Part Three
Posted 03-09-2009 at 01:57 PM by Terimarie
The hair of the calves was of a yellowish or reddish color, and remained so until they were from three months to a year old, when they shed this wool and assumed the darker color of the adult buffalo. Calves were called Little Yellow Buffalo. Robes for children were made from these beautiful skins, and they were always tanned with the hair intact.
After an early fall hunt, a large number of motherless and deserted calves were left on the hunting ground. Cows always abandoned their calves as soon as hunters gave chase, and usually they were in the lead of a stampeding herd. The bulls ran just behind the cows and the yearlings and calves brought up the rear. Some hunters claimed that the cows could run faster than any of the other buffalo in the herd, and for this reason were always in the lead. Others said the bulls ran just behind the cows to protect them, and so were behind by choice. They always were right at the heels of the cows.
If a chase took place near a camp and calves were left, boys mounted on yearling ponies and using their small bows and arrows staged exciting miniature chases, to the delight of the warriors who looked on. Very young calves left motherless or deserted after a chase were even known to follow the hunters back to camp.
By fall a healthy buffalo youngster would have increased in size to four hundred pounds, and its coat was long, shaggy, and thickened with heavy wool against the rigors of the cold season soon to come.
The coat of a year old calf turned from its yellowish color to a dark shade. By now he was so fluffy that he looked big for his age. The Assinboines called them “Little Black-haired Ones”, or “Fluffed-haired Ones.”
Two year old buffalo were called “Two Teeth,” having two full teeth at that age. Just before they reached the second year, Their horns emerged beyond their thick hair and commenced to curve. At that age the tips of the horns were blunt, so they were also called “Blunt Horns.”
As they passed the second year, their horns continued to curve, and three year olds were known as “Curved Horns,” because of the short, small, curved horns.
After an early fall hunt, a large number of motherless and deserted calves were left on the hunting ground. Cows always abandoned their calves as soon as hunters gave chase, and usually they were in the lead of a stampeding herd. The bulls ran just behind the cows and the yearlings and calves brought up the rear. Some hunters claimed that the cows could run faster than any of the other buffalo in the herd, and for this reason were always in the lead. Others said the bulls ran just behind the cows to protect them, and so were behind by choice. They always were right at the heels of the cows.
If a chase took place near a camp and calves were left, boys mounted on yearling ponies and using their small bows and arrows staged exciting miniature chases, to the delight of the warriors who looked on. Very young calves left motherless or deserted after a chase were even known to follow the hunters back to camp.
By fall a healthy buffalo youngster would have increased in size to four hundred pounds, and its coat was long, shaggy, and thickened with heavy wool against the rigors of the cold season soon to come.
The coat of a year old calf turned from its yellowish color to a dark shade. By now he was so fluffy that he looked big for his age. The Assinboines called them “Little Black-haired Ones”, or “Fluffed-haired Ones.”
Two year old buffalo were called “Two Teeth,” having two full teeth at that age. Just before they reached the second year, Their horns emerged beyond their thick hair and commenced to curve. At that age the tips of the horns were blunt, so they were also called “Blunt Horns.”
As they passed the second year, their horns continued to curve, and three year olds were known as “Curved Horns,” because of the short, small, curved horns.
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“Small-built Buffalo” was the usual name applied to the four year olds, but they were also called “Four Teeth.” Robes taken from these in January and February were considered the best of all hides. They were not too thick, and the hair was fluffed out, silky, and thick. Boys were taught that when the robe hunters rode into a herd, they were to look in particular for the “Small-built Ones,” both males and females, with trim and neat bodies, whose coats of hair were like fine fur. At the age of six, cows were known as “Big Females,” which meant they were mature animals. The bulls of this vintage were called “Horns Not Cracked” because of their fine polished horns, which resulted from hours spent in polishing them by rubbing against low cut banks or trees. Sometimes the bulls pawed down the upper sides of washouts and used the newly exposed and harder surface as a polishing material.
