"It is a Government horse," replied the Major. "The Indian who rides
him is very much attached to him."
I told Major North I had fallen in love with the horse, and asked if he
had any objections to my trying to secure him. He replied that he had
not. A few days later, after making the Indian several presents, I
persuaded him to trade horses with me. In this way I became possessed
of the buckskin, although he still remained Government property. I
named him Buckskin Joe, and he proved to be a second Brigham.
I rode him during the summers of '69, '70, '71, and '72. He was the
horse ridden by the Grand Duke Alexis on his buffalo hunt. In the
winter of '72, after I had left Fort McPherson, Buckskin Joe was
condemned and sold at public sale to Dave Perry at North Platte. In
1877 he presented him to me. He remained on my ranch on the Dismal
River for many years, stone blind, until he died.
At the end of twenty days, after a few unimportant running fights, we
found ourselves back to the Republican River.
Hitherto the Pawnee scouts had not taken much interest in me. But while
at the camp I gained their respect and admiration by showing them how
to kill buffaloes. Though they were excellent buffalo killers, for
Indians, I had never seen them kill more than four or five animals in
one run. A number of them would surround a herd and dash in on it, each
one killing from one to four buffaloes.
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