The buffalo hunt, as a process, will be discussed in connection with Plates 80, 86 & 88. The composition here nearly duplicates Plate 86, but is a separate occasion. Arrow, whom we recognize from the small protective feather tied to his horse's tail, is hunting as part of a buffalo surround. Riding entirely bareback, he is singling out buffalo cows for their finer-grained meat and thinner hides, which were easier for the women to tan and then transform into all of their families' basic needs, from clothing, to tools, to the coverings of their sheltering tipis.

Col. Richard Dodge, who personally witnessed many of the types of scenes which Arrow has depicted, described the seasons of Cheyenne hunting:

"During the spring and summer months the buffalo were but little disturbed by the Indians. Enough were killed to enable all to gorge themselves at will, but this was done quietly, by crawling or stalking. The greatest care was taken not to alarm and drive the herds away from the vicinity of the camp and villages.

"Early in October, when the buffalo is at his fattest, preparations began for the 'great fall hunt', which was made for the purpose of killing sufficient animals, not only to furnish dried meat for the winter's supply, but heavy skins for...parfleches, saddles, etc., and lighter ones for [tipis], clothing, bedding and for trade. Runners were sent out to scour the country for long distances, and seek out the most eligible situation for the hunting camp. It must be near water, of course; there must be plenty of timber, wherefrom to cut poles for the erection of the drying scaffolds; there must be level ground for stretching and drying the skins; and above all, it must be in a region abounding with game.

" The spot being selected, the whole band moved to it, lodges were pitched, scaffolds erected, and everything put in order for work. The [tribal police] are masters now, and woe be to him who disobeys even the slightest of their democratic regulations...

"All being ready, the best hunters are out long before the dawn of day...A narrow valley, with many lateral ravines, is very favorable. If the herd is on a hill, or otherwise unfavorably situated, the hunters may wait for it to go to water, or by discreet appearances at intervals, drive it to the best spot. During all this time the whole masculine portion of the band capable of doing execution in the coming slaughter is congregated on horseback in some adjacent ravine, out of sight of the buffalo, silent and trembling with repressed excitement.

" The herd being in proper position, the leading hunters tell off the men, and send them under temporary captains to designated positions. Keeping carefully concealed, these parties pour down the valley to leeward, and spread gradually on each flank of the wind, until the herd is surrounded, except on the windward side. Seeing that every man is in his proper place, and all ready, the head hunter rapidly swings in a party to close the gap, gives the signal, and with a yell that would almost wake the dead, the whole line dashes and closes on the game.

"The buffalo make desperate rushes, which are met in every direction by shouts and shots and circling horsemen; until utterly bewildered, they almost stand still to await their fate...A white hunter considered very reliable, told me that he had once seen nearly three hundred buffalo killed in one surround, that the whole affair occupied less than ten minutes after the signal was given, and that not a single buffalo escaped.

"The weapon principally used in the surround was the revolving pistol, though some men used carbines, and others bows. When bows and arrows alone were used, each warrior knowing his own arrows had no difficulty in positively identifying the buffalo killed by him. These were his individual property entirely, except that he was assessed a certain proportion for the benefit of the widows or families which had no warrior to provide for them...Since the general use of firearms has rendered impossible the identification of the dead buffalo, the Indians have become more communistic in their ideas, and the whole of the meat and skins is divided after some rule of apportionment of their own invention. None but the lazy and the poor shots are satisfied with this arrangement, but it is the only solution of the problem left to them" (Dodge, 1882: 287-90).

Arrow shows himself using precisely the revolving pistols which Col. Dodge described. In fact, he is armed with a pair of them, the second one sheathed in the open holster on his left hip. Arrow even shows the pop-rivet by which the walnut handgrip is attached. Although the wound on the leading buffalo cow is shown a bit far back, we may be sure that Arrow has shot both animals through the lungs, for they are bleeding from the mouth, and will soon be dead.

As explained earlier with Plates 66-67, the Cheyenne belief is that buffalo originate under the earth in sacred caves called Heszevoxsz. When they die, their spirits return to these places of origin to be born anew. Accordingly, after a buffalo had been butchered, its head was placed on the ground facing toward the south, or facing toward the heart of Cheyenne territory, so that the tribe might retain the spiritual benefit (Schlesier, 1987: 9). George Bent remembered:

"Cheyennes...used to pick up old buffalo heads [skulls] and set these heads on hills in long rows, heads facing towards the camping place [their home village]. By doing this [their] aim was the buffalo would range toward the villages. War parties [ranging into enemy territory] used to pick up old buffalo heads, and turned the heads toward the camps. These parties did not set them in rows, but turned the heads wherever they found them. Pawnees done the same thing. In going out with [a war] party [ca. 1863-64] I seen these buffalo heads. Pawnees had turned them East. Cheyenne war party turned these heads back to West, so as to turn the buffalo West" (Bent, 1904-1918: Nov. 1, 1915).

Arrow wears what may be the same shirt shown in the previous drawing, together with a red wool breechcloth, undecorated moccasins, and a new pair of dark blue wool leggings with beaded strips that do not appear again in the collection. Although it is not actually represented, the holster belt secures the dark blue blanket around Arrow's waist. Nickel-silver armbands accent the shirt. The same decorative strip shown in the previous drawing hangs from the base of Arrow's scalplock, but here has been tucked behind his left ear, and then secured under the unseen hairwrap.

Compare the tentative hands which Arrow drew in Plates 2-3, 9, 13, etc., with the really superb modeling of the right hand shown here. Beginning with Plate 32, an astonishing degree of growth and spatial perception is evident in Arrow's depictions of hands.

The bay stallion, which appears to be Arrow's favorite buffalo horse, is fitted with both a commercial bridle and a halter. The bridle reins lie on the horse's neck; a lariat tied to the halter is coiled and tucked under Arrow's belt, out of our view on the off-side of the horse. The quirt is made of narrow strips of rawhide braided over a wooden handle. These were a specialty item made on the ranchos of Old and New Mexico, thence traded across the Plains. The same plaited-rawhide quirt appears in Plate 74. Different ones are shown in Plates 112, 126, 134, 146, 156 & 161.