idea never entered his head. Only those who have ridden side by side
with an Indian hunter really know how much more powerful an arrow shot
is than the average man supposes.

In war the Indians would even now arm themselves in part with bow,
quiver, lance, war club and shield. The Northwestern tribes are partial
to fighting with the bow and lance, protected with a shield. This shield
is worn outside of the left arm, after the manner of the Roman and
Grecian shield.

The Western Indians are fonder of horseback riding than the Eastern
tribes, and have learned to wield their weapons while mounted. They are
taught to kill game while running at full speed, and prefer to fight on
horseback. Some of them are great cowards when dismounted, but seated on
an Indian pony they are undaunted.

It is a mistake to suppose that arrow-heads are no longer manufactured;
the art of fashioning them is not lost. Almost every tribe manufactures
its own. Bowlders of flint are broken with a sledge-hammer made of a
rounded pebble of hornstone set in a twisted withe. This bone is thought
to be the tooth of the sperm whale. In Oregon the Indian arrow is still
pointed with flint. The Iroquois also used flint until they laid aside
the arrow for the lack of anything to hunt. The Iroquois youth, though
the rifle has been introduced largely into his tribe, will have none of
it, but takes naturally to the bow and arrow. Steel for arrow-heads is
furnished by the fur-traders in the Rocky Mountains, and iron heads are
often made from old barrel hoops, fashioned with a piece of sandstone.
In shooting with the bow and arrow on horseback, the Indian horse is
taught to approach the animal attacked on the right side, enabling its
rider to throw the arrow to the left. Buffalo Bill was an adept at
slaughtering game on horseback, and he won his great bet at killing the
greatest number of buffaloes, by following the custom of the Indians and
shooting to the left. The horse approaches the animal, his halter
hanging loose upon his neck, bringing the rider within three or four
paces of the game, when the arrow or rifle ball is sent with ease and
certainty through the heart.

Indians who have the opportunity to ride nowadays, still exercise with a
lance twelve or fifteen feet in length. In their war games and dances
they always appear with this lance and shield. The spears are modern and
have a blade of polished steel, and the shields are made of skin. Those
of old