Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-10-04
A Thrilling Episode of the Branding
 GaaEon
Las Vegas Stock Grower,

Las Vegas Stock Grower.
 The settlements of the branding period are usually confined to the struggles and antics of the calf under its first rOping and the nervous activity of few broncho and timid heifers, with an occasional motherly old COW that is concer ed about her progeny when passing tie ordeal of the branding iron.
 While vicious and dangerous acts of cattle do not often materialize, such was not the outcome at an annual branding down Tn the Central mountains district. Courage IS peculiar quantity at times, and stlll 1t IS not necessarily less courage in reputable human if in some uneX- pected moment he should be overwhelmed with a shock of sudden danger, whether Tn the COW pen or on the battle field.
 As brave and skillful pair of cowboys asever rode range will be known as Tony Winters and Johnny Lumpkin, the heroes of a recent thrilling experience.
 An ordinarily mild hammered helfer brute IS the primary factor in this story. With her calf, she, among other COWS and calves, had been driven considerable distance, So long as the drive kept the trail to her usual watering place she evinced neither concern or disposition to drop out the bunch, and moved along orderly. When it came to leaving the first trail leading to water and head for the corral further on, there was at once general wobbling and disposition to drop out and scatter A few old COWS made philosophical by discipline recog- nized what was expected of them and pro ceeded well enough, while many of the young COWS, not well educated to the drive or perverse from example, persisted in their efforts to break out, requiring the combined skill and horsemanship of the three men having the drive in hand to keep the bunch together and in motion.
 Especially was this the case respecting the orderly and mild hammered heifer | first mentioned. She would as often as turned back alternately switch off to the
 right and left, head for the nearest chap
 paral and brush, then run into some
 abrupt gulch or scamper up the steep
 and rocky hillsides, sweeping around
 heet-footed as an antelope to the back
 trail, until both horse and rider became | weary and patience tried with her stolid perverseness. She was finally corralled
 with the rest of the 41erd In the pen
 she became living illustration of fear
 and viciousness, evinced in wild eyes, eX-
 
 less searching for a loophole of escape and desperate snorting and paving the
 ground when the mounted men entered
 the enclosure.
 , Not much thought was given to this ex } hibition, only little more intense thaI that many another bovine had shown of l ten before without serious finale, anC branding was proceeded with as usual one man roping from his horse and drag ging into the side corral or annex, ,anothe 5 casting and tying, while third branded ear marked and castrated.
 !, Winters, to whom had been assignee
 the work of branding, had occasion to ste i into the main corral at the moment tn 7 lasso had been thrown, and which latte - naturally had caused a commotion anon! t the cattle. As it happened, they heade t with a rush toward him; he gave but lii y tie attention, taking 1t for granted tha l. they would pass him to one side, as ord T narily they would have done Not s' y however, with our mild hammered an Il orderly bessie, which by this time, III e der the turmoil incident to roping, ha become more more frantic and furior o than ever. Seeing the man on foot frol T. little distance she bounded for him lik l. a bull in a ring fight, with glowing eyt 'i and frothing mouth, and towering hea )f and flashing tail. Tony had only disco 9s cred the vicious intent of the mad anim It when nearly upon him, and for the nont
 he became completely paralyzed with su Y prise. To use his own words; II felt n
 strength giving way, the iron in my har
 fell to the ground, my heart seemed
 stop beating, my blood chilled and IT
 hair seemed raising on end. With u
 enraged beast nearly within touching di at tance l had become a living statue, wit n- out power to,move or speak, and posse5st a with the horror that l was hopelessly in the presence of death. This, all in ,d finitely less time than it takes to relate in ended in a powerful jerking sensatio re and I tumbled upon the ground sens Id less"
 IT, When after ~ 1e consciousness hi
 been restored hesLs cna himself lying x- a corner of the corral, with his conrad v- about him. He then learned that Lum ell kin, fortunately with rope ready in han ed had been quick to notice both the pc es that beset him and his helpless conditio et and had at once and direct as shot thre re the Iasso, eau ght him, and, like fla n brought him out of the hne of danger a in to the ground. The crazy brute in | nv momentum dashed past her wanted V si- tim, was thwarted in her thirst for gori ar and blood, and being thus diverted s nd passed on without damage to anyone. he Thus it was that Tony Winters was Ter a scratch saved from most vicious atta ITS by an infuriated COW brute, and from t Lp- rible wounds or from death, one or bt it of which would have resulted had it l
 been for the skillful and timely work D. Johnny Lumpkip. Tony says his COT ed dence in COW brute nature has tumbl gre several degrees. Of this he feels certa m- but not so as to how he shall meet t ith laugh of the boys, certain to be turn ed upon him on account of his petrifed cC en dition under attack of that two-year-( Ire heifer, and he kindly and thoughtfu re- soliloquized, T hope none of them V ow ever be so unfortunate as to learn how ch was for themselves from similar exp
 fence" STALE