Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1884-03-13

pounding rocks and digging holes, !
stayed about camp, did the cooking, and
Kept up the fresh meat supply. "
Game was plenty, and could iumn
up deer any day half-mile from
camp. The country was pretty ronob
and had great deal of difficulty n
getting my game back to camp after
it was killed. = -'s1-
"One morning left camp and took n
new course, climbing to the ton of !
nigh, Hat mountain, about mile and q
half distaut. ~ =
reached the top after an hour,s
hard climbing, and although I found
plenty OF antelope signs, and allowed
several punches to pass me. j did moi
nre AZ this meaner game, trusting to run
upon black deer.
was unsucce essful in my search.
however, and, after tramping around fo,,
two or three hours, had turned back to
the spot where I had climbed the
mountain, considerably disgusted with
my ill-luck.
Just before reached the head of the
path billy and two nanny antelopes
| passed me. We were entirely out oi
fresh meat, and 1 thought that antelope
tenderioln was good deal better eating
than fat bacon. So l blazed away at the
billy. He wasn't more than fifty wards
distant when fred, and it was an easy
shot.
III knew by, the way he jumped hat
he wss hit and from the fact that he left
the nannies and bounded toward the edge
OF the mountain.
"They were lodging in and out
among the rocks, and were 200 yards
away before ] got a shot, which 1
missed. | looked around after the billy,
but he had disappeared. You know
they are mighty hard to kill, and run a
long way after they are mortally
wounded. So 1 took up his trail and
followed it matter of $50 yards to the
edge of the mountain.
HE must have died lust as he
reached the cliff, for l saw his BODY
about thirty feet below on narrow
bench.
There was no way to climb down to
this bench, but the billy looked fat and
l was determined not to lose nv tender
IONS, 80 laying aside my rifle and six.
shooter, and stripping off my coat, I
made last my rope to n big rock and
lowered myself to the shelf. -,
II had taken along my butcher knife.
and, after bleeding him, I skinned the
hams and cut out the tenderloins,
.! was busy tying the meat into a
bundle with nay rope, intending to baul
it up to the top OF the mountain. when
heard hiss in my ear, and, wheeling
around quickly, came face to face WITH
the biggest Gila monster I had ever
heard tell OF.
"Boys, he looked as large as an ele-
phant, and the cloud of steam that
came out OF his nose was worse than
the blow-off OF Mississippi steamboat
1t was so strong that it blinded my eyes
and made me gasp for breath. I could
see his little eyes glaring at me like
Goals OF fire, and his mouth was wide
open.
"He was SO close when l first saw
him that had no time to retreat. and
l just braced myself and lupged out
with my knife. I put out NV left
arm as a shield, and the varmint
grabbed it. His sharp teeth sank to
the bone and he hung on like bull
dog. I kept slashing at, his throat
with my knife, and every time ran
the blade in to the handle. He
thrashed around considerable, and we
rolled over and over on that narrow
ledge, and I expected every minute
we'd tumble over the brink, but we
didn't, and I did such good work with
my knife that he got weaker and weak.
er.
Give fought grizzlies hand to hand,
had desperate tussles with painters and
catamounts, and been tortured by Ipjuns
but III swear to you that two-minute
fight beat them all. s-
~ was covered with blood, and when
he finally let go his hold on nv arm, I
was 80 sick and weak from the vapor he
had breathed on me, that l couldn't
crawl away from him even.
II lay there along side of him for
matter of ten minutes before I got
strength enough to stagger to my feet,
and although 1 bound up my arm with
prickly- pear, it was good two hours.
and l made more than twenty trials, be.
fore managed to draw myself up to the
top of the mountain again.
"My arm turned green, and swelled
up to twice its natural size. was
weak and faint, and it seemed as though
l would never reach camp, but I finally
did, and fell down unconscious.
''It was two weeks before came to
my right senses, and the boys thought
they would have to take off my arm, for
it was the worse wound for to heal that
you ever saw, but I finally got around
all right, and I never hear the words
Gila monster spoken that it don't make
me shudder." +"