Bull hides were skinned only to the shoulders and cut off, leaving behind the parts that covered the humps. To skin a mature bull, the Assiniboine boy learned how to lay the animal in a prone position and then make an incision along the back, starting a little above and between the tips of the shoulder blades and ending at the tail. When this method of skinning was completed, the hide was in two pieces.
In the more usual way of removing the buffalo hide, and a task ordinarily carried out by the women, the cow buffalo was placed on its side. Shoshone women sliced them along the back from the head to tail. Then they ripped them down the belly and took off the top half of the hide, cutting away all the meat on that side from the bones. After this they would tie ropes to the feet of the carcass and turned it over with their ponies, proceeding then to strip off the skin and flesh from the other side in the same way.Posted 03-09-2009 at 01:58 PM by Terimarie
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The heavier bull, being more difficult to move, was sometimes heaved onto his belly, with his legs spread. The women would slash him across the brisket and the neck and then fold the hide back so they could cut out the forequarters at the joints. To complete the removal they would split the hide down the middle.
Fat from matured animals, when rendered, was soft and yellowish in color. The tallow from young buffalo was always hard and white. When buffalo became old, some living beyond the age of thirty years, they shrank in size. The horns, especially those of the bulls, were cracked, craggy, and homely. Old bulls congregated in lonely groups. They remained away from the main herds and usually died of natural causes because no one cared for their meat or hides.
There were some unusual buffalo, and the strange kinds which were noticed during the hunt were the source of animated discussions at gatherings afterward.
As stated previously, the color of the hair on all calves was yellowish, and by the end of the first year had turned almost black. However, a few retained their original color through their lifetime. They were called “yellow ones,” and most of them were females. They were natural size buffalo with an odd color. Robes made from the yellow ones were rare, and a hunter was proud to be able to present one to a prominent person.Posted 03-09-2009 at 01:59 PM by Terimarie
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White or albino buffalo were rare, and the number taken by different bands was so few it became a matter of historical record to be handed down from generation to generation. Only three were known by the Assinibonie tribe. The hide of one was brought back by a war party, but the heirs did not know whether the party killed the animal or took it from an enemy tribe in a raid. Another was owned by a northern band, who, whenever a momentous occasion arose, used a piece of it to fashion a sacred buffalo horn headdress for a new headman. The third, a heifer, was only seen by several hunters who were returning to camp after a chase. Their horses were tired and no attempt was made to chase it. However, one of their number, whose name was Growing Thunder, followed the herd for some time but finally returned to the group and told how the herd seemed to guard the white one. He tried to get within shooting range of the animal but was unsuccessful. It remained at all times in the middle of the large herd.
Another kind, known as “spotted ones,” had white spots on the underside and on the flanks. Some had small white spots on one or both hind legs, usually near the hoofs. Only females were marked in this way.
The “small-heads” were also females. They were of ordinary size, but had small heads and very short horns.
“Curved-horns” were both male and female. The bulls of this variety had short horns with accentuated curves, while the cow horns were thin, long and curved. The tips, which curved out of sight into the hair, made curved-horn cows look as if they wore earrings. A certain old buffalo group was called “narrow-cows,” because of the narrow-built bodies. From the side they looked like the rest of the females, but in a chase one was easily detected. In spite of their shape they were usually healthy and the meat was good.Posted 03-09-2009 at 02:01 PM by Terimarie
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Some females had forelocks, and sometimes hair around the horns, which were short and looked shorn. Since they resembled Indian women who had their hair short in mourning, they were known as “mourning-cows.” These cows were more vicious than other kinds for some reason, and would charge mounted hunters if they came too close. Their meat was good, but it was seldom eaten because of a belief that if anyone who knew the facts ate the meat from a mourning-cow, there would be a death in the family.
This text comes from “The Mystic Warriors of the Plains”
by Thomas E. Mails
Tags: American, buffalo, Indian, life, North America, spiritPosted 03-09-2009 at 02:02 PM by Terimarie
