Big Medicine in a Small Package

By Bennett Owen

Credit: Fox Dallas Fort Worth

This is no bull…but then again it is.  A rare white buffalo calf has been born on a ranch in north Texas…owned by a Native American descendent of Chief Sitting Bull.  As we all know from my post several days ago on “Big Medicine” a white buffalo is a portent for many plains tribes…and therefore tribal leaders from around the country will be gathering soon to have a look at the newborn critter.  The rancher, Arby Little Soldier, wants to call him “Lightning Medicine Cloud” but the Chiefs will have the final say.  By the way, albinos don’t count. There’s a spec list for the real thing that is long and complicated…

Sacred White Buffalo Born in Texas: MyFoxDFW.com

Odds of a white bison birth are about five million to one. That’s about the equivalent of you walking down the street and finding a winning Powerball ticket lying on the sidewalk.  Now add to that the fact that this one was born most likely as I was preparing the post about his stuffed Uncle…that’s really big medicine… 

Western Vacations Week Two – The White Bison

By Bennett Owen

Credit: Bryan McMorrow

Last week’s roadside adventure took us from Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a gravity-defying grab bag of attractions that included a shoe tree, a beaver pelt top hat and the legendary Jackelope. Now, after the brief distractions offered by the Tetons and Yellowstone Park, we pick up the trail at West Yellowstone, Montana right on the 45^th parallel.

Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana, Buffalo grazing. Credit: NARA 

Our first stop is the state capital, Helena, home of the White Bison.  Clorox had nothing to do with this freak of nature, born on the Flathead Indian reservation in 1933 and revered by the Blackfeet as “Big Medicine,” which became his nickname.  And Big Medicine fit the bill, measuring six feet from hoof to hump and weighing in at 19-hundred pounds. That’s a lot of Pemmican!

Credit: jimbowen0306

Not content with one freak of nature, we drive northeast towards Great Falls, and stop for a pick-me up at the American Bar in Stockett…home of a taxidermy trophy, the two-headed calf.

Credit: American Bar Stockett Montana

Credit: American Bar Stockett Montana

Credit: American Bar Stockett Montana

No, you’re not seeing double, at least not yet.

While you’re here you might also take a look at the world’s shortest river, the “Roe.” You can walk the whole 201 feet of it in about a minute.

Credit: OmanForum

But the true highlight of this tour is in Polson, at the Miracle of America Museum. Nicknamed the “Smithsonian of the West,”  it features a treasure trove of idiosyncratic junk including a Viking ship with hubcap shields!

Credit: Joyce Remy

They even have one of those winged monkeys from the Wizard of Oz that scared the crap outta me when I was a kid. And if you skipped Stockett, they have a two-headed calf here too.

Provided you can drag the kids away from here, you’ll soon be at East Glacier Park for a look at the world’s largest purple spoon…affectionately known as “Big Martha.”  After this, you’ve only got Glacier…

Credit: The Spiral Spoon

Next week we’ll be seeking curios in the desert southwest…stay tuned.