IMAGE EVALUATION TSST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 u 1^ lAO •- IM mil 2.2 2.0 1.4 1IIIII.6 % V] /: ^^ y- V* /A '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S8C (716) 872-4503 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/SCMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the jest original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur r~l\ Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou pellicul^e □ Cover title .Missing/ Le titre de couverture manque □ Coloured maps/ Cartes g^jgraphiques en nouleur □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire^ □ Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Relii D D Bo«jnd with other material/ avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Lareliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge interieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte. mais, lorsque cela 4tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas iti filmdes. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a ete possible de ts procurer. Les details de cct eremplai'e qui sont peut-^tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier un« image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ ' — ! Pages da couleur Pages Pages Pages endommagees Pages restored and/oi Pages restaurees et/ou pelliculees Pages discoloured, stained or foxe( Pages decolorees, tachet^es ou piquees Pages detached/ Piges detachee!! Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Qualite indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary materie Comprend du materiel supplementaire f~~| Pages damaged/ I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ ~~7 Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ ["71 Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ r~~| Only edition available/ D Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc.. have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partieilement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure. etc., cnt iti fi!m6es ^ nouveau de facon a obtenir la meilleure image possible. r~7| Additional comments:/ QZJ Commentaires suppl^mentaires Pagination is as follows : 93 - 108 p. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqu^ ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X J 32X The copy filmed here haf been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Harold Campbe!! Vaughan Memorial Library Acadia University L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grdce & la g6n6rosit6 de: Harold Campbell Vaughan Memorial Library Acadia University The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition 3nd legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last rocordbd frame on «>ach microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^- (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de l'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimde sont filmds en commenpant par la premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iliustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'imp?'3ssion ou d'iliustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant ie nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 M ^.' • I \h 'I Sectiom II, 1890. Trans. Roval Soc, Can. THE AMERICAN BISON ITS HABITS, METHOD OF CAPTURE AND ECONOMIC USE IN THE NORTH-WEST WITH REFERENCE TO ITS THREATENED EXTINCTION ■ • - » ■ AND POSSIBLE PRESERVATION. ByCHARLES mair FROM THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROY^L SOCIETY OF CANADA VOLUME VIII, SECTION II, 1890. 7 MONTREAL, DAWSON BliOTIIERS, P U B L T S H E R S . 1891. < A MS'M6 (i I /^^ ^y^aJ^i^J ^^ty^iA^ ' ii Section II, 1890. [ 93 ] Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada.. II- — 7'Ae American Bison — I(k Hahitx, Metlindu of Cnptare (uxl ivonomic Ihe in (he Norfh-Winf, irilii Rr/rrriire fo its threnUined Extindioii and iHmxilde Pic- nervation. By CHAULEf' Mair. 4 I (Read May 27, ISno.) There is in-rhapa uo fact in the natural history of America which brings such reproach on civilized man as the reckless and almost total destruction of the bison. Twenty years ago it abounded in many parts of the North- Western plains and prairies; to-day tiiere are in all probability not live hundred animals alive on the continent. In the beginning of this century it roamed the country irom Texas and New Mexico north- ward, and from the Alleghanies west vard into and beyond the Rocky Mountain.^ and north-westward to th:i aliluents of the Mackenzie. In remoter times, if old writers and their references to th<> animal are trustworthy, its range seems to have been almost continental. Indeed, if Hakluyt is to be believed, he saw the bison three hundred y.'ars ago in Newfoundland. But as he saw it "far off," he probably confounded it with the caribou. Purchas got much curious information from the Indians who accompanied Pocahontas to England, and from others with regard to Virginia, and mentions in his "Pilgrims " that large animals resembling domestic cattle were seen by the early adven- turers into that region. Virginia Avas a wide term in those days, and in the district boyond the Alleghanies, now known as West Virginia, there can be no doubt that in 1616 the bison was a common animal. But there is no proof that at that time it frcqueuled the region east of the mountains. Similarly