, 1873-11-02
A BUFFALO.FIGHT.

From the Kanons lFa0asiac
Appearances indicated that this shaggy old
fellow had been milking d worry good fight Of 1t
for several days. daro .Hay that in The main
tenanco Of Ills social status lo had gone buck
into tue herd and stared at hts descendants, and
paved and groanod, rs mitch as afty times.
Tho long hair upon As huge neck was tangled
and pulled until tufts Of it llr1ng loose and uu-
kompt Tho outer flbres OF .lliB hugo black horns
hung in alamentB and Bplintora. His wicked lit
tic Dyes had a reddish glare, and his beard wns
limp and froth-wet boneath Ills chin. Nor
was this oil. 6undry long. obliQuo, hairless
lines appeared on his datlt, and ho put his loft
fosefoot down tenderly, very lllso1y remembering,
at tho same timo, square 1ounco ho bad got
yesterday on tho shoulder from aomo strong
ncckcd youngster that had taken 1t upon himsolf
to whip his father.
He stood little upon tho outslkirts now, bis
head towards me, pretending to cat grass. It
WAS as nico herbago AZ bull, whose teeth woro
probably mono of tho worry best, could wish
Tho frat tender growth Of tho oarly spring.
but still ho did not aeotn to enjoy 1t. At in
torva!s Of q minute or 30 ho would look
round quickly oyer his shoulder aud groan,
and STAND thinking, and then pretend to
cat again. To this distressful pantomimo
tho ton thousand shaggy grazors paid not
tho least attention. They were busy. I could
hear thom cropping tho grass. aa 10y
there, with continuous rasping aound. It was
only too evident that OF all thoso cowB whom he
had so ofton combod into curlinoss with his
long tongue of sunny mornings, and led md
herdcd and fought for; Of all tha little, atupid,
1ump-backod, etuup-tailcd calves, his own off,
spring, there was not one who did not wish linn
n of 70 b1,frn ot,r1.f&
cared how soou his last fight with tho coyotes
was over, and his monumental skull left btnrd-
ing upon it's jagged base OH tic bleak hilltop,
with scarce so much as tligh-bone Or tuft OF
brown hair by 7ay Of obituary.
Bnt this oil ono wnB still q buffalo and n bull,
and ho llept anrTeptitiously getting nearer and
nearer to the ragged border If the herd.
Presently calf came towards him slowly md
in an tnyoutgstory scrs Of =, WV its hstlo blae
dstendod With fnllnogB aud tia white milk
frotl depending in long threads from its mouth.
Gradually aud slowly he wont up to his fathor,
and the two had Just touched noses ai1icably
when tho n:othor also took it into her head to
bo friendly, aud came too. Then came another
cow, aud nnotl3er, and presently quite little
wing Of Tho herd had gathered there, and tho
battered old warrior looked around him conf
placont!y: This kind Of thing. hed doubtless
happened so often tint I wonder lo did not aoom
to think Of the rcnult, but 10 did not. He
might have known that ho had arrived at that
ago whom tho young blooas Of the hord would
not look complacontlY upon his loayy gal
another fight, and tho trouble began In tho very
midst OF his content.
A follow 90 big as tho old ono must have
seen this aoclal gathering from somo distance.
proacl by little puffs of duBt which flow high IN
the air above tho crowd and by ominoua anort-
ings and lugubrious groanB. Tho old ono stop
pod chewing With green mouthful betwecn bis
lips, aud listened. Tho cows Looked round with
the complacont expression wbich seemed to say
that the fight Was none of theirs, and crowded
OF upon either sido and very soon the antago-
nists stood facing each other. Tho old boy
stralghtened out bis wiap. Of . tail to line
together, arched Ills spine, and placed his nose
close to the sod, shaking his huge hcad Us though
he wishod to aatisfy himself finally Of It's freedom
from any entanglemont which would hinder linn
from Just tossing TINT ambitious youngatcr oyer
eame slowly, twisting his tail from side to eide
In scnaieirclos which wore very deliberate aud
grand Tor 80 small M organ. He took pains to
make it distinctly appear that every hair ho wore
creasing redness. His black, sharp llorns were
encruatod with earth gathered while ho had boon
tearing the sod In ecstasy Of valor. His nostrila
were diBtonded. and no halted in his slow ad-
dora with his pawng He was, In natural way,
tacticlan. He made flank moyoments, and
turnod his shaggy sides, first ono and then the
other, toward his huge antagonist.
But this by-play, Of battle only hindored tue
final onaot,-theey by no mcans intended to take
1t ont in vaporing. The challenger advanced
within somo four foot, getting anErier and an
gdor AZ he came. suddonly there was u crash
which had in 1t something Homerio. One rat
tllng onset Of that kind loayes ono in no doubt
as to why tho short, strong horns Of the bulfa-
loea have splintered appearance ut the apices.
Thon there was a long, steady push, In which
eyory tendon Of tho hugo bodies WAS strained to
the uttermoss Thon thero was q strategic eaa-
pressed tho huge heads to tue ground in au even
balance Of strength. Neither beast dared relax
muscle or retreat all incl, for fear Of that
fatal charge upon the flank, or that dangerous
twist Of tho neck which means lofeat
And now tho cows returned and looked compla-
Gently on, and the very calves began to Bhako
their heads In tho first vague Instinct Of COM
hatlvoness inspired by tho battle Of tho bulls:
And the young loralings Of the herd dBtended
boro any Interference. It was duel n rou.
trance. A momoutary relaxation Of the tro-
mcnaouH strain only resulted In the shaggy
heads coming. togethor again with q dull thump,
@ n1a sTs IeHe~s ., tho ,ogxS ,aogSSd Pvt %pSgng which
matter OF lungs mud endurance, and tho white
froth began to drop In long, tenacious strings
from their lips, and tho red oyeB to glaro dim1y
through what seomod clots Of blood. I could
4acAa %Ao AADt4ou uloAsuAuh HI46Eo 4A91 hAA heo
the tenaona stand out aorosR tho thighs and
along tho thick neoka.
But this dead eet OF strength could not last al-
ways. Every moment Of time WAS telling dsaH~
tronsly npon tho shorter wind and dcoaying
strength Of tho Old crusader, who still fought
for tho loyos Of his youth. His foot Slipped,
and the Intelligence OF this slight disaster
seomod to reach As antagonist quokor than q
haBh Of light. No gladiator ever urged Ills ad-
lnngo, q sound Of horns Slipping upon each otL-
or. spring forward, and tho horn Of tho young
or bullh made rakiug upward stroke through
hiB eutagoulst'a flank. The Aeht now became
brisk. Again and again tho old ono turned and
tried to make tho old stand Of head to head, and
az often his more active antagonist oaught him
hehind tho RloulIer. WITH thA rcd agony