ii2 The Winning of the West 



warrior who possessed any influence to go on raid- 

 ing and murdering unchecked. Every tribe, every 

 sub-tribe, every band of a dozen souls ruled over by 

 a petty chief, almost every individual warrior of 

 the least importance, had to be met and pacified. 

 Even if peace were declared, the Indians could not 

 exist long without breaking it. There was to them 

 no temptation to trespass on the white man's ground 

 for the purpose of settling; but every young brave 

 was brought up to regard scalps taken and horses 

 stolen, in war or peace, as the highest proofs and 

 tokens of skill and courage, the sure means of at- 

 taining glory and honor, the admiration of men and 

 the love of women. Where the young men thought 

 thus, and the chiefs had so little real control, it was 

 inevitable that there should be many unprovoked 

 forays for scalps, slaves, and horses made upon the 

 white borderers. 22 



As for the whites themselves, they, too, have 

 many and grievous sins against their red neighbors 

 for which to answer. They can not be severely 

 blamed for trespassing upon what was called the 

 Indians' land; for let sentimentalists say what they 

 will, the man who puts the soil to use must of right 

 dispossess the man who does not, or the world will 

 come to a standstill; but for many of their other 

 deeds there can be no pardon. On the border each 



22 Similarly the Crows, who have always been treated well 

 by us, have murdered and robbed any number of peaceful, 

 unprotected travelers during the past three decades, as 

 I know personally. 



