the centre above my head, and the
circumference reaching from the neck to the tail of my horse, that if I
had not thrown away my rifle, lance, bow, and quiver, I should
immediately have been dragged to the ground. All the western Indians
and Mexicans are admirably expert in handling this deadly weapon.

Before the arrival of the Prince Seravalle, the Shoshones had bucklers,
but they soon cast them aside as an incumbrance; the skill which was
wasted upon the proper management of this defensive armour being now
applied to the improved use of the lance. I doubt much, whether, in the
tournaments of the days of chivalry, the gallant knights could show to
their lady-love greater skill than a Shoshone can exhibit when fighting
against an Arrapahoe or a Crow.

[The Crows, our neighbours, who are of the Dacotah race, are also
excellent horsemen, most admirably dressed and fond of show, but they
cannot be compared to the Shoshones; they have not the same skill, and,
moreover, they abuse and change their horses so often that the poor
brutes are never accustomed to their masters.]

But the most wonderful feat of the Shoshone, and also of the Comanche
and Apache, is the facility with which he will hang himself alongside
his horse in a charge upon an enemy, being perfectly invisible to him,
and quite invulnerable, except through the body of his horse. Yet in
that difficult and dangerous position he will use any of his arms with
precision and skill. The way in which they keep their balance is very
simple; they pass their right arm, to the very shoulder, through the
folds of the lasso, which, as I have said, is suspended to the pommel or
round the neck of the horse; for their feet they find a support in the
numerous loops of deer-skin hanging from the saddle; and thus suspended,
the left arm entirely free to handle the bow, and the right one very
nearly so, to draw the arrow, they watch their opportunity, and unless
previously wounded, seldom miss their aim.

I have said that the Shoshones threw away their bucklers at the
instigation of the Prince Seravalle, who also taught them the European
cavalry tactics. They had sense enough to perceive the advantage they
would gain from them, and they were immediately incorporated, as far as
possible, with their own.

The Shoshones now charge in squadrons with the lance, form squares,
wheel with wonderful precision, and execute many difficult manoeuvres;
but as they combine our European