tells of the almost general use of sea shells as necklace
ornaments, which found their way into the interior by barter or as
ceremonial gifts. The chiefs of the tribe were fond of wearing a disk cut
from a conch-shell, and these were also prominent in religious rites,
ranking among the modern tribes as did the turquoise among the people of
the Southwest. A necklace of bear claws marks the man of distinction, and
sometimes was worn as an armlet. In the buffalo country the women seldom
ornamented their own robes, but embroidered those worn by the men.
Sometimes a man painted his robe in accordance with a dream or pictured
upon it a yearly record of his own deeds, or the prominent events of the
tribe. Among the southern tribes a prayer rug was made on deer skin, both
the buffalo and deer skins having been tanned and softened by the use of
the brains taken from the skull of the animal. The skins were painted
with intricate ornamentation, symbols and prayer thoughts adorning the
skin in ceremonial colours; white clouds and white flowers, the sun god,
and the curve of the moon with its germ of life, the morning star, and
also a symbol of the messengers from the gods. Above it all zigzag lines
ran through the blue of the sky to denote the lightning by which the
children above sent their decrees to the earth children who roamed the
plains.

[An Imperial Warrior]

An Imperial Warrior

Footgear often proclaimed the tribal relation, the peculiar cut and
decoration of the moccasin denoting a man's tribe. The war-shirt was
frequently ornamented to represent the life story of the man wearing it.
The breast contained a prayer for protection, and on the back might be
found woven in beaded tapestry the symbols of victory. He had conquered
the trail behind him. The shirt was often decorated with a fringe of
human hair, the more warlike appending the scalps of the slain. The
warrior wore no regalia so imposing as his war-bonnet with its crown of
golden eagle feathers. Before the coming of the horse the flap at the
back rarely extended below the waist, but when the warriors came to be
mounted, the ruff of feathers was so lengthened that when the Indian was
dismounted it trailed on the ground. The making of a war-bonnet was
accompanied by song and ceremony. Each feather before it was placed in
position was held in the hand and had recounted over it the story of some
war