Did You Know?

When stampeding, a buffalo can reach and sustain speeds of 50 km/hr.

It is estimated that 60 million buffalo roamed the Great Plains at the time of the arrival of Europeans in North America.

During the summer months the buffalo hair is at its shortest. Skins were taken for lodge covers and numerous other articles were made from the soft, dressed skins.

Natural topographic barriers such as coulees, depressions, or hills were sometimes used to funnel buffalo to the jump. Such is the case at Head–Smashed–In.

Buffalo herds were led by one or two individual animals, usually females.

Some meat was made into pemmican by first sun–drying it, then pulverizing the dried meat with a stone maul and mixing this with buffalo fat and grease. To add flavor to pemmican, fruit such as chokecherries were then mixed together in a parfleche container and pounded to remove all air from the food. This pounded mixture, when carefully prepared, would keep in a tight parfleche container for many months.

Buffalo horns were scraped and formed into spoons.

Buffalo tongues were often given to medicine men or women, who were responsible for ensuring the success of the hunt.

Peter Fidler was probably the first European explorer to visit the Porcupine Hills area. He traveled there in 1792/93 with a band of Peigans.