doebey.] DIVISION OF A BUFFALO, ETC. 293 



good couditiou for eating, and so were the "je-nii n qnga" or hermaphro- 

 dite buffaloes. The lattter had very long horns. 



While the Ponkas and Dakotas, when pressed by hunger, might eat 

 the kidneys raw, theOmahas always boiled them before eating. 



§ 150. Disposition of the various parts of the buffalo. — With the excep- 

 tions of the feet and head, all the edible parts of the animal were car- 

 ried to the camp and preserved. The brains (we^iq^i) were taken from 

 the skull for the purpose of dressing (<f;iq<fi) the skin or converting it 

 into leather. These skins, which were obtained during this season, 

 were called "ja'ha," and were used in the construction of the skin 

 lodges, as well as for their individual clothing during the warm weather. 

 When but few animals were killed even the feet were taken to the camp, 

 and when they were boiled till they came apart they were eaten. 



According to Dougherty "three women sufficed for carrying all the 

 pieces of a buffalo, except the skin, to the camp if it was at any moder- 

 ate distance, and it was their duty to prepare the meat, etc., for keep- 

 ing." But Frank La Fleche says that the women seldom went out to 

 bring in the packs of meat. Men and boys usually carried them. A 

 woman who had any male kindred used to ask some of the younger ones 

 to take her husband's horses and go for the meat. 



All the meat could be cut into thin slices, placed on low scaffolds, and 

 dried in the sun or over a slow fire. Some, who did not know how to cut 

 good slices, used to cut the ^e-mafige inte strips about two inches wide, 

 called " wasnege." But those who knew how would cut them in three, 

 long slices (waga) for drying. "The bones of the thighs, to which a 

 small quantity of meat was left adhering, were placed before the fire 

 till the meat was sufficiently roasted, when they were broken. The 

 meat and the marrow were considered a most delicious repast. These, 

 with the tougue and hump, were considered the best parts of the ani- 

 mals. The meat, in its dried state, was closely compressed into quad- 

 rangular packages, each of the proper size to attach conveniently to 

 one side of the pack-saddle of a horse. The dried intestines were inter- 

 woven together into the form of mats and tied up in packages of simi- 

 lar form and size." Then the women put these supplies in caches, and 

 the tribe continued onward in the pursuit of other herds. (For a fuller 

 account of the uses of the different parts of the buffalo meat see Chap- 

 ter VIII, § 104.) 



§ 151. Ceremonies of thanksgiving prior to the return home. Anointing 

 the sacred pole. — It will be noticed that on the way to the hunt, and until 

 the time for the greasing or anointing of the sacred pole, the Wacabe 

 tent is the more important one. But after that a change occurred. The 

 keeper of the other sacred tent, in which is the sacred pole, became the 

 master of ceremonies, and the keeper of the Wacabe tent acted as his 

 assistant. When the people had killed a great many buffaloes they 

 were willing to return to their home. But before they could start they 

 must take part in a religious ceremony, of which a partial description 



