Buffalo Before Breakfast

by Mary Pope Osborne

  Jack quickly held up two fingers. Annie did the same.

  Black Hawk led Jack and Annie toward the tepees. Everyone kept watching them.

  Jack couldn’t tell what anyone was thinking. No one looked angry. But no one looked happy, either.

  Jack wondered how to appear brave.

  He glanced at Annie. She walked tall and straight. Her chin was up. Her face was calm.

  Jack straightened his shoulders. He lifted his chin, and he felt braver.

  Black Hawk stopped and slid off his pony. The pony headed for the grazing pasture.

  Then Black Hawk led them to a tepee. It was covered with buffalo designs.

  “Grandmother is inside,” Black Hawk said to Jack and Annie.

  Inside, the tepee looked like a small round room. A fire burned in the center. Smoke rose through a hole at the top.

  An old woman sat on animal skins. She was sewing beads onto a moccasin.

  She looked up at Jack and Annie.

  “Grandmother,” said Black Hawk. “This is Jack and Annie from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania.”

  Jack and Annie both held up two fingers for “friend.”

  Grandmother raised two fingers also.

  Then Jack took off his coonskin cap. He gave it to Grandmother.

  She put the cap on her head, then laughed. Jack and Annie laughed, too.

  Grandmother’s laughter and kind face reminded Jack of his own grandmother.

  “You wish to learn our ways,” she said.

  Jack and Annie nodded. Jack could tell she was wise.

  Grandmother stood and left the tepee. They followed her.

  Outside, everyone was busy again. They all seemed to know that Jack and Annie weren’t enemies.

  Jack looked around the camp.

  Men and boys carved bows. Women and girls pounded meat and sewed clothes. One girl was adding claws to a buckskin shirt.

  “The bear claws will give her the strength of the bear,” said Grandmother. “She will sew on hawk feathers, elk teeth, and porcupine quills, too. All will give her the power of the animals.”

  Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

  “I have strong animal power when I go on a buffalo hunt,” Black Hawk said proudly.

  “What do you mean?” asked Jack.

  “I will show you,” said Black Hawk. “Wait.”

  Black Hawk went back inside the tepee.

  Annie turned to Grandmother.

  “Why does he hunt the buffalo?” she asked.

  “The buffalo gives our people many gifts,” said the old woman. “Food from his body. Tepees from his skin, tools from his bones.”

  Jack started making a list.

  “Cups from his horns,” Grandmother went on. “Ropes from his hair. Even winter sleds from his ribs.”

  Jack finished his list.

  “That reminds me of the seal hunter in the Arctic,” said Annie. “He used all the gifts from the seal’s body. He didn’t waste a thing.”

  Just then, Teddy began growling and barking.

  Jack and Annie turned around. They both gasped.

  Coming out of Grandmother’s tepee was a huge wolf!

  The wolf had yellow eyes and sharp teeth.

  Teddy snarled and barked. Annie rushed forward to grab the little dog.

  Suddenly the wolf stood up on its hind legs!

  “Yikes!” said Annie.

  She leaped back.

  Then she and Jack started to laugh.

  The fierce wolf was Black Hawk wearing a wolf’s hide! His head came out through a slit near the wolf’s neck. He gave Jack and Annie a little smile.

  “That’s a great wolf suit,” said Annie.

  “Why do you wear that?” asked Jack.

  “The wolf is the most powerful hunter of the buffalo,” said Black Hawk. “When I wear his skin, I feel his strength.”

  “Wow,” said Annie.

  Black Hawk looked at his grandmother.

  “May I show them the buffalo now?” he said.

  “Only show,” said Grandmother. “Do not hunt. We have enough meat today.”

  She looked back at Jack and Annie.

  “Lakota never take more buffalo than we need,” she said.

  “That’s good,” said Annie.

  Black Hawk handed his wolf skin to Grandmother. Then he ran to the grazing ponies.

  He climbed on his. Then he herded two ponies, one black and one yellow, over to Jack and Annie.

  “Hi, Midnight. Hi, Sunlight,” said Annie, naming the ponies. She patted their noses.

