NORTH AMERICAN HUNTERS — BISON OR BUFFALO HUNTING — THE CHASE ON HORSEBACK — USE OF THE GUN — BISON DRIVING — THE SNOW SHOE, AND ITS USE IN BISON HUNTING — THE DISGUISE IN WOLF SKINS — HORSE CATCHING — MODES OF USING THE LASSO — HOW HORSES ARE TAMED — “CREASING” HORSES — THE BUFFALO DANCE — CREDIT OF THE BUFFALO DANCE RESTORED — A SINGULAR MASK — INVARIABLE SUCCESS OF THE DANCE — HOW THE DANCERS ARE RELIEVED — AN INGENIOUS DECEPTION.

As might be expected from a migratory people like the North American Indians, all the tribes excel in hunting, though some are notable above the others. Next to Africa, this country presents the finest hunting grounds in the world, the game varying according to the locality, and giving the hunter an almost unrivalled scope of action.

First and most important of the North American game is the bison, popularly but erroneously called the buffalo. This animal exists in countless myriads, and in spite of the continual persecutions to which it has been subjected, and the utterly reckless manner in which it has been destroyed, it still blackens the plains with its multitudes.

Before the horse came into use, the North American Indians were obliged to chase the bison on foot, and even at the present day there are many celebrated hunters who are able to run down a bison on foot and kill it with the lance. The mode, however, which is generally adopted is the chase by mounted hunters, a chase which offers the greatest results, and exhibits the wildest enthusiasm and excitement. Armed merely with his tiny bow and flint-headed arrows, the native hunter mounts his horse, and goes off in chase of the bison.

When he comes up with the animals, he selects one, usually a fat and well-conditioned cow, presses his horse to her and prepares his bow and arrow. The well-trained horse needs no guiding, but keeps close to the right shoulder of the bison, and a little behind it, so that it may not run upon the horns of the animal if it should happen to stop suddenly and turn its head. This plan, moreover, just brings the rider into the proper position to deliver his arrow in the most deadly manner, i. e. directing it just behind the shoulder. When an arrow is discharged by a practised hand, the bison falls mortally wounded, and, tenacious of life as the animal is, soon breathes its last. Leaving the arrow in the wound in order to mark the owner of the dead animal, the successful archer dashes on in pursuit of another animal, and does not cease until he has expended all his store of arrows. An illustration on page 1299 shows a herd of bisons, and the Indians on horseback engaged in the exciting sport.

It is the pride of the native hunter to kill a bison with every arrow, and not to shoot twice at the same animal. The younger hunters are fierce and anxious rivals in this sport, knowing that the result of the day’s hunt will be the talk of the whole village, and that on their success or failure will much depend the estimation in which they are held. So each successive hunt produces its eager competitors for honor, some being desirous of wiping off past disgrace by present success, and others equally anxious to maintain the reputation which they have gained on former occasions.

Even in those parts of the country where the bow has been almost entirely superseded by fire-arms, it is equally a point of honor to kill the bison with a single shot, and to claim a slain bison for every bullet. In such cases, the hunter takes little pains in loading his gun. He carries the powder loose in his pocket or bag, scoops hastily a random quantity into the gun, drops upon it, without any wadding, a bullet wetted in the mouth, and the loading is complete. The muzzle of the gun is kept uppermost until the moment for firing, when the gun is dropped, aimed, and fired simultaneously, without being brought to the shoulder.

The skill displayed in managing the horse is the more remarkable, as these Indians use no bit by which the animal can be guided. They have nothing but a slight hide halter tied round the lower jaw of the horse, the only use of which is to cause it to halt when required. This is popularly called the “lariat,” a corruption from the French word, l’arêt.

The excitement caused by this chase is indescribable, though Mr. Catlin gives a very graphic idea in a few words:—“I have always counted myself a prudent man, yet I have often waked, as it were, out of the delirium of the chase, into which I had fallen as into an agitated sleep, and through which I had passed as through a delightful dream—where to have died would have been to have remained, riding on, without a struggle or a pang.”

Sometimes the bison is destroyed in a much less sporting manner, the precipice and the pound being the two modes which are usually followed. The reader may probably be aware that, in those parts of North America inhabited by the bison, the surface of the plain is frequently interrupted by ravines with precipitous sides and of tremendous depth. When a hunting party see a herd of bisons within several miles of one of these ravines, they quietly separate, and steal round the herd, so as to place the bisons between themselves and the ravine.

