Bison or Buffalo

Orin story…… Bison or Buffalo

By

Jan Skarzynski

Version 1, June 2008


“James! Let’s go and play footy in the back garden,” shouted Andrew.
“We can’t. We left our football in Egypt and Dad won’t buy us another one. He thinks we kicked it over next door and says we have to go and ask Mr. Brown nicely to get it back.”
“Oh I remember now. OK, let’s play tennis?” said Andrew.
“But you hit it too hard Andy and I’m always looking for the balls,” answered back James.
“OK, promise not to hit hard and if they go beyond the lawn, I’ll fetch them,” answered Andrew, as they rushed off into the shed to collect their rackets and tennis balls. They played ‘Keepsy-uppsy,” seeing how many times they could keep the ball off the ground between them. Not many, and James was again off scurrying to retrieve the balls. “You’ve hit it too hard again Andy. It’s gone over there by the compost heap. I’m not getting it! You get it this time.”
“OK, keep your hair on, I’ll get it if you wont,” replied Andrew and ran off towards the end of the garden to look for the ball. He took a while so James sauntered along, swinging his racket, trying to decapitate the daisies.

“Why has your Dad left that iron contraption there?” came an angry voice.
“He was doing his compost heap, Orin, that’s all. It’s only a wheel barrow,” replied Andrew apologetically.
“Well tell him not to leave it there next time. I have landed on it and damaged one of my fins,” ranted on Orin, a little fellow, no taller than Andrew but with a pot belly and a wispy beard. “I’ll have to find a new base to land if I have any more problems like this.”
“No, don’t do that Orin. We like you coming here and taking us on adventures. Can’t you just repair it?” asked James.
“What do you think I’ve been doing all this time?” retorted Orin angrily.
“What’s the problem Orin? Don’t be cross with us, we may be able to help you,” said Andrew trying to calm the situation.
“Well the fin’s just sheared off and fortunately I’ve spare nuts and bolts but they are not long enough to clamp the fin onto the body of my machine,” said Orin, more calmly and thoughtfully.
“Orin, Dad has lots of bolts and things. Shall I fetch his box and maybe you can find something you can use?” said Andrew helpfully.
“Your Dad’s bolts won’t be any good for this job. Mine are made of special alloy,” replied Orin angrily as if Andrew had said something silly.
“No Orin, what Andy means is that you can use one of our Dad’s longer bolts just to clamp the bits together. Then you can replace them with your own. Give it a try Orin.”
“Mmmmm, not a bad idea from you James,” replied Orin thoughtfully pulling at his wispy beard, “It might just work,” as Andrew ran off to the tool shed.
“If we could see your space ship Orin we could hold things for you and help,” said James trying to appease the little man.
“It’s a travel machine not a space ship!” replied Orin sharply, “and of course you can’t see it. That’s the whole point of my machine. It’s invisible to you humans, but not to me.”
“Yes I know Orin but we are only trying to help. Dad uses ‘G’ clamps for holding things together and for closing up gaps. Haven’t you got any Orin?” asked James.
“What are these clamps?” asked Orin with greater interest.
“Well, they are in a shape of a large letter ‘G’ and the tail is a screw which tightens the whole thing up,” said James.
“Don’t quite understand James but I’ll look up ‘G’ in my computer. Mmm, it says here that a capital letter ‘g’ in your alphabet is an ‘O’ with a squiggle at its base,” replied Orin.
“No Orin, look up the capital of ‘G’ and then you’ll see.”
“This is complicated language you use. Oh yes, I see. If the little upright at the bottom was a screw, you could tighten it against the top. Very clever, very useful, and you say you your Dad has some of these tools?” said Orin scratching his head in thought.
“Andy, bring Dad’s ‘G’ clamps!” shouted James, “Orin’s never seen any and he thinks they might be useful.”

