Plains Indian warfare
Young men gained both prestige and plunder by fighting as warriors, and this individualistic style of warfare ensured that success in individual combat and capturing trophies of war were highly esteemed [5]: 20 The Plains Native Americans raided each other, the Spanish colonies, and, increasingly, the encroaching frontier of the Anglos for horses and other property.
[5]: 20 Although they could be tenacious in defense, Plains Native American warriors took the offensive mostly for material gain and individual prestige.
Battles between Indians often consisted of opposing warriors demonstrating their bravery rather than attempting to achieve concrete military objectives.
[9] The exception to that was raids into Mexico by the Comanche and their allies in which the raiders often subsisted for months off the riches of Mexican haciendas and settlements.
Native Americans of the Great Plains learned to ride from a young age, on small cayuse horses originally introduced by the Spanish conquistadors.
At long range, a warrior would cling to the side of his horse and use it as a shield, while returning fire with his own gun or bow and arrow.
[11] The most renowned of all the Plains Indians as warriors were the Comanche whom The Economist noted in 2010: "They could loose a flock of arrows while hanging off the side of a galloping horse, using the animal as protection against return fire.
[18] Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains frequently decorated their buckskin war shirts with the scalps of their enemies,[19] bone breastplates as protection from cold weapons, bear claws, porcupine quills or wolf teeth to demonstrate their hunting prowess, silver conchos made from Morgan Dollars or Mexican pesos, and elaborate glass beadwork.
This attire served the dual purpose of terrifying their enemies, and ensuring the warrior looked his best before the Great Spirit if he was killed in battle.
Common bead patterns, believed to protect the wearer in battle, included the thunderbird, diamonds and crosses, or zigzags in white, cyan, black, red, orange and yellow.
[5]: 23 The braves of the First Nations Wars made use of many different types of gun, including flintlock horse pistols, long rifles, Colt revolvers, Springfield muskets, Remington rolling blocks, Sharps carbines taken from the US cavalry, and repeating rifles such as the Winchester yellowboy or Spencer carbine.
[34] Joe Medicine Crow wore warpaint into battle and was awarded eagle feathers and the rank of chief by the elders of his tribe because each of the four heroic deeds he performed in Europe mirrored the traditional counting coup requirements.
