S50 The American Buffalo, 



labor. The liide is then stretched on the ground, and fastened 

 down with pegs ; it is then allowed to remain a day or two, or 

 till dry. After this, the flesh side is pared down with the blade 

 of a knife fastened in a bone, called a grate, which renders the 

 skin even, and takes off" about a quarter of its thickness. The 

 hair is taken ofi" with the same instrument ; and these operations 

 being performed, and the skin reduced to a proper thickness, it is 

 covered over either ^Yith brains, liver, or grease, and left for a 

 night. The next day the skin is rubbed and scraped, either in 

 the sun or by a fire, until the greasy matter has been worked into it, 

 and it is nearly dry ; a cord is then fastened to two poles, and over 

 this the skin is thrown, and pulled, rubbed, and worked till quite 

 dry. After this it is sewed together around the edges, excepting 

 at one end. A smoke is made with rotton wood in a hole dug 

 in the earth, and the skin is suspended over it on sticks set up like 

 a tripod, and thoroughly smoked ; which completes the tanning, 

 and renders it capable of bearing wet without losing its softness 

 or pliability afterwards." 



Bufi*alo robes are dressed in the same manner, excepting that 

 the hair is not removed, and they are not smoked. They are ge- 

 nerally divided into two parts ; a strip is taken from each half on 

 the back of the skin where the hump was, and the two halves, or 

 sides, are sewed together, after they are dressed, with thread made 

 of the sinews of the animal, and then the robe is ready for market. 



One of the most useful applications of bufl'alo meat consists in 

 the preparation of pemtnican — an article of food of the greatest 

 importance, from its portability and nutricious qualities. This is 

 prepared by cutting the lean meat into thin slices, exposing it to 

 the heat of the sun or fire, and, when dry, pounding it to a pow- 

 der. It is then mixed with an equal weight of buff"alo suet, and 

 stufied into bladders. Sometimes venison is used instead of buf- 

 falo beef. Sir John Richardson, while preparing for his recent 

 Arctic expedition, found it necessary to carry with him pemmi- 

 can from England. This he prepared by taking a round or but- 

 tock of beef, cut into thin steaks, from which the fat and membra- 

 neous parts w^ere pared away, and dried in a kiln until the fibre 

 of the meat became friable. It was then ground in a malt-mill, 

 and mixed with nearly an equal weight of beef suet or lard. 

 This completed the preparation of the plain peramican ; but to a 

 portion raisins were added, and another portion was sweetened 

 with sugar. These latter changes were subsequently highly 



