The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-05-25
CAME DOWN IN RAIN
Visible Only to the Alcoholized
Vision Of Tipplers.
Tough Yarns Spun by Seasoned Cali
fornisns About Lizards and Other
Small Deer Descending from
the Clouds.

COL Blxby, Judge Dukes and Ma
t1nney came over from the Barstow
diggings one evening recently with
big story about storm 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
BEAT, says writer in the New York
Sun, reached down into the wagon box
and pulled out water dog" about
six inches long. This convinced the
tourists that an extraordinary storm
was in progress, and to some extent
prepared them for what followed.
Little by little" said the judge,
st he bombardment increased, until liz
ards and toads were thiclzer'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 at the ground, but jumped back
into the wagon again with yell, say
ing it 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 if we
moved straight ahead in almost any di-
rection we would soon be out of it.
Acting ON this determination we start
eG up again, and in the course of half
IN hour we struck hard ground. We
camped near there, and when daylight
came we went bacl, 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 eau
ton"
Some one having asked what theory
they had to advance in explanation of
this visitation, the major said that
there was lake on the summit of the
mountain off toward Banning that was
full of lizards, and he had no doubt
that the wind, which was very high,
had scooped out that body of water
with all its contents and dumped them
On the Laramie plains. He knew of
similar case in Kansas. A tornado had
followed the line of river and scooped
1t out so clean for a distance of nine
teen miles that farmers living thirty
miles from the stream found fish, tur-
ties and frogs in their front dooryards,
and believed they had rained down.
The colonel said he had brought few
OF 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 crawled
away.
Capt. Nelson, the saloonkeeper, who
had been 4 patient listener, shook his
head and said:
''Old Hank Moore was the only man
| ever knew who could get 'em and be
kind OF pleasant and sociable with
'em. He never made no fuss, never got
excited, and never got scared He'd
be walking along on the sidewalk, and
all of sudden he would see little
baby elephant ahead of him, and would
run along ana 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 1T. An hour later he would
get you off in the corner and tell you
confidentially that he wanted a drink,
but that he couldn't swallow it unless
you took that alligator off the bar.
I've seen Hank go out in the street lots
Of times to avoid stepping on a toad
that he thought he saw. Bat he was
always happy and good natured about
It, He could see mere elephants in
minute than any man you ever knew,
and sometimes when they were partic-
nlarly thick he would get up a dance
with them He was pleasant man 10
have around. When he got the ire
mems, he would always get them right,
and nobody was the worse for it.
''0ne day he came in from the Dodge
City plains with a long story about sec
ing drove of elephants out there. l
didn't know him SO well then as did
and he was so quiet about
1t that | believed him, and just for the
fun of the thing drove out there with
him. After we had gone few miles
he made me stop and then start M
slow because he didn't want to hurt
them.
Hurt what?' says I.
The little Elephants said he.
Then looked al him, and he jumped
put of the buggy and began to chase
one of them. Pretty soon I got
tired, and l began to chase
him. He and / had it there for
a bout two hours. but | ran him down
and got him into the wagon. Then he
me to take one of them home
with me, and just TO please him l pre-
ended TO put one into the wagon. He
,atted the imaginary elephant, and
vas very contented with it until we got
most to Laramie. and then it vanished.
After all hands had partallcn Of the |
cheer. he added:
Now. then. judge. major and colonel. |
don't mind telling you that Hank |
Moore'S drove of elephants was seen in |
ne same place that the lizards were, |
)ut there was something rather enter |
aiming about the way he led EN- I'm (
afraid you're mixing little too much
Hard to Believe
The Lewiston Journal prints story |
l. y. IL. :. -