leaped to our feet in a second. 'Separate! separate!' he shouted,
and as we did so, the bear chose me for his meat. I ran downhill
as fast as I could, but he was gaining. 'Dodge around a tree!'
screamed Young-Man-Afraid. I took a deep breath and made a last
spurt, desperately circling the first tree I came to. As the
ground was steep just there, I turned a somersault one way and the
bear the other. I picked myself up in time to climb the tree, and
was fairly out of reach when he gathered himself together and came
at me more furiously than ever, holding in one paw the shreds of my
breechcloth, for in the fall he had just scratched my back and cut
my belt in two, and carried off my only garment for a trophy!

"My friend was well up another tree and laughing heartily at
my predicament, and when the bear saw that he could not get at
either of us he reluctantly departed, after I had politely
addressed him and promised to make an offering to his spirit on my
safe return. I don't think I ever had a narrower escape," he
concluded.

During the troublous times from 1865 to 1877, American Horse
advocated yielding to the government at any cost, being no doubt
convinced of the uselessness of resistance. He was not a
recognized leader until 1876, when he took the name and place of
his uncle. Up to this time he bore the nickname of Manishnee (Can
not walk, or Played out.)

When the greater part of the Ogallalas, to which band he
belonged, came into the reservation, he at once allied himself with
the peace element at the Red Cloud agency, near Fort Robinson,
Nebraska, and took no small part in keeping the young braves quiet.