328 
INCIDENTS AT THE 
that they wear these fine long boots, but from neces- 
sity ; as they require them to protect their legs when 
riding among the thorny chapporal of the plains, as 
well as from the venomous reptiles which abound 
there. The Apaches have their dandies as well as 
their civilized brethren ; in fact I have found among 
every tribe of Indians men of this class, whose minds 
seem to dwell more on their personal appearance than 
on any thing else. They are fond of remaining at 
home, associate more than others with the women, 
and never accompany war parties. They are looked 
upon as drones by the braves. Those whom we saw 
among the Apaches, were generally dressed in some 
tawdry manner, and their faces covered with paint. 
Some, with a truer sense of savage beauty, and who 
have fine manly forms, wore nothing but a breech 
cloth and boots. These, mounted on fine animals, and 
armed with a lance or bow, sometimes made their ap- 
pearance among the ragged and motley groups which 
visited our camps. A helmet-shaped cap of deer skin, 
fitting close to the head, and covered on the top with 
a bunch of feathers, is worn by many ; while others have 
straw hats, taken from the heads of Mexicans whom 
they have killed. Another and very picturesque orna- 
ment which the hatless and capless have recourse to, is 
a wreath of grass or leaves, twined around their heads 
and projecting well over their eyes, to protect them 
from the sun. The Mexican sera^e is also worn by 
those who have become the possessors of such a useful 
article of dress by murdering its former owner. The 
women wear jackets or tunics of deer skin, more or 
less ornamented, a profusion of beads, when they can 
