Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-05-30


was a misunderstanding as 70 the
terms OF the bargain, and the Irish
man fancied that, because Of his re-
moteneSs, the company was trying to
take advantage Of his necessities. He
seems to have been mercurial, reckless
and easily stirred TO passion. and heed
less of the consequences; he would not
accept the terms offered. He according
ly burned his wagons and all the In
dian goods and the supplies not needed,
in front Of the fort, guarding the fire
from whites and Indians who might
have salvaged some OF the articles. He
even waited till the irons Of the wagons
and carts cooled, and then threw them
into the river. His cattle and what
horses ne had left he sold or gave
away to vagabond hangers-on at the
post.
Meat and Trophies
There were, it is true, plenty Of white
men who hunted western game as did
the Indian, for meat and trophies,
but the final extinction of all wild
game on the prairies was accomplished
by the most cowardly and inhuman
methods. The secret of tanning and
been acquired by the white man. and
the following account of the CONNER
cial failure incident to the slaughter
of the buffalo is given:
"a concern in Michigan had expert
mented with buffalo hide tanning and
had succeeded in producing a robe
that was fairly pliable. Buffalo coats
| and robes were in demand. An average
| Indian-tanned robe was worth in the
states from $40 to SIS. Agents were
sent out to the frontier TO employ
/ good shots to kill buffalo. and, as
starter, they were paid 50 a hide on
the prairie. The only limit to the kill
in the beginning Of the slaughter was
the resistance offered by the buffalo's
thick hide and heavy skull. The heavi-
est caliber rifles then to be had were
quite often found inadequate to the
| task Of dealing certain death, but in
ventive genius came to the rescue and
( perfected an extra heavy Sharp's rifle,
| against which natures armor was
powerless to protect, and the doom Of
the bison was signed and sealed.
by this time the business had be-
come syStematized and the labors OF
the chase divided. so that the first
class hunter carried a half-dozen skin
nerS' in his outfit and established a
permanent camp somewhere in the
vicinity of the ranging buffalo herds.
Hunters Are "Staked"
THE hunter was, 9 times out of 10.
an improvident. unreliable 'cuss' whose
only recommendation was his ability
to shoot. Such men never had cent
to equip themselves with, but found
no difficulty in getting 'staked' to a
team. wagon and harness. gun and am
munition, camp outfit and grub for
the party, an investment to which the
principal agreed to pay the hunter the
going price for the hides, piled where
killed. to be gathered by him in the
spring. and, as an additional evidence
Of the lunacy that afflicted otherwise
| inta1liUpnf h11SinaSS
they did not hesitate to make cash
advances during the winter on this
supposititiouS killing.
In the spring it was generally found
that the killing had been largely over
stated: that the hides had been poorly
handled and left to rot in pools of
snow and water and those that were
recovered and brought in, when
shipped to eastern tanners, were in
such bad condition that they rarely
paid the freight from Miles City east
ward leaving the bulk Of the original
investment permanent debit 10 eX-
perience.
The winter of l8SO-sl was the rec
ord breaker in buffalo killing. owing.
no doubt: to the very deep SHOWS OF
that winter making it impossible for
the herds to move. 1t was estimated
that 100000 were killed in Custer
county, Montana, alone"
Aroused Indians Hatred
It was not only the slaughter of
the buffalo. as it affected their food
supply, that stirred the bitter hatred
of the Indian for the white man. All
plains tribes Of Indians were deeply
religious, and to them, aside from
killing to supply their material needs.
animal life was sacred. Their myth
and legend are all rich in the lore of
the wild animals, especially the beaver,
the bear and the buffalo. Scarcely a
religious rite was practiced by them
in which the buffalo did not play
some part. Among the Piegans the
virtue of the prospective mistress of
the sun lodge-the medicine woman
who was high priestess-was tested By
peeling a buffalo tongue. Also the feast
of conSecrated meat. not unlike one
Of the Christian ceremonies, was COM
posed OF buffalo tongues, which were
held sacred to the sun.