Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-04
ARIZONA IN 1870.
DfsasreeabIe Things the Pioneer Hal
to Endure.

Dfsa.reeable Things the Pioneer Had
to Endure.
From the New York Tribune.
.The Arizona of 1870 said William Al
pertson of Spokane at the Hotel Imperial
Yesterday was a country IN entering
which the hardy prospector ami equally
fearless ranchman literally carried 1helr
lives in their hands. Phoenix and Tucson
were ten years away. and in that vast ex-
Danse of sun-baked mountain and plains the
principal inhabitants were the yelio" rat
tlesnakes, white scorpions. tarantulas. CHA
monsters, and. deadly as these loatnsome
rep.iles and insects are, more deadiy sun
the dread Apaches. who made the mountain
Businesses Of the territory their hldlns
places and retreats. from which they MADE
swift and murderous raids upon outlying
frontiersmen's homes. Geronimo han SUI!
fifteen years of his blood-bespattered ana
foul career to riot through unchecked. and
there were other and worse chiefs than ne
who helped TO make Arizona the living nell
it was in those faraway days Few or no
army posts existed there, and ne VINO
sought fortune in that wilderness did so
with the conviction that kill that We may
live must be the rule of his life. Every
murderer and blackieg who found the rest
of the frontier too hot to live in was sure
of an ASYLUM in that desert. and between
the deadly animal and DEALER human life
it was a country into which none but me
brave dared venture. where might was
right and tine strong arm of the law had not
as vet even cast the shadow of its future
coming. Such was the Arizona knew IN
1870. and such a country | pray 1t may
never be my fate again To come in touch
with.
of all the reptiles there the tarantula
was the worst. but almost as dangerous
was the white scorpion. for to his two-and-
a-haIf-ineh body was attached a sting that
he could drive a full half inch into man s
Tra lnsa.1 m
coursing through his blood The CHA mon
SER in spite of his dangerous reputation
in the east. is not as dangerous as these
others, but it is the veritable horror of his
appearance that gives him his reputation
An overgrown and bloated lizard. frequent
ly attaining length of fifteen inches he Is
fearful to behold. his alligator-like body
being of a dirty dark gray and covered
with a hard shell. His bite. however. COM
pared with those of the Others. is innocu-
GUS and need not be fatal If the one bitten
applies without delay remedies to counter
act the poison. think 1t was on this trip
that l witnessed as strange a sight as
had ever looked upon. One OF our party.
who had previously been in the country.
assured US that he knew Ut all, and that a
short cut across the mountains would save
us many weary miles In our journey back
to camp We took him at his word. and
midnight found US just on the crest OF the
divide. after fruitless hours spent in trying
to follow h trail that had no existence.
we were tEen III d Cup-SHdpSu DdSiii, the
center of the cup being covered over by
club chaparrA and the balance with sun
dried dead grass. and there we decided to
remain the rest of the night. lettering
our weary horses, without unsaddling. we
lay down to catch an hour or tWo's rest.
1.-The Indian we had guide continued
Mr. AIpertson, ''was tied by either arm to
two of the party. This was done for safe
tvs sake for in that God-forsaken country
there was no precaution that looked toward
safety it was safe to overlook. About an
hour after we had lain down the Indian
suddenly let loose frightful yell. and
covered him with his rifle. At the same
time we became conscious of the Kissing
Of nuMberess rattlesnakes. and the awful
stencil their bodies give off permeated the
air. Why none of us were bitten was
miracle. for they were all over the place.
and enc of them crawling over his body
was the cause Of the Indians yell. That
club chaparral was their home. and they
must have inhabited it by the thousand.
After we had got the horses and ourselves
to a place of safety one of our number sug-
gested that we fire the place. and we ac-
cordingly touched the dry grass off. In
moment the entire chaparral leaped into
flame. and then occurred the Weirdest of
sights, for the snakes crawled up the dwarf
trees and projected their horrible, writhing
heads above the sea of flame. while from
all about the great yellow rattlers hurried
into the ring of fire A snake by instinct.
you know. PUSHES into. not away from.
nearby fame. To this day 1t Is vivid
the swollen yellow reptiles rushing into it.
and the heads. with their gaping. fork
tongued mouths. rising above and falling
beneath the ieapfng flames"