I wanted to treat them as we would have treated buffalo

“I wanted to treat them as we would have treated buffalo.” [3]

— Gabriel Dumont of Middleton’s men

When you said of Middleton’s men, you wanted to treat them as buffalo,

was it because you had the fastest buffalo runner and steadiest shot?

Was it because you knew you could ride a buffalo runner, its neck outstretched in full gallop on the heels of a herd holding the muzzle loader upright till the last second to drop a wet slug down the barrel, thrusting your gun forward to dislodge the shot while pulling the trigger all at the same time,

you knew alone on the prairie, you could make a shelter and clothing from their hides and food from their flesh and tools from their bones, you knew the vibration of their hooves riding in the midst of them, the feel of their hides — dry and coarse, you knew their snorting, the stone weight of their bodies, their bulging terror-struck eyes, the taste of their marrow, their sweet smoked jerky

Did the hunter in you imagine these men predictable as les animaux

Did the buffalo caller imagine predicting the direction of their advance

Did you imagine their heads heavy with thoughts of dividing the land for their use alone

Did you believe they like the buffalo would eventually disappear into holes in the earth?