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Show i9oo] INDIAN INDUSTRIES 241 resulted in a continual state of war. N ySvery tribe was practically at war with every other with which there was not an express treaty^ of peace. Jv It is not strange then that the military virtues came to hold the highest place in the popular regard. To die in battle was glorious; bravery, strength, and skill gave the most envied positions to their possessors, and cowardice was everywhere execrated. It was an easy matter to arouse the warlike enthusiasm of the boy, and among most tribes his early training was directed chiefly to that end. The child's toys were miniature weapons, and the games were usually contests which practised the boys in their use. The most widely distributed implements of war were the bow and arrow, and were found everywhere. The bow was made of the toughest, most elastic wood to be found in the vicinity of the maker, and in a few places a capable substitute was found in horn. In the extreme north, where growing wood was scarce, drift- wood was utilized and strengthened by a backing of sinew. The use of sinew as a reinforcement was seen at its best among the northwestern tribes, where it was shredded out and applied by means of fish or other animal glue, with such skill that the union with the wood appears complete. The length and form of the bow varied with the locality.' It was usually short, however, not much over three feet as a rule*. Bows manufactured from the horns of buffalo and mountain-sheep were occasionally used by tribes of the plains VOL. 11.- X 6 |