and hi some other the
camel. They push with their horns ,
they run , they overtake and kill a horse
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