103 



CHAR XXVIII. 



INDIAN WEALTH. THE BUFFALO. THE HORSE AND THE 



DOGr. 



The Bison or Buffalo. — Its Value. — Two kinds of Buffalo reported to exist by 

 Half-breeds. — The Plain Buffalo and the Wood Buffalo. — The Lithuanian 

 Bison. — Characters of.— Former range of the Buffalo. — Modern Range 

 of. — The Red River Bands. — The Saskatchewan Bands. — Wintering 

 Quarters of the north-western Bands of Buffalo. — Summer Ranges. — 

 Systematic Migration of. — Buffalo Hunt. — Census of Red River Half- 

 breed Hunt. — Blind Buffalo. — Crossing of Buffalo with domesticated 

 Cattle. — Character of mixed Breeds. — The Horse. — Training of Horses. 

 — Docility of. — Illustrations. — Attachment of Indians "to their Horses. — 

 Hopplings. — Smokes. — The Dog. — Its Uses. — The Midnight Howl. — Dog- 

 Feasts. — Dogs at the Hudson's Bay Posts. — Voracity of. — Cross with the 

 Wolf. — Sacrifice of Dogs. 



The flesh of the bison or buffalo either in the form of 

 " fresh meat," " dried meat," or " pemmican " has been the 

 main stay of the fur trade in Eupert's Land for more 

 than three quarters of a century. Without the buffalo 

 it would have been impossible to have supported the 

 large establishments on the Saskatchewan, or to have 

 made the long voyages from the Eocky Mountains to 

 Hudson's Bay, much less to have carried on that vast 

 system of internal communication which employs up- 

 wards of two hundred boats, averaging four tons each, 

 and manned by more than one thousand two hundred 

 voyageurs. 



It is, however, to the wandering and savage tribes of 

 the great prairies that the buffalo is all-important. This 

 huge and unwieldy animal, together with the horse and the 



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