the statements of Thomas Morton, in the "New English Canaan," one of the earliest works descriptive of the settlement of New England, must be looked upon with distrust. In this curious book, published in Amsterdam in 1637, the author describes the bison, from hearsay, as abounding in great herds in the neighbourhood of Lake Champlain, and states that the Indians manufactured its wool into (^oth. Elsewheri' he argues that the Indians are descended from the dispersed Trojans, and believes in the existence of the "Wild Ankius," certain strange leas*s which were suppoised to haunt Massachusetts Bay. lie had a liberal fancy, therefore, and must be looked up HI as a doubtful authority. Such references as the foregoing have been seriously accepted by various writers as a proof that the bison has, at one time or another, ranged ( he whole sub-arctic continent. The historic evidence on the point is certainly insuHicient ; but with the knowledge we now po.ssess of the habits of the thickwood l)uH'alo, the assumption <-annot be called absurd. It is true there is no mention of the bison in Florida, when^ it might reasonably be supposed to have abounded ; and vv^e are told that it wp" poinl(>d out to Corte-^ in the menagerie of Montezuma as a rar^' animal from the north, so that it cannot have en a native ol' Mexico at the time of the conquest. But it mu.st be borne in mind that the great ruminant . are erratic in their range, sometimes abandoning a particular region for many years, and for no apparent reason, and then suddenly return- ing to it. This is the case with the moose, which for almost half a century was unknown %^W7 94 charli:h mair on whTh^tr' *f "T^^ T^' ""' ""^ ""^' '' ^"^^'^'^y ^f'^"-. «" Lake Winnipeg but 1 1 .u "*"*'"*"''^^ '■""ff'^ «* ^ ^'^-'^ -^^^^^ ^-^ ^l-«'^^t .ninnuXel^i t! Th s adv ntre '^k"'""" ^^ ^'^'^ '"'"^ '"^""^"'"^ ^^ ^ "P»^^^« ^^ larvae, in 528. iVnl N ''T . ^"^^^'l"""^^^ "^'""-1 by the romaaitic fo% of Coronado, who set out Xh sTrrlr;: ''' V" T^'' -' '': '^'^^^^ -'^y °^ ^^^^- ^he his^er. i:; re! Which surrounds these adventures partly redeems taen. from the . ruel ,r,pos:^^>n a-ul ^:!;;trs:f^'i.:r7'^' "^^^'^" -'^ -^ '^"^--" ^^^^ tL Ci::h; :^ his qu t but fo th ' n "■" " J" ' '•'"""'• "^'^ ^'""""^^^ ™>^h* h^ve perished in r X says "bit sk""^?^^ "^^«"^'^' "--& -thing," as his reporter says, but skies and bison for miles too-ether " Mr Parkman, in his "Pioneers of Franc:," makes mention of a wood-cut of the bison which appeared in the " Singularitcs" of Andre Thevet, p^blish.^d in 1 58 id which was probably the first of if« l-i,>.i n.v • P-D"sn.c in l.joS, and accurate Dirtn-.fnvM ^t '''' ''S''"'' ^'^^''^ attribute-! the earlied accurate picture o leather Hennepin, who, over a century later, gave a rou-h print of the t^T^:^f^^:^7 "" ^T'f^^' "'' '''' thusaquestiouto whom taehonour properly belongs. Ihe famous and iufamou.s Father, as everybody knows was th-. firs^ a" d thT : Tr' 1'^, '''''' ""'''''''''' ' ^"^ --- >--« pr.v:ous^ntrMarqu tt and the trader Toilet had descended it from the mouth of the Wisconsin to the lUi no ountry and it is to the latter priest that we are indebted for the first graphic description h a. but f' TT' '' " """^"'""' ""''^ '''"'^'''^ -^"^•'- " ^h^-y ave not lon^;" he sa s, but almost as big again, and more corpulent. The head is very lar-^e their - head iat, and a foot and a half broad between the horns, which are exactly 1 k: ^ur att e except that they are black and much larger. Under the neck there is a kind of "oe r p o • ? ! n" " ''"' '"' '' ''''"'' ''"''' ^""•i^' '''^^ -J-'*' head, the neck a.rd ui of he shoulders, are covered with a great munc like a horse's, which is Lt least •, tbot 1 . ;he:::r';:h'r/'-''°"^' '''f ^•^"'"=--*'^- «y-. i>-e'nts them st;:. i^: ;;^: The res of the body is covered with a coarse, curly hair like the wool of our sheep but rtti:r':rtr'''^'^"^- /^ '•^''--— ■- --Hhe skm is ,hcn as i '1: westTi'f *^' '^T*"" '^^'"^"""' ^"'l -T^'H the animal fairly entered into north- wet history, and became thenceforward an increasingly important element in explora- ^o pioneer settlement and trade. The success of every expedition into the we!te n w^Me ness more or less depended upon it ; and from the time that the brave and unfW natc La Sa le met his death through a wretched squabble over some bufflxlo meat rTcrd;: ""''''"' ""' ^'""^ ^^-^ ^^^-^^^^^ ^^^ -'^'- ^-^^ ^"^'"^^-^ ^^« chrdown to descrihT ^'f? ^ajquette's narrative was written, tha animal has been drawn and descibed so often that everyone is familiar with its form. By a common misnomer its lelationsh.p har been assigned to the buffalo of the old world. The identity of the Euro •««P! THE AMEKK.'AN RISUN. 96 poan and Amo.ican bison has Ix-on (luostioiu'd by Cuvier and othi memory ran back to days when the vast region west of the Mississippi was a howling wilderness, had a primitive knowledge not possessed by latter-day hunters. In those days the great buffalo herds roamed almost unmolested. The Indians of course lived upon them, but, with savage conservatism, severely punished anyone who wantonly butchered them. Left thus L follow their own instincts, not driven from place to place by merciless persecution, nor intermingled so as to blend all in indiscriminate hordes, the herds possessed a distinctive character, and seemed to have their roughly defined boundaries, like the Indians them- selves. Even down to recent years the difierence between th(^ animals in size and general appearance— in a word in what may be called breed— was recognizable, and of course led to special nomenclature in the various Indian tongues. The southern or " Missouri cattle," as they were called by the plain hunters, varied in some degre(> from tho^-e of the Saskat- chewan. They were long-backed and heavy, the full grown cow often dressing to five hundred pounds and over of clean meat. They were frequently seen north of the Missouri, and were readily identified by the practised eye of the plain hunter, not only by their muddy (>oats but by differeiu'es in form. The northern animal, called by the Crees rusquawoo-moostoos, or "the prairie beast," was shorter in the buck and was noted for its hardy constitution and fleetness. A third animal was known upon the plains as Amiskoo-sepe.moostoos, viz.: "the IJeaver River" buifalo, for a reason I have never hesftd positively evplained. There are two Beaver rivers iu the North-West— one which joins the Assiniboinc near Fort Elliee, and the other which fails into Lake Isle a la Crosse The winter habitat of this variety of the buffalo in the last ceniiiry may have been on one or other of those streams, and so have given a distinctive name to a remarkable breed. It was a diminutive ammal compared with the ordinary prairie bison, and had a closely <'urled coat, and short, sharp horns which were small at the root and curiously turned up and bent backwards, not unlike a ram's, but quite unlike the bend of the horns of the ordinary bison. These animals were probably numerous at one time, but became rare and were noted as the latest to go north iu the fall. The thickwood buffalo again-the Sakawoo- moostoos of the Orees-dilfers strikingly from all the others, thouoh some writers seem to 96 CHABLES MArii ON buffalo in said to 1,.> .nn.-h "'"'^ ™'" ^^''' '^^""ws at a r.moto period* The thi.-kwood horns. an;:'4L-d::^::^\'^ rrrr^'': '^^^^ ^^■•^'^^ ^-^ «^-^^'- never seen eitheMhe ]i.' ^ In o il rl It" ' ''"^ '"^''•"''"" '"^''"^' atHuentH of the Upper M.-Ken,^ ! t 7 * ""'=" '" ""^ ''""""^''^ *« «"" «^ ^ wo Lake Manitoba uu ith n '. ''^^ ''''' '"" ^^ ^'"« '''""^ '^^ ^hoal Lake, east of oi- the Great llkl h ^ nolr ol'I r''";f ''" '"'*^"^' ^""""^ '" ^"-" "^^^ as r know Bnt is do.nefti m u ^ "'" *'''''' ^^^^^ ^^''"' *''''^^» '"^'^ ^^itli so far than w^ have an^ ::; "d ra^ ti:^ ^ t,^' ^""m ^'''' '''''' '' ''""'' ''''' habit; has lost a 1 desire to mi^rrtTohln ^^T'""^' '^"^ "^'^'"^^"^l ^^e browsing a moose in its instincts and habitat ' "" "' " '"" ^"^ ''" '"^^'"^« ^"'^ ^-^--^ never heard of a brindled b.^obuT w „d1 " °' '"^'7 '''' "°^ ""^""^^"' ^ '^-« was white and others, vhn«7\, "'''' ^"^ *''^"" '^«>"i«l« vvere killed whose eolour with a patl o;.te up t retnv T^ ""'w ""' '' ^'"="^^ ^''" ''-' '^"^ "^^^^ domestic stoek and hervdi v- f' J ^'''"'^tions ..e.u to point to admixture with duetoa^lt. 2r ThVXr:;th"'""^^^^ '''^''' its..fFeetsn.ay be and the white beavers, minkV:nu L^ aU^ r, Tt ^'T "' ^''^^''"' ^^ ''"''''' ' in the North-West perhaps i l^rt 1 , , '^^«"-"".'rs m h.ch are ocasionally trapped The annual m^il ^^^ ^^^^i:^ T^'' !' ^"^"^-^^ ""'^'"'^^ '''''■ its life and moveme^nt, and one uj." wl^^ch th w f^'' T^'b"; '"'""'"" '"'"" °' depended The bnfr.,lr 1,,,, f Vu "' ^''^"''' <-ominunities lai^ely other re note md """" ^' "^''"'"^^ °^ *^^' ^"^ «'^'«'- settlement, and of many down to tt: e a ft: r' '•«'"";-"^'-- ^°*h in the United States and our own territories' food. The '*'«. fV,o* 1 • ,L "<^»«\t iiuy wouia easiJy -arry t;iemselves over the wiiitpr in latter exact ysu,ted their neeas, and enabled them to run dow,/thei prey Tniead of captunuff it by (muuino- wifli tV,.. ^a,i i i i • '^""" uieii prey, lusteaa ot taminir of the 1.^!. ""*^ "''"^"'' excitement of the ohaoe. The THE AMERICAN BI80N. 90 hind, or furaale red de..r, which is almost a pure cream, and is sometimes taken by the /ndiaas m the same way. While tombing on this point one can scarcely pass over the references in old books to "The White Indians." as they were called, a nation indefinitely nJaced by writers m the last century at some point on the Mississippi or the Missouri. In the " Coiicise Account of North America," published by Major Rogers, in I7ti5. it ifl said : " These Indians live in large towns and have commodious houses ; they raise ^-orn, lame the wild cms, and me both their milk and flesh.'' This is plainly a reference to the Mandai.s, a singular race which was almost exterminated by small-pox som« fifty years ago. and which i« probably now extinct. They were of a fairer complexion than the surrounding nations, from whom they differed greatly in manners and customs ; and it was a common conjecture, at ono time, that they were descendants of the immigrants who lelt Wales, and soiled westward with Madoc in the twelfth century, and were nwer heard 01 aitorwards. The Mau.lans made pottery, and built boats which closely resembled the Welsh coraclo. These are well-knowa facts, and the statements quoteu from Rogers are also true, wi»h the exception, perhaps, of the taming of the buffalo, which cannot be vouchcri for. Maize is called hy the North-West half-breeds " Mandan corn " to this day It was largely cultivated by this r-niarkahle race, who built villages of large timber houses, partly excavated in the ground, wherein numbe/j of families lived, and in whicl they stabled their horses in .-igencies, feeding them on the bark of coti on wood saplings which they cut in length- and used as fuel. Another hazardous conjecture has sometimes been made, that the Mauuaus were the degenerat.> remnants of the mound-builders, whose vast earthworks indicate an organized social condition, and could s.;arcely have been con- structed without draught animals. More advanced intelligence, indeed a high degree of citilization must hav existed, perhaps .contemporarily with the mcund-build«is in ancient Mexico and Central America; and it is difficult to believe that such stupendous architoc- ture as that of MUIa or Palenque was the result of man's unaided etiori. In the presence of such facts there is no absurdity in the supposition that the bison wa6 once a tame animal, and no violation of probability in Bryant's vision of the mound- builders as a " disciplined and populous ra:o." When the Greek was hewing the Tentelicas and rearing the Parthenon, it is not improbable thst the mound-builders of the Ohio were " heaping :vith long toil the earth," " When haply by their stalls the bison lowed, And bowed his manSd shoulder to the yoke." The bison seems to have been free from the ordinary diseases of domestic cattle. Untrammelled life and wholesome food no doubt kept it in good condition Yet it wai subject to a complaint peculiar to itself, a kind of itch or mange, called by the plain Indians Omikewin. This disease was confined io the bulls, and appeared ou tham after the rutting season. But it had its analogue in great epidemics which, ui long intervals, raged upon th.^ plains, and destroyed thousands of buffa-ies of all ages ard both spxes! An >-nimal afflicted with this disease presented a sorry spectacle. The coat became loose rnd fell off in large tufts, leaving the expo.sea ...in stabbel and Ic dhsome with sores. It was contagious, too. and careless hunters, by using sauJle-clcths cnL from diseased hfdes, often communicated it to their ponies. The contagion, which spread, and did such mis- :> .: 'v. 100 CHARLES MAIE ON tZZZ fT r\ '-''''' "^^' ''^^"^"'-^'^ »"^"'^^^"^' ^he bison was free from h tquent Iv kilwT I'k "V "" '"''' '"^'^^'^^' ^"'^^ -'l-gynous animals were not mtrequently kiHed m the chase, an assertion which is stoutly maintained by old plain- 'ZZ7J:: ^"'7 r^^^ ''7 *""™- °^^^^^ *^'"^ ^'^^ .o-calledhermaphr'odites w :« tr L bvT "^•'^\^^'---l-« had boen emasculated by wolve. or. as was sometimes the cpse, by hunters in rude sport. These beasts, whatever they were grew to an enormous s.. and were called by the English and French half-br Jds "" he^Trdl " a name which is probably Norman French, for it is not Indian. If I am not mistakerthe Zl^ t^ ''' '''''' °' ''r ''■^■"•^' '''''''-'' '--^' ^-^-*- - InTmir^bc^: ;lr; iT """V" ^^'-"^'y-' ™--"8- "of neither sex." Such an animal, rord Zr T IT'; ''' ^"' '^'^"*' ^'^'^ ^P^-'i-gl^-- was a striking object in agrea he.d, and, when killed in season, yielded what was known as the " beaver robe " This robe was greatly prized for its immense .i.e and glossy, silk-like coat, and sold twenty years ago, for ten times the price of the best robe of commerce ^ withfultrnTtr' "'t '''^" ^^^^"l""^ ^' ''"' ^^^^''^'^ *° '^^ abundance of buhaloes cn^ 1 t-es. According to the Hon. H. H. Sibley, of Minnesota, the last animals Wisconsin in 1832. For many years afterwards they were still very numerous on the S Ri:?Ln "T^T^^'V!,^'^^' ^^ '''' thelte James McKa^ reTell-known Ked Ruer half-breed trader and hunter, told me that some te. yea.s before he had travelled with ponies for twenty days through a continuous herd, and on aluSes as ft truc^n oftl'fi Vr't^ ^'T ""? "^^' '""™'^^^- '' '^^' -^ "' '-' until the ::! r,i u "^'Z'"^' very truly says, "As the Indians hunted them the race would extensKu ot the Northern Pacific line, rang the knell of the buffalo. Immense numbers It true, had been annually slaughtered in the great plain bunt of the R d Ri v^h ^ breeds a system which was organized early in this century, and continued in ful force and children, and a thousand carts, went off in early summer'to the plains,'arwhen the ^':;r:r:^ I'-'r "r t'^ '"""^^' ^^ -^" - -^- ^:i:L:: the!;::!,::!;; l"h^d^^^^^^^^ ■" ^--^ y--- by the American pot and hide tinitcTs. These men, m order to gratify the cruvings of wealthy ..itizeus 'or tongues and humps were formed into large parties, witn laW.h outfit/.upi^iel bv a.tem fi.ms, and being within easy r^ach of the great herds by rail the wtk o' oxterminat.on speedi y began. In due time the pot-hunting gave way to h de-huntin^ which was found to be more profitable, and then the havoc\ecame vuly s Lrd "s' The hunters' weapons were of the best, and their method so systematic, thiMh t v skmning was done by horse-power. The dead bison was faste'ned to J sake and Z THE AMERICAN BISON. lOl necessary mcisious made, after which a span of horses was hitched to the hide, and off it came The hides were shipped to the nearest railway points in waggons, and the carcasses were left to rot upon the ground. In this way it is estimated that in three years nearly SIX m,l ion animals were destroyed. " But no one," says Dr. Carver (who is responsible for the foregoing statements), ' will ever know what immense numbers were killed by these hide-hunteis. "At the close," he says, " of one winter a man oould go along the banks o. Frenchman River for fifty miles by simply jumping from one carcass to another Considering tacts of this kind it is not surprising that some small tame herds and a few o d circus animals represent the great herds which less than a quarter of a century ago blackened miles of prairie as a thunder cloud darkens the sky " In bygone days the Red Ri ver plain-hunt often led into the very heart of iha Dahcotah country, and frequent conflicts took ,,lace in consequence between the half-breeds and the Sioux, m which the latter were often the gainers. Some fifty years ago the English half- breeds headed by the celebrated William Oaddy, were suddenly attacked on Goose River m Dahcotah by some two thousand mounted Sioux. The half-breeds had encamped, and vheir horses were nearly all at large on the prairie. In this raid by dexterous tactics the Sioux contrived to band up the plain-hunter's horses before their eves, and after a short skirmish made off with throe hundred choice buff-alo runners, a blow from which the English half-breeds did not recover for years. Good runners were valued very h^hly in those days, and fetched as much as i;60 and even ,£80 sterling each But any extended reference to the oft-described Red River plain-hunt, its organiza- tion, rules and methods, does not enter into the scope of this article, in which I seek to p ace on record facts less generally known, and features and incidents which are Illustrative rather than striking in themselves. The oddest feature of the plain-hunt was the variety of weapons it called into play ; and its most interesting incidents the presence of mmd and quickness of perception exhibited by the hunters in emergencies. The most antiquated fire-arms, mended and re-mended for generations by the ingenious Indians, or Metis, until all identity with the origiuals was completely lost, figured in the scene in company in latter days with ancient pistols and modern revolvers, the Sharp, the Ballard and the Henry repeater. The lance, which was simply a scalping knife warped with sinew to the end of a pole, or the knife alone, was used at close quarters. But the favourite weapon, particularly of the plain Indian, was the bow and arrow. It did not drive the animals frantic like firearms, and was even more deadly and much safer The bow was about four feet and a quarter long and was made of the osage orange in the south but of the choke-cherry in the north, a wood which is as tough as English yew It was wound along its entire length with sinew, and strung with the same, and when drawn by a strong man, has been known to drive the arrow clean through a buff-alo and into another, xhe arrow was half the length of the bow, and wos made from the saskatoon or potre, a tall shrub which sends up straight and elastic shoots very suitable for the pur- pose and which bears a purple berry once greatly used in making pemmican The Sioux arrow was triple-plumed for six inches up from the notch. The arrow head was a piece of hoop-iron like an elongated V. very sharp in point and ed-e and warped to th.. shaft with sinew and Indian glue, made by boiling the sinew down Three irregular grooves ran along the shaft from feather to head, each in lino with a plume to give rotary motion probably, to the shaft in flight, or as some think, to give outlei to ^> 102 OHAHLES MAIE ON lamented .ithquil, or boZokt::;/ T""': '''''''' «^' ^^^ ^kiu'eTabo Jet cases were connected b. a slhJZ ^"'^''^ '^'"'^^^^^ ^^^^ the hair out anrr.r greatly valued by the JJ^^Xr^""''^' '' '''''''''' ^^^ "tter u'^ ^ ' behind the ^hculder or behind he rlZ.^r'H' ^'^ '^^^'°' ^^ -« ^enerallyta-Ten TTk' '^''^'^ ^^°^ ^«* *° ^ vital par n7dy f' """■^^^'^ ""^ *^- heaving'of he t CO the ground. The bow and arrow is 11 fn ^'"f "*' '* ^* ^^'^ ^'''' -d brough eastern volunteers in the rebellion of 85t' ? T'.""^ ^'^ *^^°^« '^^^^ surprised fhe "'t '7'^'^^ '^' ^'^^-^^ been It rd n' th ' ''T"" '''''^^^' agaL^th 'm Great nerve and readiness were Cue !l n T."'^"^^ ^^^^ ^recy or Robin-Hoo^ and senous accidents often occurred ,"hf I ""^^V? °" ^'"^ ^^^^ '' ^^^ buffV-lo hunter stores jn the North.We«t .ore senTatiJL^^^^^^^ listened to .any ca.;^ 1 give, though not very startliu^ are m,f h . Allowing ; yet the two or three whirb animal suddenly turned, and Th. Trader'! 1" ' ^''' °' ^^^^^'^^^ ^« ^raw it ou The tH.ir.head. .here probably he wou A 1 ^ "'"^''' "^' ''"" '"" '''^'^ ""^ ^^^ of one of its horns passing under hs'eltThi "" '^'"' '' '^^*' ^"* ^^ '^^ lucky chance bung, whilst theten.5ed bull mad off a' fu^T'"^'!;' *"^"»" '"^^^^^ ''^^e'^^^^^^^^^^ batter ordinary nerves, but "The Trader' too .T '^^' "^^'^^'^'^ ^^^ --"gb to together m such a way as to avt a purohl. .!"=' '^"""y- '-^"^ gathering himself by the breaking or the loosening ofXbe' "h'" . n" ^■°""'^^"'^" ^'^^ ^'- bfrn "her fng ened to reflect on things, 4d !n a:d'l f^' ■ ThtV^^'^^"'^'' ^^^^^^^^*^^ ^^^ ^o buff oV '^T ^"•^' ^''^ ^'^ h«-« in ?M e witf o!r r ^ '"' ^^^"'^^-' -°ther buffalo cow, which stumbled whilst h. , . ^^'gbtly to the rear, of a swift directly across his path. Withl, . "' '^' ^'' of drawing the bow «L7f and. springing c Jn over I p olTt^t:'^ ""'T'"' '' ^'''' '^^ borsel'th'w OMung to the peculiar bend ofVCalo'shrl '''' '""^'^^'^ ''^^ ^^^ - - -w' flat on the ground, and many hunters hav..;/. """' "°'^'^^*^ *° *««« ^ «^an who lav and by acting upon their knowledge on th ! ""'' ''^ " knowledge of this faj W of a bull by his horse st^l^t^Z a baX :t , ^^""' ^" ^"^^^^ ^^ ^^^ tbe bull and tossed twice, and severdy Hptt h , ' u *'" '"" ^« ^^ -"=-bt by bim, whereupon he fell to the ground ad ,lv ru .? ^^' '^'^^ ""^'^ ^be bull missed was not the bison's custom to trample' h f 7 / ' />"' ^"^"'"»^ ^^-'^'"' '-^--"r It and paw up earth upon him. with it fo t't • ' "^'^f ^-^"de ofhim. and Tms him Massa.,and then, having exnausted t' fi,'''''^, this Particular bull did To bunter. some twelve years ago was thrown ! . "' ^^^^^"Pni. another pra,.tised rage of a bull until some fell w hunters '"'^' ^'^ endured for hours the b, Id show what men could do in eme^: Tu^ T ""^ "^'^^'^^ ^^^ ^hese occur t t! and frequently made away with its pu ue. A k",?"'^' *'^ '"'^''^'^ ^^^ ^^^-^^ triumphs pelvis stuck fast on one of its hornsr/r.n.el ^"^ "'"' '^"'"^^'^ ^^'^^^ bad a human bison when disturbed, does not rise wittZ . 7 ""^ '" ^°™'^ ^^""^^^ struggle The bas the faculty of springing on all ^oui:^: j-trfs I^"^^^ '' ''' ^^^^^^ -' ""I • inere is also, sometimes, something very THE AMERICAN BISON 108 like shamming in Its conduct, when brought to ground by a shot and apparently dead, in this condition it has been known to lie perfectly still until the hunter came close up to It, and then spring upon him, and impale him in an instant. Very dangerous at times were certain sulky old bulls, which having been driven off irom their herd, nourished, like some human beings, a hatred of everything living, ixenereux, an old Hudson Iky man, in passing with a dog-train betwixt two thickets of timber, was suddenly pounced upon by one of these morose animals, which tossed dogs fled and all into the air, and made a wreck of the outfit. Another, maddened by the persecution of some Indian dogs, charged a large train of carts numbering scores which was on Its way from Battle River to Fort Carlton, loaded with pemmican and dried meat. Ifte inturiated brute rushed among the oxen and ponies, smashed collars and shafts and injured almost every cart before the astonished freighters could collect their senses, and shoot it. But the buffaloes never were so dangerous to man as their pursuers ever have been to each oti or. The history of the North- West plain Indians down to the time of the .ranster of the territories was simply a history of raids and reprisals begot of the horse stealing which was begot of the chase. This does not closely concern my subject, but it muy be fittingly recorded here that the last of the purely Indian fightc in the territories took place between the Blackfeet and the Croes, twenty years ago, on the plains southwest ot BatocLe, on the South Saskatchewan. The lives lost in the fight were few, but the lives lost in consequent of it were many, and the struggle might almoet be called the Saskatchewan bison's avenger. The dancing over a Blackfoot scalp taken in that fight and which was injected with the virus of small-pox, spread that fatal disease all over the JNorth Saskatchewan, and decimated the Cree race. As the bison has practically passed away, so the economic uses to which it was put by the natives and early immigrants in the North- West have passed . yay with it Most writers have made note of one or other of these economies and doubtless all of them have been described. But it is none the less in place to bring them together in a paper like this, since they are closely relat.-d to my main subject. As a food the flesh of the buff-alo was inferior to domestic b.ef in nutritive qualities ; but if less satiating it was much more digestible. The tongue, hump, back fat and marrow bones were the choicest parts of the animal. The tongues, taken in winter and cured in spring, were beyond all comparison delicious ; much more delicate, indeed, than th.> domestic, or even the reindeer tongue, and not so cloying. To cure them they were steeped in cold, then in tepid water. Six quarts of common salt, with some salt-petre added, were rubbed by hand into a hundred fresh tongues, after which they were put into a vessel, weighted down with stones, and allowed to soak m the brine, thus formed, for fifteen days. They were then taken out and strung up in pans upon poles in the ordinary lodge or cabin, and when dry-smoked were fit for use or export. l-V the latter purpose they were generally cured at the Hudson Bay Company's posts, and as many as four thousand were thus treated at Carlton in a sinirle year. ° The boss or hump, a curious protuberance upon the shoulders of the buttalo, had a separate set of ribs, inos.ailatiui.; with the spine, and consisted of alternate layers of .>xquisitcly tender fat and lean meat. It was the most highly prized part of the animal, and m on.- ot av,-nige size weighed about thirty lbs. The "back fat," which was rich 104 CHAPLBS MAIB ON Itl'Ztnul'Z iTTv f I' 'T"*' *'^ ""'''' ^°^ ^^" «'^"^ -'I -- *he back-bone, t was about two inches thick, but thinned towards the rump, and weighed about fifteen ound r '""' " '"' '""'•"''" ^^^k-^^* -- ->^y abundant in thetlo but i I" warm, clear weather in ihe .1 T 1 f '' °" "''«'' '"■" "'»" «'"• <" » a stranger bv his nerfnrm..,. !, ^"''^ half-breed guide who astonished panion'why^t ne" Tse^^^^^ . T '"' "''^' '^^^"^ ^^^^'^ ^^ ^^« — ^^ com- passer leteLps I Mirisrtt^ " ^^^- Monsieur ! .est pour oneetrot:,t:lr:ldru:ii;^^ *^^. ^--- P^-ican was^ad. at Indians, and has been made bv tho ^f 7 .P*^™"^^«"^ was the device of the plain nai^ativ. of 0^1^0^1.1^ T .'""