They then gently move forward, and the bisons, retreating from them, draw nearer and nearer to the ravine, at the same time becoming packed closer and closer together. Suddenly the hunters raise a shout, and dash forward at the bisons. The affrighted animals take to flight at their best speed, and run on until they reach the edge of the ravine. Here the foremost bisons try to check themselves, but to no avail, as they are pressed forward by their companions behind, and thus almost the whole of the herd are forced over the precipice, and killed by the fall. Even those in the rear, which at last see their danger, and try to escape, have to run the gauntlet of their enemies, who allow but very few of them to escape.

A somewhat similar plan is adopted with the pound, into which the bisons are driven by the hunters. The pound is an enclosure made of felled trees and branches, with an opening which gradually widens. The bisons are driven toward the enclosure, a task which often occupies several weeks, and, when they arrive within the fatal arms of the entrance, are urged forward by means of little fires, which are lighted on either side. Instinct urges the animals to escape from an element which sweeps over vast districts of country, and kills every living thing in it, and in their haste they run toward the pound, in which they are at once shut up. It is fortunate for the hunters that the bisons do not know their own strength. They could easily break through the walls of the pound, but they mostly content themselves with turning round and round, and passively await the arrival of the destroyer. So foolish are they in this respect, and in such numbers are they killed, that pounds have been built of the bones of slaughtered bisons.

In the winter another plan of hunting the bison is followed. At this time of the year the fur or “pelt” of the bison is the thickest and warmest, and the skin is of the most value. It is from these skins that the “buffalo” rugs and robes are made, without which out-of-door life would be scarcely endurable in the more northern parts of this vast continent.

During the winter months the prairies assume a new aspect. They are not only covered with snow, so that the ordinary landmarks are obliterated, but the snow is blown by the wind into the most fantastic shapes, raised in some places into long and sharply scarped hills where no hills were, forming level plains where the ground is really cut up by hollows, and leaving only the tops of eminences bare, whence the snow is blown away by the tempestuous winds that sweep across the vast expanse. On these hills the bison congregate for the purpose of grazing, shovelling away with their broad noses the snow which still clings to the herbage.

The animals instinctively keep clear of the small but treacherous plains and valleys, knowing that the hidden crevices may at any time swallow them up. Into these valleys the hunters try to drive them, so that they may be helplessly entangled in the snow, and fall easy victims to the spear. Were it not for some invention whereby the hunters are enabled to skim over the surface of the snow, the bisons would be in perfect safety, but the snow shoe lays the poor animals at the mercy of their pursuers. It is necessary first to describe this ingenious implement.

The best form of snow shoe is seen on the next page. The shape is that of a fish, and its framework is made of ash-wood, kept in form by two cross-bars, one in front and one behind. It is slightly turned up in front. The whole of the space within the framework is filled in with a close and strongly made netting of hide thongs, much like those of a racquet—indeed, the French Canadians use the word “raquet” to represent the snow shoe. As the snow shoe is about five feet in length and eighteen inches or more in breadth, it is evident that the weight of the wearer is distributed over a large surface, and that a heavy man wearing these shoes can pass with impunity over snow in which a child would sink if only supported on its feet.

Just behind the opening is a triangular space crossed by parallel thongs. When the shoe is to be worn, the foot is placed on it so that the heel rests on the parallel thongs, and the centre of the foot is supported by the thick cross-thong, called the “bimikibison,” the toes passing into the square opening, which is called the eye of the shoe. In order to keep the foot in its place, two leathern loops (not shown in the figure) are attached to the bimikibison, one of which passes over the instep and the other comes round the heel.

As, therefore, the wearer moves along, the feet play freely on the bimikibison, the heels coming down at each step on the parallel thongs, while the toes move up and down through the “eye” of the shoe, which is dragged over the snow by the instep thong, the heel strap being only useful in keeping the foot from slipping out backward.

After some practice, the wearer is able to skim over the snow with astonishing speed, but to a novice the first attempt is not only awkward, but causes excruciating pain. The unaccustomed movement of the foot, together with the pressure of the instep strap, produces a pain peculiar to the snow shoe called by the Canadians “mal du raquet.” Not only does blood stain the snow as the excoriated foot drags the heavy shoe over the surface, but a pain pervades the whole foot, as if all the little bones were dislocated, and rubbing against each other. Perseverance is the only cure for the “mal du raquet,” and after a few days the wearer is able to proceed with perfect comfort.

The most ingenious part of the snow shoe is the mode by which it is fitted to the foot. It is evident that if it were fastened firmly to the foot, like the sole of a shoe, the wearer would be unable to stir a step. The movement of a snow-shoe wearer is somewhat analogous to that of a skater, the shoe being slid over the snow, and not raised and depressed like shoes in ordinary walking. If the reader will refer to the illustration, he will see that in the middle and toward the forepart of the shoe there is a square opening, edged by thongs, very much stronger than the others.

