Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-30

| face was standing at the counter of the
Pickwick yesterday, speaking of the condi-
ton Of the country in portions OF the Indian
Territory. The gentleman was Col Win
field Scott, a large stock-owner in the dis
trict named. Il have spent many years in
the country" he said, land have never
witnessed such prairie fires as 1 have seen
this season. Since August 1st we have not
had shower of rain, and walking on a
plain is like walking on field Of lime upon
which the rays of an unusually hot sun are
falling. For several weeks the plain was
one sheet of fire. It was as impossible to dis
cover anything else as far as the eye could
reach as it is to discover relief to the gaze
in the trackless ocean. The quantity OF
property damaged has been terribly heavy.
Barns, crops, fences, houses, all have been
swept away by the flames, and some of the
people are in bad condition, owing to the
heavy losses which they have experienced.
We have been accustomed to fires for long
time, but do not remember one like that
which l have seen this year,
Yes he continued, 1.-The sight of such 4
fire is interesting from the merely spectac-
ular point of view. You have seen the
blaze of light which generally accompanies
the presentation of q scene of the destruc-
ton of Rome. That scene is moth
ing to prairie fire in its
d
above You the deep blue sky, for it is
deep blue, especially at night; in the portion
of the Indian Territory of which | am
speaking. All around is one mass of red
fame, now almost touching the ground, as
1t tears its way along as fiercely as the
waves of the sea; now rising, as if its fury
had increased, as some new object is caught
in its destructive march. So it keeps rising
and falling all along the line, and the whole
plain is as brilliant as if it were lighted by
electricity. 1t is curious to notice the in
stinct displayed by the cattle and horses,
sharpened as it. is by long experience of
similar outbreaks. They get together III
herds and seek out places of shelter with as
much care as would man Shelter is gen
orally to be found in the bottoms or at the
other side of some creek, and thither they
flock, with the result that very little stock
is ever destroyed. The intelligence of these
prairie horses, especially, is remarkable.
In certain countries they are frequently at
tackled by wolves, and when there is no
chance of flight they form circle, with
their hind feet to the enemy. They Keep
their position when assailed, and kick away
till they win or fail in the attempt"
Much has of late been said in the news
paper about lump-jaw in stock in various
states, and few evenings ago a large
cattle owner and shipper was discussing
lulS SuUJeCt Will Il group OI lflenuS WlInln
the hearing of The Bummer. YES" he
said, when the subject was touched, there
is good deal of lump-iaw beef put on the
market A great deal of it comes from
Arizona The ranchmen do not sell the
article at all, always Strengthening any cat
tie suffering in this way. Personally, /
think the lump-jaw meat is unhealthy, and
at the same time l know there is a good
deal of it shipped to all cities. The lump
comes from bruise of some kind, and the
bruise is produced in various ways. 1t is
the result of the handling by the cowboys.
Indeed it is not only bruises from which the
animals on the plains suffer They also
suffer from loss of horns. l have seen a
pair of horns fly from COW a distance of
fifty yards. 1t is easy to knock the horns
off. They will fly if you throw an animal
down in peculiar way, and that way is
the ore in which the cowboys always do it
OF course, it is necessary to throw the cat
tie down, when the branding has to be
done. Then at times one runs away and
has to be lassoed, and in this way is thrown
sometimes with results that spoil the APP
pearance of an animal, if it does not
permanently injure it. 1t is easy enough
too to get rid of the lump, so easy that it
can be done by any man who can handle a
file. | have seen farmer cut away the
diseased portion of the bone, and from that
moment the disease disappeared. 1t
Is Interesting, ny The way, 10 WaLcn
the trained men deal with these great nerds
of cattle which You notice on the plains,''
he continued. perhaps there is no animal
so timid as the COW. You will see numbers
of them huddle themselves together by
tree or some other object whenever there is
thunder and lightning. If left to themselves
at night, too. they will take fright at the
least sound, if it were but the flying of a
sparrow, that is, when they are not asleep.
What the cowboys have to do, then, every
night is to collect them together and drive
them into their pens. Then three of them,
perhaps, will ride around the ring, each fol-
lowing the other, and all singing. They
must sing or keep up some kind Of noise, or
otherwise the whole herd would go on n
stampede, and perhaps it would take ride
of thirty miles to get them back. But while.
the singing goes on you will see first one
and then the other lie down to sleep, all
coming as close together as it is possible.
The riders keep on till the last has followed
the example of the others and then the
cowboys are done with their days labor
When a stampede does take place the onlyss
remedy is for a rider to go ahead of the
cattle. There would be no use in attempt
ing to check it otherwise. Gradually, by
turning this way and that, he gets the herd
to make circle, and when that is done the
cattle will stand and can be led anywhere
an effect on The cattle as the speeches of
certain politicians have upon an audience
Cameron coal,
Robinson coa -