Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the backdrop for the collection, one of
the world's best elite carriage facilities.
The interesting documentary
Wheels
of Change
tells the story of this once
huge industry, which was all but dead
by 1922. Visitors can also learn how
to drive a carriage, watch the restora-
tion work in progress, take a carriage
ride and have an old-fashioned picture
taken.
they got meat, both fresh and dried for
pemmican; hides for tipis, clothing and
moccasins; and bones and horns for
tools and decorations. Head-Smashed-
In was an ideal spot for a jump, with
a vast grazing area to the west. The
Plains Indians would construct drive
lines with stone cairns leading to the
cliff. Some 500 people participated in
the yearly hunt, during which men
dressed in buffalo-calf robes and wolf
skins would lure the herd towards the
precipice. Upon reaching the cliff, the
leading buffalo were forced over the
edge by the momentum of the stam-
peding herd behind them. The herd
was not actually chased over the cliff,
but were rather driven to a panic that
would lead to a stampede. The area
remains much as it was thousands of
years ago, though the distance from the
cliff to the ground drastically changed
as the bones of butchered bison piled
up, 10m deep in some places.
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo
Jump
The arrival of the horse in the mid-
1700s signalled the end of a traditional
way of hunting buffalo among Plains
Indians. For 5,700 years before this, the
Plains Indians had depended on the
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump. From it
LETHBRIDGE
TO MEDICINE HAT
Lethbridge
Lethbridge, known affectionately by lo-
cals as “downtown L.A.,” (for
Lethbridge,
Alberta
) is Alberta's fourth largest city,
and a pleasant urban oasis on the prai-
ries. Steeped in history, the city boasts
an extensive park system, pretty tree-
lined streets, interesting sights and a
diverse cultural community. Visitors are
as likely to meet ranchers as business
people, Hutterites or Mormons on the
streets of
L.A.
3
The picturesque tipi campground at Head-
Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.
© Travel Alberta
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