It often happens that heavy snow storms fall before the people are able to replace the shoes, which are generally damaged in the course of the summer months, and in this case they are obliged to extemporize snow shoes out of flat boards. These are shorter and wider than the regular snow shoes, but are used in much the same manner, the “eye” being cut out of the board, and the necessary thongs being fixed across the opening. These simple instruments are called by a name which signifies “bear’s-paw” shoes. Some of the prairie tribes use very long and comparatively narrow skates, turned up in front, and precisely resembling the “skidor” of Northern Europe.

Upborne on the snow shoe, the American Indian has the bison at his mercy. He drives the herd from the eminences into the valleys, and while the poor animals are floundering about in the deep snow, he deliberately selects those which have the largest and softest “robes,” and kills them with his spears. Thousands are annually slain in this manner, their skin removed, and with the exception of the tongue and the hump, which are the best parts of the bison, the whole of the carcass is left to the prairie wolves and birds of prey.

On these shoes the native hunters capture the huge moose. They select a time when there has been a partial thaw followed by a frost, so as to leave a thin crust of ice upon a substratum of soft snow. As the moose plunges through the snow, it breaks through this icy crust at every step, cutting its legs frightfully with the broken edges, and so falls an easy victim.

Another mode of bison hunting presents a curious analogy with the ingenious method of ostrich hunting which is practised by the Bosjesmans of Southern Africa.

Upon the vast plains of North America the so-called wolves prowl in numbers. They will follow the hunter for weeks together for the sake of the offal of the beasts which he kills. They will not venture to harm him, but follow him by day at a distance of half a mile or so, and at night, when he lies down to sleep, they will couch also at a respectful distance.

Should he wound a bison and not be able to secure it, the wolves are sure to have that animal sooner or later, and if they manage to detach a single bison from the herd, they will fairly persecute the wretched animal to death. But they will never venture to attack a herd of bisons, and, being instinctively aware of the protection afforded by mutual support, the bisons allow the wolves to approach quite close to them, and, indeed, to wander freely among the herd. Of this fact the hunters take advantage in the following manner. They remove the skin of a large wolf, and put it upon themselves, so that when they go on all fours the head of the wolf projects just above their own head, and their arms and legs are partly covered by the skin belonging to the corresponding members of the wolf.

Thus disguised, they creep slowly and cautiously toward the herd, bearing their bow and arrows in their left hands. The bisons, whose eyes are none of the best, being overshadowed by the masses of black hair that overlap them, think nothing of the supposed wolves, and allow them to come quite close. Even if an animal more wary than his comrades does suspect the ruse, the disguised hunter has merely to turn in another direction, as if the creature he represents has no business with the herd. By degrees, he contrives to creep close to the bison which he prefers, and drives the flint-headed arrow to its heart. No report attending the discharge of the arrow, the wounded bison runs for a few paces, and sinks on the ground, mostly without alarming any of its companions. The hunter leaves his dying prey, goes off after another victim, and slays it in a similar fashion. Thus a skilful hunter will manage to exhaust the whole of his stock of arrows, killing a bison with each arrow, and yet not alarm the rest of the herd.

Both in hunting and in warfare the equestrian warriors always carry the lasso attached to the saddles of their horses. It is not, however, kept coiled, as is the case in Mexico, but is allowed to trail on the ground behind their horse. The object of this custom is easily understood. It often happens that, whether in the hunt or warfare, the rider is thrown from his horse. In such a case, as soon as he touches the ground, he seizes the lasso, stops his well-trained horse with a jerk, leaps on its back, and is at once ready to renew the combat or the chase.

The mode in which the natives supply themselves with horses is worth a brief description. In various parts of the country the horses have completely acclimatized themselves, and have run free for many years, so that they have lost all traces of domestication, and have become as truly wild as the bison and the antelope, assembling in large herds, headed by the strongest and swiftest animals. It is from these herds that the natives supply themselves with the horses which of late years have become absolutely necessary to them; and in most cases the animals are captured in fair chase after the following manner:—

When an American Indian—say a Camanchee—wishes to catch a fresh horse, he mounts his best steed, and goes in search of the nearest herd. When he has come as near as he can without being discovered, he dashes at the herd at full speed, and, singling out one of the horses, as it gallops along, hampered by the multitude of its companions, flings his lasso over its neck.

As soon as the noose has firmly settled, the hunter leaps off his own steed (which is trained to remain standing on the same spot until it is wanted), and allows himself to be dragged along by the affrighted animal, which soon falls, in consequence of being choked by the leathern cord.

