Antoine Le Rouge Was The
Most Conspicuous Among Them, With His Loose Pantaloons And His
Fluttering Calico Skirt.
A handkerchief was bound round his head to
confine his black snaky hair, and his small eyes twinkled beneath it,
with a mischievous luster.
He had a fine cream-colored horse whose
speed he must needs try along with the rest. So he threw off the
rude high-peaked saddle, and substituting a piece of buffalo robe,
leaped lightly into his seat. The space was cleared, the word was
given, and he and his Indian rival darted out like lightning from
among the crowd, each stretching forward over his horse's neck and
plying his heavy Indian whip with might and main. A moment, and both
were lost in the gloom; but Antoine soon came riding back victorious,
exultingly patting the neck of his quivering and panting horse.
About midnight, as I lay asleep, wrapped in a buffalo robe on the
ground by the side of our cart, Raymond came up and woke me.
Something he said, was going forward which I would like to see.
Looking down into camp I saw, on the farther side of it, a great
number of Indians gathered around a fire, the bright glare of which
made them visible through the thick darkness; while from the midst of
them proceeded a loud, measured chant which would have killed
Paganini outright, broken occasionally by a burst of sharp yells. I
gathered the robe around me, for the night was cold, and walked down
to the spot. The dark throng of Indians was so dense that they
almost intercepted the light of the flame. As I was pushing among
them with but little ceremony, a chief interposed himself, and I was
given to understand that a white man must not approach the scene of
their solemnities too closely. By passing round to the other side,
where there was a little opening in the crowd, I could see clearly
what was going forward, without intruding my unhallowed presence into
the inner circle. The society of the "Strong Hearts" were engaged in
one of their dances. The Strong Hearts are a warlike association,
comprising men of both the Dakota and Cheyenne nations, and entirely
composed, or supposed to be so, of young braves of the highest
mettle. Its fundamental principle is the admirable one of never
retreating from any enterprise once commenced. All these Indian
associations have a tutelary spirit. That of the Strong Hearts is
embodied in the fox, an animal which a white man would hardly have
selected for a similar purpose, though his subtle and cautious
character agrees well enough with an Indian's notions of what is
honorable in warfare. The dancers were circling round and round the
fire, each figure brightly illumined at one moment by the yellow
light, and at the next drawn in blackest shadow as it passed between
the flame and the spectator. They would imitate with the most
ludicrous exactness the motions and the voice of their sly patron the
fox.
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