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.
[Illustration: 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 by wounds, 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration]