When such is the case,
if the chiefs want peace, and do not care much for the murderer, they
allow him to be killed without interference; if, on the contrary, they
value him and will not permit his death, they raise the war-whoop, their
warriors defend the murderer's life, and the war between the two tribes
may be said to have commenced.
Most usually, however, the pipe of peace is accepted, in preference to
proceeding to such extremities.
I will now mention the arms and accoutrement of the Shoshone warriors,
observing, at the same time, that my remarks refer equally to the
Apaches, the Arrapahoes, and the Comanches, except that the great skill
of the Shoshones turns the balance in their favour. A Shoshone is always
on horseback, firmly sitting upon a small and light saddle of his own
manufacture, without any stirrups, which indeed they prefer not to have,
the only Indians using them being chiefs and celebrated warriors, who
have them as a mark of distinction, the more so that a saddle and
stirrups are generally trophies obtained in battle from a
conquered enemy.
They have too good a taste to ornament their horses as the Mexicans, the
Crows, or the Eastern Indians do; they think that the natural grace and
beauty of the animal are such that anything gaudy would break its
harmony; the only mark of distinction they put upon their steeds (and
the chiefs only can do so) is a rich feather or two, or three quills of
the eagle, fixed to the rosette of the bridle, below the left ear; and
as a Shoshone treats his horse as a friend, always petting him, cleaning
him, never forcing or abusing him, the animal is always in excellent
condition, and his proud eyes and majestic bearing present to the
beholder the beau ideal of the graceful and the beautiful.
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