THE ATTACK ON THE CAMP
Elated at the successful escape of the women and children, the
Cheyennes awaited the Kiowas with less anxiety. They stood at the edge
of the village, listening for a warning from the scouts. Some of the
older boys had been appointed to stand beside the piles of brush,
ready to light them at the command of their chief. A small detail of
warriors surrounded the corral to prevent the Kiowas from running off
the ponies. The old men kept the fires blazing fiercely in the center
of the camp. Everything was ready. The Cheyennes were eager to begin
the fight.
"Perhaps the Kiowas are afraid to come," laughed old Ghost Bear.
"Keep watching--they will come," Red Dog warned him.
When half of the night had passed, and they had heard nothing of the
war party, some of the younger warriors began to repeat the words of
Ghost Bear. The older men cautioned them against becoming too
confident. They believed that the Kiowas were delaying the attack
with the hope of catching them off their guard.
"The Kiowas are sharp," said Red Dog. "We must watch out or they will
fool us."
Soon afterward the warriors along the southerly side of the camp
called out that they had heard a signal. The bark of the little gray
fox had sounded far away to the southward. The Cheyennes listened in
tense silence. In a few moments the signal was repeated. They knew it
had come from one of their scouts. They turned to one another in
surprise. Having expected the Kiowas to approach from the west, the
call in the south perplexed them.
"It is bad," said Red Dog. "The Kiowas have separated."
"Perhaps scouts went over there to find out who came to the camp,"
suggested Painted Weasel.
"Yes, that may be true," Red Dog replied, thoughtfully.
Then they heard another signal. It sounded from the West, and was
nearer the camp. Red Dog saw his suspicions confirmed. He was
confident that the Kiowas had separated into two companies.
"They are coming up on both sides of us," declared Painted Weasel.
A moment later they heard hoofbeats. A pony was racing toward them,
from the west. The dogs barked furiously. The Cheyennes believed that
one of the scouts was approaching, but they determined to be prepared.
They drew their bows, and watched suspiciously. The pony stopped when
it came within arrow range. Then they heard the familiar signal.
"Who are you?" inquired Red Dog.
"Thunder Hawk," said a voice from the darkness.
"Ride ahead," Red Dog told him.
In a few moments Thunder Hawk entered the camp. He said that the
Kiowas had separated into two companies. One had ridden toward the
south. The other was approaching from the west.
"Running Buffalo followed the Kiowas who rode away," said Thunder
Hawk. "White Horse is watching the Kiowas who are coming toward the
village. He sent me here to tell you about it."
"Did you hear us making that noise?" Red Dog asked him.
"Yes, we heard ponies running, and shouts, and then we heard the war
songs," said Thunder Hawk. "After that the Kiowas rode away."
"They must be scouts," said Red Dog. "Perhaps they are trying to find
out who came here."
"No, they are not scouts," declared Thunder Hawk. "There are many
ponies. It is a big war party. I believe they are the warriors who
came from the Place-where-the-sun-sleeps."
"Then I know about it," said Red Dog. "I believe scouts saw the ponies
out there on the plain. Those riders who went away are going to circle
around, and try to run off those ponies. Well, we will fool them. The
ponies are here."
"Yes, yes, that is what they propose to do," the Cheyennes told one
another.
While they were talking, they heard some one approaching from the
south. They felt certain it was Running Buffalo. He stopped and
imitated the bark of the little gray fox. Then he galloped to the
camp.
"Get ready to fight!" cried Running Buffalo. "The Kiowas are coming.
They are close behind me. They are trying to find the ponies."
"The ponies are here," Red Dog told him, as he pointed toward the
corral.
"It is good," said Running Buffalo. "My brothers, there are many
Kiowas in that war party."
"We are ready," Red Dog said, grimly.
Having learned that the Kiowas were advancing upon the camp, the
Cheyennes listened anxiously for the approach of White Horse. As time
passed, and he failed to arrive, they became uneasy about him. They
wondered what had caused him to loiter. They feared that the Kiowas
who were approaching from the south might circle about the village and
trap him.
"I will go out there and find him," Thunder Hawk proposed,
impulsively.
"Wait," cautioned Red Dog. "White Horse is sharp. The Kiowas will not
catch him. He is waiting to find out about something. He will come."
As he finished speaking they heard the signal in the north. It filled
them with alarm. Their thoughts turned to Cloud Eagle and the helpless
company in his care. Had the crafty Kiowas sent scouts into the north?
The Cheyennes weakened at the possibility. They waited in breathless
suspense for White Horse to reach the camp.
White Horse soon relieved their fears. He said that the Kiowas who
were advancing from the west had stopped some distance out on the
plain. Then he had circled toward the north to make sure that scouts
had not gone in that direction. He had heard nothing to arouse his
suspicions.
"It is good," declared Red Dog.
"I do not believe the Kiowas know anything about our people who went
away," said White Horse. "I believe they came here to run off ponies.
When they found out that we knew about it, they sent scouts to bring
more warriors. Now they are going to make a big fight. Those people I
was watching will wait out there until they hear their friends moving
ahead. Then they will all rush in. I believe scouts are creeping
toward the camp. We must watch sharp."
"White Horse, your words are good," said Red Dog. "I believe you have
found out what the Kiowas propose to do."
Realizing that the Kiowas might begin the attack at any moment, the
Cheyennes stood at the edge of the camp, weapons in hand, watching and
listening for their foes. They had little doubt that scouts were
moving cautiously through the darkness in an effort to reconnoiter the
camp. The thought kept them alert. They listened sharply for the sound
of stealthy footfalls. For a long time, however, all was still. Then
a pony snorted, in the corral. A dog harked savagely outside the camp.
