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What was 'to buffalo'?
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The horse gave the Plateau Indians much greater mobility.
They could travel the hundreds of miles to the Montana plains to the
range of buffalo.
The horses also gave the Indians the speed to hunt the buffalo. And
with the influence of the Plains Indian culture, buffalo products and
buffalo hides were more important than before.
Although there were a few small herds of buffalo in the Palouse region of
Southeast Washington, the last bufalo here was killed somewhere around 1830.
(That is, shortly after the coming of the horse.)
There remained huge herds of buffalo in the plains of Western Montana.
This had been Salishan country until the Blackfoot Indians forced the
Flathead and Kutenai had to withdraw from this area around 1800.
Following traditional mountain paths, the Lolo trail, the Flathead made annual buffalo
hunts on the Plains in the company of other Plateau tribes, such as the Coeur
d'Alene and Nez Percé, and Spokanes. This was called 'to buffalo'.
These hunts were both dangerous and important.
The hunts were dangerous because the Blackfeet would kill the Salishan if
they had the opportunity. And there were many more Blackfoot hunting parties
on the Plains than there were Plateau Indians.
The hunts were important because they provided the
meat and skins of the buffalo, and because they were a dangerous annual
tradition in which an individual could prove their courage.
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