The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-02-05
A CATTLE FUNERAL.
The avid Critters" of tho Plains Mourn
Their Dead with vioiencs.

luHeTal, let the curiOuS-iuluucu 10 Out
upon the range, select some spot which
is open and affords no obstruction to
the view, and from which not crit
ter" is in sight.
Having selected such a spot, let one
of the aforementioned CRITTERS" be
brought quietly and secretly from a
distance and without undue ostentation,
as becomes poachers upon another
mans range, let him be done to death.
Let the offal be secreted where even
the coyotes can not find it, and let the
hide and flesh be carried carefully
away. Then let the earth be thrown
on the blood stains to hide all traces of
disturbance and let all this be done so
well that even the human eye can de-
tect nothing that would reveal what
had been done.
Then let twenty -four hours, or even
less, pass, unless, indeed, there be cat
tie within mile or less at the time of
the slaughter But for purposes of il
lustration suppose that twenty-four
hours have elapsed.
Then suppose bunch of 100 or 200
head Of cattle come drifting down over
the range to leeward OF the spot where
the slaughter OF the day previous oc-
CURED. The leader of the bunch may
be two or three miles. perhaps farther,
from the scene of blood. Suddenly he
commences to show signs of uneasiness.
Though the grass be deep and luxuriant,
he only feeds u few moments continu-
ously, lifting his head and tossing his
horns as If his enemy was near. Sud-
denly there is strong puff of wind,
and as the notrils of the leader inhale
the air a transformation occurs like a
flash of lighting. He halts. 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 tone that is
all its own and which is evidently well
understood by the entire herd.
With another shrek. which can be
heard for mile and even farther, the
leader breaks into run. with his tail
in the air and with his head shaking
angrily from side to side. followed by
all the members of the herd, each add
ing to the volume of sound that now
fills the air. As other animals feeding
quietly at distance hear the peculiar
sounds they, too, pick up their ears, then
with answering shreks they gallop
wildly toward the excited band and
join it in pursuit of the leader
The animal quickly arrives at the
tell-tale spot He snuffs at the ground.
meanwhile flashing his sides with his
tail, and believing continually in
manner that suggests the height of
rage. His eyes flash wildly, the froth
drops from his jaws and fleclxs his neck
and body. He paws the ground angrily
with his hoofs, and by dexterous twitch
ing manages 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 was 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 ex-
cling rapidly about the central cluster,
and finally displace the earlier arrivals.
whereupon they, too, go through the
same performance.
The scene is terrible one. Horns are
FLASHED against horns, the believing of
the angry animals is deafening the air
Is filled with dust, the beasts seem ac-
tuated each by some particularly ma
levolent spirit, and their actions appear
prompted almost by human understand
ing.
Woe to the unfortunate curiosity
seeker who chances to be abroad on
foot upon such an occasion. If he have
any cattle sense" at all he will put as
wide space as possible between himself
and the mourners, or il he be DESTROYS
of studying the spectacle he will climb
the nearest tree or seek some other
point of vantage inaccessible to tho
maddened beasts
If, on the other hand, he should be so
lacking in common sense as to be I'M
able to recognize the apparent signs Of
danger and should approach too closely
to the angry herd, his awakening to the
oeril will be sharp and sudden. Some
angry beast will catch glimpse OF him
and, recognizing in him the RESPONSE
bility for the shedding of blood. will
lower his head and. with snort of de-
fance, make a wild charge for the OBJ
ject of bovine wrath. II that object
escapes with his life he will, indeed. be
fortunate. Even horseman has been
known to have had anything but a
pleasant half hour from an encounter
with a funeral party Of this character.
The news of the death of comrade
seems to spread with the rapidity of the
telegraph, and fresh relays of mourners
constantly arrive. keeping up the
strange spectacle for hours at a time,
nor ceasing until the shades of night
descend.
Occasionally the scene of bloodshed
will be discovered by some wandering
''crtter" who has that portion of the
range to himself temporarily. There
may be no other cattle within two or
three miles, yet the lone mourner will
commence the procedure already de-
scribed, and within quarter or half an
hour will have been joined by others.
while inside of an hour there will be a
dense mass OF excited cattle on the