THE PAWNEES AT BAY
Aware that each moment was precious, White Otter rode through the
night at a desperate pace. Behind him thundered the great war party of
Sioux and Cheyennes. Beside him rode Red Dog, the Cheyenne chief, and
Black Moccasin, the famous Ogalala scout. Convinced that they would
see nothing of the Pawnees until they finally came up with them, White
Otter saw little need for caution. He believed that the Pawnees had
stopped for the night, to rest the ponies, and he was eager to cover
as much distance as possible before daylight.
The Ogalalas were enthusiastic at the idea of an encounter with their
old-time enemies, the Pawnees. They knew from experience that the
hated "Wolf People" were brave and stubborn fighters, but they felt
confident of victory. They followed gayly after their leader, talking,
and laughing and chanting their war songs. Behind them came the
Cheyennes. Their gloom had vanished. Their confidence was restored.
The warriors who had returned with the Ogalalas had greatly
strengthened their numbers, and with the formidable Dacotahs for
allies they believed that success was assured.
"Pretty soon it will be light," said White Otter. "Then we will send
scouts to find the tracks of the ponies. We will follow them until we
come up with the Pawnees."
"While the foolish Pawnees are sleeping, we are rushing closer,"
laughed Red Dog.
"Perhaps they kept going ahead," said Black Moccasin. "Perhaps they
were afraid some one would follow them."
"No, I do not believe it," declared Red Dog. "They saw that we were
not strong enough to fight them. They do not expect any one to follow
them."
"They cannot keep running those ponies," White Otter told them. "They
must stop to rest."
At dawn White Otter became more cautious. He stopped the war party and
made known his plans.
"The light has come, we must look for the Pawnees," he said. "I am
going to send out some scouts to find the tracks of those ponies. I
will send Sun Bird, and Little Raven, and High Eagle. Now, Red Dog,
you must send three of your people with my brothers."
"It is good," said Red Dog. "I will send Running Crow, and Painted
Weasel and Standing Bull."
"Now, my brothers, I will tell you what to do," said White Otter. "I
will ask Sun Bird and Little Raven to go ahead. I will ask the rest of
you to ride out on both sides of us. Look hard until you find the
tracks of those ponies. I believe they are close by. If you find them,
make the signal. We will keep watching. If we find those tracks, we
will make the signal. Perhaps scouts are watching on the high places.
Look out for them."
The six scouts went away. Then the war party rode ahead. Eager to
prevent the Pawnees from increasing their lead, they rode at a stiff
pace. It was not long before they saw Standing Bull riding rapidly in
a circle, some distance to the westward.
"It is good," said White Otter. "Standing Bull has found the tracks.
We will go over there."
Standing Bull and Painted Weasel had found the trail of the Pawnees.
A close examination of the tracks convinced White Otter that the
Pawnees were traveling at a moderate pace.
"They made those tracks before the last sun went away," he said.
"It is true," agreed Black Moccasin.
"Call the scouts," said White Otter. "Then we will go ahead, and find
out where the Pawnees stopped."
They saw one of the scouts approaching from the east. The fact that he
was alone made them suspicious. They believed that his companion had
remained to watch something. As the rider came nearer they saw that it
was High Eagle, the Ogalala.
"We saw some people far away toward the Place-where-the-day-begins,"
said High Eagle. "Three were on ponies. They rode ahead. Four were on
foot."
"Which way are they going?" inquired White Otter.
"They are going straight ahead--the same way we are going," High Eagle
told him. "They are far away. Running Crow is watching them."
"I believe those people are Kiowas," said White Otter. "We chased them
far away. Now they are going back to their village. We will not think
about them."
"Yes, yes, it must be the Kiowas," laughed Red Dog.
"High Eagle, we have found the tracks of the Pawnees," said White
Otter. "We are going to follow them. Go back there and bring Running
Crow."
When they learned that the scouts had discovered a small company of
Kiowas, some of the Cheyennes were eager to ride away in pursuit of
them. White Otter immediately objected. He realized that the maneuver
would cause delay and confusion, and might betray them to the Pawnees.
"No, you must not go over there," he said. "You must keep going ahead
to catch the Pawnees. If you hold back they will get to their village.
Then it will be hard to run off the ponies. I am the leader. You must
do as I tell you."
Red Dog repeated the message to the Cheyennes, and they dismissed the
Kiowas from their thoughts. They knew that White Otter and his
warriors were risking their lives to help them, and they were eager to
obey his commands. Then they saw High Eagle and Running Crow riding to
join them. Sun Bird and Little Raven, however, had failed to appear.
White Otter felt little fear for their safety. He believed that they
were scouting carefully in advance of the war party in an effort to
locate the Pawnees.
"Pretty soon they will come," he told Red Dog.
A few moments afterward they rode over a low ridge, and saw the two
Minneconjoux scouts. They were waiting at a grove of cottonwoods. The
war party raced forward to join them.
"Here is the place where the Pawnees stopped," said Sun Bird, as White
Otter approached.
"Yes, I see where the ponies were feeding," replied White Otter.
He believed that the Pawnees had remained at the spot until daylight.
