The most valuable possession of the Indian was, without doubt, his horse. Large bands of wild horses roved in freedom over the Plains, but they were very difficult to catch and called for all the wonderful ingenuity of the red man. Starting on a hunt for them, the Indian, equipped with his lasso, first mounted his swiftest horse and rode out upon the prairies. As soon as he sighted a band he rode full speed until he was right among them, then threw his lasso, deftly getting it over the neck of one of the beasts. At this very instant he dismounted and, running as fast as he could, let the lasso slip through his hands until the captive horse dropped from want of breath. Now he quickly drew a hobble over the horse’s front feet. This done, he loosened the lasso to give the horse a chance to breathe and made a noose around the lower jaw, which gave him more control over the frightened animal. When it regained its breath the wild horse would rear and plunge in a frantic attempt for freedom. The Indian, never letting go his firm hold on the lasso, advanced towards the horse’s nose, and getting his hand over it could hold down the animal and prevent it from falling or rolling on its back. In this way he was able to put his other hand over the horse’s eyes and breathe into its nostrils. After this, strange as it may seem, the horse soon became perfectly docile, and the Indian had little to do but to remove the hobbles from its feet and ride into camp. With the buffalo for a constant source of food and the wild horses for their mounts the Indians of the Plains proved a powerful and enduring obstacle to the invasion of the white man. Their highly developed skill in scouting and prairie warfare enabled them to dispute every inch of their land with great success. [Illustration] INDIAN SCOUTS AND WARFARE ON THE PLAINS The great American prairies were the final gathering place of the Indians. What was left of the once powerful tribe, the Mohicans, and the Delawares, of the Creeks, Choctaws, and Cherokees, all found refuge here. At this period they dwelt in open hostility not only toward the white man, but among themselves. Wonderful and powerful alike in the chase and on the trail, their conquest was not an easy task. [Illustration: INDIANS SIGNALING] With the American Indian war was the one end and aim of living. Tribesmen were brothers but rival tribesmen were natural enemies. So, from the earliest times this rivalry between tribes kept them in almost constant warfare, and the western tribes being the most primitive, their fighting was very savage.