The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1889-10-12

canyon. I reached the edge ABOUT a
thousand yards ahead, and, dismount-
ing, ! started my horse back to take
his chance, and lung myself over the
side. There wasn't much time to
think, but i thought the best place
would DE at.the edge. So I crept ae
close to it8as possible, and at the
steepest place, and waited.
What were my sensations? Well,
l can hardly tel. I was pretty Ger.
tain that my day had come, and I re-
member trying to brace up, and !
thought of my old mother; but I didn't
have much time. On they came, and
then | was buried with earth, and the
next second saw buffaloes go shoot
ing over the edge. They went as il
they had been shot out of a gun, clear.
ing the edge and striking many feet
below. Hundreds of them, it seemed,
and, for all know, thousands, went
over before they stopped. You see,
the tremendous pressure behind
pushed those in front on, so that they
could not help them selves, and it was
some time before the front ranks
could stop the rush, and not before
many had gone over. 1 had been
saved by the hardness of the soil
above me. A part of it had given way
and covered me up, but a shelf of clay
held, and to it I owe my life. ]
dragged myself up the slope, more
dead than alive, and about the first
thing saw was my companion riding
up, while the buffaloes were cloud OF
dust in the south. 1t seems that he
had, thinking to get the start of me,
gone around and begun to fire into the
herd from behind, and had thus Gre
ated the stampede. He didn't know
any better, so couldn't say much.
1.-The bottom of the CANYON was
about full of dead and wounded buffa.
loes. never saw such sight before
and never want to again. Perhaps"
concluded the old hunter, '.you have
been under the fall at Niagara Well.
just imagine the water living buffaloes
and you can imagine my situation.
My horse never saw again. Whether
he went into the canyon or not l don't
know"
Many animals are subject to STAN
pede, but especially those that are &C.
customed to herd. When they are
large and powerful the most frightful
results may follow. It sometimes oc,
ours among elephants, when entire
plantations are wrecked and fences
and houses are ruined.
In the sea-lion rookeries of the
Alaska coast some curious stampedes
and exciting incidents are often seen.
At certain seasons of the year the
Aleuts have drive of ''seevitchie,"
as the lions are called. 1t is gener-
ally begun in September or October
The largest and strongest Aleuts are
selected for the purpose, who, with
provisions, repair to the vicinity OF
the rookery. At night, when the sea-
lions are lying in the sand above high.
water mark, they make their first at
tempt. Armed with sticks, guns and
clapping bones, they creep down to
the waters edge, and finally, with
much skill and maneuvering. place
themselves between the sea-lions and
the water, and, at a given signal, rush
with yells and screams at their VIC
Tins. The sea-lions awake. and hear
ing the terrible noise, dash away in a
stampede, each one rushing in the d.
rection in which he happened to he
sleeping. In this way half may 90
inland, while the rest head for the
men. In the latter case there is some
danger, but, as q rule, the Aleuts es-
cape injury. The sea-lions come hop
ping, laundering along, making mar
Vicious speed for such huge ere atures
and care nothing for the mon in their
blind rush.
Inc STAN pede Of the sea-lions ends
disasterously to the most of them.
They founder inland, and are then
followed and driven to tho houses of
the men by shouts and cries. There
stakes are placed in the ground about
them, forming rude corral. 10 the
posts streamers of cloth are attached,
and their futtering in the wind pre-
vents the foolish sea-lions from escap-
ing. Other catches are added until
finally two or three hundred sea-lions
are corralled, when the final march is
taken up. The sea-lions are liberated
and headed in the direction of the
Aleut village, ten or twelve miles
away, and driven there, the journey
taking from one to two weeks.
Among wild horses the stampede is
an exciting spectacle, the animals lit
orally running away in body. 1t is
the custom among Indians to create a
stamped among horses and cattle
whe1 they wish to appropriate some
of them, and, in the confusion that re-
suits, not few are driven off and Sc
cured.
1t was once my good fortune to
witness stampede of cells. A certain
pond on the Maine coast was fed by
brook, but at high water the ocean
flowed in, so that it might be said to
be salt at high tide, and fresh or
brackish at low tide. The conditions
seemed to be particularly favorable
for the propagation of GELS, and the
muddy bottom was fairly alive with
them, many of them of large size. AS
the tide cbbed, many eels went into
salt water.
One evening had occasion to cross
the creek with a friend just at night
fall. The little brook had dwindled
down to a mere stream, a foot or so