BUFFALO HUNTING
THE Indians of the Plains, bold and desperate horsemen, were great hunters. Their chief game was the American bison or buffalo, which roamed over the wide prairies in vast herds, seemingly placed there by the Great Spirit for the special use of the red man, who lived upon their flesh and clothed himself with their skins.
Mounted on small, fleet ponies, the Indians could readily kill them in great numbers. When pursuing the herd, the Indian used to ride close in the rear while he selected just the animal he wanted. Then driving his pony between it and the herd, he forced the buffalo off alone. In this way he avoided being crushed or trampled to death by the madly rushing beasts.
CATCHING WILD HORSES
CATCHING WILD HORSES
When directly opposite the buffalo, the Indian, with his bow ready drawn, would shoot his deadly arrow. Often this was only a signal for a fierce encounter with the wounded bull. For while the buffalo is a timid animal and seldom makes an attack, he turns in fury when wounded. With few exceptions, the Indian with the aid of his swift pony would soon conquer the mighty beast.
Another method the Indians employed in hunting buffalo, was to ride out and in a body surround a herd. Dividing into two columns and riding in opposite directions, they gradually circled around the animals at about a mile distant. At a given signal they closed in on them, and the unsuspecting herd, scenting the enemy, fled in the greatest confusion. Where the buffalo aimed to cross the line, the riders went at full speed, brandishing their weapons and yelling fiercely. By these means they turned the herd off towards another point, where they again, met by confusion and noise, wheeled back in an opposite direction. The horsemen had by this time closed in at all points and soon had the buffalo circling around in a confused mass.
Then began the scene of slaughter, when hundreds of beasts were killed. Sometimes, a bull, infuriated bywounds, would break from the seething mass, and gore a hunter’s horse to death. The Indian would then be obliged to leap to save himself, and in some cases had to jump from back to back of the wild animals to avoid being crushed.
A BUFFALO HUNTER
A BUFFALO HUNTER
When enough animals were killed there followed a busy scene. The whole Indian camp, men, women and children, set to work to cut up the meat. It was carried back to camp, and what was not needed for food at once was dried in the sun for use in the winter and when game was scarce.
The most valuable possession of the Indian was, without doubt, his horse. Large bands of wild horses roved in freedom over the Plains, but they were very difficult to catch and called for all the wonderful ingenuity of the red man.
Starting on a hunt for them, the Indian, equipped with his lasso, first mounted his swiftest horse and rode out upon the prairies. As soon as he sighted a band he rode full speed until he was right among them, then threw his lasso, deftly getting it over the neck of one of the beasts. At this very instant he dismounted and, running as fast as he could, let the lasso slip through his hands until the captive horse dropped from want of breath. Now he quickly drew a hobble over the horse’s front feet. This done, he loosened the lasso to give the horse a chance to breathe and made a noose around the lower jaw, which gave him more control over the frightened animal. When it regained its breath the wild horse would rear and plunge in a frantic attempt for freedom. The Indian, never letting go his firm hold on the lasso, advanced towards the horse’s nose, and getting his hand over it could hold down the animal and prevent it from falling or rolling on its back. In this way he was able to put his other hand over the horse’s eyes and breathe into its nostrils. After this, strange as it may seem, the horse soon became perfectly docile, and the Indian had little to do but to remove the hobbles from its feet and ride into camp.
With the buffalo for a constant source of food and the wild horses for their mounts the Indians of the Plains proved a powerful and enduring obstacle to the invasion of the white man. Their highly developed skill in scouting and prairie warfare enabled them to dispute every inch of their land with great success.