The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1900-03-15

u,
fired.
was bowlder few feet distant, and
he made for it in imping run He
drew pistol as he knelt behind the
rock, and hurriedly covering the fore
most bull of the herd, now terribly close
to him, he fred. The bull plunged head
long against the bowlder and lay with
his body damned across it.
The cattle were not quite stampeded
If they had been they would have piled
themselves one on top of another over
| the bowlder and the dead bull that rest
ed against it until, with their combined
| weight, they would have almost crushed
| the rock itself. AS it was they turned to
one side and the other as they reached
the impeachment, and left little open
space around it, as though the rock were
a candle and the space the light it shed.
| Another moment and the herd had
| passed, followed by cloud Of flying
dust. This cloud was peopled by COW
boys who waved their hands to Hollis
as they went by him and shouted words
Of ironical consolation OF counsel. One
Spider as riding teacher Hollis was
not pleased. He made this plain in his
replies to the rough jokes that were
showered upon him. He was not at all
the sort of person that could enjoy a
joke when at his own expense.
The herd reached the river and the
yellow spray was flung high in the air
Then they slowed and stopped, heaving
to and fro. They were prevented from
breaking down stream again by the
cowboys, who stood ready to foil every
such attempt, and try as they might
they could not return-but not an inch
forward would they stir. The river was
rising fast, and more short handed than
ever, now that Hollis was ENDORSED, it
was all that we could do to hold them
where they were.
Far in the van of the herd stood
Hollis pony, girth deep in the water
Hollis caught sight Of him. Retarded
by his cowboy boot heels, three inches
high, Hollis walked laboriously through
the deep, soft sand toward the herd tina
stood punched together. half in, half
out of the stream. Going up to the
nearest COW, Hollis put his hands on
her shoulders and vaulted neatly astride
OF her lean back, and before the aston
| ished animal had time to demonstrate
in any way he had swung from her back
| to that of another which was standing
next to her. From this one he swung to
third, until at last he reached part
of the herd near the middle where the
animals We're SO packed together that
| they were almost incapable of move,
ment Then he rose to his feet and
started to walk, stepping from one
| backbone to the next
1t was crazy thing to do. Once be
fore had seen man attempt to swing
from back to back, and it was a dan
gerous feat enough. Such a feat as
Hollis was now attempting was ten
times as dangerous. Should he fall be-
[ tween the cattle they would close over
his head and almost certainly drown
| him.
For some distance Hollis succeeded
well enough. Each back WINGED as his
foot pressed it, and the head belonging
to the back would toss angrily. The
heads were all pointing in one direc-
ton, and in order to avoid them Hollis
passed diagonally across the herd in
much the same manner that q boat
beats to windward. He completed his
first tack. With one foot on the back OF
q cow, the other pressing the spinal
column Of a vicious cream colored bull,
Hollis tried to turn. The bull threw uI
his head and attempted to plunge. HI
was too closely confined to succeed in
this, but he unbalanced Hollis, who,
withdrawing his foot from the back OF
the bull, placed it on the creature that
stood directly behind him, tottered 70,
an instant, then regained his balance
and brought his foot forward once more,
replacing it on the bulls back. Just al
this time Spider came galloping down
the bank. Pulling his horse almost on
to it's launches. he stared in blank
amazement. He would not have been