第14章 GALL(2)

"Mother!"he cried,"my dog is brave:he got the rabbit!"She snatched him off the travois,but he struggled out of her arms to look upon his dog lovingly and admiringly.Old men and boys crowded about the hero of the day,the dog,and the thoughtful grandmother of Matohinshda unharnessed him and poured some water from a parfleche water bag into a basin."Here,my grandson,give your friend something to drink.""How,hechetu,"pronounced an old warrior no longer in active service."This may be only an accident,an ordinary affair;but such things sometimes indicate a career.The boy has had a wonderful ride.I prophesy that he will one day hold the attention of all the people with his doings."This is the first remembered story of the famous chief,but other boyish exploits foretold the man he was destined to be.He fought many sham battles,some successful and others not;but he was always a fierce fighter and a good loser.

Once he was engaged in a battle with snowballs.There were probably nearly a hundred boys on each side,and the rule was that every fair hit made the receiver officially dead.He must not participate further,but must remain just where he was struck.

Gall's side was fast losing,and the battle was growing hotter every minute when the youthful warrior worked toward an old water hole and took up his position there.His side was soon annihilated and there were eleven men left to fight him.He was pressed close in the wash-out,and as he dodged under cover before a volley of snowballs,there suddenly emerged in his stead a huge gray wolf.

His opponents fled in every direction in superstitious terror,for they thought he had been transformed into the animal.To their astonishment he came out on the farther side and ran to the line of safety,a winner!

It happened that the wolf's den had been partly covered with snow so that no one had noticed it until the yells of the boys aroused the inmate,and he beat a hasty retreat.The boys always looked upon this incident as an omen.

Gall had an amiable disposition but was quick to resent insult or injustice.This sometimes involved him in difficulties,but he seldom fought without good cause and was popular with his associates.One of his characteristics was his ability to organize,and this was a large factor in his leadership when he became a man.He was tried in many ways,and never was known to hesitate when it was a question of physical courage and endurance.

He entered the public service early in life,but not until he had proved himself competent and passed all tests.

When a mere boy,he was once scouting for game in midwinter,far from camp,and was overtaken by a three days'blizzard.He was forced to abandon his horse and lie under the snow for that length of time.He afterward said he was not particularly hungry;it was thirst and stiffness from which he suffered most.One reason the Indian so loved his horse or dog was that at such times the animal would stay by him like a brother.On this occasion Gall's pony was not more than a stone's throw away when the storm subsided and the sun shone.There was a herd of buffalo in plain sight,and the young hunter was not long in procuring a meal.

This chief's contemporaries still recall his wrestling match with the equally powerful Cheyenne boy,Roman Nose,who afterward became a chief well known to American history.It was a custom of the northwestern Indians,when two friendly tribes camped together,to establish the physical and athletic supremacy of the youth of the respective camps.

The "Che-hoo-hoo"is a wrestling game in which there may be any number on a side,but the numbers are equal.All the boys of each camp are called together by a leader chosen for the purpose and draw themselves up in line of battle;then each at a given signal attacks his opponent.

In this memorable contest,Matohinshda,or Gall,was placed opposite Roman Nose.The whole people turned out as spectators of the struggle,and the battlefield was a plateau between the two camps,in the midst of picturesque Bad Lands.There were many athletic youths present,but these two were really the Apollos of the two tribes.