468 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1887. 



rare and conspicuous talent for bread-making and general cookery that 

 he was elected by acclamation to cook during the entire season. 

 To the other three members fell the hunting. Each man hunted sep- 

 arately from the others, and skinned all the animals that his rifle 

 brought down. 



There were buffalo on the range when the hunters arrived, and the 

 killing began at once. At daylight the still-hunter sallied forth on 

 foot, carrying in his hand his huge Sharps rifle, weighing from 16 to 

 19 pounds, with from seventy-five to one hundred loaded cartridges in 

 his two belts or his pockets. At his side, depending from his belt, hung 

 his "hunter's companion," a flat leather scabbard, containing a ripping 

 knife, a skinning knife, and a butcher's steel upon which to sharpen 

 them. The total weight carried was very considerable, seldom less 

 than 36 pounds, and often more. 



Inasmuch as it was highly important to move camp as seldom as pos- 

 sible in the course of a season's work, the hunter exercised the greatest 

 precaution in killing his game, and had ever before his mind the neces- 

 sity of doing his killing without frightening away the survivors. 



With ten thousand buffaloes on their range, it was considered the 

 height of good luck to find a "bunch" of fifty head in a secluded 

 "draw" or hollow, where it was possible to "make a kill" without dis- 

 turbing the big herd. 



The still-hunter usually went on foot, for when buffaloes became so 

 scarce as to make it necessary for him to ride his occupation was prac- 

 tically gone. At the time I speak of, the hunter seldom had to walk 

 more than 3 miles from camp to find buffalo, in case there were any at 

 all on his range, and it was usually an advantage to be without a horse. 

 From the top of a ridge or high butte the country was carefully scanned, 

 and if several small herds were in sight the one easiest to approach 

 was selected as the one to attack. It was far better to find a herd lying 

 down or quietly grazing, or sheltering from a cold wind, than to find it 

 traveling, for while a hard run of a mile or two often enabled the hun- 

 ter to "head off" a moving herd and kill a certain number of animals 

 out of it, the net results were never half so satisfactory as with herds 

 absolutely at rest. 



Having decided upon an attack, the hunter gets to leeward of his 

 game, and approaches it according to the nature of the ground. If it 

 is in a hollow, he secures a position at the top of the nearest ridge, as 

 close as he can get. If it is in a level "flat," he looks for a gully up 

 which he can skulk until within good rifle-shot. If there is no gully, 

 he may be obliged to crawl half a mile on his hands and knees, often 

 through snow or amongst beds of prickly pear, taking advantage of 

 even such scanty cover as sage-brush affords. Some Montana still- 

 hunters adopted the method of drawing a gunny-sack over the entire 

 upper half of the body, with holes cut for the eyes and arms, which 

 simple but unpicturesque arrangement often enabled the hunter to 



