northern and less hospitable region than their enemies,
and were far from being rich in 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 begun 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 however 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