[Illustration: Tomahawks.]
The Indians were very cruel in war. When they killed a man, they cut the skin and hair off the top of his head. This was called scalping.
When about to go to war, they painted their faces to make themselves look very fierce. They also wore a band around their heads, and in these they stuck some long feathers.
There are Indians still in some parts of our country, and many of them live in wigwams. They sleep in these wigwams, but they cook their food outside. They have no coal or stoves or fire-places. Instead of coal they use wood and dried grass. They make their fire on the ground. Their food is very simple. They have meat and fish and berries, and cakes made of corn. The meat they eat is the flesh of the deer and other wild animals.
[Illustration: An Indian Chief.]
The Indians are of a copper color. They are sometimes called "Red Men." They have high cheek bones, black eyes, and straight black hair.
The Indian men spend their time hunting and fishing. They do not have bows and arrows now. They shoot with guns as white men do.
The Indian women do all the work. They cook the food, make the clothes, and plant the corn. They also put up the wigwams and take them down. For the Indians do not live always in the same place, but often move about.