River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-07-27
CHASED HIM TO THE FENCE


self-same fence. Morrison is afraid of
nothing with horns and hoofs on it,
but he has had very wholesome re-
spect for COW buffaloes, ever since the
day when he did not get over the fence
quite fast enough, and savage moth.
er bison pinned his legs to the boards,
and caused him to go on crutches for
three months afterwards.
After we had taken few more pic
lures, it was decided to capture the
calves which 1 was to bring go by
hand First of all it was necessary to
separate them from their mothers, who
otherwise would, of course, kill anyone
who laid hand on their babies. In
order to separate them, it was neces-
sary to drive all the cows and calves
from the buffalo yards to series of
cattle pens about a quarter Of a mile
away, and as these pens opened one
into another, we expected to be able to
accomplish our object without much
danger. A special fence had been
built between the yards and the cattle
pens, into which the buffaloes allowed
themselves to be driven without Of
fering mulch resistance. Gradually, by
careful driving, the skillful opening
and shutting of gates, and fearless
attitude maintained by Morrison
throughout, the separation was Ell
fected, and we had the cows in one
pen and their calves in the next But
what hubbub there was! The cows,
mad as hornets, were rushing up and
down the fence, and grunting savage.
ly, while the calves on the other side
were galloping this way and that, leap
ing clean over one another in their eff
forts to rejoin their mothers. Now
came the little job Of putting them into
the crates, and no one who has not
handled buffalo calves can quite I'M
derstand the fun it was.
They raced from point to point
jumping slap into the fence until it
seemed that they must surely break
their neclzs, and did about every NOR
tai thing except go into the crates. So
it was decided that they should be
caught by hand. Four of the strong
est men on the place, besides myself,
entered the pen, and then the real work
began. The calves were pretty tired by
this time, and their tongues were lall
ing far out of their mouths, but they
were conquered not one little bit.
Every now and then, one of them
would come at full speed, catch man
below his waist line, and send him to
the dust. Presently one of the little
scamps came past me, and crashed
right into the board fence, and fell at
my feet. | thought that he had killed
himself, but instinctively threw my
self upon him. He was only slightly
stunned, and the next instant he was
on his feet, and / was off mine.
could not have held him for ten Sec
onds. had not two big fellows come ZIP
and thrown their arms around him
He kicked, butted and. plunged, until
it. seemed that he might get away, in
spite of us ali, but one seized his fore
legs, another his hind legs, and the
third took him round the body. When
he found that he was really captive,
he opened MS mouth anu DdWleu Will
all his might, and all the cows in the
next Enclosure answered him at once,
and ground their heads against the
fence until we feared it might give
way. We prayed that it would hold;
we knew what would happen IL it
didn't. The three of us finally got the
calf into deer crate, and in the mean
time the other two men had captured
another. When the second one was
put into the crate, there was a fight
at once, and the two little wild things
butted one another vigorously on gen.
eral principles. A little later another
crate had two occupants, and we left
them to quiet down.
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNFS.