Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-08-30
A NARROW ESCAPE.
Besieged By Herd of Half Wild
Texas Cattle.
The Danger OF Hunting on Foot on the
Western Plains-A Race for Life
trave Cowboys Hurry
to the Rescue.

Frave Cowboys Hurry
to the Rescue.
Ono morning in August, after we
had been at the Sierra La Sal about
live weeks, set off to shoot cotton
tails" | took a double-barreled shot
gun, and proceeded on horseback as far
as the corrals and log cabins of a squad
OF cattlemen three miles below our
camp. Four cowboys and herd boss
named Little were here patroling the
upper line of an extensive range on
which were grazing fifteen or twenty
thousand head of the half-wild Texas
cattle of these Western ranches.
As 1t was already past "sun-up" l
was not surprised to find no one at the
corrals; the boys were all out on the
range. Dismounting and tying my
pony inside the horse pen, / first ar
ranged my cartridges and other equip
ments for rapid loading, and then
started forth on foot over the rough
ground beyond the corrals.
Furrowed in zigzag course across
the plain was dry, shallow arroyo, at
this time of year well stocked with the
small game was after, and in the
course Of an hour or so had as many
birds as | could comfortably carry.
And then, after short rest, climbed
out OF the plain and took a short cut
for the corrals. My course led me
along the upper edge of the cattle, who
were grazing in scattered "bunches "
all over the lower end of the valley.
! had gone perhaps half mile
when ] became aware of a strange
connection among the feeding thou
sands. For it CHANGED that had now
come upon a little swell of land, some
what higher than the surrounding
plain, and had stopped for momen
to watch the pastoral scene. Present
ly noticed that the cattle were nc
longer grazing quietly in groups, bu
seemed, as by a common impulse, to be
moving up the valley. | could see
bunch after bunch lift their heads
and, after watching for short tim,
the movements of those in front, join
in the slow procession.
My first thought was that the COW
boys, for some reason or other, wer,
driving them toward the corral; bu
then reflected that If such were the
IN no h.
first to start, instead of, as was tn
case, following the lead of those il
front Besides, instead of stopping t,
snatch an occasional mouthful of grass
Us they would do if they were bein,
driven, they came on with heads in tn
air, as though attracted by some curl
Gus sight.
1t was not long before the who'll
drove was in motion, and, as watched
noticed that the drift was not in par
allel, but in convergent lines, as thougl
they were attracted to common cen
ter, and in another instant it hashe
over me that that center was-myseli
A very strange sensation stole owe
me at this discovery, and l now re
membered Little's saying once tina
while these Texas cattle do not mind
man on horseback, it would be dar
gerous thing to go amongst them o
foot--the sight of a dismounted ma
being almost unknown to them, sine
tho cowboys invariably ride.
As l looked at the slow-moving thor
sands, could well imagine that eve
Of curiosity was the only motive in
polling them, yet the momentum {
those in the rear might so press tn
forward ranks that man would hav
little chance to escape being trodden I
death by the pushing throng.
But there was strong reason to sus
pect that less innocent motives tina
mere curiosity might actuate then
for knew the untamed, violent nat III
of this half-wild stock, and that the
were not to be trifled with.
As yet the distant red-brown throns
were only slowly drifting down upo
me, but thought that detected sym
toms of uneasiness in those in from
and at once concluded that l had be
ter, in the plains vernacular, "hust
myself, and hunt my hole"
The distance to the corrals was tv
miles or more. | knew that / cou
not reach that point, and at once d
cidcd to seek safety in the arroy
which lay behind me-about half
milo. as | have already said. II
thought struck me. too. that to run,
even to turn my back upon them, mig
incite and. draw this curious, livir
avalanche headlong upon me. l ther
fore stepped backward as quickly as
/ could, still facing the oncoming null
tude.
/ The leaders of the advancing he
/ we're no more than two or three hu
/ drSl yards in front of me, and l h
! retreased some fifty yards. steppil