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In the first instance a raid of greater magnitude than usual had been determined upon, and every warrior was assembled to take part in it. Thus, when they defiled through the western portal of the valley, Tonsaroyoo rode at the head of nearly seven thousand warriors. With the Camanches, as with most other tribes, the chief rank is held by hereditary descent.
The Camanches, in common with all the other "horse-Indians," are much addicted to horse racing; and almost every afternoon some sport of this kind would take place on the plain before the village.
Few in numbers, burdened with debt, harassed on the one side by the wild Camanches and Apaches, and on the other by the Mexican guerrillas, pressed by the British and French governments, who wished to abolish slavery and establish a protectorate, they sought annexation to the United States, which, after a severe Congressional struggle, was accomplished early in the year 1845.
Although these tribes are known by many different names, such as "Shoshones," "Bonacks," "Utahs," "Lipans," "Apaches," "Navajoes," "Pawnee Picts," "Camanches," or "Cayguas," they vary but little in their general habits of life. Such differences as do exist are mainly the result of variations of climate.
They were engaged in a very animated discussion, accompanied with as much gesticulation as if they had been a parcel of Frenchmen. Directly two of the Camanches re-entered the lodge, and returned leading three women, white captives. Without a moment's warning my wife was before me, and I sprang to my feet and ran towards her, scarcely knowing what I was about.
The Camanches are excelled by no men in the world in their horsemanship, not excepting the famous Cossacks of Europe. The level prairies are beautiful fields for them to act on. It is in a skirmish similar to the one we have endeavored to describe, that they put these qualifications to the test. The arena where these scenes are enacted is a very undesirable place for a mere spectator.
The Camanches are supposed to be a branch or subdivision of the Shoshone or Snake nation, who, under various names or tribal appellations, dominate the entire area from the borders of British America to the Rio Grande.
Camanches and Apaches alike gathered before the temple, forming a vast semi-circle. The terraces of the temple were occupied by the older men, and upon its summit were seated a group of men in strange costumes, the priests of Quetzalcoatl. Directly in front of the temple a sort of throne had been erected, and upon it sat the aged chief, with his subordinates grouped around him.
Selecting a night when there was no moon, I picked out two of the fleetest mustangs from the corral, and secured them, fully prepared for flight, among a clump of trees at a short distance from the hacienda. "During my residence among the Camanches, I had become familiar with a certain herb possessing strong narcotic properties.
But they never fought with artillery, and a cannon has more terror for them than ten thousand rifles and all the wild Camanches on the plains of Texas. At first glimpse of the shining brass monsters there was a visible wavering in the determined front of the enemy, and as the shells came screaming over their heads the scare was complete.
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