BULL. 30] 



HOSBOA HOSPITALITY 



571 



war pony or a buffalo horse had a high, 

 an old pack pony a low, value. A rich 

 old man might send fifteen or twenty 

 horses to the tipi of the girl he wished 

 to marry, while a poor young man might 

 send but one. A doctor mjght charge a 

 fee of one horse or five, according to the 

 patient's means. People jiaid as they 

 could. Among the Sioux and the Chey- 

 enne the plumage of two eagles used to be 

 regarded as worth a good horse. Forty 

 horses have been given for a medicine 

 pipe. 



Indian saddles varied greatly. The old 

 saddle of Moorish type, having the high 

 peaked pommel and cantle made of wood 

 or horn covered with raw buffalo hide, 

 was common, and was the kind almost 

 always used by women ; but there was an- 

 other type, low in front and behind, 

 often having a horn, the prong of a deer's 

 antler, for a rope. The Indians rode with 

 a short stirrup — the bareback seat. To- 

 day the young Indians ride the cowboy 

 saddle, with the cowboy seat — the long 

 leg. Cow-skin pads stuffed with the hair 

 of deer, elk, antelope, buffalo, or mountain 

 sheep were commonly used instead of 

 saddles by some of the tribes in running 

 buffalo or in war, but among a number 

 of tribes the horse was stripped for chas- 

 ing buffalo and for battle. Some tribes 

 on their horse-stealing expeditions car- 

 ried with them small empty pads, to be 

 stuffed with grass and used as saddles 

 after the horses had been secured. The 

 Indians of other tribes scorned such lux- 

 ury and rode the horse naked, reaching 

 home chafed and scarred. 



Horse racing, like foot racing, is a 

 favorite amusement, and much property 

 is wagered on these races. The Indians 

 were great jockeys and trained and han- 

 dled their horses with skill. When visit- 

 ing another tribe they sometimes took 

 race horses with them and won or lost 

 large sums. The Plains tribes were ex- 

 tremely good horsemen, in war hiding 

 themselves behind the bodies of their 

 mounts so that only a foot and an arm 

 showed, and on occasion giving exhibi- 

 tions of wonderful daring and skill. Dur- 

 ing the campaign of 1865 on Powder r., 

 after Gen. Conner's drawn battle with a 

 large force of Arapaho and Cheyenne, an 

 Arapaho rode up and down in front of the 

 command within a few hundred yards, 

 and while his horse was galloping was 

 seen to swing himself down under his 

 horse's neck, come up on the other side, 

 and resume his seat, repeating the feat 

 many times. 



The horse was usually killed at the 

 grave of its owner, just as his arms were 

 buried with him, in order that he might 

 be equipped for the journey that he was 

 about to take. A number of Plains tribes 



practised a horse dance. There were 

 songs about horses, and prayers were 

 made in their behalf. On the whole, 

 however, the horse's place in ceremony 

 was only incidental. On the occasion of 

 great gatherings horses were led into the 

 circle of the dancers and there given 

 away, the donor counting a coup as he 

 passed over the gift to the recipient. In 

 modern times the marriage gift sent by a 

 suitor to a girl's family consisted in part 

 of horses. Among some tribes a father 

 gave away a horse when his son killed 

 his first big game or on other important 

 family occasions. In the dances of the 

 soldier-band societies of most tribes 2, 4, 

 or 6 chosen men ride horses during the 

 dance. Their horses are painted, the 

 tails are tied up as for war, hawk or owl 

 feathers are tied to the forelock or tail, 

 and frequently a scalp, or something 

 representing it, hangs from the lower jaw. 

 The painting represents wounds received 

 by the rider's horse, or often there is 

 painted the print of a hand on either side 

 of the neck to show that an enemy on foot 

 has been ridden down. In preparing to 

 go into a formal battle the horse as well 

 as his rider received protective treatment. 

 It was ceremonially painted and adorned, 

 as described above, and certain herbs and 

 medicines were rubbed or blown over it 

 to give it endurance and strength. 



Among some of the Plains tribes there 

 was a guild of horse doctors who devoted 

 themselves especially to protecting and 

 healing horses. They doctored horses 

 before going into battle or to the buffalo 

 hunt, so that they should not fall, and 

 doctored those wounded in battle or on 

 the hunt, as well as the men hurt in the 

 hunt. In intertribal horse races they 

 "doctored" in behalf of the horses of 

 their own tribe and against those of their 

 rivals. See Commerce, Domestication, 

 Travel and Transportation. (g. b. g.) 



Hosboa. The Road-runner or Pheasant 

 clan of the Hopi, q. v. 



Hoc'-bo-a.— Stephen in 8th Rep. B. A. E., 39, 1891. 

 Hoc'-bo-awuii-wu. — Fewkes in Am. Anthrop., vii, 

 405, 1894 (!('((/(-«'» = ' clan '). Hosboa wiftwu — 

 Fewkes in 19ih Rep. B. A. E.; 584, 1900. Huspoa.— 

 Bourke, Snake Dance, 117, 1884. 



Hosmite. A former Cholovone village 

 on lower San Joaquin r., Cal. 

 Hosmite.— Pinart, Cholovone MS., B. A. E., 1880. 

 Kosmitas.— Chamisso jn Kotzebue, Vov., iii, 51, 

 1821. Kosmiti.— Choris, Voy. Pitt., 5, 1822. 



Hospitality. Hospitality, distinguished 

 from charity, was a cardinal principle 

 in every Indian tribe. The narratives 

 of many pioneer explorers and settlers, 

 from De Soto and Coronado, Amidas 

 and Barlow, John Smith and the Pil- 

 grims, down to the most recent period, 

 are full of instances of wholesale hos- 

 pitality toward the white strangers, 

 sometimes at considerable cost to the 

 hosts. Gift dances were a feature in 



