The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-03-18

We had come upon creek where
there was a hole containing a little
warm and muddy water. Near the
north bank Of the creek we found a
few punches of greasewood for our
campfire. A half-dozen scraggy cotton
woods promised us shade. Altogether
we thought we were fortunate, and we
concluded to make long incoming and
get good rest.
Greasewood was soon hacked off, a
fro was lighted, and several prairie
hens which had been taken in the
morning were set to cook for DIM .ec.
l remember l was playing with o nome
made doll under the cottonw ,N1 trees
when a low rumbling lik.4 deem far
distant thunder attrac.c ed everyone's
attention.
The sky was clear, There were no
Indications of q shower approaching.
But the rumlIi1ng grew louder every
moment and/soon the ground began to
tremble.
TITS any earthquake" Tobias Tucker
shouted Truly the continuous Earring
did suggest the approach of an earth
quake; but it seemed strange that it
came on so slowly.
The horses all stopped grazing and
gazed anxiously off in the direction
from which the sounds came Then
they began to snort and plunge and
strain at their halters.
Something is wrong, that's sure"
said Aunt Louisa's husband, gravely.
All at once, while we scanned the
plains a brown cloud rolled slowly up
from behind a swell Of land mile to
to the north Of the creek. The next
moment a long line of dark objects
surged over the crest.
"It's a buffalo run Get to the
wagons, all of you!" Dakes cried.
mo! No! For your livesv' shouted
father and Together. "On to the
horses, double treble, anyhow, and
ride! Quick, or we're lost"
The men jumped for the horses, lifted
on the women and children, and swung
themselves up ahead.
The earth was shaking beneath us
as the black line of shaggy heads-a
mile wide seemingly, and still pouring
over the ridge in countless numbers
bore down toward us, nearer, nearer,
thirst maddened throng turning neither
to right nor left.
Before we could start the horses half
the distance between us had been COW.
cred 1t seemed a hopeless race, but
one we went, clinging for life, clatter-
ing across the rocky creek bed, taking
southwest and quartering course to
get out Of range of the oncoming multi
tude.
Dismay filled every heart. The
women and children shrieked and COW
cred their beads, the men shouted
hoarsely and spurred the frightened
horses to their utmost speed.
The ground throbbed beneath us. the
air was filed with a horrible rumbling,
the dust rolled over us in clouds.
On we galloped, and on Numbered
the living mass behind If our horses
could only hold on to take us outside
the line of death dealing hoofs!
Faster we urged the horses, and for
little time we kent the distance good
then, jaded with the long Journey, and
heavily loaded they began to fall be;
hind, and every moment we expected
to be blotted out forever.
Nothing could be heard above the
roar of the advancing mass. The dust
clouds choked and blinded us. We
could not see Tobias big roam, whose
lead we We're to follow. and each stag
gered on for himself in the rush for
life.
Now the usually sure-footed gray
horse on which I was seated behind
father stumbled into gopher burrow.
We held our breath. He almost went
down. Then gathering himself, he
plunged forward again. I was thrown
off my seat by the last sudden lurch,
but l hung on with a desperate grip
to fathers homespun jacket.
Then all in moment we found we
were out of reach, and the living tor
rent swept by us and went roaring and
crashing on over the plains toward the
Platte River, their goal of thirsty de-
sire, leaving us half dead with the
terror of the fight.
After the air cleared we pulled our
selves together and retraced our way
to the midday camp. A wagon wheel
here. a bit of canvas there, slivered
boards and a few scraps of the iron
kettles marked the place. All else had
been swept away.
The COWS and Bouncer and poor old
Peleg had either heen borne off bodily
in the laundering herd, or else trodden
down and annihilated in a moments
space-a fate we ourselves had narrow