"
"It looks to me as if we had better fall into position," said Sherman.
"It is not necessary," I said. "They have given us the peace sign. They
are coming toward us without arms."
So Sherman, with General Harney, General Sanborn, and the other
officers rode slowly forward to meet the oncoming braves.
"This is where you need Curtis," I told the General as he advanced. "He
is the best Kiowa and Comanche interpreter on the Plains and he knows
every one of these Indians personally."
Curtis was accordingly summoned and made interpreter, while I was
assigned to remain about the commander's tent and given charge of the
scouts.
As the Indians drew near with signs of friendliness, Curtis introduced
the chiefs, Satanta, Lone Wolf, Kicking Bird, and others to General
Sherman as the head of the Peace Commission.
The Indians, having been notified in advance of the coming of the
Commission, had already selected a special spring for our camp and had
prepared a great feast in honor of the meeting. To this feast, which
was spread in the center of the village, the Commissioners were
conducted, while the scouts and the escort went into camp.
The Indians had erected a great canopy of tanned buffalo skins on tepee
poles. Underneath were robes for seats for the General and his staff,
and thither they were led with great ceremony. Near by was a great fire
on which, buffalo, antelope, and other animals were roasting.
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