El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-07

WhOOpln In blizzard. he
wuz so alfred mean an on
ry that the airth wouldn't
hold his carcass and fire
eat it right hire. Go sl,w.
.......--.
This strange inscr' ption can be seen
upon q great ro"k in wild. inha bited
region of the mountains of western
Texas. 1t is, of course, puzzle to
hunters who happen to run up
against it while in pursuit to antelope,
but there. are yet living in the vicinity
of Interpreting it. Some of these gray
haired pioneers were we'll acquainted
with the deceased iudidual whose pc
cu!iar death and character some bold
artist attempted to perpetuate upon
the eternal rock.
Mr.. Hog Wallius. was certainly a
very extraordinary man, and during
his short career 10 the mount aims of
western Texas his cOnduct furnished
those who knew him best with a sub
ject for reflection aud discussion that
never ceased to be interesting. Old
Uncle Bob Rollins, who lived fOrseveral
years not far from the Wallins ranch,
says that the proprietor OF that occurs
ed slice of real estate was one of the
nc eauest and, at the same time, one OF
the stranQest characters that ever liv-
ed. 81 don't know" he says s'who
wrote his epitaph on the rocks, but the
artist only hinted at the truth. He
died in d s'orm, while he was staining
on his feet, cursing like pirate. 1t is
supposed that he was killed by thun-
derbolt. A sheep herder who witness
ed the horrible scene says that the in
carnate devil cursed God for sending a
storm to kill his sheep, and curse ], the
earth for not furnishing grass aud
swore he would not lie in Texas soil
Punishment pursued bis carcass after
him, and three times the grave opened
and threw the decaying body of the
mo1ster out to the bowling wolves. 1t
would not stay buried. Texas earth
would not hold his carcass"
Mortal ears never Hsten ned to strang-
er story, but Cal Wilmington, lola
Thauet and Milky Sands, all reliable
cattlenen of the Rio Grad country,
corro-orate the statement of Uncle
Bob Rollins, and they add much equally
as startling and Incredible.
Hog Wallins was name given to the
man by the cowboys after they became
somewhat familiar with his charac-
ter. His real name was John Wallins,
and he claimed to have come to Texas
direct from Liverpool. When the
cattlemen a2d cowboys in the vicinity
heard Ct the death of the strange
character they went to the plac, in the
mountains where his body was lying
for the purpose of giving the deceased
decent burial. The grave was not
easy to dig in the hard mountain soil,
ard it was some time after shutdown
when the last act in the sad RTE had
had lit fire only q short distance
from tn, grave and prepared little
repast for the party. The horses
were already picketed in good grass.
and after lighting cigarettes they con-
cluded to spread their blankets under
the trees and remain until morning.
About midnight thers was low rumb-
ling sound that caused every ma to
spring. to his. feet. The trees " re
swaying, the'hOrses were staggering,
and the earth was trembling SO violently
that the frightened cattle were thrown
to their knees. While epdeavoripg
to regain their senses some one shouted
Look! LOok!' at the same time point
ing toward the grave. All eyes fol
lowed the mans wild gesture, and ev-
cry man present is unto this day ready
to maintain upon his oath that the
grave opened, ar d that the body of the
dead MAJ shot high in the air.
SIT struck the earth upon its feet, !"
says Mr.. Wilmington, land is certain
as stand here it 'stagger upright
two or three steps toward our
camp and fell on it's face. Never did
mortal man witness a more horrible
sight. We could see the glazing eye
balls and the white teeth, while the
long arms swung about wildly"
After the shock had passed the cat
tlemen mounted their horses and rode
to the cabin OF a Mexican herder, who
had been in the employ of the dead
man. Here old man Dolsn, who was a
graduate Of Trinity college, Dublin,
made an attempt to exp ain the strange
scene that they bad witnessed. Mr..
Dolan had studied medicine in Paris,
and he was also some thing of a phil.
osopher. man." said he. sis crea-
ture of habit. Put a corpse on its feet
and it will walk. The Greeks were
we'll acquainted with this startling
fact, and the great Frenchmen were
not discovering anything when III y
demonstrated it by actual experiment.
quake" added the wise Irishman, and
in its violence the grave was opened
and the dead man as thrown upon his
feet. Being q creature of habit, it
doubtless staggered step or two b.
fo'e it fell.''' The cowboys shook their
heads aud puffed their cigarettes in
silence un' il daylight. With the ris-
ing sun they legaired their courage,
and being somewhat ashamed of their
hurried fight they conc uded to return
to their camp and inv stigate the
stra ee occurrence Of the previous
mig Int. They found the shallow grave
open and the corpse living on its face,
some 10 fo 4 away. i'Neyer,b said one