The Elbert County tribune., 1905-10-19

Z "A you can't. Sometimes a
1os( herd will be lying fast
asleep ON a quiet night Suddenly a
steer jumps up. sends ont great,
snorting puff from his nostrils, and
races OFF into the darkness
And behind him may race two thou
sand of his companions, all going for
dear life and apparently scared out
of their wits.
One night 1 saw n herd stampeded
by the lighting of a cigarette. The cat
tie We're sleeping peacefully. when one
of the Mexican berders, riding slowly
on his pony around the outskirts of
the herd, rolled himself cigarette,
took out the flint and steel. an ancient.
way of striking = light which we
ranchmen have, and proceeded to light
up.
At the very first sharp click of the
steel against the flint. a big Steer
jumped TO his feet With snort; and
before you could say Jack Robinson
every other one of those two thousand
head of cattle was careering wildly
over the plain, rushing with frantic.
blind terror and a great thunder of
3sdto the dark night.
Men could have 10 more stopped
that stampede than a man could hold
steam engine with one hand. Ii
took ten days to get the herd together
again.
Another time / saw herd stam-
peded by man removing his slicker
from his saddle.
The night was intensely dark. and II
had begun to sprinkle. A cowboy
started to put on his silcker-such n
coat as fishermen and sailors call an
oiI-skin coat. 1t stuck to the saddle
where he had it strapped. and ms he
pulled it free it made Il cracking
sound. In an instant the sleeping herd
was awake and off like the wind over
the plains.
! happened to he OH MY horse in the
path of the stampeded cattle, and
there was nothing for it but to ride
for life.
Away we went across the midnight
plains. my horse straining every nerve
and siuew, and l urging him forward
with the certain Knowledge that if he
stumbled. the terrified animals behind
me would trample us into the mud.
The only thing to DO under such cir
cumstances is to keep going and try
ing to keep out Of the way il you can.
Suddenly in the darkness my horse
struck n barbed wire. l heard the
wires snap like pistol shots as my
horse plunged through the obstruction.
ITS all up with me; this is my last
herd" thought to myself.
l supposed that the wire would have
so cut my horse that he would soon
begin TO falter from loss of blood and
then fall down, which would have
been the end.
But lie kept straight en-. and for an
hour l rode at n terrific speed. Then
l knew by the sounds of the tramplng
feet of the herd that it had swerved
TO one side-at any rate, knew that
was no longer in its path.
l was safe, but nightly used mp,
and when 1 drew rein, my poor horse
was nearly dead; not, as l had expect
ed, from his wounds, but from sheer
exhaustion.
Don't believe anyone who tells you
that herd of stampeded cattle can
be stopped when once 1t has got fairly
going. 1t can't he done. Before it is
under way-at the very first, before
the animals have got really going-a
stampede can be stopped. or rather
prevented, by skilful cowboy; but not
after the pahic has seized the steers
in its grip.
Sometimes it does not even take the
striking of steel against flint. or even
the cracking of a slicker, TO stampede
herd. The animals break out ap-
parently from sheer nervous hysteria.
Cattle are queer creatures, and even
we, who live all the time among them,
do not understand them thoroughly
American Boy.