in the early pioneer days herds of buffalo roam the great plains from the allegheny mountains in the east to the rockies in the west people say they numbered over one hundred million the indians often migrated with the buffalo because they were so dependent before and for in the cold winters it is spring at mr clarke's private ranch the time when the calves are born bill is just learning to stand up come on billy try hard billy you can do it and out becomes he want to smother polly no that's not your mother there she is billy is hungry and nurses often buffalo cabs are born with very heavy bones because soon after they are born they run with the herd the long fur mane around polly's neck and shoulders is permanent but she sheds the rest of her coat each spring nearby little a prose stays close to her mother the two a little calves look just alike but their mothers can tell them apart the cows are devoted mothers and are dangerous to be around if their calves are taken away from them and so billy and april grow up to be playmates now that grazing is poor the buffalo have two meals a day of grain and hay they are cared for much the same as cattle on a modern right george call and all the clumsy animals when they are away from the far corners of the rod you are just careful to break the bales apart so that the buffalo will not hurt themselves by two in the wires drives to eat but the big bulls push the cows aside perhaps this is why the bulls live on an average six years longer than the cause they are only nice to the cars during the spring mating season at this time the bulls have terrible fights little billy looks confused when meanie comes near there is always trouble after eating they wander over to the clearing troughs buffalo like cattle spend many hours resting and killing their cause the buckets of molasses are well liked by the buffalo i mea when king comes all the cows get out of his way because he is the leader of the herd when king was sick george cared for him and so the big bull follows him buffalo are not tame and do not make good pets they cannot be trusted because you never know what they will do from their solid horns the indians made knives from the horn kits they made out of the heads the head the massive head is backed by two thousand pounds of power came could easily push his head through a fence or wall however the buffalo in captivity have forgotten their wild ways and do not realize their str king wants the whole bucket if he looks cross or carries his tail high a sign of danger george will quickly jump out of his way last night there was a bad accident br through the heavy fence and gored starlight but was about to have a colt even quick starlight could not turn fast enough to get away the buffalo may look gentle but starlight shows how fierce they really are george's sent for starlight's wound healed with hardly a scar and she had a fine cold ginger starlight had the same good care that mr clark gives all his animals billy and april like mr clark because sometimes it leads them from the bottle they wander near the tepees that mr clark made to show bitters the importance of the buffalo to the indians the buffalo would be extinct to day if it had not been for our government and a few public spirited men like mr cl in the early days the tepees were made from skins like buffalo highs but when the traders brought kansas the indians use that instead buffalo skins made bed covers and rugs even today many people have car robes made from buffalo sk at the fireplace the women cook buffalo meat the traders brought them iron pots the meat was also cut into strips and dried to last through the winter like a turkey and indian chief push me tom makes friends with billy with the help of a lump of sugar the chief lecture is on his people and the indian sign language billy is growing up his golden brown coat is turning dark and his beginning to grow some day he may be king of the herd indian drums were pressured by the indian tribes the divisions on this drum stood on the men of the council polly watches wears a necklace with the bears in his tribe the medicine man more of this and the indians thought it had great healing power it was handed down from father to eldest son the indian sign buffalo in sign language the chief says i am hungry i want bread and mea the design on his belt represented the eye of the buffalo each part of his costume had meaning to the indian the indian bags were often beautifully decorated w supposed to bring health and happiness to is dry and as the indian smoked his pipe of peace and prayed for the welfare of his people he would add another prayer for the help of the buffalo because they were so necessary to its way of life