up with them again, and they
crossed the Sabine, to take shelter among the Yankees, where they had
another village, which was their largest and their richest. We followed,
and on the very shores of their river, although a thousand miles from
our own country, and where the waters are dyed with the red clay of the
soil, we encamped round their wigwams and prepared to conquer.

"It was at the gloomy season, when it rains night and day; the river was
high, the earth damp, and our young braves shivering, even under their
blankets. It was evening, when, far to the south, above one of the
windings of the stream, I saw a thick black smoke rising as a tall pine
among the clouds, and I watched it closely. It came towards us; and as
the sky darkened and night came on, sparks of fire showed the progress
of the strange sight. Soon noises were heard, like those of the
mountains when the evil spirits are shaking them; the sounds were awful,
solemn, and regular, like the throbs of a warrior's heart; and now and
then a sharp, shrill scream would rend the air and awake other terrible
voices in the forest.

"It came, and deer, bears, panthers were passing among us, madly flying
before the dreaded unknown. It came, it flew, nearer and nearer, till we
saw it plainly with its two big mouths, spitting fire like the burning
mountains of the West. It rained very hard, and yet we saw all. It was
like a long fish, shaped like a canoe, and its sides had many eyes, full
of bright light as the stars above.

"I saw no one with the monster; he was alone, breaking the waters and
splashing them with his arms, his legs, or his fins. On the top, and it
was very high, there was a square lodge. Once I thought I could see a
man in it, but it was a fancy; or perhaps the soul of the thing,
watching from its hiding-place for a prey which it might seize upon.
Happily it was dark, very dark, and being in a hollow along the banks,
we could not be perceived; and the dreadful thing passed.

"The Caddoes uttered a loud scream of fear and agony, their hearts were
melted. We said nothing, for we were Comanches and warriors; and yet I
felt strange, and was fixed to where I stood. A man is but a man, and
even a Red-skin cannot struggle with a spirit. The scream of the
Caddoes, however, frightened the monster; its flanks opened and
discharged some tremendous Anim Tekis (thunders) on the village. I heard
the crashing of the logs, the splitting of the hides covering the