on, and before the hunt was over I killed many buffalo, and my mother
dressed the hides.

[Illustration: I KILLED MANY BUFFALO AND MY MOTHER DRESSED THE HIDES]




_In the Medicine Circle._


Soon after I had killed my big buffalo, my uncle had sent for me and when I
had gone to his lodge, he said, "Come with me"; and we walked out on the
prairie where his horses were feeding. He carried a rope in his hand, and,
throwing it over the fast buffalo horse, that he had told me to ride when I
first hunted buffalo, he put the rope in my hand, and said: "Son, I give
you this horse; he is fast, and he is long-winded. You have seen that he
can overtake buffalo. I tell you now that he is a good horse for war. If
you ride him when you go on the warpath, you can get up close to your
enemy, and strike him; he will not be able to run away from you."

This was the first horse I had, and I was proud to own it. Also, later, my
uncle said to me, "My son, if you need horses for riding, catch some of
those out of my band, and use them." This I did, sometimes. My uncle had
plenty of horses, and was always going to war and getting more.

I was now a big boy, and began to think more and more about going to war.
Ever since I had been little I had talked with my companions, and they with
me, about the time when we should be big enough to do the things that our
fathers and uncles did; and the thing that we most wished to do was to go