The San Francisco call., 1909-04-25

large animal that was splashing
through It to the bank. Fer a de-
scription OF the beast itself words fall
me. Reeking with fire, snorting fire.
scattering fire. IL would have been ter
rible enough for an unimpassioned OBJ
server watching from the top OF a tree
TO have looked upon; the effect OF hav-
ing to stand up in front OF IL on
nerves already strung to the point OF
giving away must be left TO the mag
ination.
With a rush and roar it gained the
bank and charged straight down upon
US The judges revolver exhausted
itself into the moss, and my own. un-
fred. hung loosely on my nerveless
fingers: the lieutenant. thanks to his
years OF military training. pulled HIM
rels of his Greener into the oncoming
apparition at under 10 PAGES. We
heard the heavy buckshot strike home
through flesh and bone. heard the saw
age snorts Of rage change to shri1
squeals of pain. and saw the thing
reel and stagger and sink down IN a
quivering heap almost at our feet.
We gazed down at the great body.
still veinsd with triekling lines OF fire.
for q few moments In incredulous
wonder, and then stared at each other
for confirmation OF the dawning truth
The Judge was the first TO speak
Gentlemen" he said. "-we-I beg
pardon, you, lieutenant--havs killed a
pig. And that pool OF IRE over there
Is what we call 'slximming hole Of
phosphorescence. much the largest <
have ever seen. Well see how It cana
to form IN the morning; for the pres
ent let US return to the house and see
what brandy and soda viii do for
overwrought nerves"
In the morning we found the dog OF
fire. still lying where hs had fallen
He was OF enormous proportions
quite the largest wild pig OF which
there was any record In Uganda--bue
must have been almost harmless. from
the fact that his great tusks had
grown nearly into a complets circle
and were. therefore. incapable OF In
hicting serious injury The glowing
pool OF the night before presented q
surface OF dirty brown In the morning
light. but so charged with phospho-
rescence was II that IL showed family
luminous streaks when stirred with a
stick. even with the sun shining al
rectly upon IL. It's existence, we hg-
ured. was due to the phosphorescencs
being sloughed over from the whirl-
pool in times OF high water. All stag
nant water in the wooded sections OF
the tropics contain more or less phos-
phorescence. due to the great quanti-
ties OF decaying vegetable matter lying
about. The animalcules. which ara
responsible for the phosphorescence.
float on the water in a brown scum,
and during the spring foods great
quantities OF this had been drained on
into the river. which flowed through
the judges plantation. This had ss-
cumulated IN great masses OF frotn ae
the whirlpool. to be finally sloughed
Off into the sink as the water raised
In the summer the sink had been
steadily lowered by seepage and evap-
oration. the diminishing pool becoming
more and more strongly imDregnated
with phosphorescence as the pure
water was drawn away. Such fish as
were occasionally carried out OF the
river channel In high water eventually
found their way into this sink, and IL
was the presence OF the remains OF
these, no doubt. which attracted the
old boar there to wa1low- The half
dozen sticks OF giant powder which
the Judge had set of under a neigh
boring ant hill to MI up the obnox-
fous skim hole" also dislodged a huge
mauree stump, which rolled over and
reared itself like rude tombstone
above the shattered body OF the dread
ed ~ire dog"