In their
intercourse with strangers they are frank and communicative; in their
dealings they are perfectly fair; nor have we, during our stay with
them, had any reason to suspect that the display of all our new and
valuable wealth has tempted them into a single act of dishonesty. While
they have generally shared with us the little they possess, they have
always abstained from begging anything from us. With their liveliness
of temper, they are fond of gaudy dresses and all sorts of amusements,
particularly games of hazard; and, like most Indians, delight in
boasting of their warlike exploits, either real or fictitious. In their
conduct towards us they have been kind and obliging; and though on one
occasion they seemed willing to neglect us, yet we scarcely knew how to
blame the treatment by which we were to suffer, when we recollected how
few civilized chiefs would have hazarded the comforts or the subsistence
of their people for the sake of a few strangers. . . . . . . . . .
"As war is the chief occupation, bravery is the first virtue among
the Shoshonees. None can hope to be distinguished without having given
proofs of it, nor can there be any preferment or influence among the
nation, without some warlike achievement. Those important events which
give reputation to a warrior, and entitle him to a new name, are:
killing a white (or grizzly) bear, stealing individually the horses
of the enemy, leading a party who happen to be successful either in
plundering horses or destroying the enemy, and lastly, scalping a
warrior.
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