The chastity of the women does not appear to be held in much estimation.  The husband will for a trifling present lend his wife for a night to a stranger, and the loan may be protracted by increasing the value of the present.  Yet strange as it may seem, notwithstanding this facility, any connexion of this kind not authorized by the husband, is considered highly offensive and quite as disgraceful to his character as the same licentiousness in civilized societies.  The Shoshonees are not so importunate in volunteering the services of their wives as we found the Sioux were; and indeed we observed among them some women who appeared to be held in more respect than those of any nation we had seen.  But the mass of the females are condemned, as among all savage nations, to the lowest and most laborious drudgery.  When the tribe is stationary, they collect the roots, and cook; they build the huts, dress the skins and make clothing; collect the wood, and assist in taking care of the horses on the route; they load the horses and have the charge of all the baggage.  The only business of the man is to fight; he therefore takes on himself the care of his horse, the companion of his warfare; but he will descend to no other labour than to hunt and to fish.  He would consider himself degraded by being compelled to walk any distance; and were he so poor as to possess only two horses, he would ride the best of them, and leave the other for his wives and children and their baggage; and if he has too many wives or too much baggage for the horse, the wives have no alternative but to follow him on foot; they are not however often reduced to those extremities, for their stock of horses is very ample.  Notwithstanding their losses this spring they still have at least seven hundred, among which are about forty colts, and half that number of mules.  There are no horses here which can be considered as wild; we have seen two only on this side of the Muscleshell river which were without owners, and even those although shy, showed every mark of having been once in the possession of man.  The original stock was procured from the Spaniards, but they now raise their own.  The horses are generally very fine, of a good size, vigorous and patient of fatigue as well as hunger.  Each warrior has one or two tied to a stake near his hut both day and night, so as to be always prepared for action.  The mules are obtained in the course of trade from the Spaniards, with whose brands several of them are marked, or stolen from them by the frontier Indians.  They are the finest animals of that kind we have ever seen, and at this distance from the Spanish colonies are very highly valued.  The worst are considered as worth the price of two horses, and a good mule cannot be obtained for less than three and sometimes four horses.