There are many symbols of the old west, cowboys, Indians, buffalo
and long horn cattle, and of coarse the horse.
There numbers are fewer now than they were a hundred fifty years ago,
but the spirit of the old west live on. The mouse and I were out on the spring
round up when we stop to visit with an old Indian sitting on a blanket looking
out on the prairie. He kept saying Ta-Tonka and pointing at a dust cloud moving
our way. Will! The first word that came to my mind was stampede. I was just
about to yell stampede when the old Indian said “buffalo spirit”. I took
another look, it was hard to see with the wind blowing in my face making my
eyes water, but I could some humps in that cloud of dust. Now! I know there are
no free ranging buffaloes in this part of the country. So it had to be something else. It sure was not horses or cows or the lone
ranger and as I said “there ain’t no buffaloes in this part of the country.”
Mouse pop up and said “he is talking about that old legend of white buffalo woman and the curse of the buffalo.” Will! I said “Oh” not knowing what the heck they were talking about. So; I ask just what the heck they were talking about. The old Indian stood up and told the story of the buffalo’s curse. It seem that the spirit of the buffalo cannot go to the happy hunting ground because of the way there killed by the white buffalo hunter so the buffaloes spirit have to roam the plans forever and punish the white eye. Just then the wind pickup and mouse and I pulled up our bandannas and cinched down our hats, the old Indian pull the blanket up around him and put his back to the wind. The dust cloud was getting closer. With all the dust it was hard to see but it could be a buffalo stampede, but one brush me as it few over old paint. It was a darn tumbleweed blown by the wind.
Now I don’t give much stock to these old stories but then again the tumbleweed showed up about the same time the buffalo disappeared and there numbers are the same as the buffaloes once were, so there maybe something to this. So when you see the tumbleweeds roam the prairie just remember the spirit of the slain buffaloes are roaming the land. Will mouse it’s going to a long day in the saddle those beef have scattered all over after the spirit buffalo stampede, so let round-em-up, head-em-up, and move-em-out..
Mouse pop up and said “he is talking about that old legend of white buffalo woman and the curse of the buffalo.” Will! I said “Oh” not knowing what the heck they were talking about. So; I ask just what the heck they were talking about. The old Indian stood up and told the story of the buffalo’s curse. It seem that the spirit of the buffalo cannot go to the happy hunting ground because of the way there killed by the white buffalo hunter so the buffaloes spirit have to roam the plans forever and punish the white eye. Just then the wind pickup and mouse and I pulled up our bandannas and cinched down our hats, the old Indian pull the blanket up around him and put his back to the wind. The dust cloud was getting closer. With all the dust it was hard to see but it could be a buffalo stampede, but one brush me as it few over old paint. It was a darn tumbleweed blown by the wind.
Now I don’t give much stock to these old stories but then again the tumbleweed showed up about the same time the buffalo disappeared and there numbers are the same as the buffaloes once were, so there maybe something to this. So when you see the tumbleweeds roam the prairie just remember the spirit of the slain buffaloes are roaming the land. Will mouse it’s going to a long day in the saddle those beef have scattered all over after the spirit buffalo stampede, so let round-em-up, head-em-up, and move-em-out..
Thank you for stopping by and your comment god bless
3 comments:
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Awesome tale. I've seen those tumbleweeds all of my life and never wondered. I'm going to have to tell my son that tale.
Enjoyed the post Roy. Especially liked the Ken Curtis Clip. Ken Curtis was my cousin (Grandmother was Emma Curtis Crawford.) Loved hearing him sing at family reunions. Ken actually Lived in Salt Lake City for a good chunk or his life. I remember him dressed more like a gentleman than like Festus. BTW both Ken and Milburn Stone who played Doc Adams on Gunsmoke sang for a time with the Sons of the Pioneers.
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