The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1876-03-09
A BUFFALO STAMPEDE.

1
young fellows found themselves on Il
nearly level plain. Here, toe, was =
| dense throng OF buffaloes, stretching OFF
| to the undulating horizon. As the two
! explorers walked on, wide lane seemed
| to open III the mighty herds before them.
! Insensibly, and without any hurry, the
creatures drifted away to the right and
! left, browsing or staring, but continually
moving. Looking back, they saw that
! the bUffalOes had closed up their ranks
| on the trail which they had Just pursued;
! while before, and on either hand was Il
wall of animals.
owe are surroundedp' almost whis-
Pered Arthur, with some alarm.
"Never mind, my boy. We can walk
i out, Just as the children of Israel did
| from the Red Sea. Only we have waves
| of bufIaloes, instead of water, to close
| behind and open before and be a wall on
| each side. Seep'
And, Us they kept on, the mass before
| them melted away in some mysterious
! fashion, always at the same distance from
! them.
"See. We move in a vacant space
that travels with us wherever we 90,
! Arty.'
eyes" the lad. 1T seems just as if
were candle in the dark. The open
ground around Us is the light we shed /;
the bufaIoes are the darkness outside"
! GA good figure of speech, that, my
| Iaddie I must remember it. But we
are getting out of the wilderness"
! They had now come to sharp rise of
| ground, broken by rocky ledge, which
! turned the herds more to the nOrthward.
! Ascending this, they were out of the
! buffalOes for the time, but beyond them
were thousands more. Turning south
ward, they struck across the country for
| the wagOn-traCk, quite well satisfied with
their explorations.
Between two long divides, or ridges,
! thew came upon single wagon, canvas
| covered, in which were two little cl.il-
! dren. Two boys-One about seven and
1.-THE other eleven years Old-were playing
near by, and four oxen were grazing by
| a spring.
! in reply to Mont's surprised question
/ as to how they came off the trail, and
! why they were here alone, they said that
/ their father and uncle had come up after
| bIffaIoes, and were out with their gums.
| Their mother was over on the bluff
pointing to little rocky mass which
rose like an island in the middle of the
valley She had gone to hunt for " sar-
vice-berries" They were left to mind
che cattle and the children.
Pretty careless business, | should
saw" murmured Mont. " Well, young
sters," he added "keeP by the wagon
ried away by the bufIaloes- Mind
that ~
They went on down the valley, look
ing behind them at the helpless little
family alone in the wilderness.
A man ought to bc licked for leaving
his young ones here in such lonely
] place" said Mont.
Suddenly, over the southern wall of
the valley, like a thunder-cloud, rose
vast and fleeing herd ofbufaloes. They
were not onlyrunning, they were rush
ing like a mighty food.
& 4 stampede a stampede" cried
/ Mont; and, flying back to the GnCOn-
scious group Of children, followed 10y Ar
| thur. ne said; Run for your lives,
Youngsters, Make for the blufn
| Selling one of the little ones, and bid
/ ding Arthur take the other, hestarted the
| boys ahead for the island-bluff, which
] was some way down the valley. There
was nota moment to lose Behind them,
! like a rising tide, flowed the bufalocs I'm
I sIIrges. 4 confused murmur filed the
air; the ground resOunded with the hUT-
| ried beat Of countless hOOfs, and the
| earth seemed to he disappearing in the
| advancing torrent. Close behind the fly
/ ing fUgitives the angry, panic-strlchen
I herd tumbled and tossed. It's labOred
/ breathing sighed like Il breeze, and the
warmth of its puIsations seemed to stile
/ the air.
''To the IeftI to the Ieft.' screamed
Arthur, seeing the bewiIdered BOYS, who
fled like deer, making directly for the
, steepest part Of the bluff. Thus warned,
| the lads bounded up the little island,
| graspiHg the underbrUSh as they climbed.
| Hard behind them came Arty, pale, his
/ features drawn and rigid, and bearing
! in his arms a little girl. Mont brought
up the rear with Il stout boy on his
! shoulder. and breathless with excitement
| and the IabOrious run.
| Up the steep side they scrambled. fall
| ing a1d recovering themselves, but up
! at last Secure on bare rock, they saw
a heaving tide Of wild creatures pour
! tumultuously over the edge and fill the
/ valley. IT leaped from ledge TO ledge,
! tumbled and broke, rallied again and
/ swept on, black and silent save for the
rumbIing thunder of many hoOis and the
/ painting breath Of the innumerable mUl-
! titude. On it rolled over every obstacle.
| The wagon disappeared in a twinkling,
/ its white cover going down in the black
/ tide like a sinking ship at sea Past the
/ island-like bluff, where a little group
stood speli-bOUnd, the herd swept, the
! rushing tide separating at the rocky
! point, against which it beat and parted
/ To the right and left. Looking down,
they saw the stream flow by, on and zap
the valley. 1t was gone, and the green
! turf was brown where it had been. the
/ spring was chOked, and the wagon was
/ trampled In a fiat ruin.
Fascinated by the sight, Mont and
Arthur never took their eyes from IL
until il was over. Then returning TO
their young charges, they saw a tall,
gaUnt woman, with a horTor-stricken
face, gathering the whole group in her
arms. 1t was the mother.
" don't know who you be, young
men, but / thank you from the bottom
of my heart" she said. '' Yes. ] thank
you from the bottom Of my heart-aHd,
! oh. thank God toO"' And she burst
into tears.
! Arthur, at loss what else 10 say, re-
marked "Your wagon Is all smashed" q"
" l don't care-dOn't care" said the
woman, hysterical!y rocking herself TO
and fro where she sat with her children