mping through them and spoiling them. Thus
the fertile land of the great plains remained largely unused until the
white man came to the New World bringing the iron tools and domestic
animals that were necessary to successful agriculture.

Although farming of any sort was almost as impossible in the plains
as in the dry regions of winter rains farther west, the abundance of
buffaloes made life much easier in many respects. It is astonishing to
see how many purposes these animals served. An early traveler who dwelt
among one of the buffalo-hunting tribes, the Tonkawa of central Texas,
says: "Besides their meat it [the buffalo] furnishes them liberally what
they desire for conveniences. The brains are used to soften skins, the
horns for spoons and drinking cups, the shoulder blades to dig up and
clear off the ground, the tendons for threads and bow strings, the hoofs
to glue the arrow-feathering. From the tail-hair they make ropes
and girths, from the wool, belts and various ornaments. The hide
furnishes... shields, tents, shirts, footwear, and blankets to protect
them from the cold." *

*See Hodge, "Handbook of American Indians," vol. II, p. 781.

The buffalo is a surprisingly stupid animal. When a herd is feeding it
is possible for a man to walk into the midst of it and shoot down an
animal. Even when one of their companions falls dead, the buffaloes
pay no attention to the hunter provided he remains perfectly still. The
wounded animals are not at first dangerous but seek to flee. Only when
pursued and brought to bay do they turn on their pursuers. When the
Indians of an encampment united their forces, as was their regular
habit, they were able to slaughter hundreds of animals in a few days.
The more delicate parts of the meat they ate first, often without
cooking them. The rest they dried and packed away for future use, while
they prepared the hides as coverings for the tents or as rugs in which
to sleep.

Wherever the buffaloes were present in large numbers, the habits of the
Indians were much the same. They could not live in settled villages,
for there was no assurance that the buffalo would come to any particular
place each year. The plains tribes were therefore more thoroughly
nomadic than almost any others, especially after the introduction of
horses. Because they wandered so much, they came into contact with
other tribes to an unusual degree, and much of the contact was friendly.
Gradually the Indians