The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1873-11-26
A BUFFALO FIGHT.

say LtlAG Ia ble maintenance OF lilS SOCIAL
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 flaments and spIinters. His
wicked little eyes had reddish glare,
and his beard was limp and froth- wet
beneath his chin. Nor was this all.
Sundry long, obIique, hairless lines ap-
peared on his flank, and he put his left
torefoot down tenderly, very likely re-
membering, ut 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 little upon the outskirts
now, his head towards me, pretending
to eat grass. 1t was rs 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 minute or SO he would
look round quickly over his shoulder
and groan, and stand thinking, and then
pretend to eat again. To this distress
full pantomime the ten thousand shaggy
gra7er5 paid not the least attention.
They were busy. ! could hear them
cropping the grass, as | lay there,
with a continuous rasping sound. 1t
was only too evident that of all those
cows whom he had so often oOmbed into
curliness with his long tongue of sunny
mornings, and led and herded and
fought for; of all the little, stupid,
hump-backed, stump-taiIed 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 rs u
thigh-bone or a tuft of brown hair by
way of obituary.
But this old one was still a buffalo
and bull, aud he kept sureptitiOusly
getting nearer and nearer to the ragged
border of the herd.
Presently calf came towards him
slowly and in an investigatory sort of
way, it's little black nose wet and wrin-
kled, its little brown fanks 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 also 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
gathered there, and the battered old
warrior looked around him compla-
Gently. This kind of thing had doubt
lesg 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 b1oods 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 cir 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 complncent
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 O tail to line with his back,
gathered his four black hoofs together,
arched his spine, and placed bis nose
close to the sod, shaking his huge head
as though he wished to satisfy himself
finally of it's freedom from any entangie-
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
side to side IN semioirCles which were
very deliberate and grand for SO small
an organ. He took pains to make it dis
tfnctly appear that every hair be wore
was angry. His eyes rolled in con-
stantly increasing redness. His black,
sharp horns were encrusted with earth
gathered while he had been tearing the
sod in the ecstasy of valor. His nostriis
we're distended, and he halted in his
slow advance to toss the broken sod
high over his shoulders with his paw
ing. He was, in natural way, taeti-
clan. He made flank movements, and
turned his shaggy sides, first one and
then the other, towards his huge an
tagonist.
But this by-piay of battle only him
dered the final onset--they by no means
intended to take u ont in vaporing, The
challenger advanced within some four
feet, getting angrier and angrier as he
came, Suddenly there was a crash