Before dawn we nail a prime "viewing spot, on a ridge above the corrals. Over the next 4 hours we're joined by thousands of spectators who scan the grass lands and hills for sign of the herd. Waiting.

The reward comes when a sea of brown lumps is spotted flying across the autumn gold hills.

Spontaneous applause, cheering and fist pumping erupts from the crowd.
Cowboys crack bull whips. Punctuated with "Hyaahh's" to steer more than a thousand head of bison into the corrals.

Here they'll be sorted, vaccinated, branded and some will be sold to keep the herd at about a thousand strong. Then they'll be released again to roam free.

Watching the buffalo roundup brings forth a swell of patriotic emotions like the national anthem before a big game. It's a symbol of all we've done right. Not what we didn't, shouldn't, couldn't a done.