Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1906-04-13
THE
BEWITCHEH
BUTTE.
THE
By S. 4. CRAWFORD.
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pal aim in life was to crowd it full of
adventures. | haven't shrunk much
since, as you can see, but a quiet ex-
istence is. all want now. To sit on
this veranda with the Florida News
and watch my pineapples redden and
listen to the mocking birds gurgle from
the magnolias-this seems to me suf-
fcient and worth while. SIC
Il told you, think, how the blacks
attacked us and we blew up the sta
ton as a farewell salvo ove4 the grave
of the ivory business in that particu-
lar section. That was a lurid end to
a well-colored epoch in my life.
There were dull stretches at the sta
ton, Of course. But sudden and queer
experiences would come to us; all we
had to do was to sit and wait sufficient
ly long. And sometimes-in the pur-
suit of business-I hunted them up my
self.
''Fletcher's speaking of mountain
lions just now recalls an old adventure
of mine. One time | made a trip into
the back country, straight away from
the coast, for five racking weeks. |
held confab with four grim chiefs, and
had some hunting experiences in be-
tween; but the particular incident I'm
going to speak of happened at the end
of my Official tour, when had turned
aside for bit of shooting.
THE place where we. pitched camp
was at the endge of a plain. Grass
about as tall as wheat covered it, and
shook in the wind with a play of high
and low lights that reminded one Of
the dimpling of the sea. And the bles-
boks feeding in it we're like dolphins;
you could just see their purple backs
rounding above the trembling expanse.
Away off-far out to sea, was 60
ing to say-a rocky island of butte
lifted its silvery gray head, the one
rugged feature in the landscape. My
blacks used to sweep their eyes across
It with shudder. They said it was
haunted by tribe Of witch things.
Il had been curious to see the place
before, and that suggestion of the un-
canny set me of. Only one of my men
would go with me, and he walked as
If he were going to the gallows,
yet the butte looked naked and
commonplace in the fierce downpour of
the morning sunlight. A culver of air,
such as you see over a hot stove, hung
above it's top. If there were any
witches there they must have had sala-
mander blood in their veins.
"a large ring of desolate ground sur
rounded the butte, formed by the sandy
earth and coarse rock-dust that the
winds had swept from its naked Shout
ders. We had just stepped out on this
when a hoarse putting sound arose
some yards to the left. The tall grass
swayed and parted in a moving line,
and as we stood watching it somewhat
uncertainty, the head and front of
rhinoceros emerged.
'KeitloaI exclaimed the native.
This is the name in the Sechuana dia-
lect for the prehensile-lipped black
rhinoceros, whose nature is much more
fierce and aggressive than that of his
lighter-colored cousin. So when | saw
those two horns and the small, bleary
pigs eyes under them twinkIing malic- /
iously at me, l stood still and tried to
look respectful
Il dare say my pacific attitude would
have had its intended effect, but the
native lost his head, and suddenly
Whooped in my ear, casting his spear
over my shoulder at the same moment.
The keen blade sank into the beasts
1eathery chest not more than an inch,
and dropped out Immediately; but it
settled the state of the rhinoceros' feel i
1ngs toward US. He let out two or
three high pressure puffs and charged.
Il knew there was no chance of
bowling him over with head shot, but
l fred, and then my guide and parted
company. The bare ground looked 70
be the easier road for a sprint.
Have you ever seen a frightened
rooster run, his legs swapping up as if
they were on elastics? | nearly dis
located mine in my dash for the butte.
| had no time to pick a point of as
cent A bare wall of rock confronted
me, and | thought that should be
most unpleasantly smashed against its
surface, when a little ledge some four
feet above the ground caught my eve.
81 dropped my rife, put both hands
on the shelf and swung myself up on
the rum. The old keitloa's horns lust
missed me. He snorted savagely, and
rearing up, thrust his long snout over
the edge. A kick from my heavy boot
drove him back a few PAGES. Then he
cooked his big head on one side and
looked up at me with an expression
that seemed to say, You're up there all
right, but how about the time when
you come down? You'll find me here
'The shelf was perhaps twenty feet
long and two wide. Overhead was =
fiery sun in a cloudless sky, and
back of me smooth, sheer wall Of rock
that threw out heat like furnace. NY
short run had sent my blood up to
what seemed boiling point, and
there was no means of cooling it.
loosened my clothes and made a fan
of my hat, but my pulse would not 90
down. There was no perspiration 10
give relief. Dry, dreadful heat choked
me. and like all heavy men under such
conditions. was seized with the fear
of apoplexy.
Il imagined saw twinkle in the
keitloa's little eyes, but there was no
sign Of his abandoning the siege. lie
destroyed q couple of small bushes
with sids sweeps of his ugly horns, Just
to show me what he could do. When
began to walk along the shelf he
trotted along underneath, flirting his
ridiculous tall
sTn one direction the shelf ended |
abruptly with smooth wall beyond.
In the other it ran to a sharp angle
Of the rock. peered round this end |
saw another shelf. much broader than
the one was on, but separated from |