Produced by Lynn Ratcliffe
THE LAST OF THE CHIEFS
A Story of the Great Sioux War
by Joseph A. Altsheler
Contents
I—The Train
II—King Bison
III—The Pass
IV—Treasure-Trove
V—The Lost Valley
VI—Castle Howard
VII—An Animal Progression
VIII—The Trap Makers
IX—The Timber Wolves
X—Dick Goes Scouting
XI—The Terrible Pursuit
XII—The Fight with Nature
XIII—Albert's Victory
XIV—Prisoners
XV—The Indian Village
XVI—The Gathering of the Sioux
XVII—Great Sun Dance
XVIII—The Circle of Death
XIX—A Happy Meeting
XX—Bright Sun's Good-by
The boy in the third wagon was suffering from exhaustion. Thedays and days of walking over the rolling prairie, under a brassysun, the hard food of the train, and the short hours of rest, hadput too severe a trial upon his delicate frame. Now, as he layagainst the sacks and boxes that had been drawn up to form a sortof couch for him, his breath came in short gasps, and his facewas very pale. His brother, older, and stronger by far, whowalked at the wheel, regarded him with a look in which affectionand intense anxiety were mingled. It was not a time and place inwhich one could afford to be ill.
Richard and Albert Howard were bound together by the strongest ofbrotherly ties. Richard had inherited his father's bigness andpowerful constitution, Albert his mother's slenderness andfragility. But it was the mother who lived the longer, althougheven she did not attain middle age, and her last words to herolder son were: "Richard, take care of Albert." He had promised,and now was thinking how he could keep the promise.
It was a terrible problem that confronted Richard Howard. Hefelt no fear on his own account. A boy in years, he was a man inthe ability to care for himself, wherever he might be. In aboyhood spent on an Illinois farm, where the prairies slope up tothe forest, he had learned the ways of wood and field, and wasfull of courage, strength, and resource.
But Albert was different. He had not thrived in the moist air ofthe great valley. Tall enough he was, but the width of chest andthickness of bone were lacking. Noticing this, the idea of goingto California had come to the older brother. The great gold dayshad passed years since, but it was still a land of enchantment tothe youth of the older states, and the long journey in the high,dry air of the plains would be good for Albert. There wasnothing to keep them back. They had no property save a littlemoney—enough for their equipment, and a few dollars over tolive on in California until they could get work.
To decide was to start, and here they were in the middle of thevast country that rolled away west of the Missouri, known butlittle, and full of dangers. The journey had been much harderthan the older boy had expected. The days stretched out, theweeks trailed away, and still the plains rolled before them.
The summer had been of the hottest, and the heated earth gaveback the glare until the air quivered in torrid waves. Richardhad drawn back the cover of the wagon that his brother mightbreathe the air, but he replaced it now to protect him from theoverpowering beams. Once more he anxiously studied the country,but it gave him little hope. The green of the grass was gone,and most of the grass with it. The brown undulations swept awayfrom horizon to horizon, treeless, waterless, and bare. In allthat vast desolation there was nothing save the tired and dustytrain at the ver