shot. He knows that the Mohawk skirmishers will be too vigilant."

As they went back to the fire for their food they heard a droning song
and the regular beat of feet. Some of the Mohawks were dancing the
Buffalo Dance, a dance named after an animal never found in their
country, but which they knew well. It was a tribute to the vast energy
and daring of the nations of the Hodenosaunee that they should range
in such remote regions as Kentucky and Tennessee and hunt the buffalo
with the Cherokees, who came up from the south.

They called the dance Dageyagooanno, and it was always danced by men
only. One warrior beat upon the drum, _ganojoo_, and another used
_gusdawasa_ or the rattle made of the shell of a squash. A dozen
warriors danced, and players and dancers alike sang. It was a most
singular dance and Robert, as he ate and drank, watched it with
curious interest.

The warriors capered back and forth, and often they bent themselves
far over, until their hands touched the ground. Then they would arch
their backs, until they formed a kind of hump, and they leaped to and
fro, bellowing all the time. The imitation was that of a buffalo,
recognizable at once, and, while it was rude and monotonous, both
dancing and singing preserved a rhythm, and as one listened
continuously it soon crept into the blood. Robert, with that singular
temperament of his, so receptive to all impressions, began to feel
it. Their chant was of war and victory and he stirred to both. He was
on the warpath with them, and he passed with them through the thick of
battle.

They danced for a long time, quitting only when exhaustion