The best-known was a white calf called Big Medicine, who was born in Montana in 1993. But he was male, which disqualified him, and, in any case, had a brown top-knot on his crown. Miracle, who suffers from no such handicaps, is the first serious contender since then.When she was born, Dave Heider knew nothing of the myth. He did, however, consider her unusual colouring worth mentioning to a journalist friend, and an article in a farming magazine ensued. This was seen by some Native American readers, and within daysHeider's farm was under siege. Miracle fever had begun.TODAY, the fever burns more fiercely than ever.

The television networks have picked up the story, and pilgrims now travel from all over America - all over the world, in fact - to see the sacred calf 'Hi. This is the home of the great white buffalo,' says the message on the Heiders' answering machine; adding, wearily: 'Visiting hours are only on Saturdays and Sundays, from 12 to 5pm.'If you go to Janesville, you can easily find the way to the Heiders' home, simply by following the traffic. And, once you get there, you can easily pick out the Heiders from among the milling crowd Everyone else looks happy They look stressed. The coming of Miracle may or may not presage a new golden age for the world at large, but for the Heiders she has proved a mixed blessing. Dave Heider has, for example, had to persuade his friends (especially the larger ones) to act as security guards, and to help supervise parking, put up special fences and make all the other arrangements that you need to make when America starts visiting your home at a rate of anything up to 4,000 people a weekend.Many of these arrangements appear to be designed to maximise the commercial returns generated by Miracle Photographing her, for example, is strictly forbidden.

If you want photographs, you have to buy, for dollars 1 each, snapshots taken by Heider's nephew. Alternatively, you can buy limited edition prints of a portrait of Miracle and her mother painted by Gary Gandhi, local artist and friend of Dave Hieder. And no doubt you will want to buy some 'soda pop' while you are at it.A percentage of Gandhi's takings - and, presumably, of the soft drink and photograph takings - goes to Heider. But it would be a mistake to infer from this that Heider is making a killing from Miracle.