PRIMITIVE AMERICAN ARMOR. 



629 



The construction of the North Americau shield is given in detail by 

 George Oatlin. The ingenious 

 process of contracting and 

 hardening the hide by fire was 

 common. 



Sioux shield made of the skiu of 



the buffalo's iieek, hardened with 



glue extracted from the hoofs aud 



joints of the same animal. The pro- 

 cess of "smoking the shield" is a 



verj' curious as well as important 



one, in their estimation. For this 



purpose a young man about to con- 

 struct for him a shield digs a hole 



of 2 feet in depth in the ground, 



and as large in diameter as he 



designs to make his shield. In this 



he builds a fire, and over it, a few 



inches higher than the ground, be 



stretches the rawhide horizontally 



over the fire, with little pegs driven 



through holes made near the edges 

 of the skin. The skin is at first 

 twice as large as the size of the 

 required shield ; but having got his 

 particular and best friends (who are 

 invited on this occasion) into a ring 

 to dance and sing about it and solicit 

 the Great Sph'it to instill into it 

 the power to j)rotect him harmless 

 against his enemies, he spreads over 

 it the glue which is rubbed aud dried 

 in, as the skin is heated; and a 

 second busily drives other and other 

 pegs, inside of those in the ground, 

 as they are gradually giving away 

 and being pulled up by the contrac- 

 tion of the skin. By this curious 

 process, which is most dexterously 

 done, the skin is kept tight whilst 

 it contracts to one-half of its size, 

 taking up the glue and increasing 

 in thickness until it is rendered as 

 thick and hard as required (and his 

 friends have pleaded long enough 

 to make it arrow, and almost ball, 

 proof), when the dance ceases and 

 the fire is put out. When it is 

 cooled and cut into the shape that 

 he desires, it is often painted with 

 his medicine or totem upon it, the 

 figure of an eagle, an owl, a buffalo, 

 or other animal, as the case may be, 



' •' ' Cat. No 



which he trusts will guard and pro- 

 tect him from harm. It is then frin<jred with 



Fig 2. 



ABAPAHOE SHIELD. 



, I'. S. N. M. Daknta. Collected hi 



eagles' quills or other ornaments he 



