530 TRIBES OF THE UPPEE MISSOURI [bth. ann. 46 



be productive of great poverty and distress. They all drink when- 

 ever they can get it — men, women, and children — except the Crow 

 Indians, who will not taste it. The usual consequence of drinking 

 spirits is poverty, as they will sell or give away everything they 

 possess and prostitute their women and children to obtain liquor when 

 once intoxicated. These Indians have never had a constant supply 

 of spirits — that is, enough to produce diseases or nervous debility. 

 Their frolics were made at intervals of months apart and never lasted 

 more than 24 hours at a time. They are not quarrelsome in theii* 

 families when inebriated, generally sing or cry for their dead rela- 

 tions; but among those who are not of kin quarrels often occur 

 which occasionally result in the death of one of them. It is morally 

 wrong and productive of great evil, in our opinion, to sell or give 

 ardent spirits to any Indian. 



Hunting 



Buffalo are the principal dependence of all the prairie tribes, both 

 for food and clothing, and are hunted at all seasons; in the summer 

 when the hair is light and short for clothing, lodges, etc., and in the 

 winter, when it is long and heavy, for robes. There are three ways 

 of hunting this animal: by surrounding, by approaching, and by the 

 parks, each of which we will describe. It may as well be stated that 

 the buffalo migrate, or take different ranges, and travel all in the 

 same direction in a given season. Thus in the spring they mostly 

 move north and northwest, in the fall east and south, in the winter 

 east, returning west and north toward spring. They keep together 

 in herds of from 100 or 200 to 5,000 or 6,000, and sometimes the 

 whole country for five or six days travel is covered with one moving 

 mass of these animals. News of the buffalo approaching an Indian 

 camp is received several days before the animals appear, as they 

 only move forward when the grazing is not sufficient. Where a large 

 camp is stationed they usually hunt by "surround," which is as 

 follows : 



The soldiers hold a council with the chief in the soldiers' lodge 

 and prohibit any individual hunting ahead of the buffalo, also send 

 runners daily on discovery, to observe what progress they are making 

 toward the camp, their numbers, etc., and when they report them 

 to be near enough a meeting is held in the soldiers' lodge, the time 

 for the hunt appointed, and notice given to the camp by the harangu- 

 ing of the public crier. At daybreak all the horses are caught and 

 saddled, and each of the horsemen is provided with a bow and a 

 quiver of arrows. A number who have no horses arm themselves 

 with guns, and at a signal from one of the soldiers the party moves 

 off in single file or line. Those who have the fastest horses go in 



