WHITE FRONTIERSMEN. 87 



stantly were, by these ever-present dangers and uncer- 

 tainties ; this nearly perpetual state of guerilla warfare 

 begat in them a spirit of self-reliance and of sleepless 

 caution and alertness, which probably made them the 

 raw material of the finest soldiers in the world. For 

 of course, in such a country a man was bound to be 

 constantly on his guard, whether living at home, or 

 travelling abroad ; for no one could ever tell the mo- 

 ment when an Indian outbreak or attack might occur. 



To small parties of hunters and travellers crossing 

 the plains these remarks will naturally apply with still 

 greater force, for their position exactly resembled that 

 of soldiers on duty in the face of an enemy, upon 

 active service of the most arduous and dangerous kind, 

 where self-preservation alone compelled the maintenance 

 of unceasing vigilance, ready to spring to arms at 

 a moment's notice. And so long as this vigilance was 

 never allowed to sleep, the Indians who, unseen them- 

 selves, generally watched and followed every party of 

 strangers passing through their country, very commonly 

 hesitated to attack a well-armed party, even with very 

 superior numbers. 



But such is the force of habit that men very often, 

 after marching from day to day, for a long period, 

 without meeting with any opposition, gradually became 

 lulled into a false sense of security, which frequently 

 proved fatal to them; for the moment the Indians 

 observed the slightest signs of carelessness, or of any 

 slackening of discipline, the fate of that party was sealed. 



Colonel Dodge, whose great experience among the 

 Indians of the Great West has enabled him to write 

 decisively and to the point upon these matters, says 



"The Indian's great delight is the attack of a waggon 