•^'™-^«l- ^^ ^^ ^^^t mentioned in the .obabl, eaten on^ ^^of^ ZaLrin • i fss^^ 'itntf ltsl\^^ ^^ ^T tallow and dried meaT th. M n ' TV''^' '°"'^'**^'^ "^ "^"^^^^ ^^'"'^l ^^^^^^ities of heads or flaUs Fr m\he df n. Tf^'T^'f ''^ '"" '^'" "^^^ '^^^"^ --™-«' -« which marrowfat was used nft , A n'^ ™"* ''' " '""^ ^^"^"^^^''^'^ " ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ highly valued o all nssted of H / ".^ '"' *'^ "'•^"^"' P^""^'-"' ^^^ "-* .r'hoL-eherries ff rrfold^^ ^hTd ^t 'T"!^" ^'^^^'^*^^" ^^^^•^-' ^ w„„I,1 if r ^ °°''' "'"'" P'oP^'y '"»'1» Md "tared in a drv Diace one e iTpo;Ur:? ,/'', »'T^ ""■"""O """ ''"" -" -- - ">« ™t:„ orV ,0 anin,!?: stn^: hi;! n:;" c*' 'r " "t '^ '-^ °'"- -""^ - "- leatlier the raw hf^l j «orth-W est the robe was of secondary imiwtaacc. The we e en h conveutce^ t'hT' """ "'■ !^ "'^'""' ™'"- '" "" '■""«• """■ ■-=P'=. -"> accuslomedto r n™ The 'h '"'" ' "'" ^'""''' ■"'"'"» '''' "'' "•>» l>"" >"'- Plain InHilv „ ,T T: T "" ""' "" """•!' " i*'e»»ily as the source ot the .vo.hi.n, wheX hrpp^rdir::::!"''" '^"-^ -'-' '™'" '- -'-p-i.io„. JlilliiiMii THE AMEEIOiJf BISON. ^qq TIxe buffalo's coat was in the best condition in mid-winter In «r,r,r,„ +», u • , x eatnor prepared like the moose-skin, for home use. was the Indian women's most aborious work ; and when one thinks of the enormous quantity of both which came from Ob the hide was first fleshed with a peculiar bone, notched like a comb and then .r tched on a frame to dry, after which it was wotted and again reduced wTh a scraper :du^?dT 1^ Tth ^T '"^'V -"'' ^^^^"^^""^ «P^' ^-" thebalMhon; Th reduced the ^alue of the robe, and then thoroughly dried over the lodge fires It wa« now greased and allowed to hang for several days when it was again wetfed on the fllsh side until quite soft after which the brain and liver of the bufi-alo. mi JId in a paste were vigorously rubbed into the hide, whi.h was again dried. The final process was th most laborious of all. A stout pole was planted in the lodge and a cord of sinewTwisted after fold o which was then, for a long period, hauled back and forth against thorough ! TL l%"u"'' """ P^'* "" ''''''''''^'''y ^«f^-^^- ^^- this process was omple ed the hide became a marketable robe. A fluff-y or wool-like surface was give^to the pelt afterwards, by rubbing it with a boss-bone or rough stone ; and such robe pre- pared by the Indians for their own use, were frequently Idorned with picture pinted in bright colours, and not without spirit. P'uuiea The leather, though sometimes exported, was generally reserved for home use and contributed largely to domestic comfort. Out of it the plain Indian made his mocclsins and other articles of clothing, his saddles, and above all his portable and comf^r bl lodge for comfortable it was in winter, with its lining and carpeting of soft buffalo robes and Its bright fire, round which the legends of the tribe were handed down to the youngsters m the long winter nights. Indeed the buff^alo .kin lodge was in general use twenty years ago even in the settlements, and was often preferred in summer to L house. The same style of lodge is still in use in the North-West; but it is now made of calico instead of leather. On the plains, the buff^afo dung, called "buff-ale chips" by the hunters furnished, in summer, the Indian and plain-hunter's fuel, and its sinews which lay immediately under the back-fat, along the spine from the sirloin forward' supplied tough and durable thread and glue. The last, but not the least, importani product of the buffalo was shaganappi, or as it was often called "North-West Iron " The word in common use is a corruption of the Cree compound pesaganappi ("shred in a circle and the common sort was simply a long strip cut conc3ntrically from the hide of an old bull. But the twisted lines, which were used for bridle lines, tethers etc were taken from the rump of the animal, where the hide was uniform in thickness.' These lines, like the others, were cut from the hide in continuous concentric rings which were afterwards greased and exposed to the sun, pounded to suppleness with a'mallet or better still, chewed, and then braided. They were exceedingly strong and durable Shaganappi was m fact, until recently, an invaluable and omnipresent article in the North-Wc^t It was much stronger and more durable than the cordage made from domestic hide, and was largely employed in making cart and double harness for cattle For lashing there was nothing equal to it. First wetted, and then warped around a Sec. II, 1890. 14. Ml I; J Mi ^ CHARLES MAIB ON ^°® ... .riD as firm as iron ; and indeed, aB >, .1 or shaft it contracted in drying, to a gnp as tirm Such were the principal benefits wh^ch ^^ bu^U ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^,^^ ^ breeds and old settlers of the Nort^;^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ .„y^,,, ^V^^.Ck with needs It seems but yesterday when they w ^^^^ „ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ back wi h to dccrib. .he known ""-f "^^^^^^.nd to cos. it with domestic c.tl. W. :^o::::rrrr:ttSi»^^^^^^^^ ToCzers io ™Mno .ho .nim.i ? ^J'^^l.rb.