as reverently as a Churchman would partake
of the sacrament. The chief of the council,
who was old and of a striking appearance, gave
the charge and command to the youthful
braves.

There was a score or more of warriors ready
mounted to escort them beyond the precincts
of the camp, and the "fearless heart" song
was sung according to the custom, as the four
ran lightly from the door of the council teepee
and disappeared in the woods.

It was a peculiarly trying and hazardous
moment in which to perform the duties of a
scout. The Sioux were encroaching upon the
territory of hostile tribes, here in the foot-hills
of the Big Horn Mountains, and now and then
one of their hunters was cut off by the enemy.
If continual vigilance could not save them, it
might soon become necessary to retreat to their
own hunting-grounds.

It was a savage fetish that a warrior must
be proof against the alluring ways of pretty
maidens; that he must place his honor far
above the temptations of self-indulgence and
indolence. Cold, hunger, and personal hard-
ship did not count with Antelope when there
was required of him any special exertion for