Iron County register., 1899-03-02


find place to lie down I must have
dozed off where / sat
woke with start and rubbed my
eyes, uncertain for the moment where
/ was or what had happened. 1t was
light; only gray, uncertain light, in
deed, but enough TO enable me TO see
the shadowy outline OF the wooded
range in front, and after the first few
seconds to distinguish vaguely more
than one of the great powders that
stood up here and there along the bot
tom of the little valley, looking like
ghostly sentinels in the dim light The
moon herself had not yet risen above
the forest range behind me. but the
whole of the eastern sky had already
grown white with her coming. ] was
looking at the sky over my shoulder
when L was startled by a sound that
seemed to come from the shadows in
front. 1t was not sound l had ever
heard before, but by an instinct / felt
| sure that it came from some living crea-
ture. It was not loud enough 10 be
called roar; it wasn't sharp enough
for bark, nor shrill enough for a
scream, nor dull enough TO be mistaken
ia UNI. y "a Ii SO1IlE strange way
II seemed TO have something in COM
mon with each of these. / turned with
quick start, and instinctively my hand
reached out for my gun. peered eager
~ into the gray shadows for glimpse
of something which might explain the
sound, but all was vague and misty.
The edge OF the forest on the higher
ground loomed out darkly in the re-
flected light from the sky. but the tree
ferns and low shrubs that marked the
course OF the stream were blurred and
indistinct in the ghostly mist, and l
could no longer catch even a glimpse
of the water that gushed and gurgled
below me in the darkness. / glanced
upward Et the frightening sky and
waited
Ih+ IfssnS Increased little by little.
With each minute the dark forest lines
took more and more the shape of indi-
vidual trees. Then the gray mist that
hung over the low ground began to
grow thin and the heads of the taller
tree ferns and bushes began TO show
above il. like treetops on = river Hat in
flood time. Again! And this time
nearer. 1t was the same strange com
posite sound, and now it made nv
nerves creep and my blood run cold.
What could it be? / gripped my gun
tightly with my hand and laid il across
my knees. Whatever ii was. would at
least be ready.
It came like magic. Suddenly the
broad face of the moon showed above
the forest ridge. II was four or five
days past the full, indeed. but still its
silvery disk. clear and bright. threw
a food of light across the valley. / bent
forward eagerly and searched the still
misty hollow with my eyes for the first
sign of the thing that had startled me.
Yes, there il was al last. Along the
bank on the opposite side of the stream
something was moving. It's movements
were leisurely, almost slow. II was not
so very laree-not larger than a fairly
large wild pig. though it was certainly
not d pig. Il looked strange and weird
and unnatural. What was the reason?
The chief thing seemed to be its color.
1t was black-so denseIy. absolutely.
intensely black that it seemed TO me
at the moment as if / had never seen
anything really. black before. What
could ii be? l had lived all my life on
the neigh boring continent of Australia
and / had seen and hunted most of the
wild animals there. / had chased kan
geroos on horseback and stalked them
on foot. ] had shot walIabies and ban
dicoots by the score. and more than
once. when l couldn't help it. l had
killed an iguana- ] had shot native
bears. and once in northern Queensland
1 had killed large python. But what
was this? l had never seen or even
fancied d creature like it. What could |
it be2
Whatever II was. it didn't hurry tself. |
Slowly and deliberately il came down
the bank to the stream, and / could see
it dimly IL the shadow blacker spot |
in the darkness-stoop and drink. 1t
seemed to be a long time about il, but !
it moved at last. II was coming across |
watched il as il waded slowly and de- |
liberately through the water and |
climbed the bank on my side of the |
stream. Then ii stood still and it |
seemed TO stare up at me as l sat in |
the moonlight. By this time the moon |
shine was falling full upon me. and l |
felt certain he was looking at me with |
a strange. questioning gaze. Suddenly /
he raised his head and repeated the cry |
l had heard before. Now that l saw |
him. / felt that il was exactly the cry |
should have expected from him-so |
strange, so weird. so savage.
1t was by an impulse rather than the |
result of thought that | did it. 4 Gu
rious feeling of repulsion and antag-
onism which | could not have reason
ably explained prompted the act. Some
thing in his appearance. something in
that savage cry. may have led to il. but
al least felt that was in the presence
of an enemy. | raised the gun TO my |
shoulder: | covered him deliberately;
fired. Even in the very act l fancied |
his eyes fixed me with fierce stare Of |
hatred. / could have sworn he was look
ing me in the face at The moment. l
fired. and for several seconds | lost |
sight of him in the smoke but / knew
l hadn't missed my aim. A cry. wilder,
stranger. more savage than before, fol
lowed the report of the gu2- And
yes. it was answered. Not one only.
echo of the first. rang out a weird re-
ply Then knew what il was-a devil.
Strange as il appears TO me now in .
looking back. l had up 10 that moment !
utterly forgotten the Tasmanian devil.
/ had supposed the creature TO be eN-
tinct. indeed. but / might have remem-
bered the tales / had often heard as
4