MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 



49 



surrenders as soon as he feels the 

 rope on him. This cord is so 

 useful in this way that it is never 

 dispensed with, even when they 

 use the Spanish briille, wtiich they 

 prefer, and always procure when 

 they have it in their power. The 

 horse becomes almost an object 

 of attachment : a favourite is Ire- 

 quently painted and his ears cut 

 into various shapes : the mane 

 and tail, which aie never drawn 

 nor trinnned, are decorated with 

 feathers of birds, and sometimes 

 a warrior suspends at the bieast of 

 his horse the finest ornaments lie 

 possesses. 



Thus armed and moimted the 

 Shoshonee is a formidable enemy, 

 even with the feeble weapons 

 which he is still obliged to use. 

 When they attack at lull speed 

 they bend forwa d and cover tlieir 

 bodies with tlie shield, wliile with 

 the I ight hand they shoot under 

 the horse's neck. 



The only articles of metal 

 which the Shoshonees possess are 

 a few bad knives, some brass ket- 

 tles, some bracelets or armbands 

 of iron and brass, a few buttons 

 worn as ornaments in their hair, 

 one or two spears about a foot in 

 length, and some lieads for ar- 

 rows, made of iron and brass. 

 All these they had obtained in 

 trading with the Crow or Rocky 

 mountain Indians, who live on the 

 Yellowstone. The few bridle- 

 bits and stirrups they procured 

 from the Spanish colonies. 



The instrument which supplies 

 the place of a knife among them, 

 is a piece of flint with no regular 

 form, and the sharp part of it not 

 nioie than one or two Indies long. 

 The edge of this is renewed, and 



the ilint itself is formed into heads 

 for arrows, by means of the point 

 of a deer or elk horn, an instru- 

 ment which they ute with great 

 art and ingenuity, 'i'liere are no 

 axes or hatchets ; all the wood 

 being cut with timt or elk horn, 

 the latter of which is alu ays used 

 as a wedge in splitting wood. 

 Their utensils consist, besides the 

 brass kettles, (;f pots in the form 

 of ajar, made either of earth, or 

 of a stone found in the liills be- 

 tween Madison and Jefferson 

 livers, which, tliough soft and 

 wliite in its natural state, be- 

 comes very hard and black after 

 exposure to the tire. The horns 

 of the buffaloe and the bighorn 

 supply them with sjioons. 



The fire is always kindled hj 

 means of a blunt arrow, and a 

 piece of well-seasoned v\ood of a 

 soft sj)ongy kind, such as the wil- 

 low or cotton-wood. 



The Shoshonees ai'e of a dimi- 

 nutive stature, with thick flat feet 

 and ancles, crooked legs, and are, 

 generally speaking, norse form- 

 ed than any nation of Indians we 

 have seen. Their complexion re- 

 sembles that of tlie Siimx, and is 

 darker than that of tlie jMinneta- 

 rees, Mandans, or Shawiiees. The 

 hair of both .sexes is suffered to 

 fall hjosely over the face and down 

 the shoulders : some men, how- 

 ever, divide it by means of thongs 

 of dressed leather or otter skin 

 into two equal (lueues, whicli hang 

 over the ears and are drawn in 

 front of the body ; but at the pre- 

 sent moment, w hen the nation is 

 afflicted by the loss of so m;iny 

 relations killed in war, most of 

 them have the hair cut quite short 

 iir the neck, and Cameahwait has 



the 



