The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-01
NERVE THAT WAS ENVIED.
Awful Experience With Hishwaymen
and a Celtiped0.
Where the Slightest Motion Meant
Sure Death-Hands Held up without
FlinchinR-His Behavior Com
msnded nv His Desperate Detainers.

msnded by His Desperate Detainers.
From the New York sun.
81 have been held up twice by road
agents, - said a New Yorker who had
wide range in the field of western expert
fence, and although hundreds Of other
men have had to look into the muzzle of
Henry or a Winchester rife in the hands
of desperate under similar circum-
stances, l don't believe any one ever had
his nerves put to anything approaching
the strain mine were subjected to during
one Of the seances was party to.
THE first time had to hold up my
hands, with the request that [ keep them
up until further notice under penalty of a
bullet through my heart if l let even one
hand fall below my head, was down in
New Mexico. 1t was just after the war
and party of US were on our way TO
Pueblo. l had $500 in good, hard-earned
government money on my person, with
which l believed l was going to make my
everlasting fortune by investing 1t in
gold mine that one ofmy party had found,
he said, not many miles from Pueblo. The
United States mail coach was carrying us
to that place, and the general impression
IN those days was that the overland
mail was generally well loaded with
NdAud DlC IudbJeE. lnlS SGCucu "
have been the opinion of three enterpriS-
ing citizens of New Mixico about that
time, as we learned when the stage came
to sudden stop in one Of the widest
spots IN ali that country, and the muzzles
OF three rifles appeared a the stage win
doWs, with rough and tough looking
man at the butt end of each rife. One of
the men ordered us to tumble out on the
double-quick We did not trespass, even
a on 1n e ont To-
men, who seemed to be in a hurry, but
tumbled out at the word. Then we were
ordered to stand in a line, front face and
close dress, and to hold our hands above
our heads, all of which was done with
military promptness. One of three bust
ling citizens was sent to guard US, and to
whom the leader of the great band re-
marked
BLOW a hole that you can shove
stove pipe in through
THE FIRST MAN THAT sTIRs y
''Then the other twowent to cutting open
the mail bags and rihing them. l couldn't
tell how the pouches were panning out,
for the riting operation was out of the
range of my vision, under orders, as | was
to preserve rigid eyes 'front.' / guess
we had stood there five minutes, and the
strained position was beginning to tell on
me, when | saw something as [ rolled my
O} GS LONdIu buG kIOuuu UIdb uIONt oil
thought of heavy and painful upheld
arms out of my head. Moving directly
towards me, and not more than a yard
away was one of those terrors of
that region, a centipede. This one was
hldeous looking fellow at least eight
inches long. He kept straight toward
me, and | never moved my eyes from him.
He drew nearer and nearer, until he was
at the very top of my shoe | didn't dare
move, for | knew the muzzle of a derrin-
ger was only a rod away, ready to drive
bullet through my heart The centipede
stopped for a second or two when he
came to my shoe, and then turned and
passed on by. l raised my eyes and
breathed easier. The robber guard didn't
seem to be aware of the existence of any
thing else on earth except US and himself,
and he seemed to have us all under his
eye at once. s...
81 didn't dare turn my head, Of course,
to see what direction the centipede had
taken, and didn't need to, for suddenly
| felt sensation, first at my ankle. and
then gradually passing up my leg, that
made my blood turn cold. The centipede
had crept up my shoe at the inStep, and
was even then climbing my leg under my
trousers. There was no miStaking the
pricking of the long rows of sharp claws
as the centipede worked his way along
my flesh. l knew that the least move
ment made would disturb the venomous
climber and he would instantly sink every
one of his numerous claws into my flesh
and squirt from each one it's quota of
deadly poison into my blood
There is nothing so quick or so sensi-
tive to disturbance as centidede. They
are harmless if their temper isn't reused,
and the falling of shadow on them is
frequently enough to do that Ifyou ever
go into a centipede country, and some
morning wake up and find one of these
ugly fellows crawling over your leg, just
let him crawl Don't breathe, if you can
help it. His sharp claws
WILL PRICK YOU UNPLEAsANTLY
and probably leave two red strcaks on
your flesh, which will itch and burn for
half an hour. but let him take his time.
If you make the slightest movement it
will jar on his nerves, and he will squat
right down, SO to speak, and force every
one of his toes into you its full length.
Then you will have poison enough in you
to kill a horse. You can't possibly be
quick enough to throw a centipede off
before he SINKS his poison claws into you.
I'll tell you how sudden centpede is.
Two New Mexico miners once were camp
ing together, and one day one of them saw
Centpede nearly Il foot long lying quietly
on the bare arm of his sleeping partner.
Fearing that the man might awaken be-
fore the cenllpede moved Off his arm, and
make a movement that would prove fatal
to him, the miner took his revolver, crept
up stealthily 50 near that he could hold
the weapon within two inches of the cen
tipede, and fred. The bullet scraped
down along the sleeping mans arm, and
swept the venemouS intruder away like
chat before the wind. But the bullet
was not sudden enough. Although the
centpede was torn into hundred pieces,
it had had time to sink its claws into
its victims arm before the bullet swept
it off, and the well meaning miner had
only precipitated his partners fate. The
centpede is as much like lightning as
that
well, there stood, doubly held up as
it We're. If l moved a hand the watching
desperate would fill me with lead. If l
moved leg the centipede would fill me
with poison. Slowly the terrible crea-
ture crept up my leg, stopping now and
then as if bordering over his next move
ment, and then climbing on again, all the
time leaving his itching, burning track
all along my leg-something in itself
almost intolerable / did not know how
soon the irascible creeping devil would
take umbrage in his course, and vent his
spite at it by seeking his long rows of
stingers into my flesh; and then the
thought that the robbers would soon be
through with their work at the stage,
and begin the search for our personal