AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
173 
he remains a short time with his head inclined, and the 
stem of the pipe extended towards the herd. He then 
puffs the smoke towards the Bisons, the heavens, the 
earth, and the cardinal points successively. These latter 
are distinguished by the terms sun-rise, sun-set, cold 
country, and warm country. 
This ceremony ended, the chief gives the order for start- 
ing. They immediately separate into two bands, which, 
wheeling to the right and left, make a considerable circuit 
with a view to enclose the herd at a considerable interval 
between them. They then close upon the animals, and 
every man endeavours to signalize himself by the number 
he can kill. 
It is now that the Indian exhibits all his skill in horse- 
manship and archery, and when the horse is going at full 
speed, the arrow is sent with a deadly aim and great ve- 
locity into the body of the animal behind the shoulder, 
where, should it not bury itself to a sufficient depth, he 
rides up and withdraws it from the side of the wounded 
and furious animal. He judges by the direction and depth 
of the wound, whether it be mortal, and when the deadly 
blow is inflicted, he raises a triumphant shout to prevent 
others from engaging in the pursuit, and dashes off to seek 
new objects for destruction, until his quiver is exhausted 
or the game has fled too far. 
Although there is an appearance of much confusion in 
this engagement, and the same animal receives many ar- 
rows from different archers before he is mortally wounded 
or despatched, yet as every man knows his own arrows, 
and can estimate the consequences of the wounds he has 
inflicted, few quarrels ever occur as to the right of pro- 
perty in the animal. A fleet horse, well trained, runs 
parallel with the Bison at the proper distance, with the 
reigns thrown on his neck, turns as he turns, and does 
not lessen his speed until the shoulder of the animal is pre- 
sented, and the mortal wound has been given; then by in- 
clining to one side the rider directs him towards another 
Bison. Such horses are preserved exclusively for the 
chase, and are very rarely subjected to the labour of carry- 
ing burdens. 
The effect of training, on the Indian horses, is well 
shown in a circumstance related by Lewis and Clarke. A 
sergeant had been sent forward with a number of horses, 
and while on his way, came up with a herd of Bisons. 
As soon as the loose horses discovered the herd, they im- 
mediately set off in pursuit, and surrounded the Bisons 
with almost as much skill as if they had been directed by 
riders. At length the sergeant was obliged to send two 
men forward to drive the Bisons from the route before 
they were able to proceed. 
The skins of the Bison furnish the Indians and whites 
X x 
with excellent robes for bedding, clothing, and various 
purposes. These are most usually the skin of cows, as 
the hide of the bull is too thick and heavy to be prepared 
in the way practised by the squaws, which is both difficult 
and tedious. This consists in working the hide, moisten- 
ed with the brains of the animal, between the hands, until 
it is made perfectly supple, or till the thick texture of the 
skin is reduced to a porous and cellular substance. These 
robes form an excellent protection from rain, when the 
woolly side is opposed to it, and against the cold when 
the woolly surface is worn next to the skin. But when 
these robes are wet, or for a considerable time exposed to 
moisture, they are apt to spoil and become unpleasant, as 
the Indian mode of dressing has no other effect than to 
give a softness and a pliancy to the leather. On these robes 
the Indians frequently make drawings of their great bat- 
tles and victories; a great variety of such painted robes are 
to he seen in the Philadelphia Museum. The hair of the 
Bison has been used in the manufacture of coarse cloth, 
but this fabric has never been extensively employed. 
We have already adverted to the great numbers of these 
animals which live together. They have been seen in 
herds of three, four, and five thousand, blackening the 
plains as far as the eye could view. Some travellers are 
of opinion that they have seen as many as eight or ten 
thousand in the same herd, but this is merely a conjec- 
ture. At night it is impossible for persons to sleep near 
them who are unaccustomed to their noise, which, from 
the incessant lowing and roaring of the bulls, is said 
very much to resemble distant thunder. Although fre- 
quent battles take place between the bulls, as among do- 
mestic cattle, the habits of the Bison are peaceful and in- 
offensive, seldom or never offering to attack man or other 
animals, unless outraged in the first instance. They some- 
times, when wounded, turn on the aggressor, but it is only 
in the rutting season that any danger is to be apprehended 
from the ferocity and strength of the Bison hull. At all 
other times, whether wounded or not, their efforts are ex- 
clusively directed towards effecting their escape from their 
pursuers, and at this time it does not appear that their rage 
is provoked particularly by an attack on themselves, but 
their unusual intrepidity is indiscriminately directed against 
all suspicious objects. 
We shall conclude this account of Bison, by intro- 
ducing the remarks of John E. Calhoun, Esq., relative 
to the extent of country over which this animal formerly 
roved and which it at present inhabits. 
The Buffalo was formerly found throughout the whole 
territory of the United States, with the exception of that 
part which lies east of Hudson’s River and Lake Cham- 
plain, and of narrow strips of coast on the Atlantic and 
