Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1888-06-02

showing In the sky, but when the sun
went down the sky was perfectly clea,
and all signs pointed to quiet night.
1t was just midnight when the sharp
est flash of lightning ever saw. followed
by such crash of thunder as made the
earth groan, tumbled every sleeper In
camp out of his blankets. I say the
sharpest flash I ever saw, for was awake
in time to see most of it. It was 80
fierce that it seemed to burn our eyelids.
I was hardly on my feet before there
came another fash, followed by another
roar. I knew it was going to rain great
guns, and I jumped into trousers and
boots, and grabbed up the rest of my
clothes and made for q wagon only few
feet away. The two wagons were close
to each other, but the forward ends
pulled away from each other so that the
vehicles formed V. While the space
between the off hind wheel of one and
the nigh hind wheel of the other was not
over foot, the space between the
tongues was six or eight feet. The sky
was black as l rushed out of the tent,
and all the camp fires had burned low.
I flung my clothes into one of the wag-
ons, and then hurried back and got my
weapons and some other articles, and
during this time the heavens seemed
afame and the earth fairly rocked.
Men were shouting, horses neighing,
and the din was awful, but as l reached
the wagon the second time there came q
sound to drown all others. It was q
steady roar like the rush of great waves,
and it grew louder all the time. could
not understand it for two or three min
utes. The noise came from the west,
and l stood upon the wagon so that I
could overlook the tents. A flash of
lightning was followed by a moment of
pitch darkness, and then came long,
tremulous fash, lasting three or four
seconds. By its light caught sight of
the herd of wild horses bearing down
upon us in mad mob, and just as the
lightning ceased they entered the
stream.
The splash of the waters had the
sound of breakers, and though shouted
warning at the top of my voice no one
could have heard me twenty feet away.
Next moment that terror stricken herd
was in camp, while the clouds opened
the rain came down in torrents. I
scrambled back into the wagon, and
what saw during the next ten minutes
can never be forgotten. The frightened
horses leaped over the tents, or ran
against them, fell over guy ropes, bump
ed against the wagons, and made clean
leaps over the ambulances, and all the
time each one kept up wild neighing.
1 heard our own animals plunging and
rearing and neighing, but knew that We
were helpless to prevent stampede.
As the first of the herd got through
our camp to the wagons, two of them
entered the V-shaped space and others
kept them crowded in there. The
was flashing and the thunder
roaring again, and the poor beasts we're
appalled, at the situation. There were
four or five lassoes and dozen spare
lariats in my wagon, and when I saw
that the entrapped horses were making
no move to get out l picked up noosed
rope, lifted the side cover of the wagon,
and had the moose over the head of one
in three seconds. The one behind him
tried to turn when I sought to moose
AAA1, Ouo AlO LID uOCio dSa1uoG oOAuCtA1uS
and twisted back toward me until my
hand touched his nose as I slipped tho
moose over. Then I made the other
ends fast, got out the lassoes, and, stand
ing on the front of the wagon, I noosed
three horses inside of five minutes. It
was no trick at ell, for they we're pressed
right up to the wagon by the weight of
those behind, and the awful war of the
elements tanned them.
The herd was ten minutes working
through the camp, and as they cleared
it they took away every horse and mule
chat we had. Every tent was FRUSTRATED,
much of our provisions and ammunition
destroyed, and one ambulance smashed
10 pieces. One man was killed and
three we're injured by the rush of horses.
an Offset q waggoner had lassoed two,
[ had five, and two more had hobbled
themselves with tent ropes. In the
course of day we got all our animals
back but one old mule, and managed to
repair damages. Our captives were the