The White Buffalo

A Latterday White Buffalo courtesy of Wikipedia

   The white buffalo remains a fixture of my childhood imagination, ruled as it was by the early days of television.  In this instance, I am recalling the aboriginal myths perpetrated  by that genre of amusement that my father referred to as Horse Operas.  The Apache Truth Test, in which Tonto had the prevaricating white man hold a shallow cup of water while he administered the third degree is a classic example.  When the water spills from the cup balanced by the shaking hand, he must return the stolen horse and slink shamefaced from that particular patch of prairie. 
    In the case of the white buffalo, the folks on the back lot were calling on an authentic Native American belief.  White buffaloes, just like black sheep and four leaf clovers, do occur rarely in nature.  And many Native American tribes regarded these genetic variants as religious harbingers of great import.  My recollection is that Hollywood portrayed them as a sign of racial harmony between the white man and his red brothers.  As an interesting aside, a white buffalo hide is on exhibit at Bent's Fort (Colorado) museum upon which is inscribed a treaty between the U.S. and the Cheyenne Nation.  Unfortunately for the Cheyenne, the white buffalo hide was not enough to thwart manifest destiny.  So it goes.

This Collector Sea Urchin is Going Fishing.

   In no way do I wish to portray my Polyneisian hosts as lacking in their own batch of tales and superstitions.  Its just that I'm more familiar with my own.  Hence, when I see a fish so rare that it touches my heart, I think good thoughts and recall the white buffalo.  Such was the case two days ago when I saw a Milletseed Butterflyfish at the Kailua pier.
   Before I go further in my story, I have to throw in a mea culpa. Friday was a beautiful day on the south side of the pier, with sunny skies and warm clear water.  And I forgot the camera.  So the pictures included here are from other days in Kona.  Sandra and I had a nice easy swim out to the palace and then split up on the way back;  I chose a more seaward route that lead to the newer portion of pier where the cruise tenders land.  While I was plucking a colorful beaded bracelet from a collector urchin, Sandra found a Spotfin Squirrelfish in the clear water of the shallows.  This fish is commonly seen skulking around the edges of the coral in 20 feet, never in two feet of Kona crystal, so it was a very special look for the redoubtable SKG.

Spotfin Sqirrelfish,  Honokohau,  December 2011,  25 feet.

    You may recall that only a couple weeks ago, I found a single young Citron Butterfly in the water adjacent to the pier.  This day there was a young Milletseed Butterfly.  The Milletseed Butterflyfish used to be common in Kona.  Fifteen years ago, at Kahalu'u it was easily the most common butterfly.  Then something happened.  The numbers rapidly declined and now the fish that abundantly graces the brochures for snorkeling tours is rarely seen. A single individual can sometimes be observed in the heavily touristed Kahalu'u Bay.  I've seen that solitary fellow just a couple times this season.  But for as long as I can remember, at least eight years, I have not seen a Milletseed anywhere else. Not City, not Ho'okena or the pier.  These are strong fish producing venues.  Other fish, notably the Fantailed Filefish have declined severely, but I don't think anything has been dramatic as the Milletseed catstrophe.
    So it was with particular joy that I spotted this little guy, about half the size of a full grown adult.  There was only one, so I regard him as a waif, but somewhere there is a breeding colony that perhaps our reef can be repopulated.      

The Last of the Mohicans,  Kahaluu,  March 2012

   As a post script, I must point out that one can take these First Nations (throwin' a little Canadian at you, eh?) superstitions only so far.  as I was presenting my sweeetie with her Neptunian trinket, she informed me that all the water at the pier had been turned off.  No shower for you, Kimosabe.  On our way back from the hotel, where we did what we could to repair for the trip home, we encountered a city employee who told us that while we were out watching white buffaloes, someone deficient in goodwill gave the toilet sensor in the ladies loo a karate chop, resulting in a torrent of water from said plumbing, and requiring the temporary discontinuation of showers, etc. 
     I guess one can get carried away with these aboriginal myths.

jeff