Great merriment is caused when the better dancers try to outdo each other. Much feasting follows—for are they not soon to possess an abundance of meat? An old shaman appears; the dancers pause; he informs them that his medicine is “good.” No enemies are near; the dreadful white hunters are not at hand; every lodge will secure at least three buffalo. Therefore, all must prepare and be ready to begin the hunt at daybreak. Shortly after sunrise a large portion of the Indians mounted on their most reliable “buffalo horses” (which have been trained to skillfully avoid the rushes of the bulls) pursue the herd. Each man selects a well-proportioned beast, and with rifle, arrow or lance, he brings him down. Now, hunting buffalo with the lance, or bow and arrow, was sport. The use of a rifle required no skill. With the lance, the hunter must ride up close, thrust the lance in and swing his pony suddenly to avoid the charge of any belligerent bull. The steel-pointed arrows must be shot at close range, and when the beast was “on the jump”, in order that the arrow penetrate between the ribs to a vital part. Much of the arrow’s force was lost, if it struck a rib. Hence, great skill on the hunter’s part was required. He must shoot or thrust at the proper moment. This was true sport—just the opposite of still hunting, the favorite pastime of the pot-and-hide hunters; far more exciting than the work of such men as Buffalo Bill, who killed in order to make “big records”. When Indians hunted, the women and children and older men followed along in the wake of the advance party, removed the hides and cut up the meat. Or, if the herd is a small one, it is surrounded by a large number of horsemen and forced to a common center. “Milling”, the old frontiersmen used to call it. Indians ride furiously around the herd, making much noise, and the animals seeking to escape, crowd toward the center of the circle. Buffalo were often maimed or crushed as a result of this style of hunt. It afforded the Indians opportunity to shoot down a large number of animals before the buffalo ceased “milling” and fled in various directions. Again, small herds were run over precipices, or into ravines having steep sides. Sometimes they were pursued to the banks of the Missouri River and shot while swimming. Often from a village small parties of young men would go out on informal hunts, preceding which there was no special ceremony such as the buffalo dance. But as a rule, the hunts were more or less ceremonial affairs, or at least preceded by certain rites. The introduction of the Sharpes rifle, and later the Winchester, among the Indians, changed this style of hunt and many of the Indians followed the example of the white men and hunted individually, or in small groups, rather than tribally. [Illustration: THE HIDE HUNTER ] Miss Alice C. Fletcher is considered an authority upon the Omaha and related tribes. Of the buffalo she says:—