Undisputed facts The plaintiff, Clark, was employed as a section hand by the defendant, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railway Company (M.K &T). He had worked for the defendant in this position for about four years. During this time, he had been called to assist in clearing wreckage and taking care of the property in the carriage on several occasions. He had not been called to bring back Texas steer before. The accident that is the subject of the suit happened in Warren County, near Marthasville. At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was under the control of the defendant. It was on the morning of May 10, 1897. It was around 6 AM, and still dark as the sun had not come up. It was a cold morning and foggy. As a result of the fog, visibility was poor, and it was difficult to see very far (Clark V M.K & T). The defendant was in the business of transportation and frequently transported cattle from points in Missouri to other parts of the country. On this morning, the train was transporting a consignment of Texas cattle, of a class known as the Texas Steer. This was not the first time that the defendant was transporting Texas steers, and had done this before on innumerable occasions over the years (Clark V M.K & T). There was a wreck involving the defendant’s train, and one of the cars containing the Steers was broken. The steers contained in that car escaped. Some of them did not go very far, they remained near the wreck. However, many of them escaped and ran in different directions, with most of the steers running towards the East. One of the steers was seen running to the West. The plaintiff was one of the gang members of the section gang that had been put in charge of this section of the rail by the defendant. Other members of the section gang were; Otto Housman, who was the gang’s foreman, and George and Jim, who were his two sons (Clark V M.K & T). Most of the steers were successfully put back into the station without incident, but one of them remained out. This is the steer that had run off to the West. The steer that had run off the West belonged to the class of cattle known as the Texas Steer. The Texas Steer has had a reputation for being vicious and dangerous. They belonged to the class of animals known as ferae naturae. Their viciousness is aggravated by excitement, injury, or an attack, and in this state, they became more dangerous and vicious than usual. These facts were common knowledge, and people often talked about the Texas Steer in these terms (Clark V M.K & T). The train’s conductor went to Otto Housman’s house and woke him up. He told him about the steer and that he should be careful, so they don’t hurt him. The section gang was called to assist in bringing back the steers which had escaped and put them back into the defendant’s station. Otto Housman called the plaintiff and his two sons and told them that one of the steers had gone off towards the West. He then ordered them to go after it, and they complied with this order. The plaintiff armed himself with a club about seven feet long and went off after the steer in the company of Jim and George. The three set off on foot, and they followed tracks along the railway. Along the way, they met two German girls and told them about the steer. They did not seem to understand what they were being told, and the plaintiff told them to be careful (Cl