Striking an easy canter, several miles were passed before rein was drawn at the foot of an ascending grade. Reaching the crest of the hill overlooking the little town they saw the people gathered in hundreds on its outskirts. The yells of the range-riders came wafted on the breeze, while the scene was enlivened by the silently stalking, gaudily blanketed Indian. Jim dismounted to tighten saddle cinches before descending; this done, they were soon mingling with the crowd. But the H-B boys were not to be seen. Entering their horses for the various sports, they had sought the monte games or gone in quest of the bootlegger.
Cogewea entered Diamond for the ladies’ race and White Star for the squaw race. She found her sisters with the children at one of the ice cream stands, enjoying the cooling luxury after their hot, sweltery drive. Stemteemä was with a large number of Indians, men and women, who were engaged in native gambling games under a long, improvised shed roofed with pine and cottonwood boughs. Beneath this shelter, the dancing would take place later, to be continued far into the night.
VII
The “Ladies’ ” and the “Squaw” Races
Where, in the valley fields and fruits,
Badger Clark
Now hums the lively street,
We milled a mob of fighting brutes,
Amid the grim mesquite.
“Hurry, Sis!” called Jim, as Cogewea joined him where he was holding the Bay Devil. “Race is on in a few minutes and you want Diamond handled a little ’fore startin’. Ride through the crowd to the track and get him used to the yellin’ and shootin’-crackers.”
He helped the girl to mount, her face showing but slightly, the heart’s throb of anticipation. A riding habit of blue corduroy fitted her slender form admirably. Red, white and blue ribbons fastened her hair, which streaming to the racer’s back, lent a picturesque wildness to her figure. Securing the stirrups, she requested Jim to tighten her spur-straps, as they seemed a trifle loose, adding:
“We just must win this race from the whites. See! the Webster girls are among the mounted ladies and they have mighty good horses. But if any of them beat me, they will sure have to run for it.”
“My ‘spirit-power’ tells me you’re goin’ come out first in this here race,” replied Jim solemnly, as he gave a final tug at a refractory spur-strap. “Signs all favorable for winnin’.”
Cogewea was assigned place abreast the other riders, her number placing her on the outer circle or flank of the field. Verona, the eldest Webster girl, was a noted rider and her jet mount, known as the “Black Snake,” had never lost a race. This was the first match between the two famous riders, and as Cogewea fell into line, Verona, who had second place, stared at her contemptuously and spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard by those standing near:
“Why is this squaw permitted to ride? This is a ladies’ race!”
Her companions were unanimous that it was a gross outrage and that they should protest. Stung by the biting insult, Cogewea retorted:
“Perhaps I am allowed because no ladies of the silvery-hue have entered and this race is being tolerated only that the audience may not be wholly disappointed.”
Further colloquy was cut short by the stentorian voice of the starter, as he raised pistol in air:
“A‑l‑l rea‑d‑y!” Bang!
The field was off! and it soon because apparent that the actual contest was to be between the two mighty racers. For the first quarter, the Black led the Bay, by a full length. In the next quarter, the Bay crept ahead until they were running neck and neck. The white rider plied the lash and the gallant Black responding retrieved in part, the lost ground. But at a touch of the spur, the Bay Devil forged along side, where, despite the fierce scourging by the white rider, he hung like a Nemesis. Soon he was a half-neck in the lead, when Verona, maddened at the thought of being beaten by a presumptuous “squaw,” swung her shot-loaded quirt, evidently designed at disabling Cogewea’s bridle arm. But the Indian girl’s quick eye enabled her to avoid the heavy swing, and as the next descended, she caught and wrenched the whip from the frenzied rider’s hand. Enraged at the brutality of the assault, she struck with all her force, but the blow falling short, landed athwart the Black Snake’s head. This slightly checked his speed and the Bay Devil won by nearly a full length.
The H-B boys yelled and threw their sombreros in air as the well matched leaders passed over the chalked-line, the balance of the field thundering in the rear. Diamond, the Bay Devil, circled far before his rider could stop him: and when at last she brought him about, he was reeking with perspiration and quivering with exertion and excitement. Jim was there and helped Cogewea to dismount. He blanketed the racer and led him to the stables, the girl walking at his side.
“By gad! Sis,” he exclaimed. “I’m some glad you won this here race. I knowed the Bay Devil would come through if only he had a nervy rider like you; my tiny squaw.”
Her eyes sparkled at the compliment, for “squaw” had not been intended as epithetical. She was silent and Jim continued:
“You’re sure one gritty little Injun, hittin’ back at that there high-toned white gal as you did. The H-B boys are all glad! They saw what she done to you first and know who’s in fault. But the white fellers a backin’ the Webster hoss are breezin’ trouble if the judge gives you the prize. They have the dough and that’s what talks, but the best rider of the—”
“She struck first and I had a right to defend myself,” broke in Cogewea spiritedly. “It made no difference in hitting her horse, for I was ahead anyway. I had
