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Show 86 TALES OF THE COLORADO PIONEERS. I have seen his coat perforated with holes like a sifter, and a twenty dollar gold piece mashed to a cup in his vest pocket, yet..there is not a scar on his body, and I'll venture to say he will niver be found dead walking around." Spotted Horse, a bloodthirsty and cunning Indian, was a formidable foe. But the Major, cool, deliberate and calculating, was equal to the occasion. He reached the American ranch one hundred and forty-five miles below Denver, where Spotted Horse and his warriors made their rendezvous, and pitched his tent. As he sat in his camp one morning viewing the country through a field glass, he saw a man dressed in citizen's clothes on 'the opposite side of the river. He imme-' diately detached ten or twelve men to capture him, and if possible bring him to the camp alive, for he knew from his walk that he was an Indian, probably one of their scouts on a tour of observation. When brought into camp he proved to be none other than the famous Spotted Horse. The Major surveyed him for a while in meditative serenity ; then offered the Indian, who sat in sullen silence, his life, if he would surrender his band. This he refused to do. He then ordered his men to drive a. stake and prepare to roast the Indian alive. The chief gathered his coat around him and sat contemplating his funeral pyre with stoical indifference. When the fire was kindled the Major gave orders to bind him to the stake, saying, "you have seen many a white man die this horrible death, and now we propose to let you know how it is yourself." |