“Here we are Orin. I’ve brought a box of bolts. Dad calls it his treasure chest because he can always find something useful,” said Andrew breathing hard after running. “Sorry, but they are a bit rusty. They’ll clean up with a wire brush if you want Orin. And here are the ‘G’ clamps. Dad calls them his ‘third hand,’ because they hold things together and he can work away with his own two hands.”
“Brilliant, boys. I think you have saved the day. You must have a clever Dad,” said Orin scrabbling through the tin box and picking out suitably long nuts and bolts. He laid the ‘G’ clamps down beside of him with special care after examining them minutely and uttering sounds of delight. “OK boys, I know you can’t see, but if I get you to help me lift the fin into place, it would be a great help.”
“Sure thing Orin. James and I will do anything you want. Just say the word but you’ll have to guide us as if we are blind.”
“Here Andrew, just hold this. Can you feel it? OK James, you come here and get hold of this end. When I say ‘Lift’ then gently lift the fin that you can feel and I’ll guide it.”
“Right Orin, I can feel it and so can James,” answered Andrew as James nodded his head.
“OK ‘Lift,’ that’s it, good, left a bit, good, up a bit, hold it there whilst I put a long bolt in,” ordered Orin and the boys saw a series of Dad’s rusty bolts hanging in the air, with the nuts being screwed on.
“Do you need a spanner for the nuts Orin,” asked Andrew.
“No it’s OK, I’ll only do them finger tight and replace them with my own alloy nuts and bolts. This was a great idea of yours boys. Thank you,” said Orin, as the boys watched the nuts being undone again and the bolts replaced by invisible ones. All they could hear was the whirring of the electric spanner. “Having difficulty with the last one,” said Orin, “I’ll try the ‘G’ clamp. Oh yes, it’s doing the trick. The fin must have been slightly bent there,” continued Orin as they saw a clamp being tightened in mid air as he left it to fix the bolts. “OK boys, you can let go! A great help you have been.”
“We always like to help you Orin,” replied James. “You always take us to interesting places.”
“I suppose you would like me to take you somewhere in repayment for your help boys?”
“Yes please Orin. Can you take us to the Moon?” asked James.
“Moon? Horrid place! You don’t want to go there. There’s no oxygen and you won’t be able to breathe. It’s also very dusty and I haven’t got enough suits for all of us. No you don’t want to go there!”
“OK Orin,” replied Andrew, “How about going to see the bison. It’s Dad’s birthday next week and he would love some pictures of bison.”
“I think that can be arranged boys, follow me,” said Orin. “Oh by the way, do you think I could borrow one of your Dad’s ‘G’ clamps. I will make some up for myself.” With that statement Orin disappeared from view. Andrew stuck out his hands, feeling for something in the air, pushed against something until he too disappeared. James just ran at the spot where Andrew had been and dived through.

“Oh James, do pick yourself up and sit on the bench there with Andrew,” ordered Orin as he peered into a small screen on a control console. “Now, is it ‘Bison’ or ‘Buffalo’ you want to see?”
“Is there a difference?” asked James.
“According to my computer they are the same thing but ‘Bison’ is the proper name and ‘Buffalo’ is the common name. It is also used for other cow like animals with a hump. Ah well, it’s too late. The computer has made the choice of destination for us,” said Orin.
“Yes Orin, I remember Dad telling us about the water buffalo in Italy and they make a special cheese from their milk shaped like tennis balls called Mozarella,” said Andrew.
“We have it on our pizzas Orin. It’s all stringy and messy. When will we be there?” asked James.
“James, you should know by now that we get there in a fraction of a second. Now boys take these necklaces and they will enable you to speak to the locals in their own language. My computer says they are Indians here,” said Orin placing a metal necklace over Andrew’s and James’s head.
“Will we see Cowboys and Indians?” asked James excitedly.
“Let me check. Sorry to disappoint you James, but my box tells me we’ve landed before the Europeans invaded this area. Now just be careful as you go out. Not sure what we might find out there.”
“Oh, look, James! Look Orin. Thousands of bison grazing on the grass down there,” shouted Andrew, jumping up and down with excitement.
“There must be millions of them,” shouted James, “They seem to be everywhere. It’s like a sea of bison. Look Orin. Orin Take some pictures Orin.”
“OK boys, we have the pictures. Now look over there where the smoke is rising. I think it may be an Indian encampment. Let’s walk over and meet them.”
“Won’t they be dangerous Orin?” asked James.
“No, James. I shouldn’t think so, unless you want to do them harm. No, I think we will be quite safe,” stated Orin as he strode off in the direction of the rising smoke.

