to pay them a visit. For prudence, according to the custom we had
adopted, we wore our swords by our sides, at which, as they appeared
rather more for ornament than use, the Indians were not likely to take
offence. One of the Indians, who had come to our camp the previous
evening, was, we discovered, their chief, by name Ocuno, or the Yellow
Wolf. He received us with outstretched hands, appearing highly pleased
at our coming, and without hesitation introduced us to his principal
squaw, a very attractive young woman with a pleasing expression of
countenance, and much fairer than Indians in general, indeed we had no
doubt that she must have had a white father. She told us that she was
much attached to the whites, and had not it been her lot to become the
wife of Yellow Wolf, she would gladly have married a pale face. Dick
was so well satisfied, that he agreed to bring his young friend over to
their village the next morning, that he might be placed under her
charge.

The Yellow Wolf told us that he intended to start in search of buffalo
in a day or two, and that if we chose, we might accompany him, promising
that we should have half the animals slain; "for," as he observed, "he
and his people were more expert hunters, yet our firearms would make
amends for our want of skill."

After spending some time with our new friends, we returned to our own
camp. The offer of Yellow Wolf was accepted by all hands, and in the
morning we conveyed Charley on a litter to his lodge, the baggage mules
and spare horses being also moved forward to the neighbourhood of the
village. We found the Indians preparing to engage in a dance, which we
supposed was for our entertainment, but which we afterwards discovered,
was for the sake of inducing the Good Spirit to send herds of buffalo to
their neighbourhood.

As soon as Charley was comfortably placed inside his wigwam, and the
fair Manoa, the "Flower of the Prairies"--as her lord was wont to call
her--was examining his hurts, the Yellow Wolf desired us to be seated in
front of it. Scarcely had we taken our places, than from every hut
rushed forward some monstrous figures with buffalo heads, but the legs
of men and huge tails trailing behind, the whole of the party collecting
in an open space in front of us. They were about to begin, we were
told, their famous buffalo dance. First round and round they tramped
with measured steps, then they rushed against each other, then
separated, th