MONSIEUR VIOLET (FISCLE PART-IV) - FREDERICK MARRYAT (books to read this summer txt) 📗

Feet Of The Plaintiffs. When On The Contrary, The Calumet

Passes Untouched, The Murderer'S Life Alone Can Satisfy The Tribe.

 

 

 

When The Chiefs Of The Tribe Of The Murderer Leave Their Village To Come

And Offer Excuses, They Bring With Them The Claimed victim, Who Is Well

Armed. If He Is Held In high Estimation, And Has Been A Good Warrior And

A Good Man, The Chiefs Of His Tribe Are Accompanied by A Great Number Of

Their Own Warriors, Who Paint Their Faces Before Entering The Council

Lodge; Some In black With Green Spots, Some All Green (The Pipe Of Peace

Is Always Painted green).

 

 

 

The Relations Of The Murdered man Stand On One Side Of The Lodge, The

Warriors Of The Other Tribe Opposite To Them. In the Centre Is The

Chief, Who Is Attended by The Bearer Of The Pipe Of Peace On One Side Of

Him, And The Murderer On The Other. The Chief Then Makes A Speech, And

Advances With The Pipe-Bearer And The Murderer Towards The Relatives Of

The Deceased; He Entreats Them, Each Man Separately, To Smoke The Pipe

Which Is Offered by The Pipe-Bearer, And When Refused, Offered to The

Next Of The Relatives.

 

 

 

During This Time The Murderer, Who Is Well Armed, Stands By The Chiefs

Side, Advancing Slowly, With His Arrow Or His Carbine Pointed, Ready To

Fire At Any One Of The Relations Who May Attempt To Take His Life Before

The Pipe Has Been Refused by The Whole Of Them. 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. The Elegant

Dress And Graceful Form Of The Shoshone Cavalier, Harmonizes Admirably

With The Wild And Haughty Appearance Of The Animal.

 

 

 

The Shoshone Allows His Well-Combed locks To Undulate With The Wind,

Only Pressed to His Head By A Small Metal Coronet, To Which He Fixes

Feathers Or Quills, Similar To Those Put To His Horse'S Rosette. This

Coronet Is Made Either Of Gold Or Silver, And Those Who Cannot Afford To

Use These Metals Make It With Swan-Down Or Deer-Skin, Well-Prepared and

Elegantly Embroidered with Porcupine Quills; His Arms Are Bare And His

Wrists Encircled with Bracelets Of The Same Material As The Coronet; His

Body, From The Neck To The Waist, Is Covered with A Small, Soft

Deer-Skin Shirt, Fitting Him Closely Without A Single Wrinkle; From The

Waist To The Knee He Wears A Many-Folded toga, Of Black, Brown, Red, Or

White Woollen Or Silk Stuff, Which He Procures At Monterey Or St.

Francisco, From The Valparaiso And China Traders; His Leg From The Ankle

To The Hip Is Covered by A Pair Of Leggings Of Deer-Skin, Dyed red or

Black With Some Vegetable Acids, And Sewed with Human Hair, Which Hangs

Flowing, Or In tresses, On The Outward Side; These Leggings Are

Fastened a Little Above The Foot By Other Metal Bracelets, While The

Foot Is Encased in an Elegantly Finished mocassin, Often Edged with

Small Beautiful Round Crimson Shells, No Bigger Than A Pea, And Found

Among The Fossil Remains Of The Country.

 

 

 

Round His Waist, And To Sustain The Toga, He Wears A Sash, Generally

Made By The Squaws Out Of The Slender Filaments Of The Silk-Tree, A

Species Of The Cotton-Wood, Which Is Always Covered with Long Threads,

Impalpable, Though Very Strong. These Are Wove Together, And Richly

Dyed. I Am Sure That In paris Or In london, These Scarfs, Which Are From

Twelve To Fifteen Feet Long, Would Fetch A Large Sum Among The Ladies Of

The Haut Ton. I Have Often Had One Of Them Shut Up In my Hand So That It

Was Scarcely To Be Perceived that I Had Anything Enclosed in my Fist.

 

 

 

Suspended to This Scarf, They Have The Knife On The Left Side And The

Tomahawk On The Right. The Bow And Quiver Are Suspended across Their

Shoulders By Bands Of Swan-Down Three Inches Broad, While Their Long

Lance, Richly Carved, And With A Bright Copper Or Iron Point, Is Carried

Horizontally At The Side Of The Horse. Those Who Possess A Carbine Have

It Fixed on The Left Side By A Ring and A Hook, The Butt Nearly Close To

The Sash, And The Muzzle Protruding a Little Before The Knee.

