East Bay Slimes

THE LASTBORN BUFFALO // The baby buffalo lies tangled by a fence, wire biting into its flesh. "Please," it says. "I must reach the sanctuary before they find me." The light here has a thin quality; colors are oddly muted. There's a taste of something old in the air. You ask who's chasing it. "They were hunters of my kind. I am the lastborn. Every year, it repeats. I must run, they must chase. It is the cycle that lets my people survive." You hear hoofbeats. Down the road, a cloud of dust rises. The wire cuts into your hands, but you untangle the animal. It struggles against its bonds, grunting, until it yanks free. It charges off just as a trio of riders emerges from the dust cloud. They draw up by you. "Which way did it go?" You lie. The lead rider, a smiling man with a goatee, tips his hat. The men whip their reins and charge up the road. The buffalo emerges and charges, pounding through the dirt as it draws closer to a line of rocks that marks the border. They see it too, shouting, then wheeling in pursuit. All you can do now is watch. The lead rider slips from his horse and tackles the buffalo as one of others throws him a knife. There's a squeal like a wounded child, and a cold breeze passes over you. When you look back, the four are gone, leaving neither blood nor hoofprints. There's a harsh chill in the air, as if something vital has left this place.
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Once numbering in the millions, the buffalo population dwindled significantly in the late 19th century due to overhunting, habitat destruction, & the expansion of railroads across the "Western frontier". The last significant hunt took place in 1883 in the Texas Panhandle when "Wild Bill" Williams & his gang killed a lone bull, often symbolically referred to as the "last buffalo." The decimation of the buffalo population had far-reaching consequences. It disrupted ecosystems, impacting animal species & Indigenous communities that relied on buffalo for sustenance & spiritual practices. Efforts to conserve and restore the buffalo population have been ongoing. Today, some herds roam protected lands & reservations, representing resilience & restoration.

🖐️chewy eggwhite slime (peachy colored) x marbled hand-painted clay top
👃olive leaves, sage, apricots, native grasses, wildflowers, agave nectar, hint of buffalo leather