The Cape weekly tribune. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1914, 1914-06-05


development has progressed much of
the strange plant and animal life
! has disappeared All that how re-
mains of it exists in and about a
few obscure sunken spots, the ply
steal location of which renders i'm
practicable any reclamation measures
that could be undertaken.
The extensive dredging work now
being conducted by the Little River
Drainage District has reduced these
scenes Of wildness to extremely mar
row confines, the only relics of I'M
disturbed wilderness now remaining,
being the townsitc of Chaffcc and II
few scattered spots in what was
originally the "Old Field
\ few days ago while employed in
the undertaking of moving a frame
structure from the West end of the
Cape to point about mile South
of the city, one of the men so en-
gagged met with an experience that
has served to revive old memories
of things said to have TRANSFERRED
years ago in the then. uncxplorcd
swamp regions.
1t seems that having failed dur
ing the week to convey the house
to its final destination, it fell the
lot Of one of the men to serve as
Waterman during Sunday, to see
that none of the equipment was dis
turbed or stolen. 1t was an intensely
warm morning,and while sitting quiet
~ in the house he became drowsy
and soon fell asleep. When he a.
Weakened his attention was Immediately
directed to what appeared to be the
remains of an old, rusty, WORKOUT,
leather bellows, of the sort once
commonly used by blacksmiths, d.
ing in crumpled condition in one
corner of the room. Going over to
investigate, he gave the apparently
inanimate object sharp kick, when
to his surprise there appeared from
the hidden folds powerful looking
Outstretched neck which supported
a most formidable head. The eyes
were set deep in great. bony sockets,
and cleaned wicked glare of dam
ger and defiance. The beak which
appeared to be of dark, horn-like
material, opened and closed contin-
ually displaying a most dangerous
looking set of saw teeth.
Like flash, the creature, with
great cxpanse of outstretchcd wings,
dashed against one of the walls,
and as it fell backward to the floor,
the long, curved, horn hooks with
which every wing joint was supplied,
the plastering and com
plctcly stripped the wall of every
lath. Before the uncanny, unnama-
BILE thing could recover its balance
the courageous Waterman had Sc
cured a strong timber which he placed
across it's throat in an cndeavor to
reduce it to a state of hclplessncss.
Lying outstretched on its back, the
inner side of its great wings revealed
a number of pockets of varying sizes
some of which were equipped with
flaps and horn buttons In its strug-
giles for freedom one of the flaps was
released and from the pocket three
cards were hurled to different parts
of the room. There protrudcd from
a pocekt on the opposite wing the
end of long, slender ear OF corn
After a desperate struggle the strange
specimen subsidized and appeared to
be completely conquered.
The lapse of effort was temporary,
however, and served only to throw
the would be captor off his guard.
With a lightning, darting movement
reptile snatched the protruding ear
Of corn from the receptacle in which
it was carried, and began crunchihg
it in the powerful horned jaws.
This operation was accompanied with
a fearful, cracking sound, quickly
followed by a deafening roar. The
human antagonist was hurled with
mighty force across the floor, where
in his helplessness he saw the coveted
prize escape through the door, rise
high and sail southwark with an APP
parent ease and lack of effort much
the movement of an inn
mense sheet of metal roofing float
ing on the heated air from a burning
building.
When the Waterman awakened he
found that during his sleep he had
fallen from the stool on which he had
been sitting, and was quite nervous
from the experiences of his horrible
nightmare, He was still greatly per-
picked by the fact that when he had
his senses he discovered that
the floor was strcwn with long, !
ttlnt-lkc, transparent grains of pop
corn, as well as the three cards which |
in his dream he had seen cast from !
he nnCkpt pf tho ,n,stnri,,,y non, t