Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-01-17
"wel. what is it?" exclaimed the

three in one breath.
"Darned if know. said Yerkes. 1T
was too dark to see clearly, and then
the tarnal cuss sighted me as soon as /
did him and off he started toward the
setting sun like locomotive. But I've
got his bearings, and I'll catch that
skunk tomorrow or give up COW punch
ing and range riding for good.
The second morning the four were in
the saddle by light and travelling up
stream until grass overgrown bottom,
interspcrsed with scrub oak and pecan
trees was reached.
Here, said Yerlies. lis where saw
the fellow last night.
And here, said Dick Pepper, ARE
the busters tracks"-at the same time
leapinS from his mustang and examining
several large footprints in the muddy
portion of the creek bottom.
"Wal, that beats me, remarked Bob
Ncwhall the fourth,of the party. What
you take them tracks to be, Yerkes? No
such steer as that in the whole kentry as
knows of"
Tain no steer, responded the other.
"Darned if | can size the creature up;
but let's keep after him an well soon
find out, or I'm no preacher"
Out over the prairie rode the four men,
following as best they could the trail of
this strange animal, but all signs we're
soon lest in the sand and gravel, as the
country had now assumed barren, desc
late appearance, covered with hillocks of
sand, and almost as fat as a billiard
table as far as the eye could see. About
noon a specS on the horizon was sighted,
and toward this atom the quartet rode
steadily, gaining rapidly, and very soon
coming so far within range rs to outlive
the object.
"Thats the fellow an no snakes, :"
shouted Yerkes, hardly able to curb his
excitement
Sure enough. There in the distance,
far ahead, was a strange, ungainly OBJ
ject that bore no resemblance to any liv-
ing creature born or bred on this conti-
nent. With a rapid, sidelong, cumber-
some gait he easily kept beyond the
fieetest mustangs until darkness almost
hid his ugly form from view; but still
the four horsemen were doing their ut
most to catch up, with Yerkes long adj
vantage in the lead and evidently deter
mined to solve the mystery at any cost
or kill his horse The last his three COM
radcs saw of him Yerkes was going at a
2:49 SIT, his long Mexican lariat trailing
bch,.I ,2l his rawboned steed doing his
Level "a bring his master alongside
the ctr ,;r they were pursuing. The
others su.a gave up and went into a dry
camp a:.id bunch Of cottonwoods for
few hours. where they had TO dig in
the sand rai water.
A. da:aucss drew around him pooI
Yerkcs almost gave up in despair. Ills
tired H.;:5t.ng protested in dumb sort
of way against such treatment, but still
the b!pcd pushed on, and forced both
himself and stced to such extremities
that at LIST when darkness had actually
closed in upon the whole fiat plain, the
man was compelled to admit that he
was no wiser than the day before re-
garding the identity of the creature he
was chasing.
As he e!sr.ened his speed to think
over !'.c situation his quarry also re-
duc2l l. gait. A bright moon now
came 81, &tg up from the ocean of sand,
and iu.l IT this moment the chase passed
before the great red ball, so that his form
was clearly outlined against the bright
background
1.-The devil" calculated Yerkes. Darn
my skin if don't believe it's camel
Well, if can't catch him III round him
up, anyhow: so here goes"
Making long detour, he managed
gradually to get beyond the animal and
turned him in his course, so that pretty
soon both pursuer and pursued were
travelling directly back over the course
they had come. But the pace was slow
this time, as the mustang began to show
evident signs of pegging out, and the
man was very tired and weary, too. OBJ
serving that his game was now resting,
also, or rather nibbling the scant herbage
and drifting slowly eastward, the cow
boy quickly leaped from his seat, re-
moved saddle, blanket and bride, lari-
ated his steed, who commenced grazing
at once, took good chew of tobacco,
and, resting his head on the saddle,
turned over in pile of soft, loose sand
and was soon sound asleep.
When he awoke some hours later he
found the moon nearly overhead and his
horse still quietly nibbling the few'spears
of grass peeping above the sandy soil
Nowhere in sight was the strange ami
NAL he had followed. Saddling and
mounting he rode here and there in
search of the brute, but the latter had
vanished without sight, sound or sign to
follow.
Utterly and thoroughly disgusted,
Yerkes started on the back trail, at the
same time muttering startling exclama-
tions against the.strange thing that had
led him a wild goose chase to 10 purpose
for two days and night over the plains.
Riding on and on in that still night, not
even a coyote bark or q wolf howl to
break the intense silence, the man would
talk and reason with his horse upon the
confounded i'll luck that had befallen
him. Toward morning Venus came sail
ing majestically up from the east, and
tha moon ctilI ebinin,, bripbtI,- lit IN