OF THE 





,.f ) 



PR1MJ#IVE AMERICAN ARMOR. 629 



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

 George Qatlin. The ingenious 

 process of contracting and 

 hardening the hide by fire was 

 common. 



Sioux shield made of the skin of 

 the buffalo s neck, hardened with 

 glue extracted from the hoofs and 

 joints of the same animal. The pro 

 cess of &quot;smoking the shield&quot; is a 

 very 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 Spirit to instill into it 

 the power to protect him harmless 

 against his enemies, he spreads over 

 it the glue which is rubbed and dried 

 in, as th0&quot;~skiu 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 iH 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, 

 which he trusts will guard and pro 

 tect him from Jiari^i. It is then fringed with eagles quills or other ornaments he 



Fig 2. 



ABAPAHOE SHIELD. 

 Cat. No. 129671, U. S. N. M. Dakoti.. Collected by H. M. Creel. 