As they approached a large encampment of tepees, a crowd of children ran to meet them.
“Who are you?” “Where have you come from?” “What funny clothes you are wearing,” greeted them as they were surrounded.
“Hello children,” said Orin in the kindliest voice he could muster, “We have come to visit you and see how you live with the bison.”
“You’ve come at the right time because we are celebrating the bison festival tonight. Come, I’ll show you to our Chief. He will love to meet you and hear about the place you come from,” said a tall boy in only a loin cloth and brown as teak. The whole crowd moved like a bee swarm towards the encampment as Orin and the boys chatted, each asking lots of questions.

They were introduced to the Chief who was again a tall, bronzed man, with a couple of feathers stuck in his hair. He greeted them warmly and said he would like to speak to Orin on his own and the children could go and amuse themselves. James and Andrew went of with a large crowd of boys and girls and the Indian children demanded they show them a new game. Andrew consulted with James and they decided on a game of two teams and a tennis ball. One team would throw the tennis ball between them and the other would try and intercept it. Since they had to distinguish who was in each team, the tall boy suggested that Andrew’s team dab a streak of red mud down their face.

They had never seen a yellow tennis ball before, but were very good at throwing and catching. It soon got out of hand when the bigger and taller children kept throwing the ball between them and the little ones hardly got a chance. Andrew stopped the game and sorted out a couple of teams of little ones, with James in charge with another tennis ball. After a great game by all teams they tired and sat down in a group asking question about life on the Plain with the Bison and life in England which the Indian children thought a fairy tale. Andrew donated his tennis ball to the best player on his field and James followed suit. The two Indian boys were delighted with their gifts.

The tall Indian boy who had first met them suggested that they should take their visitors to see the bison close to. About a dozen boys and girls were chosen by the tall one to venture onto the plain. Andrew and James were given bison skins and off they ran towards the herd. As soon as they got close they crouched down on all fours, put the bison skin over them and started crawling towards a group of female bison. The Indian children told Andrew and James that the bison had poor eyesight but could smell well. If they covered themselves with bison skins then the herd thought they were baby bison and ignored them. That way they could get really close. They approached a large beast when the leading Indian boy signalled for them to stop. They all huddled down, watched and waited. One of the bison rose up from the ground and suddenly they saw a small baby, all wet, that had just been born. The mother walked around it, licking it clean as the baby wobbled on its feet, rather unsteady. As the mother cleaned up the baby bison, she steered it up to her teats with her broad snout and they saw the baby get its first drink.

There was a sharp whistle and one of the boys pointed to a huge male beast that was walking towards them. They all scurried off to safety and then back to the camp, exhilarated by what they had seen at such close quarters. They were told that lots of tribes had gathered here. In the evening they were invited to take part in the Bison celebrations when there would be big fires and lots of dancing and chanting. All the chiefs of the various tribes and the men would dress up in their feathers and be fully painted up.

A girl came up to Andrew and James and invited them to her family tepee so that they could rest and eat something because they must be hungry with all their activity. They followed the girl into a large tepee made up of bison hide and were shown to a soft pile of bison skins to make themselves comfortable. The lady then brought them chunks of meat to eat and the girl explained that it was bison meat that the men had hunted earlier. They liked the sweet taste of the meat and after a drink of water collapsed exhausted and fell asleep on the pile of soft skins.

