Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri / Edited with Notes and Biographical Sketch

by Edwin Thompson Denig

The chase does not vary much at any season, except that in the summer, no skins being seasonable but deer in the red, only enough animals are killed to suffice for food, clothing, lodges, etc. From the middle of September to the middle of March the hair and fur of all animals become merchantable. They are then hunted for the hide, though all prime furs are taken off in the middle of the winter. Pelts are judged by the thickness of their skin and fur. In the warm months all animals shed their hair. A little observation enables a person to determine to a certainty in what month the animal has been killed.

Hunting parties not decided on by council in the soldiers’ lodge are formed by any respectable hunter sending invitations to those he wishes should accompany him.

The spoils of smaller game belong to him who killed it but they share the meat with all who are there, and but little difficulty occurs on this point. When but few animals are killed it is always known who killed them, and when many are slaughtered all have enough. Disputes arise occasionally, however, but it is not a matter of sufficient importance to proceed to extreme measures, and one of the party usually relinquishes his claim.

The morning and evening are the best hours for approaching small game, as at those times they are found feeding, but buffalo can be easier approached in the middle of the day when they lie down for an hour or two, and if not asleep their range of vision is much diminished by that position and intervening grass. Light and shade are not of much consequence in approaching game. The object of the hunter is to keep out of sight entirely until the moment of firing, and when that is not possible to make use of some skin, branches, grass, etc., to deceive the animal, move very slowly, and keep the wind in his favor.

The manner in which animals are decoyed has been pointed out, but is not always successful, and only resorted to by those who are adepts in the art of mimicry, as in the rutting season. This is the reason why he who leads the buffalo into the parks is supposed by the mass to be possessed with some supernatural power which forces the buffalo to follow him, when in fact it is nothing more than a correct imitation of the bleating of a calf or a noise as though a calf was being devoured by a wolf and crying for help. The buffalo never get near enough to the man to make him out, as he is covered with his robe, the hair turned outward, and he always keeps the wind in his favor. It is, however, a rare talent.

Figure 33.—Tool for fleshing the hide

The hide of the buffalo, to make a robe, is taken off in two halves, by slitting the animal down the middle of the back and the middle of the belly. The first process it undergoes afterwards is taking off the portions of meat and membrane adhering to it, so that it will present the smooth clear skin. This is done with a tool made from the shin bone of an elk. ([Fig. 33].) The lower end is cut to an edge and small teeth made therein. The skin is hung up at one corner to a pole and the meat is dug off by hoeing down with the instrument, which is held firmly at the upper end. A woman will finish this operation on two whole skins or four halves in one day. Next the skin is stretched to dry. Holes are cut through it near the edge. In summer it is pinned to the ground by wooden pegs, or in winter when the ground is frozen, stretched on a frame of four poles tied together, and a small fire built to dry it. When dry the next thing to be done is to scrape it, that is, to hoe off about one-third of the thickness of the hide. This is done with an iron tool about 3½ inches long, 1½ inches wide, and ⅛-inch thick. Formerly a flint stone was used for this purpose, but the iron tool answering better, is now substituted. This piece of iron being sharpened at one edge is tied on a handle made of elk’s horn ([Fig. 34]), cut off at one of the forks, so as to afford a projection to fasten it, being held in both hands. The hide is laid on the ground, the woman stands upon it, and, stooping, digs off the hide in shavings, until of the proper thickness.

This occupies about half a day to each whole hide and is a very fatiguing employment. Grease is then melted, sprinkled sparingly over the skin, and it is suspended over a small fire for a few hours that the grease may penetrate; then taken down and smeared over with the brains or livers of some animals boiled in water, being soaked thoroughly and left all night in this state. In the morning it is again stretched on the frame, the liver scraped off, clean water thrown on and scraped off until the hide becomes white. A fire is then made near and the skin slowly heated and rubbed with pumice stone or porous bone until it is about half dry, then taken out of the frame and drawn backward and forward round a strong cord of sinew which is tied at each end to the lodge pole. Every few minutes the skin is held a short time to the fire, then rubbed, and this operation continued until it becomes perfectly dry and soft. This is also hard work. A good hand will rub two whole skins or four halves in a day. The skin is now dressed. The holes made for stretching it around the edges are cut off and it is sewed up along the back with an awl and sinew, which takes about half an hour to each two halves of the buffalo.