Page:Eleven years in the Rocky Mountains and a life on the frontier.djvu/493

Rh they are quite able, in frontier warfare, to cope with disciplined troops. They fight in bodies, under skilled leaders, and have regular rules which they observe in battle, on their marches, and in their camps. "They have systems of signalling and of scouting, of posting sentinels and videttes, and of herding their animals." They are remarkably expert horsemen, and are so dependent on their steeds, that "a Sioux on foot is a Sioux warrior no longer." Gen. Crook testifies to their adroitness and skill as follows:—

The primary causes of the hostilities of the Indians which made this campaign and previous ones against them necessary, extend far back and are too numerous