ten years old, the daughter of a chief, when
her horse was at full speed, kill, with her bow and arrow, in the course
of a minute or two, nine out of a flock of wild turkeys which she was in
chase of.

Their dress is both tasteful and chaste. It is composed of a loose
shirt, with tight sleeves, made of soft and well-prepared doe-skin,
almost always dyed blue or red; this shirt is covered from the waist by
the toga, which falls four or six inches below the knee, and is made
either of swan-down, silk, or woollen stuff; they wear leggings of the
same material as the shirt, and cover their pretty little feet with
beautifully-worked mocassins; they have also a scarf, of a fine rich
texture, and allow their soft and long raven hair to fall luxuriantly
over their shoulder, usually ornamented with flowers, but sometimes with
jewels of great value; their andes and wrists are also encircled by
bracelets; and indeed to see one of these young and graceful creatures,
with her eyes sparkling and her face animated with the exercise of the
chase, often recalled to the mind a nymph of Diana, as described by
Ovid.

[The Comanches women very much resemble the common squaws, being short
and broad in figure. This arises from the Comanches secluding the
women, and not permitting them air and exercise.]

Though women participate not in the deeper mysteries of religion, some
of them are permitted to consecrate themselves to this divinity, and to
make vows of chastity, as the vestals of Paganism or the nuns of the
Catholic convents. But there is no seclusion. They dress as men,
covered with leather from head to foot, a painting of the sun on their
breasts. These women are warriors, but never go out with the parties,
remaining always behind to protect the villages. They also live alone,
are dreaded, but not loved. The Indian hates anything or any body that
usurps power, or oversteps those bounds which appear to him as natural
and proper, or who does not fulfil what he considers as their intended
destiny.

The fine evenings of summer are devoted, by the young Indian, to
courtship. When he has made his choice, he communicates it to his
parents, who take the business into their bands. Presents are carried
to the door of the fair one's lodge; if they are not accepted, there is
an end to the matter, and the swain must look somewhere else; if they
are taken in, other presents are returned, as a token of agreement.
These generally consis