r into the lanes toward the hill. Once the lead animals began running, the other would follow in a stampede. Additional hunters would be stationed along the side boundaries to scream and yell, in order to keep the buffalo in their frightened and alarmed state.
The drive lanes got more narrow as they approached the cliff, which had the effect of funneling the pack of buffalo into the same small piece of land. Just before reaching the kill spot, the buffalo runners who were running with the pack would scoot out through the side boundary, while all the animals behind them would continue running forward over the hill.
Attempts did not take place every year. The conditions had to be just right. The drive lanes had to be just the right size. The wind had to be blowing toward the cliff so the animals would not smell the humans gathered in that spot. Drives were often held in the fall when the animals were healthy and fat. Multiple tribes in the area might join together to pull them off.
Not every attempt was successful. But when they were, the hunters suddenly found themselves with thousands of pounds of meat for food, clothing, and shelter. The bones were used to make tools. Very little of the animals was wasted.
Sights at Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in Alberta
Learning about the buffalo jumps was fascinating, and Head-Smashed-In (named after a legend about a boy who tried to watch the buffalo jump at the bottom of the hill but got crushed) does a great job of telling the story with videos and exhibits in its indoor five-level museum section.
Standing in the actual, physical location where all this happened is an overwhelming feeling. You can sit on a bench right at the kill site. Talk about being right where the action happened!
The interpretive center includes a display of some of the ways that the buffalo parts were used. Buffalo horns could be used as a canister to transport hot coals (item #8), or used as drinking cups (item #9). Bones were sharpened into awls for sewing (item #11), and bladder bags were used to store and preserve fat (item #13).
Archaeologists have studied the soil and uncovered several different layers of bones and weapons that provide a record of various eras during which the site was used for hunting.
The trails at Head-Smashed-In aren’t very long, so anyone in decent shape should walk the paths to get a sense of what the Canadian plains are like.