A Great Buffalo "Pot-Hunt" [pp. 215-223]

APPLETONS' JOURNAL.
which have been moving slowly off as they ap proached. The hunt up to this time has moved in
four columns, with every man in his place. As they
draw nearer at a gentle trot, the immense herd
breaks into a rolling gallop. Now the critical and
long-desired moment has arrived. The chief gives
the signal. "Allee! allee!" he shouts, and a thou sand reckless riders dash forward at a wild run.
Into the herd they penetrate; along its sides they
stretch, the trained horses regulating their pace to
that of the moving mass beside them; guns flash,
shots and yells resound; the dust arises in thick
clouds over the struggling band; and the chase
sweeps rapidly over the plain, leaving its traces behind in the multitude of animals lying dead upon
the ground, or feebly struggling in their death-throes.
The hunter pauses not a moment, but loads and
fires with the utmost rapidity, pouring in his bullets at the closest range, often almost touching the
animal he aims at. To facilitate the rapidity of his
fire he uses a flint-lock, smooth-bore trading-gun,
and enters the chase with his mouth filled with bullets. A handful of powder is let fall from the powder-horn, a bullet is dropped from the mouth into
the muzzle, a tap with the butt-end of the firelock
on the saddle causes the salivated bullet to adhere
to the powder during the moment necessary to depress the barrel, when the discharge is instantly
effected without bringing the gun to the shoulder.
The excitement which seizes upon the hunter at
finding himself surrounded by the long-sought buffalo
is intense, and sometimes renders him careless in
examining too closely whether the object fired at is
a buffalo or a buffalo-runner mounted by a friend.
But few fatal accidents occur, however, from the
pell-mell rush and indiscriminate firing; but it frequently happens that guns, as the result of hasty and
careless loading, explode, carrying away part of the
hands using them, and even the most expert runners
sometimes find their way into badger-holes, breaking or dislocating the collar-bones of the riders in
the fall.
The identification of the slain animals is left till
the run is over. This is accomplished by means of
marked bullets, the locality in which the buffalo lies
-for which the hunter always keeps a sharp lookout
-and the spot where the bullet entered. By the
time the hunters begin to appear, returning from the
chase, there have arrived long trains of carts from
the camp to carry back the meat and robes. The
animals having been identified, the work of skinning
and cutting up begins, in which the women and
children participate. In a remarkably brief time the
plain is strewed with skeletons stripped of flesh, and
the well-loaded train is on its return. Arrived at
camp, the robes are at once stretched upon a framework of poles, and the greater part of the flesh scraped
from them, after which they are folded and packed
in the carts to receive the final dressing in the settlement. Of the meat, the choicest portions are packed
away without further care, to be freighted home in a
fresh state, the cold at that late season effectually
preserving it. Large quantities are, however, con
verted into pemmican, in which shape it finds its
readiest market.
Pemmican, which forms the staple article of prod uce of the summer hunt, and is also extensively
made in the fall, is a species of food peculiar to the
country. To manufacture it, the buffalo-meat is first
cut into thin strips and hung upon poles over fires
until thoroughly smoked and cured. In this shape
it is sold as dried meat, being packed in bales weigh ing sixty pounds each, and is much used as a travel ing-provision. The meat is then pounded fine, and
mixed with an amount of tallow or buffalo-fat equal
to itself in bulk. The tallow, having been boiled, is
poured hot from the caldron into an oblong bag,
manufactured from buffalo - hide, into which the
pounded buffalo-meat has previously been placed.
The contents are then stirred together until thoroughly mixed, when the bag is served up and ready
for use. Each bag when full weighs one hundred
pounds, and it is calculated that, on an average, the
carcass of one buffalo will yield enough pemmican
to fill but a single bag. As a traveling-provision it
is invaluable. There is no danger of spoiling it, as,
if ordinary care be taken to keep the bags dry and
free from mould, there is no assignable limit to the
time pemmican will keep.
The camp, which has for days been on the verge
of starvation, after the return of the hunters from
the chase becomes a scene of feasting and revelry;
and gastronomic feats are performed which seem
incredible to those unacquainted with the appetite
begotten of a roving life, unlimited fresh air, and the
digestible nature of the food. As with the daughters of the horse-leech, there is a continued demand
for more, until the consumption of tongues, melting
hump, and dripping ribs, bids fair to threaten the
entire camp with immediate asphyxia. All night
long the feasting continues among the groups formed
about the camp-fires, and roasting, boiling, and stewing are the order of the hour. Were the supply certain to be exhausted on the morrow, the consumption
would go on just the same, the improvident hunter
entertaining no idea of reserving of present excess
for future scarcity. Happily, the supply is abundant,
for it sometimes happens that the carts are fully
loaded with meat in a single chase. In that event,
the major part of them are at once started homeward in charge of boys and the younger men, while
the hunters follow up the herd to obtain a further
supply of robes. A view of the prairie, after a run
in which the acquisition of robes is the sole object,
reveals the enormous waste of life which annually
occurs. The plain for miles is covered with the
carcasses of buffalo from which nothing has been
taken save the hides, tongues, and it may be the
more savory portions of the hump; the remainder
being left to the wolves and carrion-birds. Should
the first run fail to secure a sufficient supply of meat,
however, the chase is continued until the complement is obtained, each hunter starting his carts
homeward as they are filled.
In such manner has the work of the semi-annual
hunts been conducted for over half a century, and in
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