till in a sling, he was unable to join in the busy
preparations that the rest entered into with such a keen relish. This
worried him; but not half as much as did the assiduous, delicate
attention which the chief bestowed on Jane. Had the chief been hunting
and procured game, it was laid at her feet; did he secure a bird of
rare plumage, its plumes fantastically arranged, were modestly
presented to her; and furs of rare softness and beauty in profusion
adorned her apartment, at the request of the chief. Unwilling to
offend, and as he had never spoken on the subject to her, she could do
nothing but accept them with the best grace she could. She saw how it
irritated Sidney, though she thought little of it after the moment,
supposing his illness caused the irritation as much as the singular
mode of winning favor pursued by the chief.

No buffalo had yet been seen in the valley, and the chief had more than
once expressed his belief they could be found by following the open
country down the valley a few miles. Making himself a strong lasso, and
with hunting-knife, bow and arrows, and tomahawk, he set out one day,
more for the sport than anything else. After proceeding about seven
miles over a broad, heavily wooded valley without any signs of the
desired game he began to think he was too far in the mountains from a
prairie for them, and was about to retrace his steps when a rustling at
a little distance attracted his attention. Going thither, as he
approached, a wolf darted up from the spot, and with a few leaps was
out of sight. The chief soon saw he had been feeding on a wild horse
that had died of old age and looked as though it had lain there some
days. However the sight seemed to excite him, and after marking the
trees to designate his course, he closely scanned the tracks around and
then started farther down the valley at a rapid pace.

After travelling some ten miles farther, he had the satisfaction to
come up with the drove. They were not feeding, but some were laying
down, others standing leisurely around, evidently unaware of the
proximity of the chief, who divesting himself of all his weapons but
the lasso, with exceeding caution crawled along the ground without
rustling the leaves or branches until within throw of the nearest,
which was a young brown colt of great beauty and graceful proportions.

Winding one end of the lasso around his wrist, he gently raised
himself. The lasso whirled above the colt, and the ne