Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1873-11-22
A BUFFALO FIGHT.

status he had gone back into the herd
and stared at his descendants, and
paved and groaned, as much as fifty
times. The long hair upon his huge
neck was tangled and pulled until tufts
of it hung loose and unkempt. The
outer fbres of his huge black horns
hung in filaments and splinters. His
wicked little eyes had a reddish glare,
and his beard was limp and froth-wet
beneath his chin. Nor was this all.
Sundry long, oblique, hairless lines APP
peared on his flank, and he put his left
forefoot down tenderly, very likely re-
lnembering, at the same time, square
iounce he had got yesterday in the
shoulder, from some strong -necked
youngster that had taken it upon him
self to whip his father.
He stood a little upon the outskirts
now, his head towards me, pretending
to cat grass. 1t was as nice herbage as
a 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 OF so he would
look round quickly over his shoulder
and groan, and stand thinking, and then
pretend to eat again. To this Distress
ful pantomime the ten thousand shaggy
grazers paid not the least attention.
They were busy. / could hear them
cropping the grass, as / lay there,
with Il continuous rasping sound. 1t
was only too evident that Of all those
COWS whom he had 50 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, stump-talled 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 tight 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 tuft of brown hair by
way Of obituary.
= this old one was still buffalo
...laa,, o he kept sureptitiously
getting nearer and nearei y > ''l' ''e6'"
border Of the herd.
Presently calf came towards him
slowly and in an investigatory sort OF
way, its little black nose wet and wrin-
kled, its little brown hanks distended
with fullness, and the white milk-iroth
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 also took it into her head to be
friendly, and came too. Then came
another COW, and another, and presently
quite a little wing of the herd had
gathered there, and the battered old
warrior looked around him compla-
Gently. This kind of thing had doubt
less happened so often that Iwonder 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 hoary gal
lantries. He was simply laying 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 in
timations of his approach by little puffs
of dust which flew 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 |
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,
lrched his spine, and placed his nose
close to the sod, shaking his huge head
rs though he wished to satisfy himself
finally of its freedom from any entangle-
ment which would hinder him from just
tossing that ambitious youngster over
his back and breaking him in two. The
other came slowly, twisting his tail from
,ide to side in semicircles which were
very deliberate and grand for so small
IN organ. He took pains to make it dis
'inctly appear that every hair he wore
was angry. His eyes rolled in con-
,tantly increasing redress. His black,
sharp horns were encrusted with earth
gathered while he had been tearing the
'od in the ecstasy of valor. His nostriis
we're distended, and he halted in his
llow advance to toss the broken sod
high over his shoulders with his paw
ng. He was, in natural way, tacti-
,ian. He made flank movements, and
,urned his shaggy sides, first one and
hen the other, towards his huge an
,agonist.
But this by-play of battle only him
Tered the final onset-they by no means
to take it out in vaporing. The
challenger advanced within some lour
eet, getting angrier and angrier as he
,ame, Suddenly there was a crash
=