The hide was used in making many of their clothes
And for walls of shelters to keep out rain and wind and snow.
Buffalo chips were used in building up a fire,
To warm the air in the teepee, always higher and higher.
More of his hide was used to make leggings, moccasins and mittens.
It would protect them from the elements like the fur protects the kitten.
Even more of his skin could be used to make pouches, ropes and shirts;
And a little whip to spank the horse, it was mainly called a quirt.
The cover of a sweat lodge was also made of hide;
It contained the heat and smoke as they said their prayers inside.
Rawhide, a skin that has not been tanned,
Was used for the cover of a drum and was always made by hand.
Rawhide was also used to make saddles, straps, and quivers,
And to cover the bottom of a canoe for floating down the rivers
Meat from his body was the biggest link that made up their food chain.
The stomach was used to carry water over the vast and rough terrain.
The lining of the stomach was used as a cooking pot;
They added rocks from a fire to make the water hot.
The horns were used for making weapons, spoons, and such.
If any parts were wasted; it really wasn't much.
A horn was often used for a bowl, a cup or a ladle,
And again it could be used as a toy for children when they've outgrown the cradle.
The bones were used for many things like digging in the ground
And also as a hammer when there was something to pound.
Bones were used as arrowheads, saddle trees, and scrapers,
Fleshing tools, knives and toys, or awls with quite long tapers.
The paunch liner was used for buckets and wrappings to store their meat
To keep it fresh for later on when they needed something to eat.
Many strands of sinew were found along the back.
It was used as thread for needles when sewing up a sack.
Hooves from the feet were boiled down in the making of their glue,
Used for attaching feathers to arrows and bottoms to their shoes.
The bleached out skulls of the buffalo bulls were used in ceremonies;
And in time of battle the skulls were painted on their ponies.
The medicine man honored the buffalo skull while chanting and shaking rattles.
It gave the warriors strength and hope before they rode to battle.
When they rode off into battle across the prairie fields,
The thick hide from the buffalo hump protected them as shields.
Sometimes buffalo rib bones were used as points for spears.
Some capes were used for headdresses, including horns and ears.
Buffalo teeth were often used as jewelry and decoration
To fancy up their regalia at the gathering of Comanche nation

The brains were used in the process of tanning up the hide
To make it warm and cozy when they were all wrapped up inside.
Hair from the buffalo was used much like the hair of a horse
To make halters, headdresses and medicine balls, and to keep your feet warm, of course.
They often sipped some blood from a fresh buffalo kill.
They believed it would give strength and life to a body growing still.
Some blood was used for war paint, and some was used in soups.
And often times it was used to make markings on the edges of shields and hoops.
A tasty stew was made from the meat of the buffalo's tail.
If whipped with the skin from around it, you would surely cry and wail.
They used the beard from the buffalo as ornaments on weapons and apparel,
And later on they used metal bands from settlers' whiskey barrels.
The bladders of the buffalo were used as medicine bags,
But again later on they used broadcloth strips, ripped from the settlers' rags.
The White Buffalo was very rare and also he was sacred.
He ran off the evil spirits along with the devil's hatred.
There are many other uses, or at least I've been told so,
That the Native American people had for the Mighty Buffalo!

"Scared Coyote"

Comanche

Paul Davis

November 17, 1988

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