298 THE MINDS AND MANNERS 



corral, barebacked and without bridle or halter. Rock felt 

 that he could confidently trust the animal, and he never 

 dreamed of guarding himself against a possible evil day. 



But one day the blood lust seized the buffalo, and he 

 decided to assassinate his best friend. The next time Dick 

 Rock entered the corral, closing the gate and fastening it 

 securely, — thus shutting himself in, — the big bull attacked 

 him so suddenly and fiercely that there was not a moment for 

 either escape or rescue. We can easily estimate the sudden- 

 ness of the attack by the fact that alert and active Dick Rock 

 had not time even to climb upon the fence of the corral, where- 

 by his life would have been saved. With a mighty upward 

 thrust, the treacherous bull drove one of his horns deeply into 

 his master's body, and impaled him so completely and so 

 securely that the man hung there and died there! As a 

 crowning horror, the bull was unable to dislodge his victim, 

 and the body of the ranchman was carried about the corral on 

 the horns of his assassin until the horrified wife went a mile and 

 a half and summoned a neighbor, who brought a rifle and 

 executed the murderer on the spot. 



Such sudden onslaughts as this make it unsafe to trust 

 implicitly, and without recourse, to the good temper of any 

 animal having dangerous horns. 



If bird-lovers knew the prevalence of the murder instinct 

 among the feathered folk, no doubt they would be greatly 

 shocked. Many an innocent-looking bird is really a natural 

 villain without opportunity to indulge in crime. It is in 

 captivity that the wickedness inherent in wild creatures comes 

 to the surface and becomes visible. In the open, the weak 

 ones manage to avoid danger, and to escape when threatened; 

 but, with twenty birds in one large cage, escape is not always 

 possible. A "happy family " of a dozen or twenty different 

 species often harbors a criminal in its midst; and when the 

 criminal cunningly waits until all possibilities of rescue are 

 eliminated, an assassination is the result. 



