Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/156



warriors were always volunteers who furnished their own equipments. The war chief commanded in campaigns and battles and decided the fate of prisoners. They usually killed and scalped wounded prisoners and left their own dead on the field of battle. The dead of their tribe were dressed in a new suit before burial and the arms of warriors were buried with them. The graves of their chiefs and noted warriors were protected with poles or pickets. In winter their dead were deposited on scaffolds. Their cabins were built by setting posts in the ground and covering them with bark. In winter skins of animals were stretched over them. They were kind to old people and carefully nursed the sick.