BuffaloBy : Benjamin A Schafer

What is a buffalo?O A bison has a

shaggy, long, dark brown winter coat, and a lighter-weight, lighter-brown summer coat.

Who kills buffalo?O The Plains People had many ways to

catch buffalo.O Western settlers were threatened by

the nomadic ways of the plains Indians, who for thousands of years had lived migratory lives following the great herds of buffalo.

Nothing was wastedO The buffalo gave Native Americans everything they

needed. Tipis were made of buffalo skin. His hide was their bed, blanket, and winter coat. It was their drum, throbbing through the night, alive, holy. Out of buffalo skin, Native Americans made their water bags. The buffalo’s flesh strengthened them. Not the smallest part of it was wasted. The buffalo’s stomach, a red-hot stone dropped into it, became a soup kettle. His horns were their spoons, the bones their knives, and their women's awls and needles. Out of the buffalo’s sinews, Native Americans made bowstrings and thread. The buffalo’s ribs were fashioned into sleds for the children, his hoofs became their rattles.

O His mighty skull, with the pipe leaning against it, was their sacred altar. The name of the greatest of all Sioux was Tatanka Iyotake--Sitting Bull.

Why, Why, Why?Why did the settlers kill

buffalo when they were on their way to California at the time of the gold rush?

Credits By : Ben SImages found from :

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