hand outstretched.

"The great chief of the mighty Comanches, and of the Pawnees of the
Toyask, is welcome," said he, gravely.

The young Indian to whom these words were addressed, halted and listened
attentively, and with head reverently bowed, to the greeting. When the
old chief had spoken, he sprang from his horse and advanced towards him,
his right hand extended. Coming close up to Tokeah, he again bowed
himself, took the Miko's hand, and placed it upon his own head. The
interchange of greetings was remarkable for dignity, and derived a
peculiar interest from the contrast between the two chiefs. Nothing
could be in stronger opposition than the gaunt meagre form of the Miko,
who stood like the weather-beaten trunk of some gigantic tree, stiff,
mute, and melancholy, and the open, manly, dignified and yet gentle
aspect of the young chief of the Comanches. His oval-shaped head was
covered with a picturesque head-dress of fur and feathers; his high,
arched forehead, and blooming complexion of a light copper colour,
scorned the wild war-paint of his companions; the expressive black eyes
and aquiline nose were in admirable harmony with the manly contour of
his person, which his style of dress and equipment showed off to the
greatest advantage. A doublet of blue fox fur covered his breast, and
from his shoulders, on which it was fastened by golden clasps, hung the
skin of a panther, draping a form that would have enchanted Thorwaldsen
or Canova. It was a magnificent model of manly beauty, that had grown up
untrammelled and without blemish in the enchanting prairies of Mexico,
and in the midst of a mighty people owning no master but the Great
Spirit. A dagger, with a hilt of wrought gold, a short rifle, and a
lance nine feet long, decorated with a horse-tail, completed an
equipment which for richness and utility combined could scarcely be
surpassed. The young chief's horse, of extraordinary beauty, was almost
covered with a panther skin, secured on its back and shoulders by four
golden buckles. It had neither saddle nor stirrups, but on either side,
at the end of a strap, hung a small leathern bucket, in which the muzzle
of the rifle and butt of the lance reposed.

Similar to those above described were the dress and arms of other four
of the warriors, also belonging to the powerful Indian tribe of the
Comanches. They wore their hair combed back on either side of the
forehead; their complexion was a mixture of olive and cop