During the heat of the battle, a woman of the Nez Perces, seeing her
warrior badly wounded and unable to fight, seized his bow and arrows,
and bravely and successfully defended his person, contributing to the
safety of the whole party.
In another part of the field of action, a Nez Perce had crouched behind
the trunk of a fallen tree, and kept up a galling fire from his covert.
A Blackfoot seeing this, procured a round log, and placing it before
him as he lay prostrate, rolled it forward toward the trunk of the
tree behind which his enemy lay crouched. It was a moment of breathless
interest; whoever first showed himself would be in danger of a shot.
The Nez Perce put an end to the suspense. The moment the logs touched he
Sprang upon his feet and discharged the contents of his fusee into the
back of his antagonist. By this time the Blackfeet had got possession of
the horses, several of their warriors lay dead on the field, and the Nez
Perces, ensconced in their lodges, seemed resolved to defend themselves
to the last gasp. It so happened that the chief of the Blackfeet party
was a renegade from the Nez Perces; unlike Kosato, however, he had no
vindictive rage against his native tribe, but was rather disposed, now
he had got the booty, to spare all unnecessary effusion of blood. He
held a long parley, therefore, with the besieged, and finally drew off
his warriors, taking with him seventy horses. It appeared, afterward,
that the bullets of the Blackfeet had been entirely expended in the
course of the battle, so that they were obliged to make use of stones as
substitute.
Pages:
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165