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Show 342 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF The Cheyennes, in their late attack, used very goo.d generalship; but the result .was not so good as :hmr desio-n would seem to promise. They started With a fore~ of three thousand warriors, and, dividing their army, five hundred marched directly over the Tongue River Mountain, where they were safe from molestation, while their main body passed round in another direction, placing themselves in am bush in a place agreed upon, so as to fall upon the Crows should they pursue their flying division. But the Crows were too wary for them, and their bright design failed. The division of five hundred made a descent upon the horses, killing the two Crows that were among them, and unable to escape in time. It was in open day, and our stock was so immense that they actually did succeed in driving off about twelve hundred, of which our family owned about eighty. Many of our choice mares, with their foals, and a great number of our war-horses, seemed to have intelligence of the business in hand, and ran with full speed to the village, where the enemy did not care to follow them. Hundreds of our warriors were ready for the conflict, and were impatiently awaiting the order to attack; but their chiefs strictly forbade their advance, and even charged my faithful Dog Soldiers with the duty of enforcing their orders. There were in the village over four thousand warriors, a force sufficient to repel any attack ; but the old heads seemed to suspect something at the bottom of their foes' audacity, and thus escaped the trap that was prepared for them. The horses we cared but little about, as it was easy to replace them at any time, without risking the lives ot so many brave warriors. On my return, all this was related to me by the JAMES P. BECKWOURTH. 343 council. They inquired my opinion of "the policy they had acted upon, and I assented to the wisdom of all they had done. I further recommended that no warparty should leave the village for at least two weeks, but that all should devote themselves to trapping beaver, as a means better calculated to please the Great Spirit, and after that it was likely he would reward our excursions with more constant success. My advice was approved of, and my medicine was pronounced powerful. Every trap in the village was accordingly brought to light, and a general preparation made for an active season of trapping: peltry-parties scattered for every stream containing beaver. My old friend and myself, with each a wife, composed one party; we took twelve traps, and in ten days collected fifty:five beaver-skins. All who went out had excellent success, as the streams had been but little disturbed for several months. Our two weeks' combined industry produced quite a number of packs. . It was now about the 1st of October. I had promIsed, after our two weeks' trapping, to lead a party in a ~oray upon the Cheyennes. I selected over four hundred warriors, and started in pursuit of something -whether horses or scalps was a matter of indifference. After an easy travel of twenty days, our spies keeping a vigilant look-out on the way, a large village was reported some few miles in advance. Knowing ':hom we had to deal with, I used my utmost caution, for we were beyond the reach of re-enforcement if I should fall into any difficulties. We ascended a hill which overlooked their village. We saw their cheerfullooking fires, and would have liked to warm ourselves by similar ones; but, although firewood was abundant, it seemed barely advisable to indulge in such a |
