18 THE BISON. 



their discovery; when questioned as to the number, 

 they reply by holding up some small sticks in a 

 horizontal direction, and compare one herd at a 

 certain distance with this stick, and another with 

 that, &c. 



An oW man or crier then harangues the people, 

 informing them of the company, exhorting the wo- 

 men to keep a good heart, telling them that they 

 have endured many hardships with fortitude, and 

 that their present difficulties are ended, as on the 

 morrow the men will go in pursuit of the bisons and 

 bring them certainly a plenty of meat. 



Four or five resolute warriors are appointed at 

 the council of chiefs, held the evening previous, to 

 preserve order among the hunters on the following 

 day. It is their business, with a whip or club, to 

 punish those who misbehave, on the spot, or whose 

 movements tend to frighten the game before all are 

 ready, or previously to their arrival at the place 

 whence they are to sally forth. 



The next morning all the men, not superannuated, 

 depart at an early hour, generally mounted and 

 armed with bows and arrows. The superintend- 

 ants or officers above mentioned accompany the 

 swiftly moving cavalcade, on foot, armed with war 

 clubs, the whole preceded by a footman bearing a 

 pipe. When they come in sight of the herd the 

 hunters talk kindly to their horses, using the en- 

 dearing names of father, brother, uncle, &c, beg- 

 ging them not to fear the bisons, but to run well 



