The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1874-04-02
A Buffalo Fight.

| III inc maintenance OIL MS 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 I'M
til tufts of il hung loose and unkempt The
outer tibres Of hiahuge black horns hung
in iilaments and splinters His wicked
little eyes had Il reddish glare, and his
beard was limp and froth-wet beneath his
chin. Nor was this all. Sundrv. long,
obiique, hairless lines appeared on his
flank, and he put his left fore foot down
tenderly, very likely remembering, at the
same time square .lounce he had GOT yes
terday on the shoulder from some strong
necked Noungster that had taken it upon
himself to whip his father, He stood Il
little upon the outskirts now. his head to-
ward me, pretending to eat grass 1t was
as nee heritage aS a bull whose teeth We're
probably none OF the very best, could wish
! the first tender growth OF the early
spring. But still he did not seem to en-
Joy IT, At intervals of 4 minute on so he
would look round quickly over his shout
der and groan. and stand thinking, and
then pretend to eat again To this dis
tresstul pantomime the ten thousand shag
gY %razerS paid not the least attention
| They We're busy. | could hear them crop
ping the gras5 as lay there with 4 con
lmuous rasping sound
II wa only too evident that ul all those
COWS which he hal so often comhed into
curlincss with his long tongue of sunny
mornings. and fed and herdcd and fought
for; of all the little stupid, hump-backed,
stump-tailed calves, his own otisprings,
| 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 monument
al skull lett standing upon its Jagged base
on the bleak hill top, with scarce so much
rs 4 thigh bone on i tuli Of brown hair hy
way Of obituary But this old one was
| still u buffalo and a bull. and he kept sur
| rrptltlously getting nearer and nearer to
the ragged border of the herd. Presently
a calf came towards him slowly and in An
| inyestgatory sort Of way. its little black
nose wet and Wrnkled, it. little brown
flanks distcndcd with fulncss, and the
white milk troth depending in long threads
from its mouth. Gradually and slowly he
Went up to his father and the two had Just
| touched noses amicahly, 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
hun complacently
This kind of thing had doubtless hap
pened 50 often that ! wondered 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 boodS Of the
herd would not look romplacentlN upon
his hoary gallantrie>. He was simply lay
ING the plans tor another fight, and the
trouble began in the very midst OF his
content A fellow as big a. the old one
must have seen this social gathering from
some distance, and threw out certain in
timatonS of hls approach by little puts
OF dust which flew high in the air above
the crowd. and by ominoua Snortings and
! lugubrious groanS. The Old cue stopped
chewing with u green monthinl between
his lips, and listened The COWS looked
round with the complacent expression
which seemed to say that the fight was
none OF theirs, aud crowded oil upon either
| side, and very soon the antagonists stood
facing each other The old boy straight
cned out his Whsp of u tail to Il line with
| his back, gathered his -four black hoots To-
| gether archcd his spine and placed his
nose close to the sod, shaking his huge
mead as though he wished to satisfy him
self finally of itS freedom from any entan-
| clement which would hinder him from iusl
tossing that ambitious youngster over his
back and breaking him in two.
The other came slowly, twisting his tail
from side to side III Scm-cirrles which
We're very deliberate and grand for so
! small an organ He took pains to make il
| distinctly appear that every hair he wore
was angry His black, sharp horns We're
incrusted with earth, gathered while he
had been tearing the sod in ecStacy tvalor.
| His no.trils were distrnde.l and he halted
| in his slow advance To toss the broken sod
| high over his shoulders with his paving
| He was. in natural way tactician He
made flank movements, and turned his
! shaggy sides, first one and then The other,
| towards his huge antagonist. But this by
| play Of battle only hindered the final on
set they hy no means intended to take it
! out III Vaporing. The challenger advanced
| within some fDur feet, getting angrer ana
angrier As he came. Suddenly there was
| a crash which had in it something llomeric,
| One rattling onset OF that KIND leaves one
in no doubt Us to why the short, strong
| horns of tie buffalo have 4 splntrrtd Il-
pearance at the apiceS Then there W;l-
Il long, steady push III which every ten
don Of the huge bodies We're strained to
the uttelmoSt Then there was strategic
easing oil, then a sudden gladiatoral
| thrust which pressed the huge heads to
| the ground in an even balance Of strength
! Neither beast dared relax a muscle or re-
treat IN inch, for fear of that fatal charge
| upon the flank, on that dangerous twist OF
| the neck, which means defeat.
And now the cows returned and looked
complacently on and the very calves be
gan to shake their head, in the first vague
instinct OF comhatvenrsS inspired by the
battle OF the bulls And the yOrn@ lord
| lings OF the herd diStendcd their noStMls
and elevated their tails, but torebore any
! interference. A momentarv RELAXATION of
! the tremendous strain only resulted in the
| shaggy heads coming together again with
dull thump, and renewal Of the dog
9ed pushing which IN chit have moved
u freight train. 1t was Il matter of lungs
and endurance, and the white irolh be
gan to drop in long, tenacious strings
from their lips, and the red eyes 70 glare
| dimly through what seemed rlots of blood,
| could hear the abored breathing where
| | lay, and see the tpndons stand out across
the thighs and along the thick necks. But
this dead set Of strength could not last al
ways Every moment of time was telling
disastrously upon the short wind and de
caying strength of the old crusader, who
| still fought for the loves of his youth.
His foot slipped, and the intelligence" of
this slight disaster seemed to reach his an
| tagonist quicker than n flash of light. No
gladiator ever urgeLhis advantage more
suddenly There was a huge lunge, Il
sound of horns slipping upon each other
spring forward, and the horn OF the
Younger bull had made a raking upward
stroke through his antagonists flank The
fight now became brisk. Again and again
the old one turned and tried to make the
old stand Of head to head, and as often
his more active antagonist caught him be-
hind the shoulder. With the red agony of
defeat in his eyes, and the blood trickling
hn l., l., L..