After a few years, one would think a person would learn from their mistakes. Such is not the case.
When my son Damon asked me what I was doing the other afternoon, without thinking, I said, "not much."
Knowing Damon, the correct answer is either, "Why" or "I am leaving for Bermuda in about an hour." Damon can come up with some awful projects and consider them entertainment.
Cutting four or five cords of firewood in an afternoon is just good clean fun. Putting in 80 rods of fence is great sport.
As soon as I let Damon know I had no specific plans, I knew I should have ducked my head and run.
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"How would you like to help me clean a buffalo hide?" was the question of the day.
This time I thought carefully before answering. I have found when dealing with one's offspring, what is not said is often more important than what is. I had to ask the right questions to elicit all relevant information. Was the buffalo still wearing the hide? From the little experience I have had with buffaloes in the past, they generally have a bad attitude and would not care to be cleaned.
No, the hide was no longer attached to a buffalo.
Where did the buffalo hide come from? It came from the buffalo he shot. Before I got all the way through my game of Twenty Questions, Damon decided to give me the whole story.
A friend of ours, Craig, raises buffalo for meat. To load a buffalo into a trailer and deliver them to the locker plant for processing is not as easy as it seems. Also, the locker plant has learned from experience to not take delivery of a live buffalo. They can destroy the best of confinements.
Damon stopped by to show Craig his new rifle just as Craig was getting ready to take one of the shaggy beasts to town for conversion into steaks and burgers. Damon got to do the honors. When the new 308 cracked, the buffalo dropped in its tracks. Craig, Damon and assorted onlookers skinned the buffalo and took it to town. When Damon asked what would be done with the hide, Craig told him he could have it.
Having a buffalo hide would be a good thing. A person could make a rug, a buffalo robe, or a comforter for the bed. Knowing nothing about the process it takes to get from a smelly hide to a comforter for the bed is only a minor detail. How hard could it be? I do not understand where he gets thoughts like that.
By this time, I knew I could not escape with a quick trip to Bermuda. I would be helping to clean a buffalo hide for however long that might take.
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Thorough research on the internet revealed a few truths about processing a hide large enough to cover a king-sized bed. There is a lot of work involved. The hide is heavy, covered with a layer of fat, and smells a lot like a wet cow. The layer of fat has to be completely removed or the leather will spoil. Years ago, the Indians did this with sharp rocks. We have been going at it for two days with sharp knives, and are still not done.
If we ever get the hide cleaned, we can start the tanning process. This can be done with chemicals, which are fairly toxic, or the Indian way, by rubbing the leather with brains. Apparently, brains contain enough tannic acid to tan a hide. Since Damon asked me to stop by his house and pick up the two cow heads from the back of his truck, I think he is leaning toward the Indian method. I did not even ask how he happened to have two cow heads in his truck.
I did though get the tickets bought for Bermuda. The reservations are for the day he start tanning, whenever that might be.
Walter Scott is an outdoors enthusiast and freelance writer from Bloomfield, Iowa.
