On the Trail of the Buffalo
Encyclopedia
"The Buffalo Skinners" is a traditional American folk song. It tells the story of an 1873 buffalo hunt on the southern plains. According to Fannie Eckstorm, 1873 is correct, as the year that professional buffalo hunters from Dodge City first entered the northern part of the Texas panhandle
. It is thought to be based on the song Canaday-I-O
.
to go buffalo hunting north of the Pease River
:
The song goes through many verses telling a humorous tale of the trials and tribulations they find on the hunt. The next to the last verse tells of how the trip ended:
The last verse ends with:
, Texas, to work cattle in New Mexico
:
In this variant, no one is killed but the song ends the same way, except instead of warning others about the "range of the buffalo" it says:
News, in an article describing the nuclear research facility's herd of American bison.
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
. It is thought to be based on the song Canaday-I-O
Canada-I-O
"O-Canada" is a traditional Canadian and English folk ballad. It is believed to have been written before 1839...
.
"The Buffalo Skinners"
"The Buffalo Skinners" is an American folk song which first appeared in John Lomax's Cowboy Songs, and Other Frontier Ballads in 1918. The song tells of crew of men hired in Jacksboro, TexasJacksboro, Texas
Jacksboro is a city in Jack County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,533 at the 2000 census. Jacksboro is located at the junction of U.S...
to go buffalo hunting north of the Pease River
Pease River
The Pease River is river in Texas in the United States; it is a tributary of the Red River that runs in an easterly direction through West Texas . It was discovered and mapped for the first time in 1856 by Jacob de Córdova, who found the river while surveying for the Galveston, Houston and...
:
- It happened in Jacksboro in the spring of seventy-three,
- A man by the name of Crego came stepping up to me,
- Saying, "How do you do, young fellow, and how would you like to go
- And spend one summer pleasantly on the range of the buffalo?"
The song goes through many verses telling a humorous tale of the trials and tribulations they find on the hunt. The next to the last verse tells of how the trip ended:
- The season being near over, old Crego he did say
- The crowd had been extravagant, was in debt to him that day,—
- We coaxed him and we begged him and still it was no go,—
- We left old Crego's bones to bleach on the range of the buffalo.
The last verse ends with:
- Go home to our wives and sweethearts, tell others not to go,
- For God's forsaken the buffalo range and the damned old buffalo.
"Boggus Creek"
Another early variant called "Boggus Creek", collected by W.P. Webb, was first published in 1923. Webb considered it a variant to "The Buffalo Skinners" In "Boggus Creek" a group of cowboys are hired at the now abandoned cowtown at Fort GriffinFort Griffin
Fort Griffin was a Cavalry fort established in the late 1860s in the northern part of West Texas, specifically northwestern Shackelford County, to give settlers protection from early Comanche and Kiowa raids...
, Texas, to work cattle in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
:
- As I rode in the town of Fort Griffin in the spring of '83
- An old Texas cowman came riding up to me,
- Saying, "how do you do, young fellow, and how would you line to go
- And spend one summer season in the hills of Mexico?"
In this variant, no one is killed but the song ends the same way, except instead of warning others about the "range of the buffalo" it says:
- Go home to wives and sweethearts, tell other not to go
- To the god-forsaken country of old New Mexico.
Recordings
- Woody GuthrieWoody GuthrieWoodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
The Early Years (Tradition FS-204) - Cisco HoustonCisco HoustonGilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston was an American folk singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together....
Folk Song and Minstrelsy (Vanguard RL-7624, released 1963) - Jim KweskinJim KweskinJim Kweskin is the founder of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, with Fritz Richmond, Mel Lyman, and Geoff and Maria Muldaur...
Relax Your Mind 1966 - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
recorded a variant, known as "The Hills of Mexico", during the 1967 Basement Tape sessions, but never officially released - John RenbournJohn RenbournJohn Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...
Faro Annie, 1971 - Harry Tuft on The Continuing Tradition Volume 1: Ballads" Folk-Legacy RecordsFolk-Legacy RecordsFolk-Legacy Records is an independent recording company specializing in traditional and contemporary folk music of the English-speaking world. It was founded in 1961 by Sandy and Caroline Paton along with the late Lee Baker Haggerty...
1981 - Mosquito Cupid's Fist 1994
- Sid Selvidge "Twice-Told Tales" 1994
- Rich Lerner Trails and Bridges 1995
- Ramblin' Jack Elliot South Coast 1995
- Tim O'Brien (musician)Tim O'Brien (musician)Tim O'Brien is an American country and bluegrass musician. In addition to singing, he plays guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and mandocello...
, Fiddler's Green, 2005 - Gob IronGob IronGob Iron is an American musical group officially formed in 2006. It consists of Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt's Jay Farrar and Varnaline's Anders Parker. Their debut album, Death Songs For The Living was released on October 31, 2006 by Transmit Sound/Legacy Recordings...
Death Songs for the Living, 2006 - Ricky Skaggs & Bruce HornsbyRicky Skaggs & Bruce HornsbyBruce Hornsby's ninth studio album, a collaboration with bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs titled Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, marks the debut release for the duo's new musical project. The album features reworkings of Hornsby originals as bluegrass tunes, as well as a number of traditional songs and...
2007
Cultural references
The song is quoted by FermilabFermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
News, in an article describing the nuclear research facility's herd of American bison.