Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-05-24
DICK ALIENS ORDEAL
< xsaHT IN 4 WELL WITH RATrxt,-
 SNAKES.


 Tt. Experience of n Few Hours h ss"s s."~.:y Front ierssn~n ca ... f"- -..:t.. an-In shs Grasp a.. -. Mnl
 ,,.- asrpttic The Battle in...y a. Esd.
 ssivo wears ago Richard All, n, or rir'; -N:cu. :,s ie was fanriliarly known l,y hi . ssU,a.eS. owil",i. "t at loa>-t tla!nn' l ! sd ,rupic,s ,a - ,-.n range "f c;,ds idrg- | .c -r,,, in SuutAarn Art:soua, tn M'N;- taal ;s..:.ry line ioin5, disi,:nt l. ! Il fnw u..e> ,,r owECd a largo nuinoer of h.. s.,.,.., a;.d HaS considered wc'l-to- 60. Among the rou@i. population of t!,t boitiar Alien was Il power. He was most gene. ously gifted by nature, having wsil-knit, Athletic frame, and mlri well stored with knowledge. But iS s'H-s Allcu's nerve which secured for him recognition and ati!uenre amid the cac- tus-i!ccked plains of Arizona and New Moxlco--a nerve whick knew no finch ing even .n tho face of death. The grcasers ami Indians soon learned to dread the tall stockman, for in mo, than one encounter they had como uT badly worsted, and moro than one un- marked grave on the Mexican frontier bears silent witness to Aliens uncrrng aim, for he never hesitated to kill when he thought himself justified. So greatly was hc feared and respected by his wild companions and ncighbors that nothing bearing his brand was ever molested, and the most daring of the cowboys and outlaws seldom tempted death by too prolonged argument with him.
 In the summer of 1885 Allen met with a miShap that hurled him from tho heights of a sturdy manhood to an exist ence but little removed from death. Al! day long Alien had been hard at woG:I branding a lot of yearling steers, at point some twenty miles from his dugout, and at night he was completely worn out. It was wearisome gallop from the brand ing place to his cheerless habitation, for the air was sultry and the baked ground gave forth an intense heat. It was nearly II o'clock when the stockman reachc>: his destination and glad was he when his pony was safely stabbed for the night and he ut liberty to retire. He was about to creep into bed when his quick ear detected slight noise in the direc- tion of his stable, and he knew at once that Erowlers were about. SeiZing his revolver he started for the stable on his hands and knees, for be intended to kill and not 70 alarm, having no garment on other than his undershirt. The noise in ,hc stable continued, and Allen moved rapidly toward the sound So intent was
 
 failed to notice where his path led him, and suddenly, without warning, he felt something beneath him give way, and he was precipitated to the bottom of a ..playcd-out' well, & distance of som2 twenty-five feet. The we'll had been dry for years, and the mouth had been closed with a few rotten boards. which, living way beneath Aliens great weight, Aaa caused the catastrophe.
 For moment Allen was stunned. The skin on his body had been abrased in a dozen places, and every bone ached with tho force of the fall. The stoekman was almost overwhelmed with rage, for in this accident he saw himself rendered helpless, and knew the thieves, if any there were, would not leave as much be- hind as n lar.at, and might, should they discover his position, kill him. With a | uluttercd curse of despair he turned to to the last, should an attack be made upon him. As he turned, he saw geainins and flashing in the murky darkness a pair of small beady
 ,ood still, for warning hiss and rat ilc ,old him he had i'll the we'll as a oom-
 ;,nion q raItle- make. Tho reptile rat t,,,. H~.s.Iiy and moved his head from l,r 70 sit:e in an uncertain way, and
 
 ,..; sound, and he knew he had two rep lies ro vuin with instead of one. The ,..~N. c ind him soon crossed the we'll ..>. ;r,: d. mate, the two meanwhile ,',, ,..:> ,.r all incessant rattle. Their ~. .,Id been rudely disturbed. and anc. ,,e.,"d determined to resent it. Al,rn stood as if petriiied. He knew a Ao.' ::.'ni on his part meant an attack, ,..l t!.,., attack to him might result in ',- n.t Hn i'm | ...,,: n-.4lscE bitten by the snakes, and ai. ia!.cy depicted a frenHied being with | veins filled with burning poison, wildly | srappling with the scaly VenomouS rep 1 Ales, und striving with the desperation of the awful fever to mount the hard sides of the well and die on tho plain l above, beneath Gods smiling stars. The sweat poured from the poor mans body in streams. The snakes gave forth | that musty odor peculiar to them, and | this, taken with the closeness and warmth of the air, produced a sensation as of suffocation.
 In moment, still hissing angrily. one of the snakes began to move, and Allen l saw its Slistening eyes at his feet. The l clammy thing crawled over his bare feet l and circled around his naked legs. The l creature seemed to like the warmth of Aliens body, and stopped for moment. Then it slowly began to ascend his limbs 10 his body, and soon the terrible eyes 1 were looking into those of Allen, and they seemed to burn through to his brain. Up over his face the creature moved its head, and then encountered Allcns crisp and curly hair. With an l angry rattle the snake drew back his hea.:, anu Allen, knowing it would strike, raised hand as quick as light nus, and gripped tho creature by tho throat. With the other hand he grasI.c the rattles, and then he slowly, l surely, atiangled tho creature to death, though the fearful effluvium which 1t omitted almost caused him to faint. For half un hour he held the snake firmly | He saw the malignant light in it's eyes l grow dim and finally disappear, and then he knew one enemy at least was dead. Bat he dared not drop the dead snake. for the other had become uneasy ut the disappearance of its mate and seemed on the point of starting out in search. The fierce, glaring eyes moved from side to side, the rattle was seldom still, and