country, an old Indian and his squaw came riding into Fort Larned on two
of the horses, which they traded off for nuts, candy, sugar and more
candy, and were highly pleased over their exchange. They had no use for
the large horses because they could not stand the weather as well as
their Indian ponies. They grinningly told the storekeeper they would
return in "two moons" with more horses.



CHAPTER IX.

The Fort Riley Soldiers Go to Fort Larned to Horse Race With Cheyennes,
Comanches and Kiowas.

The Indians are great people for sport and amusement and it would be
difficult to imagine a more inveterate gambler. Their greatest ambition
is to excel in strength and endurance.

Several times as our coaches meandered across the plains, we came upon
the lodges of thousands of Indians, where the male population were
trying their skill at horse-racing. Even the small boys, many times as
many as fifteen or twenty, would be horse-racing and the chiefs would be
betting upon their favorites.

For their race tracks, they dug ditches about four feet apart and threw
up the sod and dirt between the ditches. The whole tribe then packed the
ground in the tracks hard and smooth by riding their horses up and down
those tracks to pack the dirt still more firmly. These tracks were
generally one and one-eighth miles long. The Indians would then select a
horse which they regarded as especially swift and banter the soldiers