WHITE MAN’S BUFFALO

At one of the annual Cowboy Artists of America trail rides, held at the famous 6666 Ranch in Guthrie, Texas, Bill was told a unique historic story by the foreman. In the 1840’s after the Texas Comanche Wars were over, the Indians were put on a reservation near the Brazos river.  The U.S. Government was responsible to provide food and meat for them, and made a deal with the 6666 Ranch to supply the beef.  The Government plan was to herd the Longhorns into corrals by cowboy so that the Indians could shoot and butcher the cattle.  However, when the braves opened the gates, they let the cattle run out, mounted their horses and chased the Longhorns with bows and arrows, hunting as they had with the long gone buffalo.  It was their way of recapturing their self-respect as warriors, and the spirit of their ancestors.  Bill was so inspired that he wanted to portray this amazing historic scene in bronze and fill it with the emotion, strength and pride which must have ridden with each warrior as he hunted meat for his village.