- ^'"^en to harno., and I «^^^^^ 1 f +ViP North-West which will yet m 01 j, t- . ..fp^e ot importance '" W » bf dcXd hardy enough .o -"-*«-;':;,„' ^.X ,ne..,o„ may be r:riHshonidLn..do -^ ,.e-ve . . an^aU.-;-; „^,,, . , ^vate .41.^ Kv systematic experiment, ihis nat, Hoiffhts in Manitoba, and at ':tJXl e-.»Pl- »' »°"^ ^r;:;: ::lf ; ,'p. "i!. o. .he S.ony Moun.ain VtiZ Albert on the Saska.chewan Bn. the rece,,^ P ,„v.rn,nenl, and be gnen a hd proves .ha. such experiments .hon d 1^^. .he oa« ol „ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^,^^^^^^ h wider applioaiion Ihau has ye. l"'"" """X , oven Oeneral M.rcy, a man XLTthe buffalo ,vould oross wi.h ^nes.- »"'-;• f J^^.^,, ,^,, ,„.,, would no.^ :Ate e^pe*-: - '^' !:ZZ^^^ ^^^ ..o.X OW-X-- who herded fact of successful cro.s-bvceding, and of the fert U^Y o^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^,. ^,^,.^ g the ^ii\»iji|pj^iiipwp»i»»»SK THE AMERICAN BLSON 107 ••ourtosy. We munt look farther west Tho fonf km .. beyond them, wor. favourite ran," f 2 In^o r^' ^"'^ ''"""*^'"«' ^^ -- western Alberta is perhaps a more nromi^lnl/^u^™^^ ^'''' ''^^' ^"^ ^i«w of this, the animals were confined they w^u d pr bfbfv'r *'^^^Pf ""^"* ^''^'^ ^°^ «''^-- ^^ ^ut if a special national park w^ s t a "de ^oJ.H ""^ "'^'^' ''^^ *^^ «^P^"--' ^-L yet enjoy comparative freedom and thus b .' ''"'■^'''' ^'^'^ ™'°'^' '^° P^"'^^^^^, and upon fair trial proved succ'sT^Iit w^^^^^^^^ '' «"'-->■ '^ ^^e experiment important results. I„ the mea" t l! an effo t mi bM" "' I""'*'"' '^'^^ """'^ ^^^ ^o other regions. In a great grazinrcountrv w th " ™''' '" ^"^"^"'''^ *^'^' ^'^^^ i'^ would probably thrive and multfplyTnd Ih! '""' "^"^ "'^'^ ^^''^^ ^"«*r-l-. ^t reasonable effort should be spared tl I ^^P°"°^«^t migh^ easily be tried there. No great service on our 00.1:^^^^:'^^ Tr' '"™ '^^*^'^^"^" "'^""'^ ^^ ^«- <>' extinction would be a disgrace t^XilLdC^' """''^' "'^' ''' '^^*°^^' ^'^^ ^'^-« XOTE. and -^^ l'i:":Sr:Ztr2^^^ -"1 r ^°^^ -=---sepo-.oo.oos. obvious o,.i.in of the name. But at the mo me T I, uu ' '^^°'''"' '' "^^ *« ^« '^^ "">« bore, who.0 derivation, howeve,. fleif , i ,; rannor ""^^f.—"-'™ which the animal hunte... both Indian and l^al^breef No 1 rrT' "T "^.t ''' ''""^ -'PPoHers among native never roamed the Paeitic .lope... This of ZIX I Z " ''"'""'"' *" ^''"' ^"^"^ '^' ^son my article, I am yet of opinion th.thVlr ">'^«tatement ; and, though I did not eay so in n,oo.stoos,orBeav'erRivel.b„«a InX L^^ ^°' -"«^ ^^ -me AmiskoLepe- peculiar to the regions we.t of th; Rockt ZZ^T^V^ """"'' ^''^' '^"**"'° ^"^ *»>« '^'"'nal •that fine old Cree ehi.f AttaUucoop tsta^B ^ t. ^ „ ""l "^''"'"'"^ ^'■^^'' ^^"^ »''>-, this variety of the bison in great abldrm . hevn I "^ ""' '""' """"^ >'«»''*' "S" h« saw imp-obahle, .he..efo..e, tnat tL t: t ^ £ ^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^ - "' "'^ '""""'"^- '' ' "^ mountains to the plains of the interior whero t / ■ . ' ''"""^ '^''■^''•' '*« ^«^ "^<^'' the la«t. The term Amislcoo-sip-mo tooTo. be' o TT^JT ""''''' •''^"•''''' characteristics to the towards a fanciful n.nnenclCe a.^ L,L ! .' t '"«"'"'. '""7"'-^'- P-pensity of the Indians the merganser fan.ily, whioh in he >^^, h w?. T.' ^'"'" '^^ '^° ^'"^'' ^° ° ^''^ ''"'« duck of and in the ponds mad'e by t e tim «; .T.r" '', '"V" ''' -'^'"'^-"••^-d of beaver da^ns diminulive buffalo of the prairie ^^ " loose analogy the Indians applied the term to the aomiinaiu::;::?:;;!^ rr^rr "^^^ sr ' "°"'^ '- -'--' *^^^' -^^^ h..llsforany transg.os.siouof heritleint i.t t «"">mcr, nature severely punishing the sharpen their horn!. The flat „ ./Icet wo n , ' r "? '"'"' ^'"' "'«" ''''' *^^' '«"-• C" to not bo confounded with i':lZ^:^';Z:^ ZT 1^' ^' "" '''r'''' '^'''"^ '^^ ^^^ hole or dep.ession in the soil beinihr folTK '' ''"''' ''""^ '° wallow-making, the eoul.1 not be made in ,he ; irio „' t^h Wes^ "'°"T "" f "°'^°' '''"'■ ^hese depressions in the snow during Jt sea on Tr, e 1 '".'■' "'"' *'""''^"''° ^'^'^ '''""°=" ^^''"Pl/ '-oiled ^e.an to loosen, ti^t is t;:;;w:rt:'r :j 1^ ^:h: r;^::: ^^^ -ri -^^ •^".),anaincn Us v, ;!,icwmg was undoubtedly 108 CHAKLES MAIR ON THE AMKRIOAN BISON. pieceaofbrown blanket When I ft«i f I J"! '"'"""'"' '*''°''*«' ^h"'" '0"^-' exactly lik a most grotesque appearal an wh^d : '»''"'°''' «f« ^^ ^'>° -"'i ^hoso flap, gave the aLnal c«pH,a„devon addlodohr ThlVr^^ drop , we.-e made u«e of by the Indians for comfortables, Canaan." publish J n ,637 tia the r . ^^ ^''V"' "^ ''"'''"'^ ^*"'°™°"' '" »"« "New English article i oLttod 'oZiTlost^l^^^^^^^^ ^'" ''"""'^^'^ ^-' -*« «'«'t. In my chered when augh fn thillV u facf ^ H ' '""^ ■*"" '""^ ""'^ indiBcriminateiy bu.- hunter received ivcrpuirZn ft ir; T""! "^ ^""«^^* ^'^'^ ^'- «tat.ment that the Indian empounded bea.t wa du to a dee 'u TfT "' "'• '''*' "''"""'''" '^ ''"'* '^« '^'"'"^ ^^ --7 escaped there .ouUrbe a end of pTllTinr^ nr"" '' r^ '•"'°"' *'^"* '^ " ^'"^'^ ""'-' the North-West from brin^in^r in IZl , , «"Pe''«t't'on «eemH to prevent the Indians in to induce even chl^ia ed I dianstT "' 't "': '"'' "'""'''' "•'^'^■«'^'" ••^"-•'-•- ^^ -difficult and ncly in a .JZ!^ ^^X^^Jj^'^'^t "^^^ '"^"^^'^ " ^•■'^^'^' ''' ^^'^'^^ among our Indians- hut ,> u .♦n ^ " °' °^^'°"' ''«"'««"« '^ has entirely ceased