In that event he realized that they could not be very far ahead of
him. He hoped to come in sight of them before the end of the day.
"We must go on," said White Otter.
They galloped away on the trail. It led directly toward the south. As
they advanced the plain became rough and broken, and there were many
low knolls and ridges. White Otter realized that it offered splendid
protection to hostile scouts, and he became more cautious.
"Come, Sun Bird, ride ahead and keep watching the high places," he
said. "I will ask Little Raven to go with you. Follow the tracks of
the ponies. We will ride behind you."
The Minneconjoux galloped away. The war party rode easily until the
scouts were a long way ahead. Then they again raced their ponies at
high speed in the hope of soon overtaking the Pawnees.
As the day advanced and they failed to see anything of their foes,
some of the warriors feared that they would be unable to overtake them
before they reached the great Pawnee camp. The thought discouraged
them. White Otter, however, was still hopeful of coming up with them.
He felt sure that he was steadily gaining upon them, and he expected
to see them before the end of the day. Red Dog, too, was confident
that they would come in contact with the Pawnees before nightfall.
"Hi, hi, I believe our brothers have found them!" Black Moccasin
cried, excitedly.
The Minneconjoux were riding in a circle on the top of a low hill. The
war party rode toward them with high hopes.
"What has happened?" White Otter inquired, anxiously.
"We saw two riders over there on that next hill," said Sun Bird. "They
went away very fast. I believe they were Pawnee scouts."
"Did they see you?" asked White Otter.
"Yes," replied Sun Bird. "They must have been peeping over that high
place. We looked sharp, but we could not see them. When we went up
that hill we saw them riding away. They kept looking back. Then we
rode here to call you."
"It is bad," said Red Dog. "They will tell their people about us. Now
it will be hard to catch them."
"Well, my brothers, there is no use of talking about it," declared
White Otter. "There is only one thing to do. We must rush ahead and
try to catch the Pawnees before they get away."
"Yes, that is the only thing to do," said Black Moccasin.
They raced ahead at top speed. They had gone only a short distance
when they saw a small company of horsemen sweep into view over a
nearby rise of the plain. They stopped at sight of the war party. Then
they turned and raced toward the south. They appeared to have been
thrown into a panic. White Otter and his warriors rode after them
with the fierce eagerness of wolves in sight of game.
"Those warriors came to find us, but they found something different,"
laughed Little Raven.
"Their people must be close by," declared White Otter.
The Pawnees had disappeared behind the ridge. When the war party
reached it, they saw them still riding furiously toward the south.
They had lost considerable ground, however, and White Otter felt
encouraged.
"We will come up with them," he told his companions.
"Yes, yes, we are closing in," said Red Dog.
They heard the scouts whooping fiercely, and they believed that they
were attempting to warn their tribesmen. Then they discovered a great
smother of dust rising in the distance. They realized that they had
come in sight of the Pawnees.
"Come, come, ride faster!" cried White Otter.
They forced the ponies into a terrific pace. They were steadily
gaining upon the four scouts. The latter were making frantic efforts
to escape.
"Pretty soon we will catch those riders," White Otter declared,
grimly.
At that moment, however, the Pawnee scouts turned toward the east.
White Otter instantly detected the clever ruse.
"Do not follow them," he cried. "They are trying to lead us off. Keep
after the ponies."
Then they swept over a rise of the plain, and saw the Pawnees and the
ponies directly ahead of them. They were a long distance away,
however, and were riding desperately. They appeared to have the great
herd of ponies under complete control, and White Otter realized that
the chase threatened to be a long one.
"They are far ahead of us," he said, soberly.
Having actually sighted the Pawnees, the war party was determined to
overtake them. Forcing the ponies to a killing pace, they began to
gain upon their foes. Stride by stride they overcame the lead of the
Pawnees until the latter were barely two arrow flights away. Then the
Pawnees lashed the ponies into a furious sprint, and held off their
pursuers. The wild race across the plain became a test of endurance
between the rival ponies. Both companies of riders knew that the
gallant little beasts must eventually collapse, but each hoped that
their foes would be the first to weaken. The ponies appeared to be
well matched, however, and the exhausting chase continued.
The Pawnees were approaching a long, straggling line of trees that
reached far across the plain. White Otter knew that the timber marked
the course of a stream. He rode wildly to overtake his foes before
they reached it. Once they crossed the water he realized that it would
be difficult to reach them, and still more difficult to secure the
ponies. His efforts were useless, however, for the Pawnees held their
lead. They were still safely beyond arrow range when they finally
forced their gasping ponies across the stream, and came to a stand in
the timber along the bank. White Otter pulled up the sweating piebald.
The long pursuit had come to an end. The Pawnees had placed a
formidable barrier between them and their foes. For the moment, at
least, they were safe from attack.
"Now I know why they did not stop to fight," White Otter said,
bitterly. "They were trying to get to that place. Now they are there.
It is bad."
"Well, we made them stop," declared Red Dog.
"Yes, we kept them from getting to their camp," said Black Moccasin.
"Now we are close. They cannot get away. Pretty soon we will go over
there and run off the ponies."
"My brother, that will be a hard thing to do," White Otter told him.