 

 

 

The Younger Warriors, Who Do Not Possess The Carbine, Carry In its Stead

A Small Bundle Of Javelins (The Jerrid Of The Persians), With Which They

Are Very Expert, For I Have Often Seen Them, At A Distance Of Ten Feet,

Bury One More Than Two Feet Deep In the Flanks Of A Buffalo. To Complete

Their Offensive Weapons, They Have The Lasso, A Leather Rope Fifty Feet

Long, And As Thick As A Woman'S Little Finger, Hanging From The Pommel

Of Their Saddles; This Is A Terrible Arm, Against Which There Is But

Little Possibility Of Contending, Even If The Adversary Possess A Rifle,

For The Casting Of The Lasso Is Done With The Rapidity Of Thought, And

An Attempt To Turn Round And Fire Would Indubitably Seal His Fate: The

Only Means To Escape The Fatal Noose Is To Raise The Reins Of Your Horse

To The Top Of Your Head, And Hold Any Thing Diagonally From Your Body,

Such As The Lance, The Carbine, Or Anything Except The Knife, Which You

Must Hold In your Right Hand, Ready For Use.

 

 

 

The Chances Then Are: If The Lasso Falls Above Your Head, It Must Slip,

And Then It Is A Lost Throw, But If You Are Quick Enough To Pass Your

Knife Through The Noose, And Cut It As It Is Dragged back, Then The

Advantage Becomes Yours, Or, At Least Is Equally Divided, For Then You

May Turn Upon Your Enemy, Whose Bow, Lance, And Rifle, For The Better

Management Of His Lasso, Have Been Left Behind, Or Too Firmly Tied about

Him To Be Disengaged and Used in so Short A Time. He Can Only Oppose You

With The Knife And Tomahawk, And If You Choose, You May Employ Your Own

Lasso; In that Case The Position Is Reversed; Still The Conquest Belongs

To The Most Active Of The Two.

 

 

 

It Often Happens, That After Having Cut The Lasso And Turned upon His

Foe, An Indian, Without Diminishing The Speed of His Horse, Will Pick Up

From The Ground, Where He Has Dropped it, His Rifle Or His Lance; Then,

Of Course, Victory Is In his Hands. I Escaped once From Being Lassoed in

That Way. I Was Pursued by A Crow Indian; His First Throw Failed, So Did

His Second And His Third; On The Fourth I Cut The Rope, And Wheeling

Round Upon Him, I Gave Chase, And Shot Him Through The Body With One Of

My Pistols. The Noose At Every Cast Formed such An Exact Circle, And

Fell With Such Precision, 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 Ladye-Love Greater Skill Than A Shoshone Can Exhibit When Fighting

Against An Arrapahoe Or A Crow[12].

 

 

 

[Footnote 12: 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 Tactics With Their Own Indian Mode Of

Warfare, One Of The Most Singular Sights Is To Witness The Disappearance

Behind Their Horses, After The Indian Fashion, Of A Whole Body Of

Perhaps Five Hundred horse When In full Charge. The Effect Is Most

Strange; At One Moment, You See The Horses Mounted by Gallant Fellows,

Rushing To The Conflict; At A Given Signal, Every Man Has Disappeared,

And The Horses, In perfect Line Appear As If Charging, Without Riders,

And Of Their Own Accord, Upon The Ranks Of The Enemy.

 

 

 

I Have Dwelt Perhaps Too Long Upon The Manners And Habits Of These

People; I Cannot Help, However, Giving My Readers A Proof Of The

Knowledge Which The Higher Classes Among Them Really Possess. I Have

Said That They Are Good Astronomers, And I May Add That Their Intuitive

Knowledge Of Geometry Is Remarkable. I Once Asked a Young Chief What He

Considered the Height Of A Lofty Pine. It Was In the Afternoon, About

Three O'Clock. He Walked to The End Of The Shadow Thrown By The

Pine-Tree, And Fixed his Arrow In the Ground, Measured the Length Of The

Arrow, And Then The Length Of The Shadow Thrown By It; Then Measuring

The Shadow Of The Pine, He Deducted from It In the Same Proportion As

The Difference Between The Length Of The Arrow, And The Length Of Its

Shadow, And Gave Me The Result. He Worked the Rule Of Three Without

Knowing It.

 

 

 

But The Most Remarkable Instance Occurred when We Were About To Cross A

Wide And Rapid River, And Required a Rope To Be Thrown Across, As A Stay

To The Men And Horses. The Question Was, What Was The Length Of The Rope

Required; _I.E._, What Was The Width Of The River? An Old Chief Stepped

His Horse Forward, To Solve The Problem, And He Did