220 The King of the Thundering Herd 



the frightened boy, " Now watch and see 

 what the old girl will do to them. I have 

 had buffalo upon the track before." 



The great engine panted and throbbed as 

 its piston felt the redoubled blast of steam 

 and rushed forward on its death-dealing 

 work. 



There was a dull thud upon the cow- 

 catcher and a little yellow bison calf was 

 thrown fifty feet into the air, to fall a quiv- 

 ering mass of crushed flesh and broken 

 bones by the track. Thud, thud, on the 

 cow-catcher again, and a heifer rolled one 

 way and a bull the other, both mangled 

 and torn and dead as stones. Then the 

 engine struck a bunch which had jammed 

 upon the track ahead of them, thinking to 

 escape by running along the track. There 

 was grinding of bones and sinew, and blood 

 was everywhere, but since such a soft mass as 

 this could not be cut or run over, or pushed 

 aside, it ground under the wheels and piled 



