The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1892-03-04
A Gi'fTtE FUNERAL.
ROW THE WILD HERDS OF TIE
FRAfRIES- MOURN a DEATH.

s7tbNfh10F HfO0ht> - aD61
A Leader Spiffs a Deeaying Carcass from
Afar.and Bolts for the Grave. Followed
by the Relieving H Herd-Creatures Come
from All Directions.
a cattle funeral may seem an odd
thing to write about, but it is. ten times
more sad to witness. If the observer
happens to be on foot in the vicinity of
the scene of the ceremony, however. he
is apt to find it anything but odd, unless
there be tree or some other place Of
refuge convenient, or the curious onlook
er be unusually feet of foot.
But doubtless the average reader does
not know what cattle funeral is like,
and perhaps is not inclined to give credit
to the possible existence of such thing
If he has never lived in locality where
cattle of a more or less untamed DISPOSE
ton are wont to range. he will certainly
never have had an ntopportnnitys to- learn
by observation any of the peculiar and
notable facts connected with this re-
niarkable phenomenon of the range.
A cattle funeraL then. is'nothing more
or less than exactly whatthe words seem
to Indicate ceremony of morning over
mate. in which every individual member
of the band that is within long range ear
or nose shot is bound to participate In
detail this ceremony consists of sort of
walk, around. accompanied with the
most doleful. ear, piercinga and heart
rending means. shrieks and Ibellowings
and-varied by ponderous pawings in the
ground and the most singularly dexter
tor 1r,cf
the backs of the four footed morners.
To observe or participate in cattle
funeral let the curious minded go out
upon the range. select some spot which
is open and affords no obstruction to the
view. and from which no 'critter" is in
sight
Having selected such spot. let one of
the ..critters" be brought quietly and Sc
cretly from distance. and without un-
due ostentation. as becomes poachers
upon another mans range, let him he
done to death. Let the offal be secreted
where even the coyotes cannot find it.
and let the hide and flesh be carried
carefully away. Then let earth be
thrown on the blood stains to hide all
traces of disturbance, and let this all be
done SO we'll that even the human eye
can detect nothing that would reveal
what had been done
THE LEADER sNIFFS THE WIND
Then let the twenty-four hours. or
even less, pass. unless indeed there be
cattle within n mile or less at the time
of the slaughter But for the purpose
of illustration suppose that twenty-fonr
hours have elapsed.
Then suppose lot of one or two hun-
dred head of cattle come drifting down
over the range TO the leewar1 of the
spot where the slaughter OF the day
previous. occurred The leader of the
herd may be two on three miles, perhaps
farther, from the scene Of blood. Sud
denly he commences to show signs Of
uneasiness. Though the grass be deep
and luxuriant he only feeds few mo-
meuts continuously, lifting his head and
tossing his horns as If an enemy was
near.
Suddenly there is a strong puff of
wind, and as the nostrils of the leader
inhale the air a transformation occurs
Ikea flash OF lightning He ha1ts,
throws his muZzle into the air and then
emits a most unearthly. prolonged,
weird. moaning shrek or below. 1t is
like none of the various noises made
upon other occasions. but has a tone
that Is all its own and which is evidently
well understood by the entire herd. 1--
-. With another shrek, which can be
heard for a mile and even further, the
leader breaks into rum with his tail in
the air and with his head shaking an
grily from side to side, followed by all
the members of the herd, each adding to
the volume of sound that now fills the
| air. As other animals feeding quietly
at a distance hear the peculiar sounds
they, too, prick up their ears, then with
answering shrieks they gallop wildly
toward the excited band and JON it in
pursuit of the leader.
a TERRIFIC SCENE.
| That animal quickly arrives at the
telltale spot. He snuffs at the ground,
meanwhile lashing his sides with his tail
and believing continually in "A manner
that suggests the height Of rage. His
eyes flash wildly, the froth- drops from
his jaws and hecks his neck and body
He paws the ground angrily with his
hoofs, and by dexterous twisting man.
ages to cast great masses of the earth
into the air and upon his back.
The others come racing up and crowd
closely about the spot where their mate
| was slain. An inner circle is formed by
the excited animals, with their heads all
| pointing to "a common center, and these
below and paw the ground and race
around and around until exhausted
Meanwhile the others are circling rapid
| ly about the central cluster and finally
displace the earlier arrivals, whereupon
they too go through the same perform
| ance.
The scene is terrific one. Horns are
clashed against horns, the believing of
/ the angry -animals is deafening, the air
4 is filed with. dust, the beasts seem actu-