76 THE PLAINS. 



his lariat rope, had gone frisking and roaring through 

 the herd, some of which starting in play had excited or 

 terrified others, so that in a few moments the whole was 

 a mass of plunging madness. From the trail, it was 

 plain that this mass, with a front of about eighty feet, 

 had circled two or three times about the valley. The 

 clumps of bushes and smaller trees within this tract were 

 torn to fragments and scattered to the winds. Near each 

 of the larger trees within the tract were the bodies of one 

 or more dead animals, crushed and trampled out of all 

 semblance. 



The front then took to the hills, striking by accident 

 almost its centre against an angular wall of stone, where 

 a lateral ravine had cut its way to the main valley. 

 Against and at the foot of this rock were the bodies of 

 five animals. The rock split the herd into two parts, the 

 larger going up the ravine. I followed this. The ravine 

 was very crooked, while the track of the stampeded herd 

 was as direct as possible. Consequently the front was 

 frequently striking large trees or the jutting mass of rock 

 at the junction of ravines. Each of these obstacles had 

 marked its resistance by one or more dead bodies, and 

 had again split the -rapidly diminishing front ; and in not 

 one single instance did I find where the two portions so 

 split had come together again. In the main valley and 

 along the route of the stampede were numbers of animals 

 maimed and wounded in every possible way. Following 

 always the trail of the largest numbers, I, at about six 

 miles from the valley, began to come upon small herds- 

 two, three, or more animals, apparently unhurt, but 

 completely exhausted. Still following in the same way, 

 I, at about sixteen miles from the place where the 

 stampede originated, came up with the last herd, about 

 twenty animals ; and among *them, entirely unhurt and 

 apparently as fresh and frisky as ever, the jack which had 

 caused all the damage. 



I returned to my post, leaving the herders to gather 



