The inspiration behind this scarf pattern
The Bison--not buffalo, as they are sometimes called--are magnificent creatures.
Enormous, brawny, powerful, mostly peaceable, and surely the grazing animal best
suited to the harsh weather of the Great Plains, they fell victim to heedless
massacre in the 19th Century; but, thanks to a handful of advocates, are having a
comeback as a semi-domestic ranch animal now being raised for both meat and hides.
As one of the early bison ranchers told me, "Well, you can't herd 'em, but you can
chase 'em anywhere they want to go." On many ranches throughout the West,
they are thriving once again, and there are more of them living in their old ranges
than at any time since the 1870s.
My bison scarf is a small tribute to a great symbol of the West, and to the people
who brought it back to the Plains where it ruled for thousands of years.
I love their snowplow heads, their shaggy manes, their runty tails that seem
to belong to some other animal entirely. The West wasn't the West without them,
and it's very good to have them back. It gives one a sense that some wrongs,
however dreadful, can be righted, if only partially.
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