Chapter 29 - Page 2

that species of property,
horses and arms, which constitutes the most highly prized wealth of a
western Indian. The band in view was mounted to a man; and as it had
come so far to rescue, or to revenge, their greatest partisan, he had
no reason to doubt its being composed entirely of braves. On the other
hand, many of his followers were far better in a hunt than in a
combat; men who might serve to divert the attention of his foes, but
from whom he could expect little desperate service. Still, his
flashing eye glanced over a body of warriors on whom he had often
relied, and who had never deceived him; and though, in the precise
position in which he found himself, he felt no disposition to
precipitate the conflict, he certainly would have had no intention to
avoid it, had not the presence of his women and children placed the
option altogether in the power of his adversaries.

On the other hand, the Pawnees, so unexpectedly successful in their
first and greatest object, manifested no intention to drive matters to
an issue. The river was a dangerous barrier to pass, in the face of a
determined foe, and it would now have been in perfect accordance with
their cautious policy, to have retired for a season, in order that
their onset might be made in the hours of darkness, and of seeming
security. But there was a spirit in their chief that elevated him, for
the moment, above the ordinary expedients of savage warfare. His bosom
burned with the desire to wipe out that disgrace of which he had been
the subject; and it is possible, that he believed the retiring camp of
the Siouxes contained a prize, that began to have a value in his eyes,
far exceeding any that could be found in fifty Teton scalps. Let that
be as it might, Hard-Heart had no sooner received the brief
congratulations of his band, and communicated to the chiefs such facts
as were important to be known, than he prepared himself to act such a
part in the coming conflict, as would at once maintain his well-earned
reputation, and gratify his secret wishes. A led horse, one that had
been long trained in the hunts, had been brought to receive his
master, with but little hope that his services would ever be needed
again in this life. With a delicacy and consideration, that proved how
much the generous qualities of the youth had touched the feelings of
his people, a bow, a lance, and a quiver, were thrown across the
animal, which it had been intended to immolate on the grave of the
young brave; a species of care that would have superseded the
necessity for the pious duty that the trapper had pledged himself to
perform.

Though Hard-Heart was sensible of the kindness of his warriors, and
believed that a chief, furnished with such appointments, might depart