40 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 195 



rashly or else the whole tribe would suffer." PLC's statement is 

 probably the correct one, as it is consistent with the Omaha, Oto, and 

 Iowa custom of naming only one leader for the hmit. 



"Soldiers" or Buffalo-police also were appointed to assist the hunt 

 leader in regulating the hunt. Skinner states that these men were 

 appointed by the head chief of the tribe but PLC stated that they 

 were chosen by the hunt leader himself. Among the Ponca the Buf- 

 falo-police were chosen from the bravest warriors of one of the mili- 

 tary fraternities, but not the whole organization, as was true of the 

 Teton Dakota. 



The movement of the tribe on the communal hunt was a gala affair. 

 At the head of the procession came the sacred tribal pipe in its bundle, 

 carried on a beautiful but gentle horse, and tended by its priest or 

 keeper, who rode alongside on another mount. Behind the pipe and 

 pipe keeper rode the hunt leader, bearing his badge of office. This was 

 a crooked staff wrapped with swanskin, ornamented with eagle feath- 

 ers at the end and along the side and with a bunch of crow feathers at 

 the tip (cf . Fletcher and La Flesche, 1911, p. 155) . 



A short distance behind came the hmiters, riding their second best 

 mounts and each leading his best "buffalo runner," which would be 

 mounted when the herd was sighted and the time came to charge. 

 Behind them, in turn, came the women and children with the camp 

 equipage loaded on packhorses and dogs. Scouts preceded the entire 

 party by several miles, searching out the best herds. These scouts 

 reported each evening to the hunt leader. 



Each night the Huduga or camp circle was set up, the various clans 

 camping in their traditional assigned areas. In the center of the circle 

 was a special tent for the tribal pipe and its keeper and nearby the 

 hunt leader's tent, which also served as the headquarters for the 

 Buffalo-police and scouts. Wlien the scouts located a suitable herd, 

 the tribal chiefs of the first and second rank assembled with the hunt 

 leader and Buffalo-police in this council lodge to pray for success. 

 Each night, while in the buffalo country, a guard of Buffalo-police was 

 posted at the edges of the camp to prevent any hunters from sneaking 

 out to hmit ahead of the main body and thus endangering the public 

 welfare by frightening away the herds. Such overzealous hunters, if 

 caught, faced the possibility of being whipped by the Buffalo-police 

 and having their tipi cover cut to shreds and their tipi poles broken. 



The surround was the most common hunting procedure for the 

 tribal hunt. Utilizing hummocks, ravines, and other natural features, 

 the ranks of hunters would approach as near the herd as possible, en- 

 deavoring to encircle it. Then, on a signal from the hunt leader, all 

 would charge and try to get the herd to milling. Occasionally a small 

 herd would be driven over a bluff or, on the fall hunt, onto the ice 



