North was on his pony; my boy was up. I had all I could do to hold
the fiery little fellow back. He was so lively on his feet that I
feared his young rider might not be able to stick on his back.
At last the order to start was given by the judges. I brought Powder
Face up to the score, and the word "Go!" was given. So swiftly did he
jump away that he left his rider sitting on the ground. Nevertheless he
went through and won the race without a rider. It was an easy victory,
and after that I could get no more races.
General Carr having obtained a leave of absence, Colonel Royal was
given command of an expedition that was ordered to go out after the
Indians. In a few days we set out for the Republican, where, we had
learned, there were plenty of Indians.
At Frenchman's Fork we discovered a village, but did not surprise it,
for the Indians had seen us approaching and were in retreat as we
reached their camping-place.
We chased them down-stream and through the sandhills, but they made
better time than we did, and the pursuit was abandoned.
While we were in the sandhills, scouting the Niobrara country, the
Pawnee Indians brought into camp some very large bones, one of which
the surgeon of the expedition pronounced to be the thigh bone of a
human being. The Indians said the bones were those of a race of people
who long ago had lived in that country.
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