The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-05-26
COWBOYS BRAVERY
MAY WIN HIM WIFE
-
Rescues Pretty Schoolma'am
From Infatuated Bull at
Risk Of Own Life.
He is ALMOST KILLED
Woman Whom He Rescued Secures As.
sistance in Bare Time to Save
His Life in Turn, and We'd
ding Is in Prospect.

Earring, S. D, May 20-Jack Weston, Il
cowpuncher at the W-bar ranch Is laid up
with a broken collar bone and two ribs
broken as a result Of an encounter with an
Infatuated bull in a successful effort to
save the life of Miss Name Hilgers, a
school teacher from Nebraska, who is
holding a claim near here and teaches
school in Medicine Creek.
She was returning to her cabin from the
W-bar ranch across the big winter pas
ture where a big. ugly tempered bull be-
longing to Mr.. Wilkes. the owner of the
ranch, was grazing.
The bull when he saw Miss Hilgers, not
being accustomed to seeing people on foot
ard clad in long skirts. became enraged.
and when she ran gave chase. He would
undoubtedly have caught her and gored
her 10 death. as she was nearly half a mile
from the fence, but for the timely appear
ance of Weston, who happened to be in
the pasture cutting out a calf from a
bunch OF steers. Digging his spurs into
his pony's tanks he dashed between the
girl and her pursuer, and by firing In front
of the bull endeaVorcd to turn him. But
the bull was stubborn with rage and held
his course Seeing that these attempts
were futile and his gun now being empty
he leapcd from his horse and stood way
ing his arms in front of the Infatuated
beast.
Mr.. Weston was wearing a brilliant red
flannel shirt and the bull seeing this red
apparition with waving arms appear sud
denly before him forgot the original object
of mis- rage and charged the young man
with redoubled fury. The cowboy tired to
leap to one side and drop his lariat over
the bulls horns at the same time. but his
foot slipped and the rope fell harmlessly
across the bulls back. Before he could
recover the bull had turned and was upon
him. Knocking him down and breaking two
ribs and his collar bone. Luckily, however,
retained consciousness and his presence Of
mind. AS the bull stood over him, its tail
waving high with fury and its Jaws white
with foam. and just as 1t lowered It's head
to gore him he reached up with both hands
and grasped the bulls horns with almost
superhuman strength. The bull jerking
his head up to free himself of this encum-
brance lifted Weston to his feet. Then be-
snn a battle between the man and the
bull. The bull would retreat n few PAGES
dragging the plucky cowpuncher after
him. then he would rlunge forward in an
attempt to bear down his human antagon-
ist. who chung tenaciously to his horns
with a despairing grip.
Weston was being whipped about like a
rag on a clothesline IN a gale when q
friend of his who has a claim on Medicine
creek and who had been warned of the
cowboys danger by Miss Hilgers, came
riding up and dispatched the bull with a
bullet in its brain.
Mr.. Weston says that as soon as he gets
well Che didn't know that his bones were
broken until it was all over he will go to
Mexico and enter the bull ring as a
toreador. but It Is rumored that his recov-
cry will be followed by his marriage with
the girl he rescued.
Weston is an ex-foot ball player from an
eastern college and since he came to Ly-
man county he has become well known
and liked. He took an active part in the
breaking up Of the gang of ~rustlers who
terrorized the cattle country a few years
ago, and was with the party that Shot
Jack Sully near Iona two years ago.