but hunger can make heroes, and we determined to take a meal at their
expense. The fellows had been lucky, for around their tents they had
hung upon poles large pieces of meat to dry. They had no horses, and
only a few dogs scattered about the camp. We skirted the plain in
silence, and at dark we had arrived at three hundred yards from them,
concealed by the projecting rocks which formed a kind of belt around
the camp.

Now was our time. Giving the Shoshone war-whoop, and making as much
noise as we could, we spurred on our horses, and in a few moments each
of us had secured a piece of meat from the poles. The Crows (for the
camp contained fifteen Crows and three Arrapahoes), on hearing the
war-whoop, were so terrified that they had all run away without ever
looking behind them; but the Arrapahoes stood their ground, and having
recovered from their first surprise, they assaulted us bravely with
their lances and arrows.

Roche was severely bruised by his horse falling, and my pistol, by
disabling his opponent, who was advancing with his tomahawk, saved his
life. Gabriel had coolly thrown his lasso round his opponent, and had
already strangled him, while the third had been in the very beginning of
the attack run over by my horse. Gabriel lighted on the ground, entered
the lodges, cut the strings of all the bows he could find, and,
collecting a few more pieces of the meat, we started at a full gallop,
not being inclined to wait till the Crows should have recovered from
their panic. Though our horses were very tired, we rode thirteen miles
more that night, and, about ten o'clock, arrived at a beautiful spot
with plenty of fine grass and cool water, upon which both we and our
horses stretched ourselves most luxuriously even before eating.