  “Annie,” whispered Jack. “How are we going to ride without saddles or reins?”

  “Just hold on to their manes,” she said, “and grip with your legs. Watch.”

  Annie threw her arms around Midnight’s neck. She slung her leg over the pony’s back and pulled herself up.

  “I’ll carry Teddy in the bag,” Annie said.

  Jack picked up Teddy and slipped him inside the leather bag. He handed it to Annie, who hung it over her shoulder. Teddy’s head peeked out of the bag.

  Arf! he barked.

  “Giddy-up, Midnight!” said Annie. The pony started to walk away.

  “Wait—” said Jack.

  He turned to Black Hawk. He had just a few questions.

  Black Hawk let out a wild whoop and took off, too.

  Jack took a deep breath. He threw his arms around Sunlight’s neck. Then he slung his leg over the pony’s back.

  The pony started to move!

  “Wait—wait!” said Jack. He hopped on one foot, trying to keep up.

  The pony stopped.

  Slowly, Jack pulled himself onto Sunlight’s back. He gripped the pony’s mane. Then he carefully reached up and pushed his glasses into place.

  He looked over his shoulder. Grandmother was watching.

  She nodded at him.

  Lakota people admire those who do not show fear, Jack remembered.

  He liked Grandmother. He wanted her to admire him. He let out a wild whoop, and Sunlight took off like the wind.

  The whoop made Jack feel braver.

  He held tightly to Sunlight’s mane. They caught up with Black Hawk and Annie, and together they all rode through the tall grass.

  Shadows of clouds swept over the plains. They looked like giant dark birds spreading their wings.

  Black Hawk’s pony stopped at the top of a grassy slope. Sunlight and Midnight halted right behind him.

  Jack couldn’t believe his eyes.

  Before them were thousands and thousands of grazing buffalo.

  “Wow,” whispered Jack and Annie together.

  Black Hawk looked silently at the grazing buffalo.

  “Hand me the research book,” said Jack.

  Annie lifted Teddy out of the bag. Then she slid the book out and gave it to Jack.

  He found a picture of a buffalo herd. He read to himself.

  The true name of the buffalo is “bison.” At the beginning of the 1800s, there were 40 million bison on the Great Plains. One hundred years later, there were less than 300. Almost all had been killed by white hunters and soldiers.

  Jack looked back at the vast herd. As far as he could see, there was nothing but buffalo.

  Now Jack knew for certain they’d come to the time before the white settlers and soldiers had arrived, before the end of the great buffalo herds.

  “I have been on many hunts,” Black Hawk said, his eyes still on the buffalo.

  “Were you scared?” said Jack.

  Black Hawk shook his head.

  “You’re really brave,” said Annie.

  Black Hawk smiled proudly.

  “I will show you how a brave hunter moves,” he said.

  He slid off his pony.

  “Wait, your grandmother said not to hunt,” said Annie. “Plus, you don’t have your wolf suit.”

  “I am not afraid,” said Black Hawk.

  “I don’t think you should go down there,” said Jack. “There’s no grownups aro
und.”

  But Black Hawk wasn’t listening.

  He began creeping on all fours toward the buffalo.

  “I have a feeling something bad is going to happen,” said Annie.

  Jack had the same feeling. He looked back at the book.

  A bison can weigh two thousand pounds and stand six feet high. If one becomes alarmed by a hunter, he might start running and set off a terrifying stampede.

  Jack looked back at Black Hawk. He was creeping closer and closer to the herd.

  Jack’s heart pounded. He wanted to shout, Come back! But he didn’t want to scare any of the huge, fierce-looking animals.

  Keeping his eyes on Black Hawk, Jack handed the plains book to Annie. She slid it back into the bag beside Teddy.

  Black Hawk stopped just as he was passing the nearest buffalo. His eyes squeezed shut. His nose wrinkled up. His mouth opened.

  “What’s he doing?” asked Jack.

  “Ah-ah-CHOO!” Black Hawk sneezed.

  “Uh-oh,” said Annie.

