Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1895-06-02
STRANGE SHOWERS
Visible Only to the Aloonoized
Vision OF Tipplers
Tough Yarns Spun By ssasoasd Cali
foxnians About Lizards and Other
SNAIL Deer Descending from
the Cloudh

Col. Bixby, Judge Dukes and Maj.
Finney came oyer from the Barstow
diggings one evening recently with
a big stoSy about a storm n few
evenings before on the Laramie plains
In which It rained lizards. They had
been over the divide to the Waterman
ranch, and on returning were over
taken by a gale, which presently
brought rain. For an hour or so it
poured in torrents, and then, Just at
dusk, they felt something solid strik-
ing them occasionally. At length the
colonel, who was sitting on the back
seat, says n writer in the New York
Sun, reached down into the wagon box
aud pulled out u ''water dog" about
six inches long. This convinced the
tourists that IN extraordinary storm
was In progress, and to some extent
prepared them for what followed.
Little by little" said the judge,
"the bombardment increased, until liz
ards and toads we're thicker'n flies. We
turned up our coat collars and pulled
down our hats, but it did no good.
They'd strike us in the face, in the lap,
on the back and all over, and the
horses became wild with terror. We
lost our way, and the major got out to
look ut the ground, but jumped back
into the wagon again with 4 yell, say
ing 1t was knee deep with lizards. by
this time it had stopped raining and we
came to the conclusion, after mature
reflection, that the area of the storm
could not be large, and that IL we
moved straight ahead in almost any di-
rection we would soon be out of IL.
Acting on this determination we start
ed up again, and in the course of half
an hour we struck hard ground. We
camped e there, and when daylight
came we went back n ways and exam
ined the lizards. There were millions
Of them, the great majority of them
being dead as the result Of their fall;
but there were plenty of live ones, and
the way they were crawling was a eau
ton"
Some one having asked what theory
they had to advance in explanation of
this visitation, the major said that
there was n lake on the summit Of the
mountain off toward Banning that was
full of lizards, and he Ind no doubt.
that the wind, which was very high,
had scooped out that body of water
with all it's contents and dumped them
on the Laramie plains. He knew of n
similar case in Kansas. A tornado had
followed the line OF n river and scoopcd
it out SO clean for n distance of nine
teen miles that farmers i.,!ai. I...ty
miles from the stream found fish, tur-
ties and frogs in their front dooryards.
zad believed they had raincd down.
The colonel said he had brought n few
Oh the lizards In to show the folks, and
he would get them, but, after search
ing the wagon box in vain, he was
forced to apologize by saying that they
had prob ably come to life and crayylcd
away.
Capt. Nelson, the saloonkeepcr, who
been q patient listener, shook his
head and said:
"Old Hank Moore was the only man
l ever knew who could get 'em and be
kind of pleasant and sociabic with
EN-. lie never made no fuss, never got
excited, and never got scared. He'd
De walking along On the sidewalk, and
all OF n sudden he would see n little
baby elephant ahead of him, and would
run along and try to climb on his back.
Then, when he'd fall, he'd swear that
somebody tripped him up, and he'd get
all over it. An hour later he would
get you off in the corner and tell Won
contidentinlly that he wanted n drink.
put That he couldn't swallow IL unless
you took that alligator off the bar.
We seen Hank go N in the street lots
OF times to avoid stepping on n load
that he thought he saw. But he was
always happy and good natured about
II. lie could see more elephants in n
minute than any man you ever knew,
n sometimes when they were ,partic.
ularly thick he would get up n dance
with them. He was n pleasant man 10
have around. When lie got the tire,
mems he would always get them right,
ana nobody was the worse for IL.
'one day he came in from the Dodge
city plains with u long story about see.
ing q drove OF elephants out there.
uidnt know him so well then as / did
atterward, and he was SO quiet about
IT that l believed him, and just for tn,
FUN of the thing j. drove out there will
him. After we had gone a few mile,
he made me stop and then start III
slow because he didn't want to hur
them.
Hurt whatP' says l..
1.-THE little ELEPHANTS said he.
"Then Hooked at him, and he jumpc,
out OF the buggy and began to chas
n Of them. Pretty soon 1 go
tired, and / began to chas
him. He and I had IL there TO
about two hou RS, but I ran him dow,
and got him into the wagon. Then h,
wanted me TO take one of them HON,
with me, and just to please him 1 pre-
tended to put one into the wagon. III
patted the imaginary elephant, an,
was very contented with IL until we no
most to Laramie, and then It vanished
After all hands haG yar,akcn OF th,
landlords cheer, he added:
Now, then, judge, major and colonel
l don't mind telling you that Ham
Moore's drove OF elephants was seer /,
the SAINT place that the lizards were
but there was something rather enter
tanning about the way lie led 'cm. Tn
AFRAID you're mixing n little too much.
Hard to believe.
The Lewiston Journal prints n stor,
which ISLANDERS tho gallant sons n,
Maine. Needless TO say, IL cannot h,
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