The record-union., 1898-06-01
A MEMORABLE STAMPEDE.
Fifteen Thousand Cattle Were In
1t, and 2,7OO Were Lost.

Fifteen thousand Cattle Were An
It, and 2,7OO Were Lost.
One of the most desperate stampedes
Of cattle ever witnessed by a Texas
! cowboy. says the Rev. J.. B. Cranfill, Of
Waco, occurred in 1876 on the prairie In
the center of which now stands the
town of McGregor. Fifteen thousand
cattle and twenty-five cowboys parric-
ipated in the exciting event. Mr.. Gran
fill was not a participant, but he tells
the story as he got il from an eye-wit-
ness. Late in the afternoon of July 4th
there had been a lively thunderstorm
that made the cattle nervous. At 10
O'Clock at night, however, they seemed
| to be sleeping profoundly. Then the
| narrative proceeds as follows:
| THE stars were all shining, and there
was no cause at all for the arOusing
of the herd. They appeared to get up
all at once, with single purpose, and
the roar that was heard seemed 10
come from single throat. The Wilson
brothers and their cowboys, who were
sleeping in the camp, rushed to their
ponies who were grazing with saddles
and brides on and as fast as the bits
could be placed in their mouths they
mounted and galloped to the fianks of
| the now disappearing mass, headed in
the direction of the Brazos River.
| The usual course on such occasions
is to get in front of the herd-a risky
| piece of work-and start it to running
in circle. This attempt was made in
| this case. Some cattle can outrun 9TH
ers, and in this case there was bunch
of about fifty fully twenty yards in
%11; 1~<,
the two rescuers rode. OF the leading
| group also some We're faster than 9TH
ers, and this group ran in a diamond
shape. with two immense steers lead
ing all. When Mr. Wilson and his COM
panion reached the two leading steers
they began shooting their revolvers
close to them, and in that way the
bunch was made to Oblique, and as
| the leading bunch of cattle obliqued
the main stampede obliQueu, aad the
first step in milling had been taken.
By this time the cattle were getting
tired. Nearly five miles had been COW
cred, and the breath of the leaders was
coming short and painfully; but they
! We're rushing on because the front
| cattle at this time knew as a matter of
| fact their only safety was in keeping
up the run. Those behind were coming,
and they were in the majority, and the
leaders We're compelled to run. There
was real danger for the forward MEM
| berS OF the stampede.
In the invoice articles contained
in the regular outfit there is always
some kind of stimulants; and but for
the stimulants contained in Mr.. Will
sons outfit it is possible that the stam-
pede would have halted without dis
i aster. He had a Mexican along, one
OF the best cowboys in the southwest
| This Mexican and his horse reminded
those who saw him ride of the tabled
Centaur. He rode far forward and
| bent over, so that he and his horse
appeared to be one animal. No horse,
however rugged, wild and woolly,' had
| ever been unable to unseat him. This
Aztec had been to the little brandy
runlet too often and had filled and emp
tied his tin cup with surreptitious in
| toxicants, so that his usual excellent
| judgment went awry. When he sue
| ceeded in getting mounted, after hav-
ing fumbfed with his bride good deal,
he was far in the rear, and tn, STAN
pede had gone past MIN, so that when
he overlook the rear end he passed to
the front on the other side, and rode
on the wrong flank. When he reached
| the head Of the herd he was just in
time to defeat the maneuver then under
execution Of bending the moving mass
from a straight line to a semi-circle.
Revolver In hand, dsregarding the 9TH
er men, he began shooting in the faces
| of the wild steers, and the effect of
this was to straighten the run and
bring the advance straight toward a
precipice. This precipice was wash in
the prairie, forming deep ravine fully
thirty yards wide, and in shorter time
than it takes to tell Of this contre-
1 temps, the head Of the column was
pouring over, a horrible cascade Of beef
plunging madly to destruction while
fleeing from an imaginary danger.
When Mr.. Wilson and his lieutenats
saw that it was impossible to save their
cattle they saved themselves by dex-
terously turning at right angles at full
speed and riding out of the way. They
next turned to the flank and held a
council of war A few seconds decided
them, and all hands commenced shoot
ing into the herd the object being to
| build a breastwork Of carcasses ana
save the rear end from the destruc-
tion that had overtaken the front. They
were snorting and believing, crashing
and tearing, and still heaping up, and
when the firing began the wounded
ones tumbled over on the others, and
in a short time the gully, like the sunk
en- road at Waterloo, was bridged by
carcasses. The herd surged up in bill
lows, like an ocean, and bent now, be-
cause it could not do otherwise. The
semicircle was formed, and Wilson
and his men crossed the gully below
| and rode around the opposite side and
| recrossed, and in a short time they
had the cattle halted, forming an in
complete letter O. and there they stood,
blowing, believing and shivering. All
hands remained on watch all night,
and in the morning, when count was
made, it was ascertained that 200
head were missing. There were after
ward 200 pairs Of horns taken from
that gully. 1t was called Stampede
Gully for many years after ward, and
perhaps will always with some peo-
pie. be remembered by that name"
Waco Independent.
NEW METHOD OF COMBUSTION