Page:The life and adventures of James P. Beckwourth, mountaineer, scout, pioneer, and chief of the Crow nation of Indians (IA lifeadventuresof00beckrich).pdf/190

180 moments the fighting was over, and after pursuing the flying enemy through the timber, we returned to collect the spoils of victory. We took one hundred and seventy scalps, over one hundred and fifty women and children, besides abundance of weapons, baggage, and horses. The Crows had twenty-nine wounded.

This was a severe blow to the Black Feet; such a slaughter is of rare occurrence in Indian warfare. Notwithstanding this sad defeat, they rallied their broken band, and attacked us again in the afternoon; but it amounted to nothing, and they fled in gloomy confusion beyond the Crow territory.

Pine Leaf never signalized herself more than on this occasion. She counted six coos, having killed four of the enemy with her own hand. She had but few superiors in wielding the battle-axe. My horse was killed by the blow which was aimed at my head by the Indian whom the heroine killed. I wore a superb head-dress, ornamented with eagles' feathers and weasels' tails—the labour of many days. Early in the action, three of these tails were severed by a bullet which grazed my head. "These Black Feet shoot close," said the heroine, as she saw the ornaments fall; "but never fear; the Great Spirit will not let them harm us."

I took a very pretty young woman prisoner, but was obliged to give her up to one of the braves, who had my promise before the battle that if I took one I would give her to him, and if he took one he should give her to me. When a warrior (of the Crow tribe) takes a woman prisoner, she is considered his sister, and he can never marry her. If she marries, her husband is brother-in-law to her captor. Our prisoners soon forgot their captivity; they even seemed pleased with the change, for they joined with great alacrity in our scalp-dance over the scalps of their own people.

All Indian women are considered by the stronger sex as menials; they are thoroughly reconciled to their degradation, and the superiority of their "lords and masters" is their chiefest subject of boast. They are patient, plodding, and ambitious, although there are instances in savage life of a woman manifesting superior talent, and making her influence felt upon the community.