  The huge buffalo jerked its head up. It made a low, moaning sound. Then it pointed its horns and charged!

  “Watch out!” cried Jack.

  Black Hawk threw himself out of the way of the charging buffalo.

  A ripple went through the herd as other shaggy animals looked up.

  Suddenly, Teddy jumped out of Annie’s arms. He landed in the tall grass and ran toward the buffalo.

  “Teddy!” shouted Annie.

  The dog tore down the hill. He bounded along the edge of the herd, barking furiously.

  “Teddy, come back!” cried Annie.

  She slid off her pony and ran after Teddy.

  Jack tried to see Black Hawk.

  The boy was still dodging the running buffalo. He looked tired.

  Jack took a deep breath.

  “Go to Black Hawk!” he said, nudging Sunlight with his knees.

  The golden pony charged down the slope. He ran between the buffalo.

  “Black Hawk!” Jack shouted.

  Black Hawk started running toward Sunlight. The buffalo swerved behind him.

  Sunlight slowed as Black Hawk got near. The boy threw himself over the golden pony’s back. He held on to Jack as Sunlight veered away from the buffalo and ran back up the slope.

  “Where’s Annie?” Jack cried as they reached the top.

  “There!” said Black Hawk, pointing.

  Annie was surrounded by buffalo—calm buffalo. She was patting them and talking to them. The buffalo near her had stopped running, too.

  The ones beyond those started to calm down … then others … until all the buffalo had stopped running. They began grazing again as if nothing had happened.

  “She has good medicine,” said Black Hawk.

  “Annie doesn’t have any medicine,” Jack said. “She just has a way with animals.”

  Black Hawk was silent. He climbed back on his waiting pony. Then he rode down toward Annie.

  Jack followed. Annie’s pony trailed behind.

  Annie turned to Jack and Black Hawk as they rode up to her. On her face was a look of amazement.

  “You wouldn’t believe what happened!” she said.

  “You stopped the stampede,” said Black Hawk.

  “But it wasn’t just me,” said Annie.

  “What do you mean?” asked Jack.

  “I was trying to find Teddy,” said Annie, “and I got in the way of the buffalo. I couldn’t escape. So I held up my hands and shouted, ‘Stop!’ Then, out of nowhere, a beautiful lady in a white leather dress came to help me.”

  “You saw a lady in white?” asked Black Hawk. His eyes had grown wide.

  “Yes!” said Annie. “She held up her hands, and the buffalo stopped running. Then she disappeared.”

  “Where’s Teddy?” said Jack.

  Annie gasped.

  “I don’t know! I forgot about him!” she said. “Teddy! Teddy!”

  Arf! Arf!

  The little dog came bounding out of the grass toward them.

  Annie scooped him up. Teddy licked her face all over.

  “Where did you go?” Annie asked him. “Did you see the beautiful lady, too?”

  “That lady does not live on this earth,” Black Hawk said softly.

  “What do you mean?” said Annie.

  “You saw the spirit of White Buffalo Woman,” he said.

  “What do you mean, spirit?” said Jack. “You mean like a ghost?”

  Black Hawk turned his pony around.

  “Let us go back,” he said. “We must tell Grandmother.”

  Annie put Teddy in Jack’s bag. Then she climbed on her pony, and they took off.

  Behind them, the buffalo grazed peacefully on the plains.

  The sun was going down as the three ponies galloped for home. The deep blue sky was streaked with golden red light.

  Back at the Lakota camp, the circle of tepees glowed in the setting sun. People were gathered around a large fire.

  Black Hawk led Jack and Annie to the camp. They got off their ponies and went over to the fire.

  Grandmother rose to greet them.

  “You have been gone a long time,” she said.

  Black Hawk looked her bravely in the eye.

  “Grandmother, I tried to hunt the buffalo alone,” he said. “One charged at me, but Jack saved my life. Then Annie and White Buffalo Woman stopped all the other buffalo from a stampede.”

  “Let this be a lesson to you,” Grandmother said sternly. “Your pride led you to show off. Showing off made you behave foolishly. Your foolishness frightened a buffalo. He frightened others. One thing always leads to another. Everything is related.”

