I bet you’d already guessed it. The namesake of the Buffalo National River is … the buffalo. But that’s a misnomer. What we call ‘buffalo’ are actually bison. The American ‘Buffalo’ is really an American Bison. Before Europeans arrived on this land, there were bison everywhere. Many tribes of Native Americans depended on them, literally, for their lives. It is a sad and shameful part of our history as Americans that our predecessors did everything they could to wipe out the ‘buffalo’ as well as the first people.
Dustin Black, via a FB comment, also told me that the name came from the ‘buffalo carp’ that lived in the river, and that it was named so because they were so plentiful you could walk across the river on the backs of the carp. These fish were a major food source. I haven’t found any references documenting that yet, but am still searching. Carp aren’t as romantic as buffalo, so it’s possible that the early Europeans attributed the name to the bison, when in fact, it was the carp that is the true namesake. Interesting mystery!
This painting is a tribute to the ‘Buffalo’, the river for which they are a namesake, and to the First People who depended on that majestic creature.
Namesake of the Buffalo National River
In my artwork I use only pigments I’ve foraged here at Wild Ozark or nearby. Since it’s not legal to collect rocks on the national river, I could not use actual rocks from the Buffalo. However, the geological makeup is very similar, as we are only about twenty miles (as the crow flies) from the headwaters of the Buffalo National River. Once I gather the rocks, I crush them and refine the pigments in them to make my watercolor paints.
These are the pigments I used for this painting.
• bituminous black
• bituminous brown
• dark gray shale
• yellow sandstone
• limestone
• green siltstone or shale
• yellow sandstone
• dayflower petal blue
Bison, not Buffalo
There were two kinds of bison roaming North America back then. Plains bison and woods bison. You’re probably familiar with the plains bison, as that’s what most of us think of when we hear the word ‘buffalo’. Early French explorers began calling the bison ‘buffalo’ and that stuck with us for the rest of history. The woods bison went extinct.
Bison roamed not only the plains states but during winter, herds of them would migrate into the Ozarks for shelter. The First People did, too, and took shelter in the many caves that exist in the bluffs along most of our rivers and creeks. The Buffalo National River was given its name in 1810 when Zebulon Pike drew a map for the U.S. Government.
Putting the ‘National’ in Buffalo National River
Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Neil Compton and the Ozark Society that he founded in 1962, and a vigorous campaign that lasted ten years, the pristine river was saved. In 1972 it was finally granted the status of Buffalo National River. This meant that it would never be dammed or used industrially, and thereby preserving the wilderness surrounding the banks. It was also our nations very first national river.
Don’t pick the rocks at the Buffalo River. It’s illegal.
The Process of Painting ‘Namesake’
The showed in New York City for the Audubon Artist’s 79th Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club on 5th Ave. from Oct. 25-Nov. 5, 2021.
More about Neil Compton
And, here’s a page at FB about the name from the National Park Service: Buffalo National River
ABOUT
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Madison Woods is the pen-name for my creative works. I’m a self-taught artist who moved to the Ozarks from south Louisiana in 2005. My paintings of Ozark-inspired scenes feature lightfast pigments from Madison county, Arkansas. My inspiration is nature – the beauty, and the inherent cycle of life and death, destruction, regeneration, and transformation.
Roxann Riedel is my real name. I’m also salesperson for Montgomery Whiteley Realty. If you’re interested in buying or selling in Madison or Carroll county, AR, let me know! You can see the properties that I blog about at WildOzarkLand.com.
Wild Ozark is also the only licensed ginseng nursery in Arkansas. Here’s the link for more information on the nursery
P.S.
There’s always a discount for paintings on the easel 😉
Here’s my Online Portfolio
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Contact Mad Rox: (479) 409-3429 or madison@madisonwoods and let me know which hat I need to put on 🙂 Madison for art, Roxann for real estate, lol. Or call me Mad Rox and have them both covered!
https://www.youtube.com/@wildozark
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