, 1876-09-01
A DRAGON in Colorado.
THE STRANGE STORY OF A TRAVELLER IN
THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT.

stretch of country which, for a long
distance. merits the appellation of the
Greot American Desert. As far as the
40 could reach not a living thing or
obiect created by the hand of man could
he seen. On every side the horizon
ou1v bounded the view, and not even
1rbere the sky kissed the plain did aught
Int the scanty prairie grass, already
burned to brown under the rays of the
last Summering sun, lift itself, dotted
bere and there by innumerable cacti,
from mother earth. Save the quickly
towering thud of my horses hoofs as
he loped over the prairie, not a sound
was 10 be heard, and the stiffness was
profound ,.Lo u.1;.,,,o m,,o
not for long. As was about to seek a
1,lace TO build fire and bivouac for the
night. suddenly a long trailing form
started from the earth, and a queer
-nmbling cry was borne to my ears upon
tbe 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
And 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 rapidity. Al
though nv limbs almost refused to per-
form their office for terror, had turn
ed mechanically to leap on my horse,
Notwithstanding that l knew that the
mace at which the monster was coming
was far faster than that of a horse at
full gallop, but the beast had broken
away from where 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 a rate that compelled an incon
venient degree Of speed to catch up
with him, he suddenly stopped in his
career, and for a moment remained ST.
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 fight begun to ut
ter sonorous roaring that one moment
sounded like some british mother call
ing her young, and another a weird imi
tation 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.
L 49, o,I
with fastening steps to return. The
noise still continued. and even to my
human hearing seemed to have q plead
ing, inviting note in it. The Brobding-
nagian beast, too, had assumed the
shape at once of o cat ready to play
with her kittens, and Of q 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-
ist chiefly in its tail, which streamed be-
hind the body at least a hundred feet.
The trunk of the monster must have
been thirty feet long by about half that
figure in width, and at least from eight
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 il for
ward in the air. The head was hattened
at the top, and lowered high up over
the body on a neck greater in diameter
than barrel, and fully ten feet in
length. The eyes, ss large as saucers,
were about O yard and half apart, and
cleaned like lanterns on either side Of
carriage. Thus far, the mouth was
only partly open, to emit the sound
above noted, SO that in the comparative
darkness 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
Darn door, opened, and forked tongue
oerted out and pulled my poor beast
within. Then came the sound of the
seeth erunching and the breaking of
OonesS mingled with the stihed death
cry Of as faithful brute as ever man
oestrode. Then all was still. and the
Tlghttul creature lay motionless, as if
ugestlng its meal. Presently it stirred,
and, giving myself up for lost, made
up my mind to be its next victim, when,
turning, it rapidly rolled away in the
direction from which it came, without
~ much as looking at me. More dead
seAn alive with terror, 1 made the best
OF my way to this place.
PULASKI has q dentist by the name Of
tTitcheI, and it must be nice to rush