Cheyenne Wells record. (Cheyenne Wells, Cheyenne County, Colo.) 1???-1969, 1921-07-07

merely strobe up 10 tne Tos'iu0'
others making way for him as ne au
yanced. The chieftain rose 10 MS
feet and uttered the name OF my
cort who, in turn, halted and repe".eu
the name of the ruler followed D! his
title. r.r
NV cantor, whose name was Iars
Tarkas, evidently explained briefly the
incidents connected with his eApeul-
ton, including my capture, ana "hen
he had concluded the chieftain au'
dressed me at some length.
1 replied in our good old Engiish
tongue merely to convince MIN thu'
neither of us could understand the
other; but noticed that when smiieu
slightly on concluding he did likewise.
This fact and the similar occurrence
during my first talk with Tars iarkas
convinced me that we had at least
something in common; the ability to
smile, therefore to laugh; denoting
sense of humor. But I was to learn
that the Martian smile is merely per-
functory and that the Marian laugh
is a thing to cause strong men 10
blanch with horror.
The ideas Of humor among the green
men Of Mars are widely at variance
with our conceptions of incitants to
merriment. The death agonies OF
fellow being are, to these strange crea-
lures, provocative Of the widest hilar-
ity, while their chief form Of common
est amusement Is to inf1ict death on
their prisoners Of war in various In
genIous and horrible ways.
The assembled warriors and chief
tains examined me closely, feeling my
muscles and texture Of my skin. The
principal chieftain then evidently Sig
nifled q desire to see me perform, and,
motionIng me to follow, he started
with Tars Tarkas for the open plaza.
Now, I had made no attempt to
walk. since my first signal failure. ex-
cept while tightly grasping and fitting
about among the desks and chairs like
some monstrous grasshopper. After
bruislng myself severely, much to the
amusement of the Martians. I again
had recourse to creeping, but this did
not suit them and was roughly
jerked to my feet by a towering fel-
low who had laughed most heartily at
my misfortunes.
As he banged me down upon my
feet his face was bent close to mine
and I did the only thing a gentleman
might do under the circumstances Of
brutality, boorishness and lack Of con-
sideration for strangers rights; l
swung my fist squarely to his jaw and
he went down like felled OK. AS
he sunk to the floor wheeled around
with my back toward the nearest desk,
expecting to be overwhelmed by the
vengeance of his fellows, but deter
mined to give them as good a battle
as the unequal odds would permit be-
fore I gave up my life.
My fears were groundless. however,
as the other Martians, at first struck
dumb with wonderment, finally broke
into wild peals Of laughter and ap-
plause. did not recognize the ap.
plause us such, but later. when had
become acquainted with their customs,
I learned that I had won what they
seldom accord, manifestation of ap-
probation.
The fellow whom l had struck Law
where he had fallen. nor did any of his
mates approach him. Tars Tarkas ad-
vanced toward me. holding out one of
his arms. and we thus proceeded to the
plaza without further mishap. l did
not, of course, know the reason for
which we had come to the open, but
I was not long in being enlightened.
They first repeated the word "sak"
n number of times, and then Tars Tar
kas made several jumps, repeating
the same word before each leap; then,
turning to me, he said. "Sakw saw
what they were after. and gathering
myself together "sakked" with such
marvellous success that I cleared a
good hundred and fifty feet; nor did
I this time lose my equilibrium, but
landed squarely upon my feet without
falling. then returned by easy jumps
of twenty-five or thirty feet to the
little group Of warriors.
My exhibition had been witnessed
by several hundred lesser Martians,
| and they Immediately broke into de-
HlauuS lOT TeDetltlOn. But | was
both hungry and thirsty, and ignored
the repeated commands to "sak," and
each time they were made motioned
to my mouth and rubbed my stomach.
| Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged
few words. and the former, calling
to young female among the throng
gave her some instructions and mo-
toned me to accompany her, I
grasped her proffered arm and TO-.
gether we crossed the plaza toward q
large building on the far side.
My fair companion was about eight
feet tall. having just arrived Mt mn.
turity. but not vet to her full height
She was of light olive-green color.
with smooth, glossy hide. Her name
as l afterward learned, was Sola. and
she belonged to the retinue of Tars
Tarkas. She conducted me to a spa.
cious chamber In one Of the BUILDINGS
fronting on the plaza. and which. from
the litter Of silks and furs unon tho