The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1873-11-13
A BUFFALO FIGHT.

fight of it for several days. / dare say
that in the maintenance of his social status
he had gone back into the herd and stared
at his descendants, and paved and groan-
ed, as much as fifty times. The long hair
upon his huge neck was tangled and
pulled until tufts of it hung loose and un-
kempt. The outer fbers of his huge black
horns hung in flaments and splinters.
His wicked little eyes had a reddish glare,
and his beard was limp and froth-wet be-
meath his chin. Nor was this ALL Sundry
long, oblique, hairless, lines appeared on
his flank, and he put his left fOrefoOt
down tenderly, very likely remembering,
at the same time, a square jounce he had
got yesterday on the shoulder from some
strong-necked youngster that had taken it
upon himself to whip his father.
He stood little upon the outskirts now,
his head toward me, pretending to eat
grass. 1t was as nice heritage as bull,
whose teeth were probably none of the
very best, could wish-the first tender
growth of the early spring. But still he
did not seem to enjoy it. At intervals of
a minute or SO he would look round
quickly over his shoulder and groan, and
stand thinking, and then pretend to eat
again. To this distressful pantomine the
ten thousand shaggy grazers paid not the
least attention. They were busy. Icould
there, with continuous rasping sound.
1t was only too evident that of all those
cows whom he had so often combed into
curliness with his long tongue of sunny
mornings, and led and herded and fought
for; of all the little, stupid, hump-backed,
ump.tailed calves, his own offspring,
there was not one who did not wish him
disposed of according to buffalo destiny,
or who cared how soon his last fight with
the coyotes was over, and his monumental
skull left standing upon its jagged base
on the bleak hilltop, with scarce SO much
as a thigh-bone or a tuft of brown hair by
way of obituary.
But this old one was still buffalo, and
he kept surreptitiously getting nearer and
nearer to the ragged border of the herd.
Presently calf came toward him slow
ly and in an investigatory sort of way, its
little black nose wet and wrinkled, its lit
tie brown TANKS distended with fullness,
and the white milk froth depending in
long threads from its mouth. Gradually
and slowly he went up to his father, and
the two had just touched noses amicably,
when the mother took it into her head to
be friendly, and came too. Then came
another COW, and another, and presently
quite little wing of the herd had gath
cred there, and the battered old warrior
looked around him complacently. This
kind of thing had doubtless happened 30
often that wonder he did not seem to
think OF the result, but he did not. He
might have known that he had arrived at
that age when the young bloods of the
herd would not look complacently upon
his aged gallantries. He was simply lay
ing the plans for another fight, and the
trouble began in the very midst of his
content.
A fellow as big as the old one must
have seen this social gathering from some
distance, and threw out certain intima-
tions Of his approach by little puffs Of
dust which few high in the air above the
crowd, and by ominous snortings and
lugubrious groans. The old one stopped
chewing with green mouthful between
his lips, and listened. The cows looked
round with the complacent expression
which seemed to say that the fight was
none OF theirs, and crowded off upon
either side, and very soon the antagonists
stood facing each other. The old boy
Strengthened out his wisp of tail to .
line with his back, gathered his four
black hoofs together, arched his spine.
and placed his nose close to the sod, shak.
ing his huge head as though he wished
to satisfy himself finally Of its freedom
from any ENHANCEMENT which would him
der him from just tossing that ambitious
youngster over his back and breaking
him in tive. The other came slowly,
twisting his tail from side to side in semi
circles which were very deliberate and
grand for SO small an organ. He took
pains to make it distinctly appear that
every hair he wore was angry. His eyes
rolled in constantly increasing redness.
His black, sharp horns were encrusted
with earth gathered while he had been
tearing the sod in ecstasy of valor. His
nostrils were distended, and he halted In
his slow advance to toss the broken cod
high over his shoulders with his paving.
He was, in q natural way, tactician. BE
made flank movements, and turned hia
shaggy sides, first one and then the other,
toward his huge antagonist.
But this by. play Of battle only hindered
the final onset-they by no means intend.
ed to take it out in vaporing. The chal.
lenger advanced within some four feet,
getting angrier and angrier q he came.
Suddenly there was . crash which had in
It something Homeric. One rattlins