f his tribe, and only twenty-five escaped alive. Twice was he wounded,
and so distinguished by his daring that he was made a chief for his
skill in fighting. Then he rose in rank to the highest station, and he
holds it to-day. His people regard him as one of the greatest warriors
on the plains, being skilled with the tomahawk, rifle, and bow and
arrow, and in councils of chiefs, his wonderful sagacity and eloquence
have stamped him, in the eyes of all Indians, as worthy of veneration
and implicit obedience. As I had missed the party on their way to
Washington by a few hours' tarrying on the "Chug," and General Smith
had taken a short cut across to Pine Bluff Station, seventy-three miles
below Cheyenne, to avoid a conflict anticipated about Richaud, I will
give an account gleaned from others, of this expedition, which it is
hoped may result in lasting peace.

The "outfit" assembled in front of General Flint's house, on their
arrival at Fort Laramie, and got up a regular war-dance to amuse the
general's family and others there. This chief, Red Cloud, whose fame
had extended hardly east of the Missouri River, has now spread over the
world; and from his wigwam and hunting-grounds, he is heard of across
the Atlantic as a great man of destiny. He has passed through Omaha and
Chicago to Washington in his war-paint, ornamented with eagle's
feathers, buffalo-skins, horse-hair, bears' claws, and trophies of his
skill, which he values more highly than a brigadier the stars upon his
shoulders!

Along with him were nineteen of his braves and four squaws, which is a
small number, considering that the Indian is a Mormon in the matter of
polygamy. The Indian _buys_ his wife (or wives) by giving a pony for
the prize; and when Mother Bickerdyck, the army-nurse, saw "Friday" in
Kansas, and upbraided him with having _two_ squaws, he said, "Well,
give me one white squaw, and I'll be content; you know one white squaw
is equal to two Indian squaws!"

General Smith was a favorite of Red Cloud's, having met him in the
Powder River country, and under circumstances which made him respected
among the Sioux Indians.

The chiefs on Red Cloud's staff, and going to Washington, were:

Shem-ka-lu-tah, Red Dog.
Mon-tah-o-he-te-kah, Brave Bear.
Pah-gee, Little Bear.
Mon-tah-zia, Yellow Bear.
Makh-to-u-ta-kah, Sitting Bear.
Makh-to-ha-she-na, Bearskin.
Sha-ton-sa-pah, Black Hawk.
Shunk-mon-e-too-ha-ka, Long Wolf.