White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-30

VI du fHttt0fOat Duiks idlECi tnan Ln3
largest elephant. We had never be-
fore seen them save at night. and In
deed they are nocturnal animals savef
when disturbed In their lairs, as these,
had been. We now stood amazed at
the sight, for their blotched and warty
skins were of a curious, fishlike rides
cence. and the sunlight struck themi
with an ever varying rainbow bloom as
they moved.
We had little time TO watch them,
however. for In an instant they had
overtaken the fugitives and were max
ing a dire slaughter among them.
Their method was TO fall forward WITH
their full weight upon each in turn,
leaving him, crushed and mangled, to
bound on after the others. The wretch
ed Indians screamed with terror, but
were helpless. run as they would, be
fore the relentless purpose and horrf-
BILE activity OF these monstrous crea-
lures. One after another they went
down, and there were not half a dozen
surviving by the time my companion
and I could come to their help. But
our aid was of little avail and only In
volved us In the same perl. At the
range of a couple of hundred yards We
emptied our magazines, firing bullet
| after bullet into the beasts. but with
no more effect than IL we were peltng
them with pellets OF paper. Their slow
reptilian natures cared nothing for
wounds, and the springs Of their lives,
with no special brain center. but scat
tered throughout their spinal cords,
could not be tapped by any modern
weapons. The most that we could do
was to check their progress by dis
tracing their attention with the fash
and roar Of our guns and so to give
both the natives and ourselves time to
reach the steps which led to safety.
But where the conical explosive bullets
Of the twentieth century were Of no
avail the poisoned arrows Of the ma
tives. dipped In the Juice of strophan-
thus and STEPPED afterward In decayed
carrion, could succeed. Such arrows
were Of little avail to the hunter who
attacked the beast, because their action
In that torpid circulation was slow, and
before its powers failed 1t could GER
tainly overtake and Stay Its assailant-
But now, as the two monsters bounded
us to the very foot of the stairs, a drift
of darts came whistling from every
chink In the cliff above them. In .
minute they were feathered with them.
and yet, with no sign Of pain, they
o1a mad on1 p1ahhoroI with fmnofont
rage at the Seps which would lead
them to their victims. mounting clum-
silly up for a few yards and then slid
ing down again to the ground. But
at last the poison worked. One Of
them gave a deep rumbling groan and
dropped his huge squat head on to the
earth. The other bounded around In
an eccentric circle, with shrill, wall
ing cries, and then, lying down, wrtth-
ed In agony for some minutes before It
also stiffened and lay still. With yels
of triumph the Indians came 6ocking
down from their caves n danced q
frenzied dance Of victory around the
dead bodies. in mad Joy that two o
Of the most dangerous of all their M
niles had been slain. That night they
cut up and removed the bodies, not to
eat. for the poison was still active, but
lest they should breed a pestilence-
The great reptilian hearts, however.
each as large as a cushion, still lay
there. beating slowly and steadily.
with a gentle rise and fall. In horrible
independent life. 1t was only upon
the third day that the ganglia ran
down and the dreadful things were
still.
One fact we had very speedily dis
covered-the Indians would do moth
ing to help us TO reach the outer world
In every other way they were our
friends-one might almost say our de-
voted slaves-but when 1t was suggest
ed that they should help us to make
and carry a plank which would bridge
the chasm or when we wished to get
from them thongs of leather or Llama to
weave ropes which might help us We
were met by a good humOred but an
invincible refusal. They would smile,
twinkle their eyes, shake their heads,
and there was the end OF 1t. Even the
old chief met us with the same obsti-
nate denial. and 1t was only Maretas.
the youngster whom we had saved.
who looked wistfully at us and told US
by his gestures that he was grieved
for our thwarted wishes. Ever since
their browning triumph with the ape
men they looked upon us as supermen,
who bore victory In the tubes of strange
weapons. and they believed that 20
long as we remained with them good
fortune would be theirs. A little red
skinned wife and a cav Of our own
were freely offered to each Of US II We
would but forget our W people and
dwell forever upon the plateau. 30
far all had been kindly, however far
apart our desires might be, but we felt
well assured that our actual plans Of
q descent must be kept secret, for We
had reason to fear that at the last they