[Illustration] THE BOY’S BOOK OF INDIANS AND THE WILD WEST WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE ALFRED WILLIAMS [Illustration] NEW YORK COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY, FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS INDIANS OF THE FOREST When the white man discovered America, he found a great, primeval wilderness of fertile valleys, high mountains and deep forests. Tall trees had grown for centuries and their towering tops, reaching up to the blue sky, shut out the sunlight from the gloom of the forest solitude. In the deep recesses of this wilderness the red man, or Indian, lived in wild freedom. Skilled in woodcraft and the art of savage warfare, he was lord and master of this vast domain, now called the United States. Although divided into numerous tribes or families, each speaking a different language, the Indians were, in traits of character and general appearance, very much alike. In war they were courageous, but at the same time intelligently cautious. Treacherous and deceitful to their foes, they preferred to slay an enemy by a secret rather than an open blow. Brave and successful a warrior as the Indian was, he excelled even more when he became a hunter. To be victor over the beast in the chase and hunt meant to the Indian plenty to eat and stout clothing to wear, so he developed remarkable skill in using his chief weapon, the bow and arrow. Before the white man came to America the Indians were clad almost entirely in the skins of animals which they themselves cured and dressed to perfection, fastening various pieces together with the tendons and tough strips of skin very much as we sew to-day. These garments, gayly ornamented with shells and colored stones, made very useful and picturesque clothing. [Illustration: BROWN MOOSE A CELEBRATED MOHAWK CHIEF] The Indian boy was taught from early childhood to believe that his highest attainment was to be a brave warrior and a great hunter, and to look with scorn upon any other work. So upon the Indian women fell the task of tilling the soil. For this reason farming never became a real industry among them and they were amply satisfied to grow maize, or Indian corn, from which they made many kinds of dishes and bread. A very rich and fertile soil furthered their ambitions, for with but little attention to farming they reaped abundant crops. [Illustration: TOMAHAWK]