"Light the fires!" cried Red Dog.
The boys shoved glowing embers into the brush piles. A moment
afterward they burst into flames. A wide circle of light spread about
the camp. The Cheyennes looked for their foes. They had retreated into
the night.
"It was a scout; he was trying to find the ponies," explained a
warrior at the corral.
Believing that the Kiowas were close to the camp, Red Dog ordered the
boys to keep the fires blazing. The warriors crouched in the shadows
from the lodges. They heard nothing further from their foes. They
wondered if the scouts had been frightened away.
"The Kiowas are like wolves," laughed Painted Weasel. "They are afraid
of the fires."
As if to verify his words, the dismal wail of Ma-ya-sh, the prairie
wolf, sounded from the south. The Cheyennes started at the sound. They
knew it was a signal from the war party. They believed the Kiowas were
ready to advance.
"Watch out!" shouted Red Dog. "The Kiowas are coming."
The wolf call was repeated in the west. It had barely died away before
the Kiowa war cry echoed shrilly through the night. The Cheyennes
answered the challenge. Then the Kiowas raced toward the camp. They
rode close up to the lodges, but the Cheyennes were prepared, and
drove them back with a deadly volley of arrows. The Kiowas turned and
sought shelter in the darkness.
"We have chased them back," the Cheyennes cried, excitedly.
"Keep watching," Red Dog cautioned them.
The Kiowas were riding around the camp, and yelling fiercely. They
appeared to be attempting to stampede the ponies. The latter were
plunging and snorting in terror, and those in the corral threatened to
break away at any moment. Then the Kiowas suddenly made another
attempt to enter the village. They rode recklessly to the edge of the
camp, and tried to drive the Cheyennes before them. The latter,
however, refused to yield. They realized that to give way meant
disaster, and they fought with a stubborn ferocity that bewildered
their foes. The old men and the boys fought as fiercely as the
warriors. Somewhat sheltered by the lodges, they shot their arrows
with deadly accuracy, and the Kiowas were again compelled to withdraw.
This time they went far out on the plain.
The Cheyennes seized the opportunity to turn to their disabled
comrades. They had paid a heavy price for victory. A third of the
little force had been killed or wounded. There was little time to
think about it. The old men barely had time to drag the wounded to a
place of safety before they heard the Kiowas again charging upon the
village.
The Cheyennes were amazed when their foes passed beyond bow range of
the camp, and thundered away toward the south. It was some moments
before they recovered from their bewilderment. They were at a loss to
understand the strange maneuver. At first they were suspicious, and
expected to hear the Kiowas riding toward them from another direction.
Then, as time passed and they heard nothing further, they became
convinced that the Kiowas had actually gone away. It seemed too good
to be true. Despair gave way to joy. The Cheyennes began to laugh, and
shout and sing the war songs.
"My brothers, we have done a big thing," Red Dog told them. "We have
chased away that great war party of Kiowas. They are running across
the plain. It is something to tell about. I----"
"Listen!" Painted Weasel cried, in alarm.
A moment afterward the startled Cheyennes heard the Kiowa war cry at
the edge of the camp. Then, before they realized what had happened,
they saw the warriors along the westerly side of the village driven
back by a great company of Kiowas who swarmed into the camp on foot.
At the same time the horsemen attacked the camp on the south. The wily
Kiowas had completely outwitted their foes. The Cheyennes were
bewildered and demoralized. They rushed wildly to reinforce their
comrades along the threatened side of the village, and the Kiowa
horsemen found little opposition. They quickly overcame the feeble
guard at the corral, and stampeded the ponies. Then they swept into
the camp. The Cheyennes were outnumbered four to one. The village was
filled with Kiowas. Resistance meant death.
"Jump on the war ponies and save yourselves!" cried Red Dog.
The Cheyennes rushed toward the terror-stricken ponies in the center
of the camp. The Kiowas followed after them. A furious hand-to-hand
encounter ensued. Most of the old men were killed. A few escaped
notice in the general confusion, and disappeared into the night. Old
Ghost Bear ran far out on the plain, and hid in the sage.
The Cheyennes finally gained possession of the war ponies. They
mounted and attempted to ride away. Less than half of the company
escaped. Once out of the village, they rode frantically toward the
north. The Kiowas made little effort to overtake them. A small company
of warriors pursued them a short distance across the plain, but soon
turned back to assist in rounding up the ponies, and share in the
plunder.
When they found that they were not pursued, the little band of
Cheyennes stopped to learn who had escaped. Many famous warriors were
missing. Then they suddenly discovered that both Red Dog and Ghost
Bear were absent.
"I saw Ghost Bear run out of the camp," declared Running Buffalo. "I
believe he got away."
"Where is Red Dog?" Painted Weasel asked, anxiously.
"He was with us when we were fighting to get away," said Running
Buffalo. "I saw him kill two Kiowas. Then the Kiowas rushed at us,
and I did not see what became of him."
"Red Dog is dead--the Kiowas have killed him," cried the disheartened
Cheyennes.
"Perhaps they have carried him away," said Painted Hawk.
They rallied at the thought. If Red Dog had been captured, they
resolved to rescue him. They turned toward the camp. Then they stopped
in dismay. The village was ablaze. The Kiowas had set fire to the
lodges. The Cheyennes heard them yelling triumphantly, far away to the
southward.
"My brothers, there are few of us left," declared Running Buffalo. "It
is useless to try to do anything. Come, we will ride after our people,
and ask the Ogalalas to help us. Then we will bring a great war party
to fight the Kiowas."
They turned toward the north with heavy hearts, and rode silently away
into the darkness.