The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1904-03-12
= = \, 4 I. /
IN FRONT or a STAMPEDE.
9. y. :, J.
$4,000.

Last August two men startad -
their bicycles to see the Yelloysst = y
National Park. They saw soma ~,
things. Leaving the railroad WE v
Monida, the route to the park t., =
you through the Alaska Basin u
which are the head waters ~ ~
Missouri, about four. thousand Nv s..s
hundred miles from the mouth - ~ ~
Mississippi. ut was abont az
o'clock" says one of the men n,as
tells the story, when, after a lon 3
rough ride, we entered the basin. 8 IS
''That was q magnificent sight M
gently undulating bowl, about la
miles wide by fifteen miles long ~
sides sloping up to the snowy mnrr.
aims, and the whole area dotted ,rits
cattle, Of which there We're nrohohiS.
thirty thousand in sight. These catt,o
are more attractive In picture than
in personal encounter. Western stoar
on all these great grazing grounds tasa=
no notice of man on horseback. hut
he who ventures among them on foot
risks his life. So unused are thew &
seeing man without horse that tbav.
attack him as some strange animal
What, then, would be their attituda 4
men awheel? We soon found out,
! I'VE had trouble from the beginning
The creatures would stand LOWERING
and believing right in our way, we
would ride straight for the bunchas
that stood in the track, and at the last
moment they generally gave way. Al
any rate, we managed to get through
although it was close work In many
cases. Through bunch after bunch we
pushed, hoping for better luck next
time Then, as the grade began h
make itself felt at the head of tho
basin, we ran into a series of creeks
the head waters of the Missouri, They
were up to thirty feet wide and three
feet deep, all crossing our direction.
Right at the point where the road
was worst and the streams thickest
large bunch Of cattle was feeding.
Afterward a cowboy told us that they
numbered about seven thousand. They
were so solid in their ranks and 50
strenuous in their opposition that we
were forced to ride out. They stretched
SO far, however, that we gave up the
attempt to ride round them.
I'VE attempted to swing them on
run with the ringing Of bells and shout.
ing. They debated as to whether we
or they should do the running. But at
last they began to move diagonalIy
across the track, with much below.
ing protest. AS the track cleared we
rode close behind them, with the
thought Of keeping them on the move.
This succeeded very we'll until we had
passed them all, although it was very
hard work. Then we discovered that
the tables were turned; they were
about to keep US on the move. They
were stampeding, and we were in the
lead.
I'VE were already thoroughly tired.
The deep ruts and the many creeks
furnished exasperations sufficient to
satisfy the heartiest rough-rider. But
we had ample reason for moving on.
The stamp Of hoofs behind was like
muftlcd thunder and the believing un-
like any sound l have ever heard be-
fore. Heads down, Precipitation in our
eyes, over rocks, through all sorts OF
streams we dashed. Yet it seemed
hopeless to attempt to get away from
that believing, stampeding herd. 1t
seemed impossible to make another
turn of the pedals.
lat last we crossed the worst of all
the streams, right where the trail be-
gins to wind up the pass. And here,
rs the grade grew rapidly sleeper, one
IF the riders toppled from his machine,
and the other felt vision and hearing
becoming dim and confused. The
wheels lay in the track; we lay among
he sage-brush. The believing seemed
o grow fainter. After a while we
ooked up, to find that the herd had
topped on the other side of the stream,
perhaps because they had reached the
md Of their grazing ground, perhaps
because the calves could no longer
make the pace. We were not curious
o know the reason"