the cattle were less likely to spook on familiar terrain, and small groups would not cause a major stampede if they did unless there was an electrical storm and they all went loco.
You only had to ride around the grasslands to check up on them during the day, camp out in a hollow at night, and check on them again the first thing in the morning. The biggest risk was coyotes.
The night before, Caleb and one of the hired men had camped out near one of the larger groups and gone to sleep at about midnight. Shortly before dawn the animals became skittish and woke them up. A few minutes later another large group of cattle came stampeding toward them and set the one near them stampeding off in all directions.
They were lucky not to be trampled. They jumped in the 5saddle and did what they could to rein in the frenzied cattle and get them back under control, but the sun was high before the herd was all together and calm again. Then they rode around the pastureland to find out what had spooked them. They came across the mangled corpse of a full-grown steer a few miles from where they had camped. The damage looked worse than something a wolf would have done.
Calvin and Calhoun rode back with him to have a
look at the steer. "Sure looks like a bear done it," Calhoun said.
"Oh, it was a bear alright," said the ranch hand who had stayed behind. "I nosed around some after Caleb left and found its tracks."
"A bear'll come back alot o' the time," Calvin said.
"I want the herd to stay together at night, all o' them, and I want four men out there with 'em with Caleb, every night and two of 'em awake, till we kill it or we're sure it's gone."
"I'm going too," Calhoun said.
Julia opposed Calhoun's going. "You ever shoot a grizzly?" she asked.
"I shot a wolf, and plenty o' coyotes."
"A wolf's one thing; a grizzly's another. One shot ain't gonna bring it down, unless you get it between the eyes, and you're only seventeen. That you're the best 5cowboy in the territory don't count for nothing when it comes to grizzlies."
"If he can father two kids, he can go after a grizzly,"
Calvin said.
"It's them kids he fathered I'm thinking of."
"Don't you go fretting yourself into a state, Julia,"
Calhoun said. "There'll be six of us."
"I just wanna be sure that none o' you ain't never by himself at night."
"We ain't gonna be that stupid."
There was some justification for calling seventeen-year-old Calhoun the best cowboy in the territory. He was generally acknowledged to be one of the best, better than men twice his age and with five times the experience. At five years old, he could toss a lasso at a post and never miss. At ten he could lasso a running steer from horseback; and four times out of five, he would get it, which is a lot more than most cowboys can do. He did not have the strength to hold on to it, but he could wind the rope around his saddle horn, and he could control his horse with the bucking steer standing right next to it. He had roped and branded his first calf before he was twelve, and after branding two or three of them had become as quick at it as a grown man. He had a way with horses, too. They adored him. They saw no sign of the bear until the fifth night.
Calhoun and one of the hired men were on watch, one on each side of the herd.
Calhoun noticed the herd seemed restless. He did not call out to the other herder. If he did, he might scare the bear away, if it was a bear, and if it was, he wanted to see it killed and be done with it. He rode around the herd and whispered his suspicions to the ranch hand, who had become aware of it already and was on the alert. Calhoun told him to wake the others in case the cattle tried to stampede. He would go back to his side of the herd, where whatever danger they sensed was coming from.
"Some o' them're already up," the hand said.
"Good. Tell 'em to be ready."
The cattle broke and ran before Calhoun reached his side, but it only became a stampede after they had cleared the
You only had to ride around the grasslands to check up on them during the day, camp out in a hollow at night, and check on them again the first thing in the morning. The biggest risk was coyotes.
The night before, Caleb and one of the hired men had camped out near one of the larger groups and gone to sleep at about midnight. Shortly before dawn the animals became skittish and woke them up. A few minutes later another large group of cattle came stampeding toward them and set the one near them stampeding off in all directions.
They were lucky not to be trampled. They jumped in the 5saddle and did what they could to rein in the frenzied cattle and get them back under control, but the sun was high before the herd was all together and calm again. Then they rode around the pastureland to find out what had spooked them. They came across the mangled corpse of a full-grown steer a few miles from where they had camped. The damage looked worse than something a wolf would have done.
Calvin and Calhoun rode back with him to have a
look at the steer. "Sure looks like a bear done it," Calhoun said.
"Oh, it was a bear alright," said the ranch hand who had stayed behind. "I nosed around some after Caleb left and found its tracks."
"A bear'll come back alot o' the time," Calvin said.
"I want the herd to stay together at night, all o' them, and I want four men out there with 'em with Caleb, every night and two of 'em awake, till we kill it or we're sure it's gone."
"I'm going too," Calhoun said.
Julia opposed Calhoun's going. "You ever shoot a grizzly?" she asked.
"I shot a wolf, and plenty o' coyotes."
"A wolf's one thing; a grizzly's another. One shot ain't gonna bring it down, unless you get it between the eyes, and you're only seventeen. That you're the best 5cowboy in the territory don't count for nothing when it comes to grizzlies."
"If he can father two kids, he can go after a grizzly,"
Calvin said.
"It's them kids he fathered I'm thinking of."
"Don't you go fretting yourself into a state, Julia,"
Calhoun said. "There'll be six of us."
"I just wanna be sure that none o' you ain't never by himself at night."
"We ain't gonna be that stupid."
There was some justification for calling seventeen-year-old Calhoun the best cowboy in the territory. He was generally acknowledged to be one of the best, better than men twice his age and with five times the experience. At five years old, he could toss a lasso at a post and never miss. At ten he could lasso a running steer from horseback; and four times out of five, he would get it, which is a lot more than most cowboys can do. He did not have the strength to hold on to it, but he could wind the rope around his saddle horn, and he could control his horse with the bucking steer standing right next to it. He had roped and branded his first calf before he was twelve, and after branding two or three of them had become as quick at it as a grown man. He had a way with horses, too. They adored him. They saw no sign of the bear until the fifth night.
Calhoun and one of the hired men were on watch, one on each side of the herd.
Calhoun noticed the herd seemed restless. He did not call out to the other herder. If he did, he might scare the bear away, if it was a bear, and if it was, he wanted to see it killed and be done with it. He rode around the herd and whispered his suspicions to the ranch hand, who had become aware of it already and was on the alert. Calhoun told him to wake the others in case the cattle tried to stampede. He would go back to his side of the herd, where whatever danger they sensed was coming from.
"Some o' them're already up," the hand said.
"Good. Tell 'em to be ready."
The cattle broke and ran before Calhoun reached his side, but it only became a stampede after they had cleared the
Similar Books
Chain of Gold
Cassandra Clare
The Genesis Code 1: Lambda
Robert E. Parkin
Getting Back to Normal
Marilyn Levinson
Memory and Desire
Lillian Stewart Carl
Facing the Music
Jennifer Knapp
The 22nd Secret
Randal Lanser
The Last Time I Saw You
Eleanor Moran
Rise Once More
D. Henbane
Rain of Tears
Viola Grace
Philippa
Bertrice Small