enemy rushed after them, and he drew his bow and arrows, and got ready to
fight and defend the women. After they had gone a little way, the enemy had
gained so much that they were shooting at the Blackfeet with their arrows,
and the man was riding back and forth behind the women, and whipping up the
horses, now of one, now of another, to make them go faster. The enemy kept
getting closer, and at last they were so near that they were beginning to
thrust at him with their lances, and he was dodging them and throwing
himself down, now on one side of his horse, and then on the other.
At length he found that he could no longer defend all the women, so he made
up his mind to leave those that had the slowest horses to the mercy of the
enemy, while he would go on with those that had the faster ones. When he
found that he must leave the women, he was excited and rode on ahead; but
as he passed, he heard some one call out to him, "Don't leave me," and he
looked to one side, and saw that he was leaving his wife. When he heard his
wife call out thus to him, he said to her: "There is no life for me
here. You are a fine-looking woman. They will not kill you, but there is no
life for me." She answered: "No, take pity on me. Do not leave me. My horse
is giving out. Let us both get on one horse and then, if we are caught, we
will die together." When he heard this, his heart was touched and he said:
"No, wife, I will not leave you. Run up beside my horse and jump on behind
me." The enemy were now so near that they had killed or captured some of
the women, and they had come up close enough to the man so that they got
ready to hit at him with their war clubs. His horse was now wounded in
places with arrows, but it was a good, strong, fast horse.
His wife rode up close to him, and jumped on his horse behind him. When he
started to run with her, the enemy had come up on either side of him, and
some were behind him, but they were afraid to shoot their arrows for fear
of hitting their own people, so they struck at the man with their war
clubs. But they did not want to kill the woman, and they did not hurt
him. They reached out with their hands to try to pull the woman off the
horse; but she had put her arms around her husband and held on tight, and
they could not get her off, but they tore her clothing off her. As she held
her husband, he could not use his arrows, and could not fight to defend
himself. His horse was now going very slowly, an
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