Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/381

364 364 OSAGBS IN THEIR GLOItY. mo^eratelj but persistently keeping on all night and by the mornihg was a good many miles up the river. But it seemed a long time because of the suffering of the wounded man, who, like the Greeks of old, con- sidered it cowardly to complain; so with Spartan for- ' titude he suffered with pain and fever, but his face denoted the awful ordeal he was going through, and all that could be done was to keep it cool with muddy Missouri river water, which, notwithstanding its col- or, yet by reason of its constant movement, every particle of animal matter was annihilated, so it con- tained less bacteria than other waters which were clearer; in fact the mud and sand were nature's salve, keeping thcwound from starting blood poisoning. You ought to have witnessed the bustle early next morning when the young man told his story, as all fCur boys had endeared themselves to the people of the village during their recent visit, and to think of the audacity of the Padoucas coming within one hun- dred miles of their home! There were at least 400 warriors ready for the chase. It was a little excite- ment which gave felicitous enjoyment to every son of an Indian mother; so not only were canoe parties got- ten ready, but squads of ten men were directed to take different directions toward the most likely plsices to overtake the five nervy enemies; a half-dozen of the swifted runners are directed to take a short cut across country to avoid the bends and to relieve the solitary paddler and continue up stream until the boats are met; so about noon our canoe man is very much surprised to hear his name called by the run- ners who soon relieved him by putting two of their