EMPLOYMENT THE GREAT FALL HUNT. 355 



The slaughter completed, the ' soldiers ' return to camp 

 to swell and strut, and vaunt each his own individual 

 exploits, while the women skin, cut up, and carry to 

 camp almost every portion of the dead animals. As 

 soon as those skins are stretched, that meat cut up in 

 flakes and put to dry or, in other words, when the 

 woman's work is done another surround is made with 

 like result, and this is continued until enough meat and 

 skins are obtained, or until cold weather drives the 

 Indians to their winter camp. 



The weapon principally used in the surround is the 

 revolving pistol, though some men may use carbines, and 

 others bows. When bows and arrows alone were used, 

 each warrior, knowing his own arrows, had no difficulty 

 in positively identifying the buffalo killed by him. 

 These were his individual property entirely, except that 

 he was assessed a certain proportion for the benefit of the 

 widows or families which had no warrior to provide for 

 them. If arrows of different men were found in the 

 same dead buffalo, the ownership was decided by their 

 position. If each arrow inflicted a mortal wound, the 

 buffalo was divided, or not unfrequently given to some 

 widow with a family. The head hunter decided all 

 these questions, but an appeal could be taken from his 

 decision to the general judgment of the dog-soldiers. 

 Since the general use of firearms has rendered impossible 

 the identification of the dead buffalo, the Indians have 

 become more communistic in their ideas, and the whole 

 of the meat and skins is divided after some rule of ap- 

 portionment of their own invention. None but the lazy 

 and the poor shots are satisfied with this arrangement, 

 but it is the only solution of the problem left to them 



Surrounds of elk are made on the same general 



Indian scenes. A white hunter, considered very reliable, told me that he had 

 once seen nearly 300 buftalo killed in one surround, that the whole affair 

 occupied less than ten minutes alter the signal was given, and that not a 

 single buffalo escaped. 



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