Mortally wounded, the Crow chief halted for a moment, then summoning all his strength, he drew the knife from his breast and threw it at the Blackfoot crying, “A scalp of the mighty Crows shall never dry in the wigwams of the Blackfeet.” With this parting word he threw himself into the swift moving river and was lost to view. Only the bloody water marked the place. BUFFALO HUNTING The Indians of the Plains, bold and desperate horsemen, were great hunters. Their chief game was the American bison or buffalo, which roamed over the wide prairies in vast herds, seemingly placed there by the Great Spirit for the special use of the red man, who lived upon their flesh and clothed himself with their skins. Mounted on small, fleet ponies, the Indians could readily kill them in great numbers. When pursuing the herd, the Indian used to ride close in the rear while he selected just the animal he wanted. Then driving his pony between it and the herd, he forced the buffalo off alone. In this way he avoided being crushed or trampled to death by the madly rushing beasts. [Illustration: CATCHING WILD HORSES] When directly opposite the buffalo, the Indian, with his bow ready drawn, would shoot his deadly arrow. Often this was only a signal for a fierce encounter with the wounded bull. For while the buffalo is a timid animal and seldom makes an attack, he turns in fury when wounded. With few exceptions, the Indian with the aid of his swift pony would soon conquer the mighty beast. Another method the Indians employed in hunting buffalo, was to ride out and in a body surround a herd. Dividing into two columns and riding in opposite directions, they gradually circled around the animals at about a mile distant. At a given signal they closed in on them, and the unsuspecting herd, scenting the enemy, fled in the greatest confusion. Where the buffalo aimed to cross the line, the riders went at full speed, brandishing their weapons and yelling fiercely. By these means they turned the herd off towards another point, where they again, met by confusion and noise, wheeled back in an opposite direction. The horsemen had by this time closed in at all points and soon had the buffalo circling around in a confused mass. Then began the scene of slaughter, when hundreds of beasts were killed. Sometimes, a bull, infuriated by wounds, would break from the seething mass, and gore a hunter’s horse to death. The Indian would then be obliged to leap to save himself, and in some cases had to jump from back to back of the wild animals to avoid being crushed. [Illustration: A BUFFALO HUNTER] When enough animals were killed there followed a busy scene. The whole Indian camp, men, women and children, set to work to cut up the meat. It was carried back to camp, and what was not needed for food at once was dried in the sun for use in the winter and when game was scarce.