Wichita eagle., 1889-05-07
ghe aalieha nailu gaee gassdap 4aornn saY r 1888.

The skin of his body had been abraded
In dozen places and every bone ached
with the force of the fall. The stock
man was almost overwhelmed with
rage, for in this accident he saw him
SELF rendered helpless and knew the
thieves, il any there were, would not
leave as much behind as a lariat and
might. should they discover his posi-
ton, kill him. With muttered curse
of despair he turned to look for his re-
volver, determined to fight to the last
should an attack be made upon him.
AS he turned he saw cleaning and
flashing in the murky darkness pair
of small, beady eyes, and poor Aliens
heart almost stood still. for warning
hiss and rattle told him he had in the
well as a companion a rattlesnake.
The reptile ratified angrily and moved
his head from side to side IN an
uncertain way, and then behind Allen
there came an answering sound and
he knew he had two reptiles to cope
with instead of one.
The snake behind him soon crossed
the well and Joined its mate, the two
meanwhile keeping up an incessant
rattle Their siumbers had been
rudeiy disturbed and they seemed de-
termined to resent it if possible.
Allen stood as if petrifed. He knew
a movement on his part meant an at
tack. and this attack to him must re-
suit in death. And such death! He
imagined himself bitten by the snakes
and his fancy depicted a frenzied be-
ing with veins flied with burning
poison wildly graphing with the scaly,
venomous reptiles. and striving with
the desperation of the awful fever to
mount the hard sides of the well and
die on the plain above, beneath God
| smiling stars. The sweat poured
from the poor mans body in streams.
| The snakes gave forth that musky
odor peculiar to them, and this, taken
with the closeness and warmth of the
! air, produced q sensation as of suffo-
cation.
In moment. still kissing angrily,
one of the snakes began to move, and
Allen saw its glistening eyes at his
feet The clamny thing crawled over
his bare feet and circled around his
/ naked legs. The creature seemed to
| like the warmth of Aliens body and
stopped moment. Then it slowly
began to ascend his limbs to his body,
and soon she terrible eyes were look
ing into those of Allen and they seemed
to burn through his brain. Up over
his face the creature moved its head
and then encountered Aliens crisp and
curry hair. With an angry rattle the
snake drew back his head, and Allen,
knowing it would strike, raised his
hand as quick as lightning and gripped
the creature by the throat. With the
other hand he grasped the rattles, and
then he slowly, surely strangled the
creature to death, though the fearful
effluvia which it emitted almost caused
him to faint For half an hour he held
the snake firmly; he saw the malignant
light in its eyes grow dim and finally
disappear, and then he knew one
enemy at least was dead. But he
dared not drop the dead snake. for the
other had become uneasy at the dis
appearance 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 Allen never for q moment took his
eyes from those hostile orbs.
For hours he stood thus, consumed
with feverish thirst, his nerves at a
terrible tension and his eyes strained
and almost bursting. Then the sky
above him began to light up and a
little ray of sunlight danced on the
western wall of his underground prison.
In few moments the well was quite
light and then Allen and his remain
ing enemy saw each other at the same
instant The snake coiled and sprang.
but Allen was too active. He stepped
to one side and let the snake go by
him. and then, with a small club,
crushed out tie venomous life forever.
Then it was that Aliens great nerve
gave way. He yelled and shrieked and
cursed and tore in mad delirium;
and when neighbors, attracted by his
cries, rescued him an hour later he
was frothing at the mouth, bleeding at
the nose, and the snakes were torn to
shreds.
For weeks he lay in his cabin on the
outer edge of death, but his sturdy
constitution stood by him and he re-
covered, though he was but wreck
of his former self His neighbors
''rounded-up" what little stock he had
left-for the thieving residents of the
frontier were quick TO take advantage
of his kelplessness-and Allen left for
New England to recover, if possible,
his former health. But the shock was
too severe and Allen will never be a
man again AT the age of thirty-siX
he is as infrm as a man of seventy,
and his life is devoid of pleasure He
can not remain long in one place. for
his nerves demand a constant change
of scene. and he is a homeless. helpless
wanderer Soon death will come to
his relief and then. perhaps. Allen will
learn why this dreadful plague was
visited upon him
MRS MARGARET " TLsoN ULIPHAST, better
known simply as Mrs. Ohphant is now
sixty years of age. She makes her home at