Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri: Edited with Notes and Biographical SketchDenig, Edwin Thompson
History
Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri: Edited with Notes and Biographical Sketch
Denig, Edwin Thompson
Assiniboine Indians; Indians of North America -- Missouri River Valley
When there is a deficiency of people to man the angles they are made by
placing the lodges of the camp in that form, but this can only be done
when they have a dozen or two of fast horses to extend the angle of the
lodges and force the buffalo within the lines. This is also done, but
it does not succeed as well as the way described. Great is the joy and
feasting in camp after a large throw.
APPROACHING BUFFALO.—This is done on foot with the gun by a single
man. It is indispensable he should have on a skin dress in summer and a
white blanket coat over it in winter, or a buffalo robe coat with all
the hair turned inside.
Any dark-colored dress is easily seen by them at a considerable
distance, but white or light-colored clothing does not attract their
notice. The hunter has his gun covered with skin to prevent the dirt
or snow from entering the barrel while in the act of crawling. His
accoutrements are also firmly attached to his person by a belt. He
proceeds toward the buffalo, keeping the wind as nearly in his face as
possible, sometimes being obliged to make a circuit of miles to get the
wind in the right direction. When near the animals he observes from the
top of some hill how they are stationed, which way they travel, and the
nature of the ground as regards coulees, gullies, bushes, grass, and
any objects that may hide his person from their view and shapes his
course according to the means of concealment presented. If he finds the
country too level to get them within range of the gun he then commences
crawling on his belly toward them, pushing his gun ahead as he goes.
This is a very laborious and slow mode of progressing and often takes
one or two hours to come within shooting distance, as the hunter only
moves while the animals are eating, stopping the moment their attention
is directed toward him. In the snow it is a very cold business,
and in the summer difficult on account of the cactus, but they are
obliged to do it frequently in both seasons on these level plains.
Great precaution is needed to approach buffalo or antelope on a level
plain. The hunter covers his head with sage bushes, and sticks the
same or grass in his belt; at other times a wolf skin covers his head
and back—he lying flat, no form of the man can be perceived—and the
animals being accustomed to these objects do not affright so easily.
When by any of these means he has arrived within shooting distance he
fires without rising, elevating his piece by support of the elbows.
After firing he remains motionless a few minutes during which the
buffalo, after recoiling a few paces, and seeing nothing on the move,
commence grazing. He now turns over on his back and reloads his gun
(lying in this position) by putting the butt against his foot—and when
ready will turn over on his belly and fire again, and so on, sometimes
killing six or eight without changing his place, or with very little
movement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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