MONABCHS IN EXILE 69 



did the beast brotherhood, not even the stone axe, 

 or bow and arrow, being closely akin to the wild 

 beasts themselves, who were armed only with teeth, 

 claws, and cunning. Man must have lived origi- 

 nally on fruits or animals weaker and less sure-footed 

 than himself. In this struggle for a living the mind 

 in man began to develop, and he shaped a club or a 

 stone axe, made traps and then caught animals that 

 gave him material for better weapons. What animal 

 could give him more than the Buffalo ? 



"The hairy skin made warm robes and other gar- 

 ments, the hairless hides furnished tent coverings, bags 

 for carrying food, and, later, when horses came, saddles, 

 also boats, shields, rawhide ropes, etc. The sinews 

 made the thread to sew the robes, the lattice for 

 snow-shoes arid strings for bows ; from the bones 

 were fashioned many articles of use and ornament ; the 

 hoofs and horns gave drinking cups and spoons, as well 

 as the glue with which the Indian fastened his stone 

 arrow-heads to their wooden shafts. Even the drop- 

 pings of the Buffalo, when dried, were precious for fuel. 

 These parts of the Buffalo would alone have made him 

 valuable ; but we have not mentioned the meat, the 

 rich, nourishing, wild beef of North America. Think 

 of the hundreds of pounds of food one beast would 

 yield!" 



" Wasn't it rather tough meat ? " asked Nat. " That 

 old fellow there on the wall looks as if he would have 

 needed as much chewing as the gum Rod gave me from 

 the old cherry tree." 



"The meat of an old Buffalo bull certainly was 

 tough, as the meat of any other old animal is likely to 



