Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-07-09
BARBER COUNTY INDEX.
WEDNESDAY. JULY 9, 1890.
THE CATTLE STAMPEDE.
"A Settling Mass Which Destroyed Ever
Thing In It's Path.

"A Settling Mass Which Destroyed Every
Thing In It's Path.
"Who's the visitor?" asked the master
curiously. "Looks like Frisco. That's
Tremaine's agent with 'er. Bowed If
can be bothered with 'er, though, and
Mrs. L. away. Here, Castro, stop your
rowing with Espinoza and help round
up these cattle. They're as obstinate
as mules to-day. Rope that girl over
there. She's been behavin' like fury
all mornin', and they'll be break fust
thing you know. Here! None O. that
-"
But before the words were out of his
mouth Castro had snatched his pistol
from his belt and discharged it at Espi-
noza. The shot missed its mark, but
struck steer just behind. With furi-
GUS below the animal reared and struck
q neighbor with its forefeet. In sec
ond terror and fury had run like an cleo
trio wave over the whole body of cattle.
my Godl" cried Lightfoot, there's
goin' to be trouble"
The cattle were seething and tramp
ling, stumbling against each other, and
rushing aimlessly from right TO left.
a brute desire to show these angry
beasts, with their ominous mutterings,
that he was master. With a hoarse
cry, which every one of them under
stood, he dashed along their front
vociferating at them like furious GEN
oral at cowardly army. For a second
the cattle shrank, then blind terror
possessed them once more. He was too
late. The smell of blood was in their
nostrils.
Suddenly their aimless trampling
ceased. One in the front rank had caught
sight of the brilliant pink and silver
object coming up the road. Then pur-
pose entered into his madness, and with
a furious below he made straight for
the open. Lightfoot and his men yelled
with horror. The former r~ised himself
in his stirrups and waved his hat fran
tically at the stupefed woman, pointing
toward his house. Castro was half way
across the field when the concerted
movement took place. AS he saw that
q stampede was inevitable he turned
with an oath and dashed down the road.
Hawkins had caught Mrs. Tremaine by
the hand and was running across the
open In the poor hope OF getting beyond
the cattle's flank before they should
have time to turn. Adelaide gave one
terrified glance over her shoulder,
shut her eyes and stumbled after Haw-
kins But still she saw those tossing
horns like gaunt skeleton fingers, those
flaming eyes and frothing mouths.
Castro, yelling frantically, neared them.
His horse SHE'D violently at a large
pink object on the ground, reared at
the vicious pull on his cruel bit,
stumbled and went down with the
cursing Mexican in cloud of dust. The
harsh, Mortified shouts of Lightfoot and
his men, the hOarse protest of one
doomed man, the gurgling curses of an
other as he tore the ground with teeth
aud nails, the shrill, hopeless scream of
. woman, and the cattle, close in their
ranks as an army which was to decide
the fate of nation, swept over the
shaking miles.
And where a moment before had been
two strong men and one fair woman, was
a pulpy mass Of flesh and cloth trampled
down into the ever waiting, all receiv-
ing earth.-Gertrude Franklin Ather-
ton, in Los Cerritos.