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.
THE HIDE HUNTER
Miss Alice C. Fletcher is considered an authority upon the Omaha and related tribes. Of the buffalo she says:—
“Tribal regulations controlled the cutting up of the animal and the distribution of the parts. The skin and certain parts of the carcass belonged to the man who had slain the buffalo; the remainder was divided according to certain fixed rules among the helpers, which afforded an opportunity for the poor and disabled to procure food. Butchering was generally done by men on the field, each man’s portion being taken to his tent and given to the women as their property.
“The buffalo was hunted in the winter by small, independent but organized parties, not subject to the ceremonial exactions of the tribal hunt. The pelts secured at this time were for bedding and for garments of extra weight and warmth. The texture of the buffalo hide did not admit of fine dressing, hence was used for coarse clothing, moccasins, tent covers, parfleche cases, and other articles. The hide of the heifer killed in the fall or early winter made the finest robe.
“The buffalo was supposed to be the instructor of doctors who dealt with the treatment of wounds, teaching them in dreams where to find healing plants and the manner of their use. The multifarious benefits derived from the animal brought the buffalo into close touch with the people. It figured as a gentile totem, its appearance and movements were referred to in gentile names, its habits gave designations to the months, and it became the symbol of the leader and the type of long life and plenty; ceremonies were held in its honor, myths recounted its creation, and its folk-tales delighted old and young.”[[57]]
There were many separate uses to which the entire buffalo carcass was put. I have grouped them thus:—
FLESH
Ordinary food