The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-11-08
In A TIGHT PLACE.
Ten Minutes of Terror Under SIAM
peded Cattle.
The Providential Escape of Four Men
from icing Trampled TO Death
by Madly Rushing
Herd.

Yes, we have an adventure now and
then out in our country" said Judge
Thompson, of Wyoming. If you'll
come out and see us I'll refer you to
1--WE or six men whose hairbreadth es-
capes would fill book. AS for me, |
haven't had but one close call worth
relating"
That's the very one I'm after" said
the Detroit Free Press interviewer.
well, it didn't amount to much as
an adventure, I'm afraid, though I'm
free to say was never more frightened
for ten minutes. Between what is
called the Granite ridges and Bad Wa
ter creek, in central Wyoming, is a fine
cattle range. | was out with small
party last summer prospecting for GER
tain minerals, and had to cross this val
ley at about the center. There were
four of us on horseback, with our outfit
packed on the three lead mules, and at
about two o'clock in the afternoon we
sighted something to make the hair
lift our hats right off our heads"
Indians or grizzly bears?" queried
the scribe
"PiSh! The Indians were all right
and grizzly bears don't wander down
into the valleys by daylight. What we
sighted was herd of about four thou
sand cattle com ing our way, and
they were coming as if every critter was
carrying one hundred pounds of steam.
Two or three herds got mixed, and in
trying to separate them the boys had
started general stampede. In the
old days the butfaloes used to be some
on the mad rush, but let me tell you
that the wild cattle of the west can run
q third faster, and when they once get
started they will charge flaming
mountain. The front of the herd
wasn't over mile away when we
sighted it, and it was no use to run be-
fore it, turn back, or ride ahead. Our
horses were scrub stock and had no
speed"
And there was no convenient grove
or rock to shelter you?"
"Not tree nor rock for five miles
around, but just where we pulled up
was natural ditch about fifty feet long
cut out by the rains. 1t wasn't over
two feet wide by twenty inches deep,
but it was our only hope. We slipped
off our horses, gave them a slap, and
piled into that ditch face down."
and the herd passed over you?"
Exactly. | hadn't drawn three
long breaths when the front of the
herd was at hand. Let me just tell
you that was never so scared in all
my born days. Every critter was
believing, horns clashing, hoofs dig
ging up the soil, and as each one
jumped the ditch he caved the dirt in
on me, felt fifty different hoofs
scuff my back, and every instant ex-
pected to be stepped on. 1t took the
herd only about ten minutes to pass,
but the time seemed hours long to me.
When the last one had come and gone
| was regularly covered in and had to
be dug out. Two of the party were
stepped on and badly hurt"
And your horses and mules?"
picked up on the horns of the cattle
and tossed about and stepped on till they
were reduced to pulp. Just cleaned us
out as slick as whistle. If we'd been
in our saddles nobody wonld have
recognized us as having once been hui
man beings"
Seemed like the hand of providence,
didn't it?"
"0f course. That's what we look for
and depend upon out in our country.
Come out some time and see how the
old thing works when we are going to
have an avalanche three miles long by
a few thousand feet wide"