THE LAST OF THE CHIEFS

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




Chapter I
The Train

The boy in the third wagon was suffering from exhaustion. The
days and days of walking over the rolling prairie, under a brassy
sun, the hard food of the train, and the short hours of rest, had
put too severe a trial upon his delicate frame. Now, as he lay
against the sacks and boxes that had been drawn up to form a sort
of couch for him, his breath came in short gasps, and his face
was very pale. His brother, older, and stronger by far, who
walked at the wheel, regarded him with a look in which affection
and intense anxiety were mingled. It was not a time and place in
which one could afford to be ill.

Richard and Albert Howard were bound together by the strongest of
brotherly ties. Richard had inherited his father's bigness and
powerful constitution, Albert his mother's slenderness and
fragility. But it was the mother who lived the longer, although
even she did not attain middle age, and her last words to her
older 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. He
felt no fear on his own account. A boy in years, he was a man in
the ability to care for himself, wherever he might be. In a
boyhood spent on an Illinois farm, where the prairies slope up to
the forest, he had learned the ways of wood and field, and was
full of courage, strength, and resource.

But Albert was different. He had not thrived in the moist air of
the great valley. Tall enough he was, but the width of chest and
thickness of bone were lacking. Noticing this, the idea of going
to California had come to the older brother. The great gold days
had passed years since, but it was still a land of enchantment to
the youth of the older states, and the long journey in the high,
dry air of the plains would be good for Albert. There was
nothing to keep them back. They had no property save a little
money--enough for their equipment, and a few dollars over to
live on in California until they could get work.