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times, about the middle of the nineteenth century, when nearly all 
the Indians possessed firearms as well as horses, every tribe was per- 
manently on a war footinj^ and peace was a rare interlude in their 
li\ 'es. Each night they picketed their horses near the tents and set 
watchmen to guard against attack; and at frequent intervals small 
jiarties I'ode away to raid some enemy and return with scalps and 
horses. At this period the council of each tribe elected a special war 
chief to command the warriors in all major operations. So, with their 
compact organization and strong military proclivities they were a 
formidable barrier to Euro])ean encroachment on the i)rairies. 
Ill this connexion we may quote from De Smet again: “The 
Indian has the gift of being everywhere without being anywhere. 
These savages assemble at the moment of battle, and scatter when- 
ever tlie fortune of war is contrary to them. The Indian puts his 
wife and children in shelter in some retired place, far from the scene 
of hostilities. He has neither towns, forts, nor magazines to defend, 
nor line of retreat to cover. He is embarrassed with neither baggage 
trains nor pack-horses. He goes into action when a favourable 
occasion is presented, and never risks himself without having the 
advantage of numbers and position on his side. The science of 
strategy is consequently of little use in operating against such a 
people. There is not on earth a nation more ambitious of military 
renown, nor that holds in higher estimation the conduct of a valiant 
warrior. No Indian could ever occupy a place in the councils of his 
tribe until he had met the enemy on the field of battle. He who 
reckons the most scalps is most highly considered among his people.”^ 
The radical change that occurred in the plains' Indians through 
the introduction of the horse, even before there was direct contact 
with Europeans, is one of the most remarkable phenomena in history. 
It converted primitive parties of foot-hunters, isolated, timid, and 
circumscribed in their movements, into organized bands of daring 
warriors who extended their forays over thousands of miles. Not 
only difi it ease their economic condition as long as the herds of 
buffalo lasted, but, by enlarging their contacts with each other 
and with neighbouring peoples, it cau.sed a wide diffusion of social 
and religious ideas and a notable development in political life. It 
thus affords a striking example of the effect which the introduction of 
1 De Smet: Op. eit., vol. iii, p. 827. 