“Wake up lazy bones,” said Orin gently awakening them. “You’ll miss the show if you lay about there. Come on, we’ll be in time to see the start.”
“Oh dear,” said James, rubbing his eyes. “I was so tired after seeing the baby bison. You OK Andy?”
“I’m fine James after that sleep and food. Have they started yet Orin? I can hear the drums.”
“Come on boys, we are to sit next to the main Chief of the Dakota tribe and we will see the whole of the main celebration. One of the other Chiefs will explain to us what is going on.”
“‘Dakota?’ that’s an old aircraft with propellers. DC3 it’s called,” recounted Andrew.
“Yes, Dad bought me a model aircraft of a DC3 for my birthday,” said James.
“Correct boys. It’s only a name used. My box tells me they were one of the most popular aircraft in their time. Come on we want to get a grandstand seat and not miss anything.”

By the flickering flames and with the boom of the drums they saw a number of Indian men perform a kind of a rhythmic dance around the fire. All of them had a bison head-dress. Occasionally one would shout loudly and jump through the flames. The seated crowd were chanting in time with the drummers. The visitors were sat amongst the chiefs and they all wore huge magnificent feather head-dresses that reached the floor, when they stood up. Their bare chests were covered with woven, coloured quills and each carried a long, carved ceremonial axe. Andrew and James were more fascinated by the wonderful costumes of the Chiefs and even missed some of the dancing and jumping through flames.

At a suitable interval Orin suggested that they should slip away and he would get them back home. Once in the travel machine, which Orin had positioned close to the tepees, they sat on the bench and started quizzing Orin on what he had done and seen. He said he had kept himself busy as a ‘doctor’ and ‘dentist,’ checking on cuts and broken bones, occasionally pulling out an aching tooth. He said the Indians were very grateful for his knowledge and ability. They had given him a present of a preserved bison tail that had come off a huge male that they had killed on a hunt.

“Here you are Andrew. You can present this to your Dad on his birthday and this packet of photographs.”
“Gee thanks Orin. Are you sure? They are great. How am I going to explain to him how we got these wonderful things. He will be really pleased and surprised.”
“I’m sure you will find a way to explain it to your Dad, Andrew.”
“Are we home yet Orin? Mum will be cross with us being away for so long,” said James.
“Don’t worry James, your mother will not even know you have been away. By your time, you’ve only been away about ten minutes or less. Yes, we’ve been in your back garden for the last five minutes whilst you’ve been asking me questions. Now be off with you. Once again, thank you for your help earlier and Andrew, thank you for moving the wheel barrow out of the way. Bye!”

“Hello, you two. You haven’t been playing tennis long. Have you lost the balls again?”
“No Mum we helped Orin mend his travel machine,” answered James.
“And he took us to see bison in the wild, thousands of them, all over the plain,” added Andrew quickly.
“Yes Mum and we saw a baby bison with its mother. It was really cute,” said James.
“Now what’s that on your face? Have you been playing cowboys and Indians again? Go and wash that mud off now. It’s all red. Did you mix paint in with the clay in the garden?”
“No Mum, we had to paint our faces to show which team we were on when we played “catch” with the Indian children. Honest Mum, it’s only red mud and will wash off. Can we keep it on until bath time?
“OK James, but wash your hands, both of you. They are filthy.”
“Mum, look what we’ve got for Dad’s birthday. He’ll love these presents,” said Andrew showing their mother the photos of the bison herd and the Indian village of tepees.
“Wow, these are fabulous pictures. How did the photographer manage to get such a large herd together? It seems to stretch for miles.”
“Mum, Orin took us there before the white-man had arrived and killed off the herds.”
“Oh yes, your little fairy friend, go on, tell me where you got them from. They must have cost a lot. Have you two been raiding your piggy-bank? I suppose it was for a good cause and your father will be thrilled. What’s that in your hand Andrew?”
“It’s the tail of a huge male bull bison,” chirped in James. “The Chief gave it to Orin as a present and he kindly gave it to us for Dad’s birthday.”
“Come on boys. Tell me really where you got these things. I won’t be cross with you.”
“It’s OK Mum, you never believe us. Come on James, we’ll pack these away for Dad, after we’ve looked at them again. Come on upstairs.”
“Don’t forget to wash your hands, use Fairy liquid if it won’t come off.”
“Ha, ha, ha Mum. Come on James.”