“Hunting The Buffalo” is usually played in the key of A with fiddles cross tuned AEAE. It takes on a minor sound due to the use of an F# minor in the chord progression. It is a two part tune, and some will play it in the key of G in standard tuning, which also works well. There are lots of good listening examples, such as the one from Big Chimney Barn Dance in the video below. We will call this the modern version, because it is a good example of a tune that has undergone folk processing changes and “festivalization” over time that make it distinct from the original. 

The original was called “I'm Gonna Go a-Hunting for the Buffalo,” and owes its origin to James Corbett Morris (1907-1998), better known by his stage name as Jimmie/Jimmy Driftwood, from Mountain View, Arkansas. You may also recognize Driftwood’s name as the author of “The Battle Of New Orleans,” “Tennessee Stud,” or dozens of other titles. He was an incredibly popular folk singer in the late 1950s -1960s, and reportedly composed/collected over 5000 songs. He was part of the formation of the Ozark Folk Center, and also established a still functioning performance space known as the Jimmy Driftwood Music Barn in Mountain View, which bills itself as “Folk Music Capital Of The World.”  Read more in this extensive bio of Jimmie Driftwood, along with his lengthy discography. Here is some Tune History on the Eighth Of January (The Battle Of New Orleans). 

The original tune as composed and recorded by Driftwood was a solo fiddle tune, which he played in BEGB tuning, calling it “minor key open.” ed. note: think Em. While the A part played by Driftwood has some commonalities to the modern version, his B part is quite different.  

On the album, Jimmy Driftwood- A Lesson In Folk Music,” which was released in 1974, Driftwood introduces the tune by explaining that he learned it from his uncle, Theadore Morris, who was half Cherokee and was raised with the Cherokee. Driftwood goes on to say that his uncle played many tunes in this key. Due to his uncle Theadore's relationship to the Cherokee, it has often been assumed that the melody may have had origins in Native American culture, but this has never been confirmed. A video taken from Driftwood’s album is below, and here are the liner notes for the track:

6. I'M GONNA GO HUNTIN' FOR THE BUFFALO

Jimmy had two half uncles… Levi and Theadore Morris, half Cherokee...who were

raised with the Cherokees of The Indian Nation (Oklahoma now). Theadore in his last

days played many of these tunes in minor key open. Jimmy was the only one who learned

them. Ramona Jones recently learned this tune from Jimmy and used it on her album

"Back Porch Fiddling." Jimmy hopes to do an album of these old tunes someday for posterity.

Ed. note: Ramona Jones (1924-2015) was a talented performer who was also married to Country Music Hall Of Famer  Louis Marshall “Grandpa” Jones from 1946-98. The couple had a dinner theater in Mountain View, Arkansas, and were friends with Jimmy Driftwood. Here is a YouTube link to her entire 1974 “Back Porch Fiddlin’” album, on which Jones plays Driftwood’s tune with a full band.

Driftwood’s melody continues to be played and recorded, including a solo Mike Seeger, a jammy George Jackson with friends, and a fast, grassy version by Lonesome Ace Stringband. Interestingly, these three all play the tune in the key of Dm. 

Don’t be confused by several other Old Time tunes with the title of “Shoot(ing) The (That) Buffalo." Some of these include: 

“Shoot That Buffalo” (here by Elizabeth Cotton,) which sounds a lot like Hi Hop Ladies/Roustabout,

“Shoot The Buffalo” (here by Vaughn Monroe,) which is pop tune about a square dance with calls,

"Coming Through the Canebrake To Shoot The Buffalo," a D tune that has been sourced to Illinois fiddler Mel Durham,

“Shoot/Hunt The Buffalo,” which, according to the Bluegrass Messengers website, is based on “The Banks Of The Pleasant Ohio” (ed. Note: they also list 9 other versions), plus 

Jimmy Driftwood recorded “Shoot The Buffalo,” in 1960, which sounds like a very close cousin to his “Battle Of New Orleans.” 

As people often write music about what they know and experience, the number of folk tunes or songs about buffalo make sense when we recall that vast herds of buffalo (bison) originally roamed not only the Great Plains region, but most of the North American continent - from North Carolina to northern California, and from Mexico, up through Canada, to Alaska - and were once a very important source of food, clothing, and shelter for lots of people. Here is an article titled, “The Buffa-Low-Down: the ecological past, present, and future of the American Bison,” which also includes a map depicting the historic range of the American Bison. In addition, the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History is featuring a free exhibit, “Bison: Standing Strong” through May, 2029. This exhibit invites you to “Experience the deep history of America’s national mammal and discover the hopeful future being built for generations to come.”

The modern (festival) version by Big Chimney Barn Dance