The Anaconda standard., 1895-11-22
DUEL BY BIG STEERS
Exciting Fight That Came OF Down
in Oklahoma.
GRAPHIC STORY OF THE DAY
Two Vicious Beasts We're Pitted
Against Each Other for $4,000
Side by Their Owners. and
the Struggle Was Fierce.

Red Store. l. T.. correspondence of
the Buffalo Express: A homeless old
COW. bare OF brands. strayed into
the herd of Sap wiles. the cattleman.
three years ago. She was lean and
her hide was torn and bloody. The
herd was feeding on the Guiana ranges
then and Wiles told his cowboys to let
the COW feed with his cattle until she
saw fit to take her departure. She had
probably grazed away from her own
herd and got up in the gorges of the
Wichita mountains. where she starved
until she worked her way out and
down to Wiles' herd.
The old COW seemed quite at home.
She affiliated only with Bulls Eye. the
famous old herd-leader owned by
wiles When the herd was moved
down to the Chavorta ranges she went
with them. The cow-punchers named
her Bones.
Two years ago Bones gave birth to a
young son-a gauky. angular calf,
spotted black and white. He promptly
deserted his mother and got his nour-
ishment from other cows. IL in suck
hing. a calf becomes imbued with the
spirit of the nourisher. young Bones
condensed into his system the good
and bad points OF the majority of the
traits manifested themselves early.
With his bump of pugnacity he was
wont to knock down scores of young
calves and usurp their places at their
mothers teat. The size of the calf
mattered not. If young Bones was
hungry he fought for milk and got IL.
Old Bones chased about after her
SON, striving to compel him to partake
OF maternal nourishment. He refused.
t..~ II
ON his back as punishment, only to be
rewarded by smart kicks from young
Bones heels
Wfles decided that the temper of
young Bones was too violent to permit
him to live quietly with the other cat
tie, particularly old Bulls Eye. So he
turned him over TO his punchers, and
for six months young Bones lived
apart from his fellows. He grew into
Q big-boned. lean. homely steer, with
enormous horns and a dangerous dis
position. He would charge headlong
ON the cow-punchers when they APP
preached him and would drive all 9TH
er steers pell-mell before him. 1t was
commonly said among the cowboys
that the hardest steer to lasso of all
the cattle on the ranges was young
Bones. He would fight even when an
chored and thrown and bound. He
a
a buffalo.
No sooner had young Bones become
famous for his badness than Wiles,
who is somewhat like the steer in this
respect decided that Bones was too
valuable to part with at any price.
When the roundup came and the steers
for the market were separated from
the herd. Wiles held Bones out The
cattlemen were SURPRISED at this.
H.. -I..F -.
He'll pay me $25 a pound before he
dies" said WileS
Wfles took extraordinary precau-
tions. from western viewpoint, to
keep Bones safe through the winter.
He had a shed built specially for him
and laid aside a stock of forage to In
sure his not being hungry. Last sum-
mer Bones blossomed out as the star
steer of the Oklahoma country. His
reputation did not rest on his personal
beauty, for he was homely and lean.
despite his exceptional luxurles, but on
his willingness to fight anything at
any time. His reputation Travelled
south TO Texas, where giant steers
abound. He was talked of among cat
tlemen throughout the entire South
west. Many hot disputes grew out of
those discussions. Other cattlemen
boasted that Bones was a fake and
could gore Bones to death with ease
The result OF all this talk was that
Wiies announced that he would wager
$4,000 that Bones could best any steer
In the country. bar none-the money
TO be put up when the steers were
Failure on the part of either
party to produce his steer at the time
and place appointed for the fight
should mark forfeiture OF the amount
a Nt.l~
mouths OF the great majority of the
oattlemen They knew wiles TO be a
keen. shrewd ranchman. who lost mon
ey only when the Almighty showed in
one or his herds and starved and fr,oze
It TO death. They realized that he
knew what he was doing, or he would
never have offered to back Bones s., 900
worth.
Away down In Southwestern oklaho-
ma. however. lives a ranchman named
Willis. He Is known wherever cattle
feed as Windy Willis. He Is one of
the richest OF the cattlemen OF the In
dian country. and. like Wiles. believes
that shrewdness discounts scrupulous-
ness 10 to i with three days grace al
lowed. He owns many thousand cat
tie. his horns equaling those OF wiles
IN number. When Willis heard OF the
oner Wiles made he ran over his herds
- PohSAiClc plCktQ OUT eight OF
the fercest steers of his thousands OF
cattle. They drove these steers 10 VIII
lis ranch Wills looked them over.
but hesttated to select an antagonist
Tor Bones. He decided to hold a car
ntval OF steer fights. The steers
should be pitted against each other In
turn The surviving steer who showed
the greatest ability as a fighter should
have the honor OF representing $1,000
OF Willis money In a fight with Bones.
Frequently IL Is a hard matter TO
induce steers to fight each other. They
must be harassed and exasperaxed un-
I'll their patience gives way and in
their desperation they will turn on
man or beast or each other Willis
decided to use an old corral he owned
as the stee--rfng. For six days ne kept
his steers each locked up by himself.
Daily his cow-puncherv would twist
their tails. prod their ribs and raise
big puffs ON their hide with the snap
pers OF wet ox-goads. Under this
treatment the steers first covered in
fear PAIN eventually quelled their
fear and they became fierce and dan
gsrous.
r1rfIft~ ts-.--..- IL.