from the head of an enemy, for though now and then an Indian may be forced to kill a person of his own tribe, in self-defence or otherwise, to take his scalp would be to consign himself to infamy in the eyes of his neighbours. Some of the scalps are not much larger than a crown

piece, and these are hung to different parts of the dress, or suspended from the bridle or halter of the horses, or carried as trophies at great feasts or parades. Sometimes they are cut into a fringe, and used to decorate their weapons, or attached to a "scalp-pole" over the wigwam. This is done by the chief setting the example by suspending all the scalps which he has taken over his wigwam, when all the minor dignitaries immediately follow suit. On such an occasion a stranger, by counting the number of scalps over each lodge, can ascertain the rank of each individual in the tribe; it is, in fact, a rude sort of peerage. On other occasions the scalp, if large, is stretched on a hoop at the end of a stick two or three feet in length, for the purpose of being danced. This "scalp-dance," found more or less amongst all these tribes, is a hideous savage display. It is danced at night by the light of torches, and just before retiring to bed. "When a war-party returns from a war-excursion, bringing home with them the scalps of their enemies, they generally dance them for fifteen nights in succession, vaunting forth the most extravagant boasts of their wonderful prowess in war, whilst they brandish their war-weapons in their hands. A number of young women are selected to aid (though they do

not actually join in the dance), by stepping into the centre of the ring and holding up the scalps that have been taken, whilst the warriors dance (or, rather, jump) around in a circle, brandishing their weapons, and barking and yelping in the most frightful manner, all jumping on both feet at once, with a simultaneous stamp and blow and thrust of their weapons, with which, it would seem, they were actually cutting and carving each other to pieces. During these frantic leaps and yelps and thrusts every man distorts his face to the utmost, darting about his glaring eye-balls, and snapping his teeth, as if he were in the heat of battle! No description could convey more than a faint idea of the frightful effects of these scenes, enacted in the dead of night, under the glaring light of their blazing flambeaux; nor could all the years allotted to mortal man in the least obliterate the vivid impression that one scene of this kind would leave upon his memory."

On the plains, of late years, the scalps which form the red man's "jewellery" have been, for the most part, those of whites, for, almost without exception, nearly all of the prairie tribes are, or have been, at war with them. The details of these outrages are sickening. Suffice it to say that houses are burnt, the inmates slaughtered and scalped, or taken prisoners, the lonely stations on the plains captured, often after bitter resistance, and the mail coach attacked by these fiends so frequently, that until recently, when the formation of the railway made this mode of conveyance a thing of the past, soldiers had to guard it, often ineffectually, for a great part of the distance. (See Plate, p. 129.) Sometimes these guerilla wars originated in the desire for plunder; at other times for the purpose of preventing the whites penetrating into the country-for instance, a few years ago many of the tribes coalesced for that purpose-but frequently enough revenge for brutal outrages perpetrated upon defenceless women and children by the half-civilised whites who hang about the frontier were the primary cause of these terrible scenes of bloodshed. A single instance (and I could give a score) may be sufficient for the reader. Some years ago a party of frontier men were crossing the plains to Oregon, armed of course, and reckless as most of them are. One day, whilst one of them was practising with his rifle, he noticed an old Indian squaw gathering berries. Not another Indian was in sight, and in spite of the protests of his companions, in mere wantonness he fired at the woman and killed her. They travelled on, but still a fear possessed them that the deed might be discovered and be

revengel. Days pissed, and nothing was seen of the Indians, but at last, when least thinking of them, they were overtaken and surrounded by a party so large that resistance was hopeless. The Indians were more reasonable, and seemingly more merciful than the whites. They did not, as they had the power to do, slaughter the whole party; they only asked that the murderer should be surrendered to them for punishment. As cowardly as he was cruel, he begged his comrades to save him, and for a while the party were undecided. Should they do so or not? would it not be worth while to fight it out-hopeless as the contest seemed? At last they resolved to give him up, on the Indians solemnly promising that they would not take his life. The wretched man was handed over to the fiends thirsting for vengeance, his companions retiring to some distance to await the result. They saw nothing, but on their ears burst the most heartrending yells of pain, which they knew proceeded from their late companion. They could do nothing but listen, in terro: and horror, all through the dark night, unable, if even they had been willing, to sleep. Morning came, and their companion, shrieking with pain, was led into their camp, alive, certainly the Indians had kept their word. But at the sight which met their eyes even these rough backwoodsmen grew sick and faint. His fiendish torturers had, bit by bit, flayed the unhappy man, until there was not an inch of skin on his whole body! His comrades, on his urgent entreaties, put him out of pain by sending a bullet through his head, after which they went one way and the Indians another.

:

Whenever they have a chance they mutilate the bodies of the white men whom they have slain, and Dr. Bell tells us that each tribe inflicts a mutilation corresponding to the sign— in the sign-language (already described) of the tribe. For instance, a non-commissioned American officer was killed in a fight with them, and when found had been stripped quite naked and scalped. Through his head a bullet had passed, while his brain was exposed by a tomahawk blow. The nose was slit up, the throat cut from ear to ear, seven arrows were sticking in his body, the breast was laid open so as to expose the heart, and the arm was hacked to the bone, while his legs from the hip to the knee lay open with horrible gashes; they had even cut the flesh from the knee to the foot. The allied tribes who had shared in this fight were Cheyennes, Araphoes, and Sioux. The hacked muscles of the right arm spoke of the Cheyennes, or "cut-arms;" the slit nose, of the Araphoes, or "smellers;" while the throat cut seemed to be intended by the savage Sioux to let the whites know that they too had been present at this horrible orgie.

name.

Let us now give a brief account of a few of the chief prairie tribes in more special detail.

COMANCHES.

One of the largest, as well as the most ruthless of the prairie tribes, is known under this Their numbers cannot be exactly ascertained, but 12,000 or 13,000 may probably be about the mark; thus, with the exception of the Dacotahs, or Sioux, they are the most numerous of the vagabond race which find their home on the great central regions of America. They have three great divisions-the northern, middle, and southern, designated by them as the Tennawas, Yamparaco, and Comanches, and these three "nations" are again subdivided into smaller bands, each having its own petty chief. The first division-viz., southern-resides for the most part within Texas, and may number about 1,000 souls. They lead the life of herdsmen and robbers, wandering about from place to place in search of game for themselves

and grass for their animals. In this manner all the region from the Red River of the south to the Colorado has unwelcome visits from them. During the winter they chiefly reside on the banks of the Brazos and Colorado, the grass in that region being green during that season,

and the climate sufficiently mild and agreeable. They derive no portion of their food from the buffalo-the region being out of its range-deer, antelopes, and smaller game imperfectly supplying its place, and were it not for the large number of mules and horses which they possess, they would sometimes be driven to great straits for food. As it is, their stock is