Page:The life and adventures of James P. Beckwourth, mountaineer, scout, pioneer, and chief of the Crow nation of Indians (IA lifeadventuresof00beckrich).pdf/307

Rh There were still thousands of horses scattered in every direction over the prairie, but I preferred to take those already collected. The Camanches, being seldom troubled by the incursions of their neighbours (as most of the tribes hold them in dread), take no precaution for the safety of their animals, for which reason they fell an easy prey to us.

At the usual time of night we paid a visit to their immense herd, and started an innumerable drove; we found it larger than we could successfully drive, and were therefore obliged to leave several hundreds of them on the prairie. We then placed a sufficient number of horse-guides ahead, and, whipping up our rear, we soon had an immense drove under full speed for our own country, making the very earth tremble beneath their hoofs. We continued this pace for three days and nights, closely followed by our enemies, who, having discovered their loss the next morning, started after us in pursuit. They kept in sight of us each day, but we had the advantage of them, as we could change horses and they could not, unless they happened to pick up a few stragglers on the road.

On the third day I happened to be leading, and just as I rose to look over the summit of a hill on the Arkansas, I discovered a large village of the Cheyennes not far in advance, and lying directly in our course. In an instant we turned to the left, and continued on through a hollow with all our drove, the Camanches not more than two or three miles in our rear.

On our pursuers arriving at the spot where we had diverged to the left, they held their course right on, and, pouncing upon the astonished Cheyennes, conceived they were the party they were in pursuit of. We could distinctly hear the report of the guns of the contending parties, but did not slacken our pace, as our desire to get home in safety outweighed all curiosity to see the issue of the conflict. We afterward learned that the Cheyennes inflicted a severe beating upon their deluded assailants, and chased them back, with the loss of many of their warriors, to their own country. This was fine fun for us, and Fortune aided us more than our own skill, for we were saved any further trouble of defending our conquest, and eventually reached home without the loss of a single life.