Page:The life and adventures of James P. Beckwourth, mountaineer, scout, pioneer, and chief of the Crow nation of Indians (IA lifeadventuresof00beckrich).pdf/175

Rh which it could be taken; one was by bombardment, and the other was by storm. Bombardment was out of the question, as our heaviest calibre was a rifle-bore. I waited to see what steps would be taken.

Long Hair, the head chief of the nation, said, "Warriors, listen! Our marrow-bones are broken; the enemy has chosen a strong fort; we cannot drive them from it without sacrificing too many men. Warriors, retreat!"

I replied, "No; hold! Warriors, listen! If these old men cannot fight, let them retire with the women and children. We can kill every one of these Black Feet; then let us do it. If we attempt to run from here, we shall be shot in the back, and lose more warriors than to fight and kill them all. If we get killed, our friends who love us here will mourn our loss, while those in the spirit land will sing and rejoice to welcome us there, if we ascend to them dying like braves. The Great Spirit has sent these enemies here for us to slay; if we do not slay them, he will be angry with us, and will never suffer us to conquer our enemies again. He will drive off all our buffaloes, and will wither the grass on the prairies. No, warriors! we will fight as long as one of them survives. Come, follow me, and I will show you how the braves of the great white chief fight their enemies!"

"Enemy of Horses," exclaimed hundreds of the brave and impatient warriors who were crowded round me, "lead us, and we will follow you to the spirit land."

Accepting the charge, I stationed a large body of those who were never known to flinch on one side of the position, which I, with my followers, intended to scale. I thus thought to engage the attention of the enemy until we made good our entrance, when I felt no longer doubtful of success. I then told them as I threw up my shield the third time, and shouted "Hoo-ki-hi," they were to scale the wall as fast as possible, and beat down whatever resistance might be offered them.

I had divested myself of all my weapons except my battle-axe and scalping-knife, the latter being attached to my wrist with a string. I then made the signal, and when I raised the shout "Hoo-ki-hi," the party opposite began to hoist one another up. When I sprang for the summit of the wall, I