Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-01-25
A BUFFALO FIGHT.
4 BULL FIGHT NOTHING IN COM
PARIS0N.

THE PATRIARCH OF THE HERD
AND A YOUNGER RIVAL ENGAGE
IN A DESPERATE CONFLICT
DRIVEN FROM THE HERD.
In that part OF this State known
as the "Staked Plain" are at pres
ent wandering a few homeless bison
probably the last of their race on
the continent, says a Texas cor
respondent. Less than six years
ago was in this country and the
plains we're black with these AMI
mails. Now they are all gone and
their bones are bleaching IN thou
sands of heaps in all directions on
the prairie. The buffalo looks very
ferocious, but unless cornered, he Is
about as brave as kitten. Their
fights among themselves, however,
are characterized by a dogged de-
termination and neither is whipped
until completely exhausted. was
the fortunate witness of one OF
these battles and it was sight l
shall always remember. l was
riding slowly up a knoll thinking
of anything but buffaloes, when l
heard the most awful believing
and crashing just ahead as II all
pandemonlum had suddenly turned
loose to scare me out OF my FIVE
senses. My pony "a jet black buf-
falo cayuse, bred and reared on the
plains,I reared and plunged until
he found out exactly what all the
racket was about. Discovering
the real cause afterward he qnieted
down Immediately and gave no
u
more trouble. Dismounting !
lariated the pony to a bunch OF
sagebrush and between creeping
and crawling managed to obtain a
good observatory from which /
could view the wonderful circus
then in progress.
TWO POWERFUL BUFFALO BULLS
were in the arena below going II
hammer and tOngs in furious efforts
to butt eace others brains out
They had the ground all to them
selves, the balance of the herd
forming circle around watching
but not interfering, and awaiting
the result of the fight to drive the
yanenished, which ever one II
might be, from the field in disgrace
Talk about your bull nghts II
Spain and Mexico, your thousanC
pound animals battling with llth'
matadors, no arena OF anclen
Spain or Rome or modern Mexico
ever held two such fierce combat
ants face to face, nor has the tut
of war or fight for The mastery eve
been as fercely contested as be
tween those two mOnarchs OF TIT
plans before my eyes. There ha'
been only one crash before | tool
nv reserved seat, but the concua
sion and crack of the blow mus
have been heard a mile. The ful
had only just begun. Alter th
frat whack the two champions s0r
OF backed away, eyed each othe
for a few seconds, then vigorousl.
paved the ground and
PREPARED FOR A SECOND CRASH
With heads lowered they klcke'
np an awful dust and came back a
. each other like pair of frelgh
trains coming like the wind fror
opposite directions on the sam
4 track. When the heads butte
this time it was with dull thum
p which led me seriously 10 bellev
that both craniums had alread
, been cracked on the first rounC
p There they stuck-the two head
p and then both bulls began
f shove and push with all the
might and main. This dogge'
stubborn pushing lasted some mil
utes, neither yielding an inch, nj
Ill the white froth, tlnged viii
crimson, began to drop IN lonl
tenacious string from their llI
and the red eyes to glare throuG
what appeared to be sockets
blood. This dead.set of strengl
could not last long. The tendoI
we're standing out like ropes aero
the thighs and along the tho
necks, and every moment was te
= ing upon the Shortening wind at
intense straining Of the antagonist
Although much of a size cou
see that one of the bulls was
=. old crusader, while the other was
~ youn gster, endeavoring to dri
. . the old man out of the herd. L
old fellows foot slipped tritie al
the intelligence Of the disasi
seemed to burst upon his antaG
MIST quicker than a fash OF llgl
4 ming.
. No gladiator ever urged his a
- vantage more quickly. There "
- a sudden relaxation on the part
~ the young one, then a rush ant
70 mingling of horns, followed by
~ raklng, upward stroke, and
~ horn of the younger bull had
" TORN THE FLANK
., of the old fellow from the leg alo
the neck to the chin. 1t was
10 fatal wound, but an exceeding
damaging one. Every time he '
no a.. ,,atriaroh of tho hl