Stories from James E. Greet.
”A word about buffalo wallows. The only ones that I was aware of, were up in the mountains. They were located in a gentle drainage that would fill the wallow with snow water and not silt.
No doubt, the buffalo were plagued with ticks and lice, along with their heavy winter coats and flies that came in the warm weather. The buffalo would stop and roll in these wallows. It took lots of mud to coat a large buffalo. There would be plenty of hair and dung left behind. These wallows became water tite by so much stomping and all the waste material left behind made the wallows sterile. It must have been in the early thirties when I noticed them being gradually sodded in.
As I recall, the big wallows would measure twenty feet across and two feet deep. The Mud Springs was an ideal location for several wallows in the mountain pasture.
Dad liked to tell about us kids wanting to go wading in one of the wallows. It was a cool day with a good breeze. We were soon back to the warm cabin with our teeth chattering.
Does sterile have a different meaning today? I can’t imagine the present day meaning applying to something with buffalo waste and all in it.
Thanks again to you -and James – for these glimpses into the recent past. Love them!
I used to trail cattle every year by a wallow. People still found some buffalo remains in the area.
I used to trail cattle every year by a wollow. People still found some buffalo remains in the area.
Very interesting about the wallows.