He had picked the boy, Tom Lansing, up out of the sand where he would have died from fever bloat or been trampled to death in the succeeding charges.
"The Shepherd of the North"
Richard Aumerle Maher
In nearly all cases the torpor of the digestive organs results in gastric disorder; the paunch becomes the seat of fermentation, producing gas, which causes it to bloat like a drum.
"Special Report on Diseases of Cattle"
U.S. Department of Agriculture J.R. Mohler
In this form they bloat up after feeding, but seldom swell so much as to cause any alarm.
"Special Report on Diseases of Cattle"
U.S. Department of Agriculture J.R. Mohler