220 AN INDIAN BUFFALO SURROUND. 



in chase of a herd of buffalo, and witnessed the apparent 

 ease and grace with which their supple arms have drawn the 

 bow, and seen the huge animals tumbling down and gushing 

 out their heart's blood from their mouths and nostrils." * 



Then as regards the plan of attack, it is entirely 

 under the orders of their most trusted chiefs, who call 

 together their men and issue their directions before- 

 hand, all of which are implicitly obeyed by everybody, 

 as, if a failure was to resulc from some act of disobe- 

 dience on the part of any of the young men, it would 

 certainly go hard with the offender. The general plan 

 of a " surround " is described by Mr. Catlin as follows : 



" The hunters drew around the herd a mile or more from 

 them, and the circle gradually closed in at a signal given. 

 The herd at length got wind and fled. When they tried to 

 escape the Indians galloped in brandishing their weapons and 

 yelling in a frightful manner; the buffalo were thus turned 

 back in an opposite direction, where they were again met in 

 a similar manner, by which time the horsemen had closed in 

 from all directions, forming a continuous line. The massacre 

 now began with arrow and lance. In this great turmoil a 

 cloud of dust was soon raised which in parts obscured the 

 throng. In this way the hunt soon resolved itself into a 

 desperate battle, and in the space of twenty-five minutes 

 resulted in the total destruction of the whole herd. I could 

 not distinctly estimate the whole number that were slain, yet 

 I am sure some hundreds fell in this grand melee." f 



Mr. Catlin on the whole visited some thirty tribes 

 of plains Indians, so that he had ample opportunities 



* Manners and Customs of the North American Indians, by George 

 Catlin, 2nd edition, 1841, p. 33. 



f Ibid., Vol. i., pp. 199 to 20 1 abbreviated from Catlin's account 

 (this incident occurred in 1832, and was conducted by the Sioux Indians, 

 then the most numerous and powerful of the prairie tribes). 



