Taming the Buffalo
Buffaloes do not always remain wild and wander about in the jungle.
Men need buffaloes. Farmers want to use them for plowing the ground,
in the same way that farmers in America use horses for plowing.
This kind of buffalo also lives in Italy, and because they are so fond
of water they are called _water buffaloes_ there. But in Italy they
are not wild any more, as they have been tamed and used by men for a
long time.
I shall tell you how the men catch the buffaloes from the jungle in
India, where they are still wild.
They catch the buffaloes in many ways. The easiest way is to find some
stream or pond where the buffaloes are fond of going. Then the men
take strong nets made of ropes, and spread the nets under the water.
So when the buffaloes come to bathe or roll in the mud, some of them
are caught in the nets.
Then the men rush in from their hiding place and drag out the nets. Of
course, those buffaloes which are not caught run away. But those that
are caught struggle fiercely. After a time they get tired of
struggling, as the nets are too strong for them to break.
When the buffaloes have become very weak from struggling, a lot of men
rush up and tie a stout rope around the neck of each buffalo. The rope
has two ends, one on each side of the buffalo, and each end is quite
long.
A dozen men haul at the rope, and the buffalo has to get up and march
with them. In this way the men bring the buffaloes one by one to the
village.
How do the men tame the buffaloes? That is quite easy, if they already
have a few tame buffaloes which they may have caught and tamed some
time before. And as the people have been doing this for many, many
years, they always have some tame buffaloes. So this is the way the
men treat the wild buffaloes:
_Wild Buffaloes Tamed Quickly by Kindness_
They put the wild buffaloes and the tame ones together in a pen, or
corral. Inside the corral there is a pond. In the deep part of the
pond there is plenty of good water to drink; and in the shallow part
of the pond there is plenty of mud in which the buffaloes may roll
about and wallow.
The men keep the buffaloes there together for many days, the wild ones
and the tame ones. Every day the men throw into the corral plenty of
fresh grass, which the buffaloes can eat all day.
Now, what more could the wild buffaloes want? They could not be
treated any better! They have plenty to eat, plenty to drink, and
plenty of mud in which to wallow. The tame buffaloes soon make friends
with them, and talk to them in their own language.
"You will not be any better off in the jungle," the tame ones say to
the wild ones. "Here you do not have to walk about all day to get
enough to eat, and then walk a good way to find water to drink, or a
place in which to wallow. And, also, we have no fear of tigers here.
What more do you want?"
So in a few weeks the wild ones become quite tame. Still, even after
that, the old and the new ones are always kept together, and soon they
become like one herd.
Afterwards, when the farmers use them for plowing, they always hitch
to the plow one buffalo that has been tame for a long time, and one
that is newly-tamed. Then it becomes easy for the new one to learn the
work by just doing as his friend does.
The farmer uses the buffaloes for plowing for only a few hours, and he
gives them plenty of time for wallowing and enjoying themselves. So,
even if they have to do a little work, the new buffaloes soon see that
they are really much better off living in the village than running
wild in the jungle.
After the plowing season is over, the buffaloes have no work at all.
They can wallow all day, if they want to.
When all the new buffaloes are quite tame, they are not kept in the
corral any more, as they would never think of running away now. They
are allowed to lie about and sleep in a little plot of ground
somewhere in the village. By daytime they are taken out into the
fields outside the village, and allowed to graze as they please; and
as there is always a stream or a pond near, the buffaloes can go into
the water or the mud whenever they like.
So, as you understand, the buffaloes very soon become quite tame. Why?
Because they are treated kindly. Please remember that. _Most wild
animals can be tamed if treated kindly._
Now I am coming to the nicest part about the buffaloes. It is the
nicest part because it shows how the buffaloes can even be made to
love us.
I have just told you that the buffaloes are taken out into the fields
to graze. Well, then, somebody has to do that in the morning, and
somebody has to bring them home in the evening.
Can you tell who does that? Why, there is a herdsman to do it, you may
say. Quite true. But the herdsman does not bother to do a simple thing
like that every day.
_Little Boys Take Charge of Buffaloes_
Then who does it? I shall tell you. The little boys of the village!
They are about five or six years of age. They are not old enough to go
to school, and not old enough to do any work; so they can play all
day.
The most useful thing they can do is to take charge of the buffaloes.
The boys soon learn all the buffalo calls--"Come out to graze," "Come
to wallow," or "Come home now." And the wonderful thing is that these
huge animals soon learn to obey these calls. When the boys call to
them, the buffaloes do just as they are ordered.
The buffaloes soon learn to love the little boys. You know how fond of
us an animal can become--especially a dog or a horse. Still, I do not
think that any animal can show such love for us as the huge buffaloes
do for the little boys who act as their herdsmen.
Why? Because the little boys _share the same mud_ with the buffaloes!
Boys and buffaloes mix very well with mud! The little boys tumble
about in the mud on the side of the bank where the buffaloes may be
wallowing. Or the boys will splash about in the water where the
buffaloes are lying neck deep to keep cool. Or they will climb up on
the buffaloes' backs for a while, then tumble off and play again.
Even when the buffaloes are grazing in the field, the boys may be near
them, playing hide and seek, and running in and out between the
buffaloes' legs, or under their horns. So the boys are with the
buffaloes all day long.
_How the Big Buffaloes Love the Little Boys_
It is quite wonderful to see a little boy actually twisting a huge
buffalo's tail. As I have told you, a buffalo is often more than ten
feet long, and taller than a tall man; and it has horns that reach
out more than a yard from each side of the head. This huge animal
could charge and smash up a big wagon as easily as if it were a match
box; and yet he will stand still and let his tail be twisted by any
little tot in the village.
Sometimes you may see a sight like this: A huge buffalo is grazing
hungrily, and a little boy comes up and stands right in front of him.
"Put up your head!" says the boy. But the buffalo goes on feeding
hungrily.
"Put up your head, or I will spank you!" says the boy. But the buffalo
still goes on feeding hungrily.
Then that tot raises his small hand and spanks the huge buffalo on the
jaw. The buffalo puts up his head, and rubs his nose lovingly against
the boy.
Well, why not? You have seen a baby pulling his Papa's hair. The Papa
just loves the baby all the more for it. So it is with the buffalo and
the little tot. And it would not matter a bit whether the tot were a
little boy or a little girl. The big buffalo is fond of both.
And now I shall tell you a wonderful true story about a buffalo and a
boy.