village, the old women set up a most unearthly howl of
exultation, after which the scalp-dance is performed with all the pomp
and display their limited resources admit of, the warriors having their
faces painted black.

When, on the other hand, the expedition terminates disastrously by the
loss of some of the party in battle, the relatives of the deceased cut
off their own hair, and the tails and manes of their horses, as symbols
of mourning, and howl and cry for a long time.

In 1854 I saw the widow of a former chief of the Southern Comanches,
whose husband had been dead about three years, yet she continued her
mourning tribute to his memory by crying daily for him and refusing all
offers to marry again.

The prairie warrior is occasionally seen with the rifle in his hand,
but his favorite arm is the bow, the use of which is taught him at an
early age. By constant practice he acquires a skill in archery that
renders him no less formidable in war than successful in the chase.
Their bows are usually made of the tough and elastic wood of the
"_bois d'are_," strengthened and re-enforced with sinews of the deer
wrapped firmly around, and strung with a cord of the same material.
They are from three to four feet long. The arrows, which are carried in
a quiver upon the back, are about twenty inches long, of flexible wood,
with a triangular iron point at one end, and at the other two feathers
intersecting at right angles.

At short distances (about fifty yards), the bow, in the hands of the
Indian, is effective, and in close proximity with the buffalo throws
the arrow entirely through his huge carcass. In using this weapon the
warrior protects himself from the missiles of his enemy with a shield
made of two thicknesses of undressed buffalo hide filled in with hair.

The Comanches, Sioux, and other prairie tribes make their attacks upon
the open prairies. Trusting to their wonderful skill in equitation and
horsemanship, they ride around their enemies with their bodies thrown
upon the opposite side of the horse, and discharge their arrows in
rapid succession while at full speed; they will not, however, often
venture near an enemy who occupies a defensive position. If, therefore,
a small party be in danger of an attack from a large force of Indians,
they should seek the cover of timber or a park of wagons, or, in the
absence of these, rocks or holes in the prairie which afford good
cover.

Attempts to stampede animals are o