became known, and the Indians began to realize what a change the possession of these animals was working in their mode of life, when they saw that, by enormously increasing the transporting power of each family, horses made far greater possessions practicable, that they insured the food supply, rendered the moving of the camp easier and more rapid, made possible long journeys with a minimum of effort, and that they had a value for trading, the Blackfoot mind received a new idea, the idea that it was desirable to accumulate property.  The Blackfoot saw that, since horses could be exchanged for everything that was worth having, no one had as many horses as he needed.  A pretty wife, a handsome war bonnet, a strong bow, a finely ornamented woman’s dress,—­any or all of these things a man might obtain, if he had horses to trade for them.  The gambler at “hands,” or at the ring game, could bet horses.  The man who was devoted to his last married wife could give her a horse as an evidence of his affection.

We can readily understand what a change the advent of the horse must have worked in the minds of a people like the Blackfeet, and how this changed mental attitude would react on the Blackfoot way of living.  At first, there were but few horses among them, but they knew that their neighbors to the west and south—­across the mountains and on the great plains beyond the Missouri and the Yellowstone—­had plenty of them; that the K[=u]tenais, the Kalispels, the Snakes, the Crows, and the Sioux were well provided.  They soon learned that horses were easily driven off, and that, even if followed by those whose property they had taken, the pursued had a great advantage over the pursuers; and we may feel sure that it was not long before the idea of capturing horses from the enemy entered some Blackfoot head and was put into practice.

Now began a systematic sending forth of war parties against neighboring tribes for the purpose of capturing horses, which continued for about seventy-five or eighty years, and has only been abandoned within the last six or seven, and since the settlement of the country by the whites made it impossible for the Blackfeet longer to pass backward and forward through it on their raiding expeditions.  Horse-taking at once became what might be called an established industry among the Blackfeet.  Success brought wealth and fame, and there was a pleasing excitement about the war journey.  Except during the bitterest weather of the winter, war parties of Blackfeet were constantly out, searching for camps of their enemies, from whom they might capture horses.  Usually the only object of such an expedition was to secure plunder, but often enemies were killed, and sometimes the party set out with the distinct intention of taking both scalps and horses.

Until some time after they had obtained guns, the Blackfeet were on excellent terms with the northern Crees, but later the Chippeways from the east made war on the Blackfeet, and this brought about general hostilities against all Crees, which have continued up to within a few years.  If I recollect aright, the last fight which occurred between the Pi-kun’-i and the Crees took place in 1886.  In this skirmish, which followed an attempt by the Crees to capture some Piegan horses, my friend, Tail-feathers-coming-in-sight-over-the-Hill, killed and counted coup on a Cree whose scalp he afterward sent me, as an evidence of his prowess.