A bull movement in Yellow Horse

A bull movement in Yellow Horse by W. C. Tuttle is a humorous Western short story written in the early 20th century. It likely centers on two cowpokes who acquire a circus elephant and the comic havoc that ensues when they bring it into a rough frontier town. Cobalt Williams and Slim Hawkins stumble on enormous tracks, meet a broke circus man, and buy his small elephant, Frederick the First. Hoping for fun, they ride it into Yellow Horse, where Frederick panics at the smell of whisky, wrecks Masterson’s saloon, pitches pool balls like bullets, smashes the post-office porch, and sends horses berserk. The pair flee as accidental outlaws but are dragged back by Buck Masterson to remove the beast. In a tense standoff, Frederick playfully pins Cobalt, briefly warms to Slim, then bolts in terror at a pack rat, causing more chaos and injuring Judge Simpkins. Jailed in an adobe shack while the town decides their fate, Slim and Cobalt are unexpectedly freed when Frederick tears down the wall. They escape up a perilous mountain trail at night, glimpse a massive shadow—presumably Frederick—slip off the path, and, with weary relief, accept that the misadventure is over.

A bull movement in Yellow Horse, by W. C. Tuttle. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78632.