The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1876-09-02
A Dra,on in Colorado.
THE STRANGE STORY OF A TRAVELLER IN
THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT.

A correspondent of the Denver Ners
saws: I was travelling horseback along
stretch of country which, for a long
distance, merits the appellation of the
Great American Desert. As far as the
eye could reach not living thing or
object created by the hand of man could
be seen. On every side the horizon
only bounded the view, and not even
where the sky kissed the plain did aught
but the scanty prairie grass, already
burned to brown under the rays of the
last Summering sun, lift itself. dotted
here and there by innumenblo cacti,
from mother earth. Save the quickly
recovering thud of my horses hoofs as
he loped over the prairie, not sound
was to be heard, and the stiffness was
profound.
But the silence and the solitude were
not for long. AS was about to seek q
place to build a fire and bivouac for the
night, suddenly long trailing form
started from the earth, and queer
rumbling cry was borne to my ears upon
the Western wind. Hardly had the
sound died upon the air when an in
tense trembling seized my horse, and,
with distended nostrils and dilated eyes,
he begun looking on all sides as if to
find away of escape. And now the same
strange cry was repeated, and my terri
fed sight perceived an enormous rep
tile, half serpent, half quadruped, that
was now running, now creeping along
the earth, with incredible rapidly Al
though my limbs almost refused to per-
form their Office for terror, had turn
ed mechanically to leap on my horse,
Notwithstanding that knew that the
pace at which the monster was coming
was far faster than that of horse at
full gallop, but the beast had broken
away from where 1 had tied him, and
was quickly devouring the earth with
rapid feet. Not, however, away from
the coming danger.
Although destruction stared me in the
face, almost lost consciousness of
my peril in viewing the strange scene
that followed. As soon as the terrible
thing perceived that the horse was able
to run at q rate that compelled an incon
venient degree of speed to catch up
with him, he suddenly stopped in his
career, and for q moment remained 81
lent and motionless, and the only sound
to be heard was that made by the re-
treating horse. which was growing
fainter and fainter. Immediately, ere
it had become quite lost to the ear. the
cause of the brute's flight begun to ut
ter sonorous roaring that one moment
sounded like some british mother call
inr. her young, and another o weird imi-
talon Of cooling dove. Hardly had
the sound been uttered. when the horse,
which was now almost lost to sight in
the rapidly growing darkness, stopped.
Presently he turned around and begun
with Fastening steps to return. The
noise still continued. and even to my
human hearing seemed to have plead
ing, inviting note in it. The Brobding-
nagian beast, too, had assumed the
shape at once of q cat ready to play
with her kittens, and of serpent when
trying to charm its prey into its folds.
And now let me describe the monster.
Like other saurians, it had the body of
lizard, uplifted on, as near as could
Judge, eight feet, but its propelling
power, as already noted, seemed to ex-
list chiefly in its tail, which streamed be.
hind the body ut least hundred feet.
The trunk of the monster must have
been thirty feet long by about half that
to ten feet through. The feet seemed
little more than paddles with which to
push this huge body along, and appar-
emily had little supporting power, the
creatures belly touching the ground ex-
cept when its rapid motion forced it for
ward in the air. The head was fiattened
at the top, and lowered high up over
the body on q neck greater in diameter
than barrel, and fully ten feet in
length. The eyes, as large as suucers,
were about o yard and half apart, and
cleaned like lanterns on either side Of
q carriage. Thus far, the mouth was
only partly open, to emit the sound
above noted, so that in the comparative
darkness I could not see it distinctly.
The color was dark purple, such as is
sometimes used in churches at Lenten
time, mottled with black.
By this time the horse had come with
in the embrace of the seducer, and the
charming all at once ceased. Another
movement. and the terrible mouth,
which could now see was as large as q
barn door, opened. and q forked tongue
darted out and pulled my poor beast
within. Then came the sound of the
teeth crunching and the breaking Of
bones, mingled with the stiAed death
cry of rs faithful q brute as ever man
bestrode. Then all was still. and the
frightful creature Law motionless, as if
digesting its meal. Presently it stirred,
and, giving myself up for lost, I made
mp my mind to be its next victim, when,
turning, it rapidly rolled away in the
direction from which it came, without
as much as looking at me. More dead
than alive with terror, made the best
of my way to this place.