While  we  were  holding  a  parley  with  him
on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  we  descried  an  Osage
on  horseback,  issuing  out  of  a  skirt  of  wood
about  half  a  mile  off,  and  leading  a  horse  by
a  halter.  The  latter  was  immediately  re-
cognised by  our  hard-winking  friend  as  the
steed  of  which  he  was  in  quest.  As  the
Osage  drew  near,  I  was  struck  with  his  ap-
pearance. He  was  about  nineteen  or  twenty
years  of  age,  but  well  grown,  with  the  fine
Roman  countenance  common  to  his  tribe  ;
and  as  he  rode,  with  his  blanket  wrapped
round  his  loins,  his  naked  bust  would  have
furnished  a  model  for  a  statuary.  He  was
mounted  on  a  beautiful  piebald  horse,  a
mottled  white  and  brown,  of  the  wild  breed
of  the  prairies,  decorated  with  a  broad  collar,


"  lynch's  law."  3o

from  which  hung  in  front  a  tuft  of  horsehair
dyed  of  a  bright  scarlet.
