"The stranger did not speak. He sat as close to the fire as he could get,
still shivering with cold.

"The chief told a woman to feed him; and she warmed some soup and meat over
the fire, and set it before the stranger. Then he threw off his robe, and
began to eat like a dog that is starved; and all the people sat and looked
at him. He was a young man; his face was good, and his hair very long; but
he looked thin, and his clothes were poor.

"The stranger ate all the soup and meat, and then he spoke, in signs: 'I
came from the north. I was with a large party. We traveled south many days,
and at last saw a big camp by a river. At night we went down to it, to take
horses, but I got none, and my party rode off and left me. They told me to
go with them and they would give me some of the horses that they had taken,
but I was ashamed. I had taken no horses, and I could not go back to my
people without counting a coup. So I came on alone, and it is now many days
since I left my party. I had used up all my arrows, and could kill no food.
I began to starve. To-day I saw your camp. I thought to take some horses
from you, but my arrows are gone; I should have starved on the road. My
clothes are thin and torn; I should have frozen. So I made up my mind to
come to your camp and be killed.

"'Come, I am ready. Kill me! I am a Blackfoot.'

"A pipe was filled, lighted, and passed around. But the chief sat thinking.
Everyone was waiting to hear what he would say.

"At last he spoke: 'An enemy has come into our camp. The Blackfeet are our
enemies. They kill us when they can. We kill them. This man came here to
steal our horses, and he ought to be killed. But, you see, he has come into