poor old
man. Of course he tried to avoid them, but they were generally too quick
for him.

There were two kinds of scouts, for hunting and for war. In one sense
every Indian was a scout; but there were some especially appointed to
serve for a certain length of time. An Indian might hunt every day,
besides the regularly organized hunt; but he was liable to punishment at
any time. If he could kill a solitary buffalo or deer without disturbing
the herd, it was allowed. He might also hunt small game.

In the movable town under such a government as this, there was apt to
be inconvenience and actual suffering, since a great body of people were
supported only by the daily hunt. Hence there was a constant disposition
to break up into smaller parties, in order to obtain food more easily
and freely. Yet the wise men of the Dakotas would occasionally form
large bands of from two to five thousand people, who camped and moved
about together for a period of some months. It is apparent that so large
a body could not be easily supplied with the necessaries of life; but,
on the other hand, our enemies respected such a gathering! Of course
the nomadic government would do its utmost to hold together as long as
possible. The police did all they could to keep in check those parties
who were intent upon stealing away.

There were many times, however, when individual bands and even families
were justified in seeking to separate themselves from the rest, in order
to gain a better support. It was chiefly by reason of this food
question that the Indians never established permanent towns or organized
themselves into a more formidable nation.

There was a sad misfortune which, although it happened many generations
ago, was familiarly quoted among us. A certain band became very
independent and unruly; they went so far as to wilfully disobey the
orders of the general government. The police were directed to punish
the leader severely; whereupon the rest defended him and resisted the
police. But the latter were competent to enforce their authority, and as
a result the entire band was annihilated.

One day, as we were following along the bank of the Upper Missouri,
there appeared to be a great disturbance at the head of the
cavalcade--so much so that we thought our people had been attacked by a
war-party of the Crows or some of the hostile tribes of that region. In
spite of the danger, even the women and children hurried forward to join
the men-