North American Indians of the plains / by Clark Wissler.

  • Clark Wissler
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: North American Indians of the plains / by Clark Wissler. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    purpose. This pulverized meat was mixed with melted fat and marrow, to which was added the dried but sticky cherry paste. The whole mass was then packed in a long, flat rawhide bag, called a parfleche. With proper care, such pemmican would keep for years. In pioneer days, it was greatly prized by white trappers and soldiers. Agriculture. Almost without exception, the village group of tribes made at least some attempts to cultivate maize. Of the northern tribes, none have been credited with this practice, except perhaps the Teton-Dakota. Yet, the earlier observers usually distinguish the Teton from the Santee-Dakota by their non-agricultural habits. Of the southern tribes, we cannot be so sure. The Cheyenne, who seem to have abandoned a forest home for the plains just before the historic period have traditions of maize culture but seem to have discon¬ tinued it soon after going into the buffalo country. The Arapaho are thought by some anthropologists to have preceded the Cheyenne. Yet while many writers are disposed to admit that all of the southern group may have made some attempts at maize growing, they insist that these were feeble in comparison with the village tribes. When, however, we turn to the Plateau area, there are no traces of maize growing. In asso¬ ciation with maize it was usual to raise some varieties of squash and beans. Thus, in a general way, the practice of agriculture seems to gradually dwindle out as we leave the more fertile river bottoms of the east and south, suggesting
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