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When the buffalo first
came to be upon the land, they were not friendly to the
people. When the hunters tried to coax them over the cliffs for the good
of the villages, they were reluctant to offer themselves up.
They did not relish being turned into
blankets and dried flesh for winter rations. They did not want their
hooves and horn to become tools and utensils nor did they welcome their
sinew being used for sewing.
"No, no,"
they said. "We won't fall into your traps. And we
will not fall for your tricks."
So when the hunters guided them towards the abyss, they would always
turn aside at the very last moment.
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With this lack of cooperation, it seemed the
villagers would be hungry
and cold and ragged all winter long.
One of the hunters had
a daughter who was very proud of her father's skill with
the bow. During the fullness of summer, he always brought
her the best of hides to dress, and she in turn would
work the deerskins into the softest, whitest of garments
for him to wear. Her own dresses were like the down of a
snow goose, and the moccasins she made for the children
and the grandmothers in the village were the most welcome
of gifts.
But now with the hint
of snow on the wind, and deer becoming more scarce in the
willow breaks, she could see this reluctance on the part
of the buffalo families could become a real problem.
Hunter's Daughter
decided she would do something about it.
She went to the base
of the cliff and looked up. She began to sing in a low,
soft voice, "Oh, buffalo family, come down and visit
me. If you come down and feed my relatives in a wedding
feast, I will join your family as the bride of your
strongest warrior."
As she stopped and
listened, she thought she heard the slight rumbling sound
of thunder in the distance.
Again she sang,
"Oh, buffalo family, come down and visit me. Feed my
family in a wedding feast so that I may be a bride."
The thunder was much
louder now. Suddenly the buffalo family began falling
from the sky at her feet. One very large bull landed on
top of the others, and walked across the backs of his
relatives to stand before hunter's daughter.
"I am here to
claim you as my bride," said Large Buffalo.
"Oh, but now I am
afraid to go with you," said Hunter's Daughter.
"Ah, but you
must," said Large Buffalo, "For my people have
come to provide your people with a wedding feast. As you
can see, they have offered themselves up."
"Yes, but I must
run and tell my relatives the good news," said
Hunter's Daughter.
"No," said
Large Buffalo. No word need be sent. You are not getting
away so easily."
And with that said,
Large Buffalo lifted her between his horns and carried
her off to his village in the rolling grass hills.
The next morning the
whole village was out looking for Hunter's Daughter. When
they found the mound of buffalo below the cliff, the
father, who was in fact a fine tracker as well as a
skilled hunter, looked at his daughter's footprints in
the dust.
"She's gone off
with a buffalo, he said. I shall follow them and bring
her back."
So Hunter walked out
upon the plains, with only his bow and arrows as
companions. He walked and walked a great distance until
he was so tired that he had to sit down to rest beside a
buffalo wallow.
Along came Magpie and
sat down beside him.
Hunter spoke to Magpie
in a respectful tone, "O knowledgeable bird, has my
daughter been stolen from me by a buffalo_ Have you seen
them_ Can you tell me where they have gone_"
Magpie replied with
understanding, "Yes, I have seen them pass this way.
They are resting just over this hill."
"Well," said
Hunter, would you kindly take my daughter a message for
me_ Will you tell her I am here just over the hill_"
So Magpie flew to
where Large Buffalo lay asleep amidst his relatives in
the dry prairie grass. He hopped over to where Hunter's
Daughter was quilling moccasins, as she sat dutifully
beside her sleeping husband. "Your father is waiting
for you on the other side of the hill," whispered
Magpie to the maiden.
"Oh, this is very
dangerous," she told him. These buffalo are not
friendly to us and they might try to hurt my father if he
should come this way. Please tell him to wait for me and
I will try to slip away to see him."
Just then her husband,
Large Buffalo, awoke and took off his horn. "Go
bring me a drink from the wallow just over this
hill," said her husband.
So she took the horn
in her hand and walked very casually over the hill.
Her father motioned
silently for her to come with him, as he bent into a low
crouch in the grass. "No," she whispered. The
buffalo are angry with our people who have killed their
people. They will run after us and trample us into the
dirt. I will go back and see what I can do to soothe
their feelings."
And so Hunter's
daughter took the horn of water back to her husband who
gave a loud snort when he took a drink. The snort turned
into a bellow and all of the buffalo got up in alarm.
They all put their tails in the air and danced a buffalo
dance over the hill, trampling the hunter to pieces.
His daughter sat down
on the edge of the wallow and broke into tears.
"Why are you
crying_" said her buffalo husband.
"You have killed
my father and I am a prisoner, besides," she sobbed.
"Well, what of my
people_" her husband replied. We have given our
children, our parents and some of our wives up to your
relatives in exchange for your presence among us. A deal
is a deal."
But after some
consideration of her feelings, Large Buffalo knelt down
beside her and said to her, "If you can bring your
father back to life again, we will let him take you back
home to your people."
So Hunter's Daughter
started to sing a little song. "Magpie, Magpie help
me find some piece of my father which I can mend back
whole again."
Magpie appeared and
sat down in front of her with his head cocked to the
side.
"Magpie, Magpie,
please see what you can find," she sang softly to
the wind which bent the grasses slightly apart. Magpie
cocked his head to the side and looked carefully within
the layered folds of the grasses as the wind sighed
again.
Quickly he picked out
a piece of her father that had been hidden there, a
little bit of bone.
"That will be
enough to do the trick," said Hunter's Daughter, as
she put the bone on the ground and covered it with her
blanket.
And then she started
to sing a reviving song that had the power to bring
injured people back to the land of the living. Quietly
she sang the song that her grandmother had taught her.
After a few melodious passages, there was a lump under
the blanket.
She and Magpie looked
under the blanket and could see a man, but the man was
not breathing. He lay cold as stone. So Hunter's Daughter
continued to sing, a little softer, and a little softer,
so as not to startle her father as he began to move. When
he stood up, alive and strong, the buffalo people were
amazed.
They said to Hunter's
Daughter, "Will you sing this song for us after
every hunt_ We will teach your people the buffalo dance,
so that whenever you dance before the hunt, you will be
assured a good result. Then you will sing this song for
us, and we will all come back to live again."
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