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may have been due to the necessity of 

 seeking a more plentiful supply of food, 

 especially when the pastures in the more 

 northern regions became covered with 

 snow. This caused them to move south- 

 ward. The northern tribes of Indians did 

 not believe that the same individuals re- 

 turned, as the climatic conditions per- 

 mitted, but that the Buffaloes were pro- 

 duced in immense numbers under ground 

 and that in the spring they came forth 

 from a great mountain far to the south, a 

 herd of new individuals coming north 

 each season. Since the Buffaloes have 

 disappeared from the plains, some Indians 

 claim that the holes in the southern moun- 

 tains, in which the Buffaloes were formed, 

 have been closed by some evil spirit. 



Dr. Brehm tells us that "among the 

 Buffalo's perceptive senses those of smell 

 and hearing rank first. In its mental 

 qualities it does not differ from its other 

 relatives. It is little gifted, good-natured 

 and timid, incapable of rapid excitement, 

 but when it is irritated it is apt to forget 

 all considerations which generally in- 

 fluence it and it will then oppose an enemy 

 with courage." 



It would seem that the Buffalo depends 

 upon the sense of smell rather than that 

 of sight, for when running from danger 

 it holds the muzzle near the ground and 

 rushes with incredible swiftness in the 

 opposite direction. Obstinacy is one of 

 the most marked characteristics of the 

 Buffalo. When once moved to a certain 

 action nothing seemed to sway a herd 

 from its decision. Boats on rivers have 

 been known to stop and wait for the 

 passing of a herd that was swimming 

 across the stream. Railroad trains have 

 also been brought to a standstill by the 

 herds crossing the tracks. 



The American Buffalo was in reality 

 an inoffensive beast and its ferocious 

 appearance was due to its great bulk. 

 "They are not intractable to domestica- 

 tion, readily entering into friendly rela- 

 tions with individuals who treat them 

 kindly; at least they learn to recognize 

 their keeper and to love him to a certain 

 degree." 



Years ago the Buffalo was the friend 

 of the American Indian. It furnished 



him not only with food but its skin served 

 him as a blanket and as a covering for 

 his tepees. Its skin also provided the 

 leather from which he made his clothing 

 and footwear. At this time, as Moell- 

 hausen has said, "The Buffalo could, in a 

 certain sense, be considered a domestic 

 animal of the Indians, no diminution of 

 the innumerable herds could be noticed ; 

 on the contrary, they throve and multi- 

 plied on the rich pastures." Ever content 

 if all their wants were satisfied, the Amer- 

 ican Indians killed only those that were 

 required for their present needs. It was 

 not till the white man visited them with 

 his stock of glittering trinkets, so at- 

 tractive to the red man, that he began to 

 kill indiscriminately. He learned that the 

 white man was pleased with their robes 

 and that the flesh of the Buffalo delighted 

 his taste ; that he was willing to trade his 

 trinkets for robes and flesh. It was then 

 that the Indian's whole demeanor toward 

 the Buffalo changed and he became the 

 weak servant of the trader, bartering the 

 lives of thousands of noble animals for 

 valueless things which pleased his eye or 

 caught his fancy. 



The value of the Buffalo to the Indian's 

 welfare can be shown in no better way 

 than by quoting the words of Captain 

 Butler. " 'What shall we do ?' said a 

 young Sioux warrior to an American of- 

 ficer on the Upper Missouri. 'What shall 

 we do? The Buffalo is our only friend. 

 When he goes, all is over with the red 

 man. I speak thus to you because, like 

 me, you are a brave.' It was little wonder 

 that he called the Buffalo his only friend. 

 Its skin gave him a house, its robe a 

 blanket and a bed, its undressed hide a 

 boat, its short, curved horn a powder-flask, 

 its meat his daily food, its sinew a string 

 for his bow, its leather a lariat for his 

 horse, a saddle, bridle, rein and bit. Its 

 tail formed an ornament for his tent, its 

 inner skin a book on which to sketch the 

 brave deeds of his life, the medicine robe 

 of his history. House, boat, food, bed 

 and covering, every want from infancy to 

 age and after life had passed ; wrapped in 

 his Buffalo robe the red man waited for 

 the dawn." 



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