"The Indians on the plains wasted no part of a bison," broker Stephen said eagerly to Georgiana, recounting what he had seen in the New World. "The dark brown fur could be made into winter coats, jackets, cradles, conical tents, or pipe bags. Thick hide could be used for the soles of moccasins, rattles, shields, or saddles. Buffalo hair could stuff pillows, make headdresses, or be braided into ropes. The tail could be made into a whip. Horns could be made into cups, spoons, and containers for gunpowder. All the meat and most of the organs were edible, with the tongue being the most valuable part. The bladder could be made into a bag for feathers, or fitted with a hollow bird bone to make a squeezable water flask."
"Did they drink water from it?" Matilda asked curiously.
"Of course not." Stephen laughed. "They used the bison's stomach as a water container. They boiled its eyes, hooves, and scraps of hide into a thick paste to secure arrowheads made from bison bone. They also made dice from bison bones. These are some of them."
Georgiana looked at the dice Stephen had placed on the table.
They were very crudely made. No one in a Paris gambling hall would likely use them.
"My friend Lewis and I had originally planned to buy beaver pelts. Later, he told me we could hunt bison. The Native Americans rode their best horses into the herd, picked a target, then struck the bison's vital points with bows, arrows, or spears. It was extremely dangerous, because the true threat did not come from the bison, but from the fact that neither rider nor horse could see the ground. If they stepped into a prairie dog hole and the horse fell, the rider would be trampled by