The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1895-09-11


The Little Rams Ring Tactics.
A preacher told this atory nt wcd
ding supper ON the South Side tho other
evening:
81 was riding along u country road
near bloomington, he said, "whon
noticed a group of sheep in pasture
There was largo open space in the
midst Of the flock, and at either end Of
the space stood ram III the center,
but standing a little ut ono side, was n
third ram. The two rams had evidently
had falling out about something, or
else thoy had como 20 settle In friend.
" contest which was tho better ram
Ram No. 3 seemed to bo netting us
judge, umpirc--what do you call &c?
Referee? Yes, that's It, the third ram
was the referee I dcn't know under
what rules tho meeting took place. 1t
may have been Quccnsberry or Roscbcry
You sec | am not up TO these technical
matters.
When all the prcliminarics had bccn
arranged and both contestants had been
NNNNlbIlfl apparently Nlldi llltlt WI W
be no 'fouling'--I think ] have seen
that word in the newspapers occasional
ly, and therefore l suppose it is cor
rect word 60 use in this connection.
each backed off TO the farthest limits of
the circle, which, by the way, was not
q squared circle Tho referee stepped
ont of the way, and the rams dashed to-
ward each other. When their heads
came together, there was terrific crash,
and the force of tho concussion threw
them rs far apart as the length Of this
table. "
All the guests looked tho full lcngth
Of the table from tho passion flowers at
one end 70 the brides calJe in the far
perspective, and then at the preacher in
the middle distance, but nobody said
anything
"Thcn," continued the preacher,
'they took their rplaccs, apparently none
the worse for tho encounter Again, ovi-
IDENTIFY at preconcerted signal from the
referee, they dashed together This timo
the shock was even more terrific than
the first, and l noticed that as ono of
them went back to his--ah, what do
tnty thAA IL, NpilltI f--llt WIS " lllllt Ull-
steady on his legs"
"Groggy! ~ ventured the bride.
81 believe that is the technical term,"
replied the preacher, although, as /
have intimated I am not at all familiar
with sporting phraseology. When time
was called for the third round-ahem-
that is, moan to say when tho rams
had recovered strength for third col
lision - there was another rush, u
crash, and ono Of the rams, the one you
so aptly described as 'groggy' with an
acknowledgment 20 the bride) fell to
his knees. His adversary did not seem
inclined to follow up mis- advantage, but
possibly he may have been restrained by
the rules Of the meeting. At any rate,
after contemplating his fallen foe grave
ly for moment he walked back 20 his
place The other ram, after resting
briefly, struggled to his feet. The third
ram--the one / havo called tho referee
looked mt him rather inquiringly, as
it seemed TO me, but tho warrior show
cd no sign Of recognition He ambled
to his side Of the ring and faced about.
a murmur of some sort seemed to 20
through the flock The odds were ap-
parently 3 to l in favor of the other
ram--that is TO say, il seemed TO be the
general opinion that the ram with the
weak knees had been outclassed, as the
other one was decidedly the heavier of
the two.
However, the smaller uam seemed
to have wonderful recuperative powers.
When the proper interval had elapsed,
he came up smiling, rs it were. / even
thought could SEQ a twinkle in his eye,
for was quite close to the fence, and
this thing took place only little dis.
tance away. As tho referee stepped back
from the center of the ring, where he
kept his position between the meetings,
the other two rams drove at each other
pellmell at the very Instant when
their hard horns would have met, how
ever, the smaller ram suddenly changed
his course to the right, and the other
went through the ranks like a catapult.
just as he turned about, evidently
boiling over with indignation at the
trick which had been played on him,
the other one, with the added force given
by longer run from one side of the cir
Gle TO point several feet outside Of it,
where the larger rams momentum lad
carried him, shot at him like q cannon
ball, striking him full in the face ard
driving him several feet away, where
he lay limp and helpless. The third
ram, who was promptly,on the spot, as
suppose every competent referee should
he, nodded his head several times---in-
deed it looked to me as if he was count
ing-and then the fallen ram failing to
rise the whole flock marched away to-
ward a hnoll in another part of the
meadow with the victorious ram at the
head. Presently the defeated ram got
on his feet and made his way to a So
,cluded spot down by little run, where
j saw him reclining in the shade of a
large willow tree'as rode away"
What an interesting study natural
history is, " said the brides grandmoth-
,er as she adjusted her glasses.
1T is indeed" said the groom q IA
tlQr c0uphipU batind bic 7, aplrin Gh;