harm; torturing themselves with cruel whips; gashing and
lacerating the flesh; being suspended from a pole or bar by means of
thongs thrust under the muscles of the shoulders, and other
blood-curdling deeds original with the savage.

Old chiefs watched the young bucks, and as the games proceeded these old
ones shook their heads or nodded in assent as success or failure
rewarded the contestants.

All were in gala dress. War bonnets of elaborate manufacture bedecked
some, while single feathers adorned others. Small hoops fastened to long
sticks were held aloft displaying portions of a human scalp, the hair
floating naturally from one side while the other side of the scalp was
painted a bright red. Every Indian lovingly carried his pipe, the red
slender bowl made from pipestone mined from quarries hundreds of miles
away and guarded carefully from reckless souvenir and market hunters.

As a successful contestant received his reward and led his bride away,
the onlookers rent the air with piercing yells; rattle-boxes split the
ear with their characteristic din, and tom-toms bellowed their dull
intonations with a certain amount of regularity which produced that same
agonizing monotony of sound found in a healthy foghorn.

In a group not far from the racing strip was Yamanatz, and thither Jack
and Cal bent their way. Charley Rogers and his companions were making
bets with anyone who would risk ammunition, money, clothes, ponies,
blankets, guns, pistols or knives; and even war bonnets were staked.
Yamanatz was about the only Ute who did not bet against "Brown Dick."
Few of the white gamblers, who had come to fleece the Indians with their
special style of confidence games, cared to risk their coin against
Indian ponies or wampum. They wanted cash, and as the Indians had plenty
to do to meet all the demands of Jack and his friends and Charley Rogers
and his following, the gamblers saw little prospect of a coup.

The level, well-beaten, straight-away course stretched along between
rows of tents, tepees and lodges out into the plain beyond. Indian races
are not upon oval tracks and are not confined entirely to one dash over
the course, but include a certain distance and back over the same
ground, the finish being at the starting point. Other races are run
where the contestant must lean from the pony's back and pick up a quirt
or hat as the animal dashes past.

But the time for the great race on which the bets are made has arri