New-York tribune., 1900-05-07

The Arizona Of 1870" said William Alpertson OF
spokane, at the Hotel Imperial yesterday, was a
country in entering which the
TERRoRs OF hardy prospector and equally fear
ARIZONA less ranchman literally carried their
IN 1910 lives in their hands Phoenix and
Tucson were ten years away. and
IN that vast expanse of baked mountain and
plains the principal inha bitants were the yellow
rattiesnakes, white scorpions. tarantuas ella mon
sters and, deadly as these loathsome reptiles and
insects are, more deadly still the dread Apaches.
who made the mountain Businesses of the territory
their hiding places and retreats, from which they
made swift and murderous raids upon outlying
frontiersmens homes. Geronimo had still fifteen
years Of his blood bespattered and foul career
to riot through unchecked. and there were other
and worse chiefs than he who helped make
days Few or Army posts existed there, and
ne who sought fortune in that wilderness did so
must be the rule of his life. Every murderer and
hot to live in wa nf r' Of an an ns ay IN a
desert and between the deadly animal and deadler
human NE II was a country into which none but
the brave dared venture, where might right
aae te slIons arm OF the Jaw nad not as yer even
the Arizona knew in 1870. and such a country
touch with.
'Of all the reptiles there the tarantua was the
worst but almost dangerous the white
scorpion for to his two and a half
SoME inch body was attached sting
DEADLY that he could drive a full half inch
REPTILES. into a mans body, and thus send
the deadly poison coursing through
his blood The Gala monster. in spite OF his dan
gerous reputation in the East is dangerous
as these others but it is the veritable horror OF
mis- appearance that gives him his reputa-
ton. An overgrowu and bloated lizard. frequently
attaining length Of fifteen inches he is fearful
TO behold, his alliga torlke body being of a dirty
dark gray and covered with a hard shell His bite,
however, compared with those of the others is in
hocuous ana need not De rataI II the one pitteh
applies without delay remedies 10 counteract the
poison: think II was on this trip that witnessed
One Of our party, who had previously been in the
manv 1esrv n7es IN me oir ini,rnaT Har 70 cennn
just on the crest of the divide after frutless hours
istence. We then in a cup shaped basin the
centre Of the cup being covered over by club chap
and there We decided to remain the rest of the
The Indian we had guide" continued Mr.
Alpertson, was tied by either to of the
party This done for safety's
A H0RRIFYING sake, for in that God forsaken
NIGHT country there no precautiOn
EXPERIENCE. that looked toward safety it
safe overlook About
hour after had lain down the Indian suddenly
let loose a frightful yell, and every rolled over
his stomach and covered him with his rife At
the same time We became conscious of the kissing
Of numberless rattlesnakes. and the awful stencil
their bodies give of perneated the air. Why
of US We're bitten was miracle, for they were all
over the place, and of them crawling his
body the If the Indians veil That
club chaparral their home, and they must
have inhabited II by the thousand. After we had
got the horses ana ourselves to a place of safety
one OF our number suggested that We fire the place,
and accordingly touched the dry off III
a moment the entire chaparral leaped into fame,
and then occurred the weirdest OF sights for the
snakes crawled up the dwarf trees and projected
their horrible. writing heads above the of
fame, while from all about the great yellow rat
tiers hurried into the ring of fire. snake by in
in To OF WAY
nearby name. To this day it is a vivid picture
in my mind-thaJ zone of fire with the swollen
yellow reptiles rushing into it. and the heads, with
their gaping. fork tongued mouths. rising above
and falling beneath the leaping flames