St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-06-17
A Novel BuIl.Hght.

q ~ lNOVSi OuH'IISNt. :
&&.1AoAoa1a.1A1mARsan;
REMEMBER queer little inciden
that happened while We were livin,
in Massachusetts,. My iatherwasa love
of fine cattle, and o., farm could shoy
some of the hands omcst oxen and cow
to BE- found in The state. 1t was stu
afed on the Forth bank of the Charlie
river, which. swept along at the foot o
our broad pasture.
In the sultry summer days the 90 o
80 kline would often stand for hours il
the water, cooling themselves, an,
bUshing off the flies with their we
r1iis.
The river, although but few rod:
wide. was very deep in the middle; 81
that the animals never ventured t.
cross it. 1t was spanncd by a bridge
across which led the public highway
and by this highway the pasture wa:
bounded at one end.
The rasd occupied an elevated piece
of grcand, and the bridge was some q
feet above the water.
L have said that our cattle were very
handsome; but OF all the fine-looking
herd, the most remarkab BILE was a big
Holstein bull which had twice taken
the highest prize at the state fair. He
weighed 1,aO0 pounds. was perfect in
shape, and had a rich, glossy coat that
it was a delight to see. Like all The
Holsteins> he was black ami white. the
white being like snow, the black like
ebony But with all his beauty. the old
fellow was no more to be trusted than
a Bengal tiger. His large, full eyes had
an ugly roll whenever he was ap-
proachesl by strangers: and the deep,
low below and ominous scrape of the
hoot would warn the curious visitor
against a too great familiarity.
As a general thing, he was kept in his
stall, secured by two halters, which, be-
ing attached to ring in his nose, and
leading in opposite directions, effectu-
ally prevented any dangerous use of
the short, sharp. glossy horns. But at
pasture, when his queer, hoarse lowing,
and kind of muttered thunder that he
occasionally gave forth, would attract
the attention of those who assed along
she road
Our farm was situated below the
side of the Charles. hut above the
bridge, was the Wilson farm. MFR. Will
son, its owner, was, like my father
much interested in cattle, ard he had
a large Jersey bull, of which he was
very proud.
than ours, and was nearly as hand
some. He had won the FIRST prize for
Jerseys, and was, in fact. q superb crea-
ture.
Mr.. Wilson's pasture reached down
10 the water, like our own, and though
not exactly opposite, was still very
near. Occasionally our neighbor's bull
would be out at the same time with
ours. and then there would be music!
Although the intervening road which
crossed the bridge prevented them
from seeing each other, they would
still below defiance. Each would paw
the soft river bottom, throwing up an
abundance of mud and water that be-
spattered only his own handsome coat,
while he vainly longed for good. saw
age clinch with his enemy.
! woald not have met either of those
bulls in the middle of ten-acre lot
for the best farm in New England. In
fact, whenever ours was to be set free
a convenient gate or fence easy to climb
always entered into the calculations of
the person who held the rod and halter:
and equal care was necessary when the
old king of the herd was to be replaced
in his stall.
One day, when my father was alb
sent. an unusual amount of believing
was heard. and. after time, we per-
ceived that il did not seem to come
from the direction of the pasture. We
children ran to find out what the mat
ter was. taking good care. however. not
TO put ourselves in the way of danger.
4 very brief examination told the
whole story. A cloud of dust was GO
ing up in one part of the highway. and
giving forth thunder very much in the
manner of other clouds. Under it we
could see some huge animal. which
might once have been black and white.
but which was now nearly of the color
of the dust itself. The discovery was
startling. Our big bull was out in the
road.
Our hired men came running to the
scene. but they were powerless in the |
one of them having the |
least inclination to penetrate that |
or head it or from
direction it might happen to |
take.
Just then the old stage coach, which |
ran regularly past our place. made its |
appearance around curve of the high
way. and was jogging along toward the |
river. when the driver suddenly drew |
rein.
He knew our old thoroughbred By |
and governed his conduct |
accordingly. The inside passengers.
stAffied by the bovine thunder. craned |
their necks out of the stage windows
to getaview of the road ahead.
The bail had at first started to go |
toward the bridge, attracted, no doubt.
~ the bellowings of his old enemy
o1ef the river. which in the meantime |
ne conld distinctly hear.
II seemed as il Mr.. Wilson's Jersey |
rne< Eno,e that SounefhirC unusual
had taken place on our side, for thel