Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Last To Fall

"Bull"
A Work by Clancy Gray

Spent quite a bit of time admiring this other work from Mr. Gray. It was my favorite small piece from the indoor exhibit. The only information I could find about the piece was it's name and artists name. The sculpture I felt needed a story so I took the liberty to create my own. Factual, based on real accounts I have read over the years, I will keep it short, if possible!

Last To Fall
A true tale of the fall and rebirth of the Buffalo!

Usually when a Buffalo is felled by a hunter the other Bison would gather around pawing the earth and smelling the blood. Not so on this day in October in 1890!
     A small herd had been seen wandering around for a few years back in "No Man's Land" in the panhandle county of Cimarron, Oklahoma. On this fateful day in 1890 all that remained was one lonely old Bull. He was the last Wild Buffalo in what is now the State of Oklahoma to be killed. If I had been there I would have tasted his blood and offered up prayers for his Spirit!

 In Memory of The Last To Fall
October 1890

I have seen estimates from fifty million to one hundred million of buffalo occupying The Great Plains. The herd that grazed thru western Oklahoma has been estimated to be between four and twelve million alone. One writer of a journal observed a herd  of at least twenty-five miles wide and took over five hours to pass. In other parts of the Plains it was wrote that travelers might be held up two days waiting for a herd to pass. The Plains Indians depended on two things to survive on, the horse and the buffalo. As settlers began to come into the Plains and the Indians were being forced onto the Reservations the Government welcomed the extermination of the bison to gain control of the Indian. Once the food supply, clothing, shelter, culture and order, which was obtained from the buffalo was gone, control could be had. The farmer did not want the buffalo destroying the crops, the rancher claimed they ate all his grassland. The Army wanted the buffalo gone because the Indian depended on the animal for survival. The Buffalo was doomed and almost exterminated! Then by the grace of Vision along came some men who had the foresight to make sure some would survive!

     Charles Goodnight a noted rancher who claimed the Palo Duro Canyon region of  West Texas, along with a few other farsighted ranchers began capturing and raising a few that were left in the 1890's. The New York Zoological Park also began a program where genetics and carefully watched breeding was monitored as the herds numbers stated to rise. In 1902 Congress took action to protect the new herds as some of the buffalo were being released on federal lands. This was kind of ironic to me because just a few short years before they supported decimation of the bison so as to control the Indians! One thing I am proud of though, in 1907 eight cows and seven bulls were sent to the Wichita Game Preserve, now the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, by the New York Zoological Society to be a nucleus of a National Herd. When they arrived by rail at Cache,Ok., the Indians met the train and accompanied the buffalo the thirteen miles to the Refuge. The children were brought close and told stories by the elders. It was wrote the tribal members whooped and hollered with delight the whole thirteen miles at having their old friends return to the praires!

     No longer endangered the Bison's number are many and still growing. As sure as man can destroy, thankfully nature will let us overcome and make a positive re-birth of the once almost lost Buffalo!

     Thanks for letting me share this story. If you only looked at the pics I cannot blame you!lol If you want to see a little more my cousin, Cap'n Jack has a Buffalo Ranch in Mountain View, Ok. and has a neat website with pics and stories of the Buffalo, plus he's a comedian to boot!  www.okbuffalotours.com


Red Earth
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12 comments:

  1. it is a sad part of our nation's history.

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  2. Many, many thanks for the information, story, and link. Seeing the original herds of buffalo must have been a remarkable and awesome sight. Leave it to human beings to alter the face of the globe, and usually for the wrong reasons. Thanks goodness for people of foresight who tried to right the wrongs of government and others.

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    1. Your welcome Kate. Happy you gained some information from the short narrative. Hoping our nation and the world will continue to produce Men&Women with Vision to know right from wrong!

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  3. PS. The sculpture is wonderful!

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  4. I'm appreciated for sharing this story with us. We love camping in this area, and this is something for my two boys needs to know about Wichita mountain. Thank You!

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    1. 'Q' I am glad your boys and you have found the Refuge and enjoy camping there. You might want to pick up a copy of Edward Charles Ellenbrook's guide book "Outdoor and Trail Guide To The Wichita Mountains of Southwest Oklahoma". You can find it in the Visitor Centers book store. Oh, be sure and pick up the Map that goes with the book. (sold separately). It will provide you and the boys alot of information about the area and he does a good job describing many hikes and short drives to things of interest!

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  5. Great story Parker. It seems man, especially the government, can screw things up pretty fast all in the name of progress. I can't image running across a herd of buffalo 25 miles wide, that's a lot of buffalo!

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    1. That would be a sight to see. I read that you could here them coming from miles away and the ground literally shook from all the hooves on the ground!

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  6. Your recounting of buffalo history and the governments motivation for handling things the way they did brings a tear to my eye and evokes a sense of anger deep within me. Sad thing is this type of governance continues to this very day!

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    1. Paul I certainly understand your emotions about this subject. I get angry and sad everytime I study this time period of history in the US. I try not to visit the subject very often but when I was observing "Bull" at the exhibit and photographing the sculpture it seemed the feelings just invaded my mind. I knew I just had to say something. It was when I was processing the pics when I remembered the story of the last buffalo killed in Oklahoma. There was my story title 'Last To Fall' which opened the door to touch briefly on a few aspects of the demise of the Bison and suffering of the Indian!

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  7. Looks like a very impressive peice of art work. Your recounting of the story just adds to the magnitude of the piece. Excellent photos, I always enjoy reading the story that you put with your photos.

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