A large body of warriors set out to
meet them.
"Nephew, you have spilled the first blood
of the white man; go, join in battle with the sol-
diers. They are armed; they can defend them-
selves," remarked the old chief, and Tawasuota
replied:
"Uncle, you speak truth; I have committed
the act of a coward. It was not of my own
will I did it; nevertheless, I have raised my
weapon, and I will fight the whites as long as
I live. If I am ever taken, they will first have
to kill me." He arose, took up his gun, and
joined the war-party.
The dreadful day of massacre was almost
ended. The terrified Sioux women and children
had fled up the river before the approaching
troops. Long shafts of light from the setting
sun painted every hill; one side red as with
blood, the other dark as the shadow of death.
A cloud of smoke from burning homes hung
over the beautiful river. Even the permanent
dwellings of the Indians were empty, and all
the teepees which had dotted with their white
cones the west bank of the Minnesota had dis-
appeared.
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