288.]]

FOREWORD

"The Great Sioux Trail" is the first of a group of romances concerned
with the opening of the Great West just after the Civil War, and having
a solid historical basis. They will be connected by the presence of
leading characters in all the volumes, but every one will be in itself a
complete story.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I THE SIOUX WARNING 1

II THE NARROW ESCAPE 25

III THE LITTLE GIANT 53

IV THE FLIGHT 84

V THE WHITE DOME 111

VI THE OUTLAW 134

VII THE BEAVER HUNTER 157

VIII THE MOUNTAIN RAM 177

IX THE BUFFALO MARCH 199

X THE WAR CLUB'S FALL 229

XI THE YOUNG SLAVE 246

XII THE CAPTIVE'S RISE 266

XIII THE REWARD OF MERIT 290

XIV THE DREADFUL NIGHT 315

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

A stroke of a great paw and the rifle was dashed
from the hands of the old chief _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

The rifle sprang to his shoulder, a jet of flame leaped
from the muzzle 48

The body of a warrior shot downward, striking on
the ledges 190

"If he ever looks upon a white face again it will be
the face of one who is a friend of the Sioux" 256

THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL

CHAPTER I

THE SIOUX WARNING

The scene cast a singular spell, uncanny and exciting, over young
Clarke. The sweep of plains on one side, and on the other the dim
outline of mountains behind which a blood-red sun was sinking, gave it a
setting at once majestic and full of menace. The horizon, as the
twilight spread over its whole surface, suggested the wilderness, the
unknown and many dangers.

The drama passing before his eyes deepened and intensified his feeling
that he was surrounded by the unusual. The fire burned low, the creeping
dusk reached the edge of the thin forest to the right, and soon, with
the dying of the flames, it would envelop the figures of both Sioux and
soldiers. Will's gaze had roved from one to another, but now it remained
fixed upon the chief, who was speaking with all the fire, passion and
eloquence so often characteristic of the great Indian leaders. He was
too f