When the horse has fallen, the hunter comes cautiously up, keeping the lasso tight enough to prevent the animal from fairly recovering its breath, and loose enough to guard against its entire strangulation, and at last is able to place one hand over its eyes and the other on its nostrils.

The animal is now at his mercy. He breathes strongly into its nostrils, and from that moment the hitherto wild horse is his slave. In order to impress upon the animal the fact of his servitude, he hobbles together its fore-feet for a time, and casts a noose over its lower jaw; but within a wonderfully short period he is able to remove the hobbles, and to ride the conquered animal into camp. During the time occupied in taming the horse, it plunges and struggles in the wildest manner; but after this one struggle it yields the point, and becomes the willing slave of its conqueror. Those who have seen the late Mr. Rarey operate on a savage horse can easily imagine the scene that takes place on the prairie.

The rapidity with which this operation is completed is really wonderful. An experienced hunter is able to chase, capture, and break a wild horse within an hour, and to do his work so effectually that almost before its companions are out of sight the hitherto wild animal is being ridden as if it had been born in servitude.

The native hunter, cruel master though he generally is, takes special care not to damp the spirit of his horse, and prides himself on the bounds and curvets which the creature makes when it receives its master upon its back.

There is only one drawback to this mode of hunting. It is impossible to capture with the lasso the best and swiftest specimens. These animals always take command of the herd, and place themselves at its head. They seem to assume the responsibility as well as the position of leaders, and, as soon as they fear danger, dart off at full speed, knowing that the herd will follow them. Consequently, they are often half a mile or more in advance of their followers, so that the hunter has no chance of overtaking them on a horse impeded by the weight of a rider.

A rather strange method of horse taking has been invented since the introduction of fire-arms. This is technically named “creasing,” and is done in the following manner. Taking his rifle with him, the hunter creeps as near the herd as he can, and watches until he fixes on a horse that he thinks will suit him. Waiting till the animal is standing with its side toward him, he aims carefully at the top of the neck, and fires. If the aim be correct, the bullet just grazes the neck, and the horse falls as if dead, stunned for the moment by the shock. It recovers within a very short time; but before it has regained its feet the hunter is able to come up to the prostrate animal, place his hands over its eyes, breathe into its nostrils, and thus to subdue it.

This is a very effectual mode of horse catching; but it is not in favor with those who want horses for their own riding, because it always breaks the spirit of the animal, and deprives it of that fire and animation which the native warrior prizes so highly. Indeed, so careful is the Camanchee of his steed, that he will not mount his favorite war horse except in actual warfare, or in the hunt. When he is summoned by his chief, he attends muster, mounted on a second horse, or hack, and leading his war horse by the bridle.

The wild horses of North America are a small and neat-limbed, though powerful, breed of animal. Mr. Catlin says that their value has been much overrated, as even those which belong to the Camanchees, and are thought to be equal to the best Arab horses, are on the average worth some twenty pounds each. The chiefs have generally one or two horses of very superior quality; but as far as the average goes, the Camanchee horse is not worth more than the above mentioned sum.

The horses that are generally brought into the market are those that are obtained by “creasing.” Experienced purchasers, however, do not care much about such animals. Creasing is, moreover, liable to two disadvantages. The hunter is equally in danger of missing his mark altogether, in which case the whole herd dashes off, and gives no more chances to the hunter; or of striking too low, in which case the horse is killed on the spot.

In accordance with their usual custom, some of the tribes perform a sacred dance as a means of bringing the bison within their reach. The most characteristic of these performances is the Buffalo Dance as practised by the Mandans.

Sometimes it happens that the supplies of fresh meat fail. During the greater part of the year the bisons are scattered with tolerable evenness throughout the land, so that the hunters are able to find a sufficiency of game within a few miles of their village, to supply them with food. Indeed, large herds of bisons can often be seen from the village itself, their black masses being conspicuous against the verdure of the ground over which they range.

At certain seasons of the year, however, the animals are sure to withdraw themselves further and further from the villages, so that the hunters, in order to procure meat, are obliged to venture so far from their own ground that they are in danger of meeting with war parties of an inimical tribe. At last the hunters report to the council of chiefs and medicine men that they can no longer find game. A solemn conclave is at once held, and if, after a few days of patient waiting, during which every adult throughout the community is reduced to a state of semi-starvation, no bisons are found, the buffalo dance is ordered. This remarkable dance is a sort of homage to the Great Spirit, acknowledging that He can send the animals to them, and praying that He will do so; and, as we shall presently see, it is a remedy that never fails.

