The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-08-05
at that time they'll stampede at
every opportunity thereafter. And

/ s d La 80 g 10 4 M
at that time they'll stampede at
every opportunity thereafter. And
the most commonplace noises some
times start them going. I remem-
Der was once grazing a big herd
down in Pauls Valley, I. T., IT was
late in the fall and soon after dark
a storm of sleet and snow came out
Of the northwest. We had an awful
time holding the cattle together, for
they persisted in moving before the
storm Finally we got them stopped
by a wire fence near the cabin of a
settler. We started whistling and
singing, for the human voice has q
qutet1ng effect on an uneasy herd,
and were thanking our stars that
danger was past when rooster in a
cottonwood tree at the rear of the
cabin woke up and crowed.
"The herd stampeded, and in a
few minutes we we're miles from
the cabin and the cussed rooster,
and riding like blazes It took US
twenty-five days to gather those cat
tie.
"A cowboy must have presence of
mind and must be sharp-witted
enough to know at an instant what
to do when he meets the unexpected.
The closest shave I ever had for my
life was down in the Panhandle. It
was stormy night. dismounted
good quarter of a mile from the
cattle to start fire, for we had
been in the saddle all day without
anything to eat. I found some
cane stalks, but everything was wa
ter soaked and the fire was hard to
start. It was burning feebly when
my horse snorted and bolted across
the prairie. The herd had STAN
peded and knew from the direction
my bronco was going that the cat
tie we're coming my way.
"a cow pony knows what to do
in stampede-he runs before the
herd. There was only one thing
left for me to do-stir up the fire
and get 1t to blazing.' l piled on
cane with one hand and with the
other famed the fire with my hat,
while the thunder of hoofs on the
hard ground grew louder every min
ute.
II famed frantically. I had been
stiff with cold when I dismounted,
but now beads of perspiration were
trickling down my face. I stood up
and drew my gun to kill the first
steer, hoping that his carcass would
divide the herd. 1t seemed to be my
last chance. At that moment the
ing steers, it seemed to me, not 20
feet away. But I was saved, the
fire parting the herd on each side.
''No matter, how big the herd, an
experienced cowboy can tell the
moment any of the cattle are miss
ing. Once I had large drove in
pasture over in the Usage reserva-
ton. would ride out every few
days and take look at them. One
I noticed a leader was
missing. I sent one Of my men to
examine the fence, and he had no
more than got out of my sight when
I heard him shoot. It was a sig
nal for me to come to him. The wire
fence had been cut and forty steers
taken out.
II sent a cowboy across the coun-
try to the nearest telegraph station
to notify the cattle shipping points
of the theft and started on the
trail of the rustlers. There were
three of them. They had good
start of me, and when~l. got into
Blackwell they had sold the steers,
got their money and left town. /
started in pursuit and overlook
them the next day. There was a
little fight"
'Did you shoot them?" asked a
tenderfoot.
81 got the money for my steers