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. Then a startling yell would be given. Many other warriors
would leap into the ring, and with faces upturned toward the starless
sky, they would all stamp, and whoop, and brandish their weapons like
so many frantic devils.
Until the next afternoon we were still remaining with Bisonette. My
companion and I with our three attendants then left his camp for the
Pueblo, a distance of three hundred miles, and we supposed the
journey would occupy about a fortnight. During this time we all
earnestly hoped that we might not meet a single human being, for
should we encounter any, they would in all probability be enemies,
ferocious robbers and murderers, in whose eyes our rifles would be
our only passports.
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