Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1895-01-05
HIS RIDE FOR LIFE.
EXPERIENCE OF a FooLHARpf
YOUNG MAN.
The Venturesoms Youth Having N"'hns
Retter to DO Jumped on a steers sack
what Followed Had Not been la
ken Into His Calculations.

ken Into His Calculations
Have you ever seen herd Of ami
mails stampeded9 II 50 you have
never forgotten ii, know. 4 sea Of
tossing horns, Of bodies grown reck-
! less OF whatever fate might overcome
them. needless of pain, wild believing
all the more threatening and the more
terrifying because il never rises be-
yond q certain low, moaning pitch
And it is singular how slight cause
can send these creatures ordinarily
docile and phlegmatic enough, ravlhg
mad to their death,
had only lately gone 10 Texas from
the East and my knowledge Of the
possibilities Of the plains was not a.
extensive as it is now was the
guest OF former schoolmate Of mine,
who owned large ranch in the riclu-
ity OF Fort Mckayett. which was IN
those days a great market for Texas
cattle to be shipped TO st. Louis.
had ridden about with Gale for cou-
pie Of days and had begun to fancy
that | was a pretty good plalnsman.
wnen one swelterlng hot day | was
lying dressed loosely in an upper room
81 the ranch house and idly looking
ont OF the window
Although this was. ~ ! have said,
the upper floor, as the houses are built
in that half-Mextcan region, wa. Ia
reality only about ten feet from the
ground. says writer in the Phtladel-
phia Times. About the yard below
was walking a young steer that had
been sick and had been driven into the
enclosure to keep the rest ~ the h.rd
from worrying him while IA wu> D ing
treated,
Directly be passed uudrr my nin
dow and very looli,hly conceived the
idea that 1t would b. capital hu @
surprise him BY suddenly dropping
down upon my gentleman back tt
was a. mad d caprice a. oter entered
an imbeciIes head. bit came 81 sheer
idleness that cannot b. understood BIZ
one who has never known the dutl
level Of plain life, by one who has
only 10 step outside hi- door t1 ind
diversion.
BE that as il may. | got up and IT
ting myself down by my hands, let uy
self drop down on this beasts back
just as he came under the windoN
lie gave shriIl cry 81 terror and
flung himself frantically across thu
yard, running into the fence with
force that nearly scraped me- from tbs
scat. ,ellel N TERROR tor certain
n thought the steer vas about u Kin
me. and had not chance arranged II "
that at that moment the big gate N
the yard was q b. opened by d ranch
man would no doubt have mrt my
death then and there
A. It was, no sooner did thu animal
See the gate swing back than he made
a plunge for H. ami ran through Il
without giving the man time % get
ont 81 the way. but upsrttiug him.
horse AMI All Away We went. bear
ing directly toward large hcrd Of
cattle that had been rounded Ill that
day 70 b. branded before being cent
10 ST Louis Into this hcrl mt -tced
ran full tilt and coiildiag with the
nearest. sent that one whrliug further
into the ranks. and tha terror of his
appearance spreading like flame
among them the next ,sCond thu whole
herd vas Id motion
The earth shook under tnr bat ~
The maddened feet. the believing N
q thousand Threats made the sound
menace 70 al that stood IL fhr Way.
saw nothing 81 land ~ sky a. I
lay on that wildly pluuging .tcrd nF
mine. could not even look brhfnd
me % see how many followed ia or
wake. and that big blunt head h front
" me kept me from seeing where ~
we're going. ! was getting desperate.
~ weary. Ny arms fctt A. II ,hrt
would snap with the tension 81 tlte
muscles, aud my head was dizzy with
the rush Of foul air past my nO-tril-
J still hung on with the courage and
strength Of desperation for | knew
that 70 drop was to leave only mass
81 beaten flesh and broken bones
crushed ont Ot scmbaucr III ANYTHING
human
On and on We went until grew
unconscious Of the Hight Of time.
seemed myself creature ~ the wind,
Then there was a sickening feeling
that the earth had given away under
me. ami the steer rolled down pre-.
eipicc Of twenty feet o. more. +
clutched alb the tighter IN q sort Of
frenzy, and in another moment the
poor beast had struggled 10 his feet
and had cssayed 10 70 on.
IL was only a step or two when I
felt him fall ONCE more. and shot
over his head down ravine thirtv
feet or more IN depth. gathered
myself up and blindly rushed forward.
then stumbled and rolled still further
down. whom I caught at some harety
growing plant and crawled 10 the
other side OF the rayinc. Here nature
gave way and lost consciousness
When ] came 70 the sun was crimson
IN the west: a few red rays crrpt te,
where lay and told me that the dav
was dying fast. looked about me
and saw that had climbed few feet
up the side Of the ravine, which below
ftti1 e Al