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Listen to this“Come,” said Mamu, the mother buffalo, “We must run. We must keep up with the herd.”
Baby Shad was only a few hours old. He had been licked dry by his mother and he felt so good. He didn’t want to run, but he knew he must obey. He had a powerful reason to stay “yet an ancient instinct buried deep in his genes would dictate that he must run with the herd.
With tears streaming down his furry little buffalo face, he took one last sorrowful look at his baby twin sister, Brie.
Still wet from birth, she lay on the ground panting from the heat of the warm May sunshine. Brie was smaller and weaker than her twin brother, Shad. It was her fate that she would be left behind. For eons, survival of the buffalo herd meant that a mother buffalo could only care for one calf. Looking after two calves would slow her down and weaken her, making her and her twins vulnerable to the thousands of predators roaming the prairies. Thus, Mamu’s instinct was to run with the strongest calf, Shad, and to abandon the weakest, little Brie. She left, but deep in her being, attached to her sense of abandonment, was an equally strong buffalo sense of faith in the future.
It was quiet “the type of quiet found only on the prairies. The buzz and the clicking of insect wings were the only sounds Brie could hear, except for the frantic pounding of her own tiny heart. She called and called for Mamu and Shad, but they had moved off with the herd. They would not return “and Brie was now all alone.
A defenseless buffalo calf, all alone, would not last long on the prairies. Within a few hours, or sometimes minutes after birth, a scavenger or a predator would sniff out a newborn. Coyotes, foxes, wolves, bears, bobcats, lynx, cougars, all plentiful. Ravens, crows, magpies, vultures “always patrolling in search of a meal “skilled at pecking the eyes out of helpless animals, still living. Soon, without help, Brie would not live.
Now “it was very quiet. There was no prairie sound, not even the usual wind. Suddenly, Brie sensed that she was being watched. She struggled to turn her head enough to look behind without getting up, but she was too weak. Within seconds, the survival instinct and fear took over. With all her strength, Brie jerked her head and rolled to a sitting position. There, calmly staring at Brie, was a beautiful little deer “a gentle, velvety, brown colour with several white spots on her sides. Without speaking, the little deer began licking Brie all over. She continued licking until Brie was completely dry. Finally, the little buffalo felt her strength returning and she was able to stand on shaky legs. At last, Brie’s new friend spoke:
“I am Fren. l live nearby in a forest. You must come with me now and join my deer family. It is very dangerous to be here any longer.”
Without another word, Fren led Brie across the prairie to the forest and the protection of the trees.
Over the years, Brie grew tall and strong. She learned all the ways of the deer family. Fren taught her how to feed on the tasty prairie grasses “while staying close to the trees. She learned to lie quietly in the bushes to avoid predators. She learned to run and jump and to stand very, very still. She learned to use all of her instincts to help her survive “and not once was she ever in danger. The wisdom of the deer family kept her safe.
It was a good life. Brie played with Fren endlessly and enjoyed the many games as they jumped and roamed through the tall prairie grass together. Her buffalo mind had almost forgotten her mother Mamu and her twin brother, Shad.
Then one warm, sunny day, Fren took the little buffalo to the shade of their favorite oak tree and said:
“We are the best of friends. I wish we could grow old together, but we can’t. You are a buffalo. And I am a deer. My grandfather roams the prairies far and wide. He tells me that your family “your own herd “is nearby. You must return to your mother and to your own kind.”
Brie knew that her friend was right. She had survived, she had been resilient and adapted to the life of a deer “all with the help of her beloved Fren. One last time, Brie and Fren licked faces and helped dry each others tears. They said goodbye, then grandfather deer led Brie out of the forest. They travelled down a winding path through the trees and out onto the prairie to the north. After a few miles, they crossed a cool, gurgling stream and climbed up a steep hill overlooking the valley below.
Brie’s eyes widened in disbelief. There below was a sight “so unbelievable she could not speak. A strange, slowly moving, brown-ness “thousands of buffalo, just like her “spread out over the entire valley. The urge was strong “she must join them without hesitation. With a thankful nod of her buffalo head, she bade farewell to grandfather deer and raced into the valley.
There, on the edge of the herd, stood her mother, Mamu, and her twin brother, Shad. Never before in the history of the prairie buffalo, had there been such a joyful family reunion.
For many, many years, Mamu, Shad, and Brie roamed the prairies with the herd. They lived well and were happy together. They all knew why Mamu had abandoned baby Brie and they also knew that her strong buffalo faith had led Fren, the deer, to the birth-place. Several years after Mamu had died, Brie and Shad were aging and nearing the end of a buffalo lifespan. They lay down together in the tallest prairie grass they could find and said good-bye to each other. Their twin spirits made a vow as they left the buffalo bodies and blew across the prairie.
And that is why, over many, many years “as the buffalo disappeared “the beautiful, gentle deer did not. The spirit of the twin buffalo calves protects the deer. That is why they survive harsh prairie winters and are able to live in all prairie habitats, even in and near towns and cities.
And that is why, even to this day, anyone who finds an abandoned, baby buffalo twin “and saves its life “will enjoy the protection of the buffalo spirit. A sense of being powerfully connected to the past and linking powerfully to the future is the gift of the twin buffalo spirit.
This legend is dedicated to:
Litttle Orphan Annie, a twin bison born on May 7/1998 on the Bison
Spirit Ranch, Oak Lake, Manitoba
Tim Gompf, who found Annie, abandoned by her mother.
Garnet and Nora Gompf who nurtured Annie and kept her alive.
Evelyn Gompf, my mother, who truly understands the Spirit of the
buffalo.
KWG June 22, 1998
