"Hear me, Shoshones! the truth must be told; hear my shame! One day, I
was hungry; it was in the great prairies. I had killed no game, and I
was afraid to return among our young men with empty hands. I remained
four days hunting, and still I saw neither buffaloes nor bears. At last,
I perceived the tent of an Arrapahoe. I went in; there was no one there,
and it was full of well-cured meat. I had not eaten for five days; I was
hungry, and I became a thief, I took away a large piece, and ran away
like a cowardly wolf. I have said: the prize cannot be mine."
A murmur ran through the assembly, and the chiefs, holy men, and elders
consulted together. At last, the ancient chief advanced once more
towards the young man, and took his two hands between his own. "My son,"
he said, "good, noble, and brave; thy acknowledgment of thy fault and
self-denial in such a moment make thee as pure as a good spirit in the
eyes-of the great Manitou. Evil, when confessed and repented of, is
forgotten; bend thy head, my son, and let me crown thee. The premium is
twice deserved and twice due."
A Shoshone warrior possessed a beautiful mare; no horse in the prairie
could outspeed her, and in the buffalo or bear hunt she would enjoy the
sport as much as her master, and run alongside the huge beast with great
courage and spirit.
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