San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-12-26

tracted very little attention; il was merely
Thought that had got one of my usa''
thrashings, and there seemed to be hr
lief in the village that whenever that in
teresting episode occurred it was richly
deserved. found the end of the string
near the edge of the swamp, and got a
stick and began to wind it and save Us
much as possible of the string, don't
suppose any less consideration would
have induced me to brave the terrors OF
that swamp, but through the wild en-
tanglemcnt went, winding up the string,
which was stretched over bush and
bramble, and now and then stuck on the
gaunt branches of one of the dead trees.
When got about half way through the
swamp began to realize that was go
ing to present very picturesque sight
when ] got to the other side of it. My
clothes were all in rags, l had fallen into
the mud three or four times and my face
and hands were scratched and bleeding
with the brambles, but l saw that if !
kept on was going to save all the string
and ultimately get the kite.
Just beyond the midtAe Of the swamp
there appeared to be an open place, and
when broke through the bushes found
there little lake and in the center dry
and grassy island. The dead stiffness of
the spot, although it was SO near the
village began to make an impression on
my sensitive nerves, and | wondered
whether, after all. the string was worth
the fearful price was paying for it. !
began to fear ghosts, spoolSs, bears, lions,
tigers and one thing and another, when
sight more horrible than all of those
together burst upon me as cleared the
brambles and stood in this green place,
There, huddled together, lay the three
COWS. Their bulging, sightless eyeballs
stared at me. Their throats were cut SO
that their heads were nearly half off.
Their bodies were bloated and swollen
out of all semblance to the original
COWS.
Thousands of years of life could not
bring to me moment of greater horror
than that was. 1t would not have been
SO bad if | had been on the road, where
| could have run at the top of my speed
for the village. But here was, hemmed
in by an almost impossible swamp. that
that had taken me already an hour Of
hard wear and tear to get through.
With yell that pierced the heavens
and must have startled the villagers,
if any Of them had been listening,
dropped the coveted string and dashed
madly through the wilderness. How |
ever got out to dry land again never
knew. 1t was fearful struggle of un-
precedented horror. l dared not look
around. The hot breath of the COWS was
on the back of my neck. felt that their
ghosts were following. Those awful eye
balls peered from every dark recess of
the swamp.
When tore through the outer edge of
the swamp had still strength enough
to rush across the commons and dash
madly down the main street Of the vii
lage, all tattered and torn and bleeding,
the light of insanity in my eye and the
strength of insanity in my limbs, yell
ing at the top of my voice, calling: "The
cows! the COWS! They are in the middle
of the big swamp with their throats
cut!' and when I reached my own door,
stumbled and fell into the entrance, to
the CONSERVATION of my relatives, and,
either from the excitement of the fear.
full episode or the fall, lay there insen.
sible.
A body of men, although they seemed
to doubt my story, penetrated in to the
green island of the swamp, where they
found the cows and buried them, but no
one ever knew how the animals got in
there or who committed the dastardly
deed that led to their death.-Luke Sharp
in Detroit Free Press.