Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1892-02-11
A CATTLE FUNERAL.
HOW THE WILD HERDS OF THE
PRA.RIES MOURN A DEATH.

by the Believing Herd-Creatures Come
from All Directions
A cattle funeral may seem an odd
hing to write about, but it is ten times
more sad to witness. If the observer
happens to be on foot in the vicinity of
she s>eza cs 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 a locality where
cattle of more or less untamed disposi-
ton are wont to range, he will certainly
never have had an opportunity to learn
by observation any of the peculiar and
notable facts connected with this re-
markable phenomenon of the range.
A cattle funeral, then, is nothing more
or less than exactly what the words seem
to Indicate ceremony of morning over
the untimely fate of a departed herd
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 piercing and heart
rending moans, shrieks and bellowings
and varied by ponderous pawings in the
ground and the most singularly dexter
ous tiingings of the resultant dust upon
the backs of the four footed morners.
To observe or participate in cattle
| funeral let the curious minded 90 out
upon ths'fange, select some spot which
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 a distance, and without un-
due ostentation, as becomes poachers
upon another mans range, let him be
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
I, traces of disturbance, and let this all be
/ done so well 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 mile or less at the time
of the slaughter. But for the purpose
of illustration suppose that twenty-four
hours have elapsed.
Then suppose lot of one or two hun
dred head of cattle come drifting down
over the range to the leeward of the
spot where the slaughter of the day
previous occurred. The leader of the
herd may he two or three miles, perhaps
farther. from the scene of blood. Sud
denly he commences to show signs of
uneasiness. Though the grass be deep
and luxurlant he only feeds few mo
ments continuously, lifting his head and
tossing his horns as if an enemy was
near.
Suddenly there is strong puff of
wind. and as the nostrils of the leader
inhaIe the air a Transformation occurs
like flash of lightning. He halts,
throws his mhzzle into the air and then
emits a most unearthly. prolonged.
weird, moaning shrek OF below. 1t is
like none or 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.
With another shrek, which can be
heard for mile and even further, the
leader breaks into a run, 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 distance hear the peculiar sounds
they, too, prick up their ears, then with
answering shrieks they gallop wildly
toward the excited band and JOIN 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 flecks his neck and body.
He paws the ground angrily with his
hoofs, and by dexterous twisting map
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
is filled with dust, the beasts seem actu-
ated each by some particular malevo
lent spirit, and their actions appear
prompted almost by human understand
ing.
Occasionally the scene of bloodshed
will be discovered by some wandering
rcritter" who has that portion of tbs
range to himself temporarily. There
may be no other cattle within two ol
three miles. yet the lone mourner will
commence the procedure already de
scribed. and within quarter or half al
hour he will have been Joined by others
, while inside of an hour there will be {
dense mass of excited cattle on the spot
and from the range in every direction
others will be seen hurrying to thu
scene.
Altogether cattle funeral is one o.
the oldest and most interesting sight
that can be witnessed-by man up I
; tree.-San Francisco Chronicle.
Why He Was Rejected.
The soul of rajah, who had been re
! leased from the cares of this world ant
f an uncongenial wife, presented himsel
7 at the gates of Paradise. Have yol
haau in pr1roafnrv vato'' demanded Rr-ah