20 INDl INS 01 THE PLAINS. 



country. Thus Nicolas Perrot writing in 1680- 171S 

 p. 1 19) says of the Indians in Illinois: — 



"The savages Be1 out in the autumn, after they have gathered the 

 harvest, to go hunting; and they do uol return to their villages until 

 the month of March, in order to plant the grain on their lands As 

 soon as this is done, they go hunting again, and do not return until 

 the month of July." 



Early explorers in the Plateaus to the west of the 



Plains tell us that the Xez Perc6 and Flathead of Idaho 

 and even the inhabitants of the Rio Grande pueblo of 

 Taos, New Mexico, made periodical hunting excursions 

 to the plains. 



To most of the Plains tribes, the introduction of the 

 European horse was a great boon. Unfortunately. 

 we have no definite information as to when and how 

 tl e horse was spread over the plains but it was so early 

 that its presence is noted by seme of the earliest ex- 

 plores. It is generally assumed that by trade 1 and by 

 the capture of horses escaping from the settlement-. 

 the various tribes quickly acquired their stock, first 

 from Mexico and the southern United States, whence 

 the Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee obtained 

 them, and they in turn passed them on to the north. 

 The Shoshone and other tribes of the Plateau area were 

 also pioneers in their use. Even as early a- 1 7.">4 they 

 are reported in great numbers among the Blackfopt, 

 one of the extreme northern plains groups. Hence, 

 we have no detailed information as to the mode of life 

 among these trib.es before the horse was introduced, 

 except what is gleaned from their tribal tradition-. 



