vere blow.

Besides these, they have a kind of armour something like a coat of mail,
which is formed by a great many folds of dressed antelope skins, united
by means of a mixture of glue and sand. With this they cover their own
bodies and those of their horses, and find it impervious to the arrow.

The caparison of their horses is a halter and a saddle: the first
is either a rope of six or seven strands of buffaloe hair platted
or twisted together, about the size of a man's finger and of great
strength; or merely a thong of raw hide, made pliant by pounding and
rubbing; though the first kind is much preferred. The halter is very
long, and is never taken from the neck of the horse when in constant
use. One end of it is first tied round the neck in a knot and then
brought down to the under jaw, round which it is formed into a simple
noose, passing through the mouth: it is then drawn up on the right side
and held by the rider in his left hand, while the rest trails after him
to some distance. At other times the knot is formed at a little distance
from one of the ends, so as to let that end serve as a bridle, while the
other trails on the ground. With these cords dangling along side of them
the horse is put to his full speed without fear of falling, and when he
is turned to graze the noose is merely taken from his mouth. The saddle
in formed like the pack-saddles used by the French and Spaniards, of two
flat thin boards which fit the sides of the horse, and are kept together
by two cross pieces, one before and the other behind, which rise to
a considerable height, ending sometimes in a flat point extending
outwards, and always making the saddle deep and narrow. Under this a
piece of buffaloe skin, with the hair on, is placed so as to prevent the
rubbing of the boards, and when they mount they throw a piece of skin
or robe over the saddle, which has no permanent cover. When stirrups
are used, they consist of wood covered with leather; but stirrups and
saddles are conveniences reserved for old men and women. The young
warriors rarely use any thing except a small leather pad stuffed with
hair, and secured by a girth made of a leathern thong. In this way
they ride with great expertness, and they have a particular dexterity
in catching the horse when he is running at large. If he will not
immediately submit when they wish to take him, they make a noose in
the rope, and although the horse may be at a distance, or even running,
r