JOURNAL. 
255 
stand an assault from a much superior force. They are excel¬ 
lent horsemen—ihey will shout an arrow at full speed- and again 
-pick it up from ihe ground without stopping: sometimes they 
Avill lean entirely upon one leg. throwing their bodies to that side, 
jso as to present nothing but the leg and thigh, on the other.— 
In pursuit of the buffaloe, they will gallop down steep hills, 
broken almost into precipices. Some of their horses are very 
fine, and run swiftly, but are soon worn out, from the difficulty 
of procuring food for them in winter, the smaller branches of 
the cotton wood tree being almost the only fodder which they 
give them. Their hunting is regulated by the warriors chosen 
for the occasion, who urge on such as are tardy, and repress of¬ 
ten with blows, those tvho would rush on too soon. When a 
herd of buffaloe is discovered, they approach in proper order, 
within a half a mile, they then separate and dispose themselves, 
so as^ in some measure, to surround them, when at the word, 
they rush upon them at full speed, and continue as long as their 
horses can stand it: a hunter usually shoots two arrows into a 
buffaloe, and then goes in pursuit of another; if he kills more 
than two in the hunt, he is considered as having acquitted him¬ 
self well. The tongue is the prize of the person who has slain 
the animal; and he that has the greater number, is considered 
the best hunter of the day. Their weapons consist of guns, war 
clubs, spears, bows, and iances. They have two kindsof arrows, 
one for the purpose of the chase, and the other for war; the lat¬ 
ter differs in this particular, that the barb or point is fastened so 
slightly, that when it enters the body, it remains in, and cannot be 
drawn out with the wood ; therefore, when it is not in-a vital part, 
the arrow is pushed entirely through. They do not poison them. 
Their bows are generally very small; an elk’s horn, or two ribs 
of a buffaloe, often constitute the materials of which they are 
made. Those of wood are of willow, the back covered with si¬ 
news. Their daily sports, in which, when the weather is favor¬ 
able, they are engaged from morning till night, are principally 
of two kinds. A level piece of ground appropriated for the pur¬ 
pose, and beaten by frequent use, is the place where they are 
carried on. The first is played by two persons, each armed with 
a long pole; one of them rolls a hoop, which, after having reach 
