The Red Cloud chief., 1876-02-03
Chased by Cattle.

Gabriel Conroy (Sc-iJner's A3nthly)
Bret Harre gives the following descrip-
ton OF how one of his characters,
Arthur Poinsett, wandering out from the
the walls of the BLESSED Trinity" was
surrounded by cattle. 1t has been pro-
nounced a singularly faithful bit Of
description by persons who have crossed
the plains:
Possibly something else caused him
for the moment to dismiss her from his
mind. During his rapid walk he had
noticed, as an accidental, and py no
means an essential feature Of the bleak
landscape, the vast herds of crawling,
purposeless cattle. An entirely new
and distinct impression was now form
ing itself in his consciousness namely.
that they were no longer purposeless,
vagrant, and wandering, but were &C
tually obeylng a certain definite law OF
attraction, and were moving deliberately
toward q equally definite object. And
that object was himself!
Look where he would; before, behind,
on either side, north, east, south, west,
ON the bleak hill-tops, on the slope OF
the fdlda, across the dried up arroyo,
there were the same converging lines of
slowly moving objects toward q single
focus himself! Although walking
briskly, and with a certain definiteness
of purpose, he was apparently the only
u~nchanging, fixed, and limited point IN
the now active landscape. Everything
that rose above the dead, barren level
was now moving slowly, irresistibly, in
stinctively, but Enthusiastically, toward
one common center--himself, Alone
and unsupported, he was tie helpless,
unconscious nucleus OF a slowly
gathering force, almost immeasurab!e
in its immensely AMI power.
At first the Idea was amusing and
grotesque. Then it became picturesque.
Then It became something for practical
consideration. And then-but MOI
with the quick add unerring instincts CT
a powerful Will, be chOked down the
next consideration before it had time to
fas.en upon or paralyze his strength.
He stopped and turned. The Rancho of
OF the Blessed Trinity was gone! Had
it suddenly sunk in the earth, or had he
d,verged from his path? Neither; he
had sin ply walked over the little eleva-
ton in the plain beside the arroyo and
corral, and had already left the Rancho
two miles behind him.
1t was not the only surprise that came
upon him Suddenly like a blow between
the eyes. The same mysterious a.trac
ton had been operating in his rear, and
when he turned to retrace his steps
toward the Mission, he faced the staring
eyes of a hundred bulls not fifty yards
away. As he facet them, The nearest
turned, the next rank followed their ex-
ample, and the next the same, and the
next, until in the distance he coul1 see
the movement repeated with military
precision and Sequence. With a sense
OF relief, that he pu. aside as quickly as
be hal the sense Of fea-, he quickcned
his pace, until the nearest bull ahead
broke INTO a gentle trot, which was
communicate lioe by line to the cattle
beyond. unit! the whole herd before
him undated like 4 vast monotonous
sea. He continued o. across the nrroyo
and past the corral of dust, raised by the
plunSing hoo:s o; the moving mass be-
fore him, caused him - stop. A dull
~reverberatfon of the plain--a sound
that at first might have been attributed
to "a passing earthquake nov became
so distinct that he turned. Not twenty
yards behind him rose the advance wall
OF another vast, tumultuOus sea of toss
ing horns and undulsting backs that had
been slowly following on his retreat!
He had forgotten that he was surround
ed.
The nearest were now so close upon
him that lie could observe them separa-
tely. They were neither large, power
1ul, vindlctive, nor ferOcious. On the
contrary, they were thin, wasted, bag
gard, anxious beasts-ecOnomically
equipped and gotten up, the better to
wrestlc with a six months drought, oc-
casiOnal famine. and the incessan. buff
feting of the wind-wild and untam able,
but their staring eyes and nervous
limbs expressed only wonder and curl
osity. And when he ran toward them
with a shout, they turned, as had the
Others, file by file, and rank by rank,
and in a moment, were, like the others,
in full retreat, Rather, let me say, re-
treated IS the others had retreated, for
when he faced about again to retrace his
steps toward the Mission, he fronted the
bOssy bucklers and mex tricable horns of
thoss he had driven only a few moments
ago before him. They had availed
themselves of his diversion with the
rear guard to return.
Happy the heart to whom God has
given enough strength and courage to