  “I am sorry,” said Black Hawk. He hung his head. “I have learned.”

  Jack felt sorry for Black Hawk.

  “I make mistakes sometimes, too,” he said softly.

  “Me too,” said Annie.

  Grandmother looked at Jack and Annie.

  “Buffalo Girl and Rides-Like-Wind showed great courage today,” she said.

  Jack smiled. He loved his new Lakota name: Rides-Like-Wind.

  “We welcome you to our family,” said Grandmother.

  The evening shadows spread over the camp. Someone began beating a drum. It sounded like a heartbeat.

  “Come, sit with us in our circle,” said Grandmother.

  They sat with her near the warm fire. A cool breeze blew sparks into the gray twilight.

  An old man held a long pipe up to the sky. He pointed it to the east, the south, the west, and the north.

  Then he passed the pipe to the next man in the circle. The man put the pipe to his lips and blew smoke into the golden firelight. Then he passed it on.

  “The smoke from the sacred pipe joins all things to the Great Spirit,” Grandmother said to Jack and Annie.

  “The Great Spirit?” asked Annie.

  “The Great Spirit is the source of all things in the sacred circle of life,” said Grandmother. “It is the source of all spirits.”

  “What spirits?” asked Jack.

  “There are many,” said Grandmother. “Wind spirits, tree spirits, bird spirits. Sometimes they can be seen. Sometimes not.”

  “What about the White Buffalo Woman?” said Jack. “Who is she?”

  “She is a messenger of the Great Spirit,” said Grandmother. “He sent her when the people were starving. She brought the sacred pipe so that our prayers could rise to the Great Spirit. He answers by sending us the buffalo.”

  “Why do you think White Buffalo Woman came to me?” asked Annie.

  “Sometimes courage can summon help from the beyond,” Grandmother said.

  She pulled a brown-and-white feather from a small buckskin bag.

  She put the feather on the ground in front of Jack and Annie.

  “This is a gift for you,” she said. “An eagle’s feather for your courage.”

  Arf! Arf! Teddy wagged his tail.

  Jack and Annie smiled at each other. The eagl
e’s feather was their “gift from the prairie blue.”

  Their mission was complete.

  The chanting and drumbeats grew louder and louder. Then they stopped.

  The old man held the pipe up to the sky.

  “All things are related,” he said.

  The pipe-smoking ceremony was over.

  The sky was dark and filled with stars.

  One by one, people rose from the circle and went to their tepees.

  Jack put the eagle’s feather in his bag and yawned.

  “We better go home now,” he said.

  “You must rest first,” said Grandmother. “You can leave in the dawn.”

  “Good plan,” said Annie. She was yawning, too.

  They went with Grandmother and Black Hawk to their tepee.

  Grandmother pointed to two buffalo robes that lay to one side of the still-burning fire. Jack and Annie stretched out on them. Teddy snuggled between them.

  Grandmother and Black Hawk lay on robes across from them.

  Jack watched as the bluish white smoke rose from the fire. It went up through the tepee hole and into the endless starry sky.

  Jack listened to the wind blowing through the grass: Shh—shh—shh.

  It’s the voice of the Great Plains, he thought. Then he drifted off to sleep.

  Jack felt Teddy licking his cheek.

  He opened his eyes. Gray light came through the smoke hole.

  The fire was out. The tepee was empty.

  Jack jumped up. He grabbed his bag and hurried outside with Teddy.

  In the cool light before dawn, everyone was taking down their tepees. They were loading them onto wooden platforms strapped to two poles. The poles were pulled by horses.

  Grandmother and Black Hawk piled tools and clothes onto their platform.

  Annie stuffed buffalo meat into a rawhide bag.

  “What’s happening?” Jack asked.

  “It is time to follow the buffalo,” said Grandmother. “We will camp somewhere else for a few weeks.”

  Jack pulled out his notebook. He still had many questions. But he tried to choose just a few.

  “Can you camp anywhere?” he asked. “Even when you don’t own the land?”