292 OMAHA SOCIOLOGY. 



been killed, the slayer of one took but one man to aid him in cutting it 

 up, and each man took half of the body as his share. All agree in say- 

 iug that the hide was kept by the slayer, and some say that the choice 

 pieces were also his. Sometimes the slayer gave pieces of the meat to 

 those of his kindred who had no horses. All recognize the right of the 

 slayer to give the pieces as he saw best. He was generally assisted in 

 the cutting up by four or five men, and the body was divided into six 

 portions, as follows : The qe-inan'ge or chest, one share ; the <je-na n/ qa 

 or hump, one share ; the !je-ju' or front portions of the body, two shares, 

 with each of which was put a foreleg; the !je-j6ga or thighs, the hinder 

 portions of the body, two shares ; with one was put the je-nixa or 

 paunch, with the other, the ^e-cibe or entrails. The men who assisted 

 were not necessarily of the same gens or tribe. Sometimes the slayer 

 took only the hide for his part and gave all the rest away. According 

 to Frank La Fleche, " the first man who reached a slain buffalo had for 

 his share, if the animal v\ as fat, one of the ^e-ju and the !}e-nixa ; but if 

 it was lean, he took one of the jejega and the je-nixa. The second man 

 that reached there received the other ^e-ju, and the third had the ye- 

 mange. The fourth one's share consisted of the ^a n/ he or ^e-cibe and 

 the other ^e jega. But if the slayer of the animal wished any of these 

 parts he could keep them. The ^-di or liver was good for nothing." 



Should only one buffalo be killed by a large party, say, thirty or more, 

 the slayer always cut up the body iu many pieces of equal size and di- 

 vided among all the hunters. Sometimes two or three men came and 

 helped the slayer to carve the body. Then he gave each a share. If a 

 chief who had not been invited to sit down came and assisted in the carv- 

 ing, he too would get a share; but he had no right to demand a part, 

 much less the whole body, for himself, as some writers assert. When a 

 chief approached a carcass the slayer, if he chose, could tell him to sit 

 down. Then the slayer, after cutting up the body, might give apiece 

 to the chief, saying, " Take that and carry it on your back." Then the 

 chief would thank the donor. If the chief could not tell iu public of the 

 kindness of his benefactor, the slayer would not give him a piece of the 

 meat. When a man killed a buffalo, elk, deer, beaver, or otter, he 

 might carry it to a chief, and say, " Wi'daha", I give it to you." 



§ 1 4S. The women never aided in the carving. Sometimes, when a 

 man had no boy to take care of his extra horse, he let his wife ride it, 

 and allowed her to take out the eutrails, etc., after he had slit the belly. 

 But if the slayer offered any objection the woman could not do that. 

 As a rule the men took out "ugaqe<j;a te," or all the intestines, includ- 

 ing the paunch, ^e-cibe, etc., and put them aside for the women to un- 

 coil and straighten. 



§ 149. Kinds of buffaloes eaten. — During the winter hunt youug buf- 

 falo bulls were eaten, as they were fat, but the full-grown bulls were 

 never eaten, as their flesh was too hard. So iu summer the young bulls 

 were not eaten for the same reason. Buffalo cows were always in 



