upon with the same jealous eye which greets the color-bearer of an army after having been engaged in some great battle which has proved successful to his standard.  An Indian will not remove, as a general thing, a scalp which contains grey hairs.  This he considers to be a business fit only for women.  The scalp which is to cause a general jubilee, on an appointed evening, is attached to the top of a long pole, planted in the earth at a suitable place.  The warriors who have been instrumental in tearing it from the head of its owner, form a circle around the pole, outside of which are arranged the spectators.  By the aid of one drum-stick, the person who has been detailed for this duty, keeps up a beating motion on a sort of kettle-drum, the noise of which serves the purpose of marking time.  The voices of the dancers make the music.  At first the song is a mere humming sound, but after a time, it grows gradually louder, until the participants in the dance, being excited to the highest attainable pitch with interest in the ceremonies, it becomes terribly hideous.  Almost naked, with tomahawk and hunting-knife in hand, the warriors imitate the process of dispatching and tearing off the scalps of their victims.  So excited do the dancing savages sometimes become while reveling in these fantastical scenes, that they frequently are aroused to a pitch which borders on frenzy.  The spectators of these sights get so deeply interested that it is not an extraordinary matter for them to appear as if almost deranged.  Their excitement breaks out into exclamations of encouragement and applause, until at last they can control themselves no longer, and, on their own account, commence making bodily demonstrations of joy by jumping about.  The scalp dance may last an entire night, or until, worn down with fatigue, the actors are willing to forego their pleasure and seek rest.  The Mexicans on the frontiers have fallen into this Indian custom, and they can go into the spirit of the scalp dance with a relish which fully equals that exhibited by their savage neighbors.  This is not true as a general rule; but, very many of their people really enjoy these ceremonies.

[Illustration:  INDIAN WAR DANCE.]

Colonel Fauntleroy and his men traveled at such a rapid pace, that, in the course of a very few days, they succeeded in once more overtaking the main village belonging to the enemy.  The Indians took refuge in a steep and rocky mountain.  A skirmishing fight immediately commenced, which lasted several hours.  During this engagement, a large number of the savage warriors were killed, their band completely routed, and the inhabitants of the whole village made to scatter in every direction in order to save their lives.  At first the braves attempted to make a stand, but they were driven from rock to rock, until they broke their ranks and fled.  It was about the time of this crisis, and when they were most needed, that the dragoon horses began to break down and die.