El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-08-15

VV TASHINGTON, D. C., Aug. IS
NJ The German emperor's ap-
pearance in shining armOr'
at the side Of his Austrian ally is, OF
course. purely figurative: but the de-
scriptive expression thoroughly suits
the spectacular quality Of that poten-
tate's highly theatrical style
Armor is out OF date today because
it cannot be made bullet proof II
is owing TO the introduction Of fire
arms that il ceased to be fashionable
for military purposes in America For
il should be realized that. a century
or more ago, such means Of protection
was adopted quite generally by the
aborigines of this continent The Ma
tional museum in Washington pos
sesses a wonderful collection Of old
American armor including mail coats
Of fossil ivory, Of iron plates, Of hide
and of other materials
The aboriginal armOr of North Amer
lea was designed to protect the vital
organs of the Wearer, while allowing
free movement of the limbs. Its most
important feature was usually sleeve
less Jacket surrounding the trunk and
suspended from the shoulders; but this
defensive garment was made Of many
different materials, depending mainly
upon what happened TO be available
for the purpose, and in style and pat
tern it varied greatly.
ArmOr Of Plains People.
Thus, for example, in the region OF
the great plains the mail coat assumed
the form of a sleeveless tunic Of elk
or moose hide, falling 10 the knees and
affOrding protection to the whole body
except the head-the custom in battle
being to shoot kneeling. This gar
ment. tanned TO make ii flexible, was
rendered arrow proof by soaking II II
water, rubbing it on the sandy shore OF
n1T- 7r-rrH w
sand and small pebbles adhering. When
this process had been repeated three
or four times, and the tunic had been
thoroughly coated with a tenacious
glue obtained from the swimming bad
der of the sturgeon, the coat rendered
the wearer well nigh invulverable.
Horses Also ArmOred-
The Pawnees, in addition to hide
cuirasses Of this description, wore hell
NETS Of like material The Commences
went even further. and covered their
horses with an armor Of buffalo skin,
the steeds they rode being thus rem
dered arrow proof, like themselves
The Sioux in early days wore helmets
Of hide adorned with eagles feathers
Indeed, the familiar war DOnnets' OF
the tribes Of the great plains are sur
vivals OF the helmet-undoubtedl the
most beautiful headdress in the world,
and lending much spectacular impress
siVeness to the getup of the warrior.
IrOguOis Had Wooden ArmOr.
The fighting men Of the IrOquois
wore an entirely different kind Of ar
mora cuirass Of small, light boards
fastened together with sinew thread
This has been called "slat armor."
Among the Pueblo tribes tunics Of pad
ded cotton and yucca fiber We're worn
in battle. and the warrior carried on
his left arm a circular shield Of bas-
kerry, or sometimes of closely netted
cotton, symbolically painted.
The Hupa indians Of California wore
cuirasses made OF ''wattles and twine,'
woven and bound with buckskin
thongs. Such a mail coat was put on
like a waistcoat and tied in front. Red
lines painted on it indicated the num-
Der Of enemies slain and captives taken
by the wearer. Other markings indi-
Gated his rank.
ArmOr Of the Eskimo.
There was in early days much going
to and fro by the natives between the
Alaskan coast and the shores Of 81
IBERIA, for the purposes Of barter-al-
though there was not little peril TO be
encountered in such expeditions. mas
much as strong feelings Of hostility
existed A kind OF armor commonly
worn on both sides Of Bering sea was
made Of small, fiat, oblOng pieces OF
ivory pierced near the edges with
holes and sewn together with thongs OF