Among the Mandans every man is obliged by law to have a buffalo mask, i. e. the skin of the head, with the horns added to it. Usually to the head is added a strip of skin some four or five inches wide, extending along the whole length of the animal, and including the tail. When the wearer puts on his mask, the strip of skin extends down his back, and the tufted tail drags on the ground behind him.

I have worn one of these strange masks, and found it much less inconvenient than might have been supposed. It is not nearly so cumbrous as the chief’s dress of state, described on page 1276. The buffalo mask is kept by each man at the head of his bed, a circumstance which gives a strange wildness to the interior of the hut, or lodge, as it is called, especially if several young warriors sleep in the same lodge.

As soon as the mandate for the buffalo dance is given, the men repair to their lodges and bring out their masks, together with the weapons which they are accustomed to use in the hunt. Ten or fifteen of them arrange themselves in a circle, while the medicine men seat themselves on the ground, beating their sacred drums and shaking their rattles to a rhythmical sort of movement which guides the steps of the dancers.

These move continually in a circle, stamping, yelping, grunting, bellowing, and imitating in various ways the movements of the bison. The dance goes on day and night without cessation, and as it never ceases until bisons are seen, the reader will understand that it is absolutely effective in bringing them. A spirited sketch of such a dance is given on the following page.

The mode in which it is kept up is rather amusing. The medicine men who beat the drums and encourage the dancers are relieved from time to time by their companions. But for the dancers there is supposed to be no relief but death. This difficulty, however, is surmounted by a sort of legal fiction. When one of the performers has yelped, stamped, bellowed, and leaped until he can dance no longer, he stoops down and places his hands on the ground. Another dancer, who is armed with a very weak bow and arrows with large blunt heads, fits an arrow to his bow, and shoots him. The wounded dancer falls to the ground, and is seized by the bystanders, who drag him out of the ring, go through the movements of skinning him and cutting him up, when he is allowed to retire and rest from his labors. As soon as he is dragged out of the ring, another dancer leaps into his place, and in this way the dance may go on for weeks without cessation.

Meanwhile scouts are posted on all the hills within range, and as soon as one of them sees the bisons, he gives the signal by tossing his rope in the air in the direction of the game. Mr. Catlin relates a remarkable instance of the buffalo dance and its sequel.

Game had been scarce, the dance had been going on for days, and the village was in a state of increasing distress, when the welcome signal was seen from the hills. The dance ceased, the young men flew to their arms, sprang on their horses, and dashed off into the prairie toward the signal.

“In the village, where hunger reigned and starvation was almost ready to look them in the face, all was instantly turned to joy and gladness. The chief and doctors, who had been for seven days dealing out minimum rations to the community from the public crib, now spread before their subjects the contents of their own private caches (i. e. hidden stores), and the last of everything that could be mustered, that they might eat a thanksgiving to the Great Spirit for His goodness in sending them a supply of buffalo meat.

“A general carouse of banqueting ensued, which occupied the greater part of the day, and their hidden stores, which might have fed them on an emergency for several weeks, were pretty nearly used up on the occasion. Bones were half picked, dishes half emptied, and then handed to the dogs. I was not forgotten in the general surfeit. Several large and generous wooden bowls of pemmican and other palatable food were sent to my painting room, and I received them in this time of scarcity with great pleasure.”

When the feast was over, songs and dances set in, and the whole village was filled with sounds of revelry. Suddenly, in the midst of their mirth, two or three of the hunters dashed in among the feasters, one having in his hands a still bleeding scalp, another sitting wounded on his horse, whose white coat was crimsoned with the fast-flowing blood of the rider, while another was, though unwounded, totally unarmed, having flung away his weapons in the hurry of flight.

Their fatal story was soon told. The bisons, after whom the hunters had gone were nothing more than empty skins, within which a party of Sioux warriors had hidden themselves, and were imitating the action of the animals which they personated. Inveterate enemies of the Mandans, they had reconnoitred their village by night, and ascertained that they were executing the buffalo dance. Several of them procured bison skins, and enacted the part of the animals, while their comrades were concealed behind the bluffs.

Fortunately for the Mandans, their leader became suspicious of the supposed bisons, and halted his troop before they had quite fallen into the trap, and, when some eighty or ninety mounted Sioux dashed at them from behind the bluff, they were just starting homeward. As it was, however, eight of them fell, a loss which was but ill compensated by one or two Sioux scalps secured by the Mandans in the hurry of flight. Even under such untoward circumstances, the buffalo dance did not lose its reputation, for within two days a large herd of bisons passed near the village, and afforded an abundant supply of meat.