56 INDI \\> 01 THE PLAINS. 



Skins with the hair on, arc treated in the same manner 

 as above, except that the adze-tool is not applied to the 

 hair side. A large buffalo robe was no light object 

 and was handled with some difficulty, especially in the 

 stretching, in consequence of which they were some- 

 times split down the middle and afterwards sewed 

 together again. 



Among some of the village tribes, it seems to have 

 been customary to stretch the skin on a four-sided frame 

 and place it upright as shown in the group for Plateau 

 culture (south side of the Woodland Hall). The exact 

 distribution of this trait is not known but it has been 

 credited to the Santee-Dakota, Hidatsa, and Mandan. 

 The Blackfoot sometimes used it in winter, but laid 

 flat upon the ground. 



Buckskin was prepared in the same manner as among 

 the forest tribes. The tribes of the Plateau area were 

 especially skillful in coloring the finished skin by smok- 

 ing. There were many slight variations in all the 

 above processes. 



The adze-like scraper was in general use throughout 

 the Plains and occurs elsew T here only among bordering 

 tribes. Hence, it is peculiar to the buffalo hunting 

 tribes. The handle was of antler, though occasionally 

 of wood, and the blade of iron. Information from some 

 Blackfoot and Dakota Indians indicates that in former 

 times the blades were of chipped stone, but the chipped 

 scraper found in archaeological collections from the 

 Plains area cannot be fastened to the handle in the 

 same manner as the iron blades, the latter being placed 



