The following anecdote is related of a Pawnee brave, or warrior, (son of
Red Knife.)
At the age of twenty-one, the heroic deeds of this brave had acquired
for him in his nation the rank of the bravest of the braves. The savage
practice of torturing and burning to death their prisoners existed in this
nation. An unfortunate female of the Paduca nation, taken in war, was
destined to this horrid death.
[Illustration: Pawnee Brave.]
Just when the funeral pile was to be kindled, this young warrior, having
unnoticed prepared two fleet horses, with the necessary provisions, sprang
from his seat, liberated the victim, seized her in his arms, placed her on
one of the horses, mounted the other himself, and made the utmost speed
toward the nation and friends of the captive! The multitude, dumb and
nerveless, made no effort to rescue their victim from her deliverer. They
viewed it as the immediate act of the Great Spirit, submitted to it
without a murmur, and quietly retired to their village.