New York Clipper (Sep 1894)

OowiigliUJ. imi, bj Tht FxuX QoMii Pabiumng CDniaiij (Umliad). FeumM by I FRANK QUEEN, 1863 I NEW YORK, SATURDA.Y, SEPTEMBER 8, 1894. THE AC TOR'S PA RADISE. nrmif rot ni Hiv.TORR^ourrui. BT MIRE MEBBOITH. WHanliltfoTmitt Id gtud •pplsoM, la llaea diUfend Ooelrr In leuen from Uig loTelr nx. With worda Uitt bieulie <]lTliiel> r lo Home, tlia aweateat apot ot eartli, No mttar where the iklear. la that, oh I tall me, aage alibUma, The Aotor'aFuidlaet In aaliciea o( antold bnlt-, nut make the glTcr trembler In knowledg)j.9t hie boindleaa tune That he onsot dlaaamUet In adulation ot the oiowd, That Inoenaelnn anpplleat Ah, no I that neTei haa made ;et The Aotoi'a'Fuiullaa. Where la it toond, ob, auirer met In FoUj'a tide ot Faahlont Or when wild Flaaaan'a Rtodf thivng with Dlrth and madneaa <lsth on r; In trtumpha ot bla mighty art, Beneath the wlngi and fllea t Where, where, oh l where can It be roand. The Aolor'a Paradiaet Oo wltneaa on the nlghUj boards The |>Ia;»—their name la leirion— And aee the plajere—names ot note- From ererr ollme and region. TTie aeventh bearen ot delight Within hla inup now Ilea I neoentno/lhettaoeV Thiala The Actor's Paradise I A BATTLE WITH PECCARIES. WBimR VOH TBI arw TORK OtirPBR, BT BARTLEY COTNE Bob Dnnlap and I were codsIds. He was a ret- enn bnnter ot itty, known from the month of the Rio Oimnde to the head wsteni ot the HIssonrL I was an amMenr ot thlrtj, known to a small circle In BU Umls, I had nnghed It with Bob In the wllda ot north- era Texas ten weeks, at the end of which time I wis inneh more ot a bnnter than when I started out, wtleh, howsTer, Is not njiig mnok. One morning in carlr September we fonnd onr- aelTea plodding along in the apparent eantre or a Tast plain, bonndltss aa the sea saTe for a monn- tain Tuge In the tar west, bine and hazj In the dis- tance. Thongb a faTorlte feeding uroond tor deer, antelope, bniralo, elo., as Bob annrad me, not a head of any deaorlptlonwas lo be seen tn anj direc- tion. Kot a moTlng thing, save now and then a tatUei, wbloh mored onlj when dlatnrbed bj na, and then no mora forerer. for I nerer let one ot the repttlea eacape,' If I conld prevent It, Bob nerer heeding the "nrmlnta," as he called them; bnt then he waa a TeteiBU, I an amalenr.' The only object on the vast expanse of graaay plain-within oar range of vision, extended by Bob's deld glass, was a big innldar abont a mile to the west of ns, which. Dob said, waa aa ronndaa an apple and known u 'The Pippin-" It served ns better thst morning than the "pippin" In Eden served Eve, from the account we get ot that anklr; bat I mnat not anticipate. "Ton mnst see that rock close to. Dsn, )nst to wonder at Ita almost perfect nnndneae, and how It got there, thongh p'tapa yon've aocoanted for both with yonr (ladal hnalness." 8n Bob spoke aa we cametoahalt, my gate onihs tnnlder, blR,thtoogh hla glass, to the sonihwest, while ipeaklng. "I,ef a go look at It," said I. Snddenly, casing bis glass, he said: 'Tea, yeel We wut to visit that rock tight now, and make good time, too. Oome, step ont—ninl" and off be tlsr)ed. His words and action woold have canaed a Btnngertothlnkhlfflthevlollraot a sadden freak; bnt I knew hla ways, and that he never explained why he did. or set uuto do, ceitain things which wen nnlntelllgtble lo othert-niver at the ontsat, mnly having occasion to later, the "reason why" beooming apparent In tttas, longer or ahorter-and ao I foUowed after blm, knowing that wtuin Bob Danlap tan, othen had no call to wait Innlnbis tmoks a few roda—I conid see nothing to ran from, bnt knew then mnat be something—when I sang eotf "I say. Bob, whafs aU this aboott" Taming his head, be tntnm snug ont: "Oomeoni WewiBttoeeethe'plppln.' InteresUnggeologlcti Boonnlr ot the glacial period-harry npP' He waa "getting back" at nie. I had—perhaps nther OIp- panily—acconnted fortbe nnndneaa of the locality ot the rook, on the theory of glacial action, and that stab In the back, ao to spesk, nettled me, so I told blm to go ahead, as I thonghtthe rook wonld ke«p nnlll I cot then on the walk. Be stopped short, tamed, and taking ont hla glass, which h« pat In my hand as I came op, mM: "Look yonder" polnUng to the soathweat—anythlngt" "Tea" (long dmwn ont), "a lot of aheep, 1 nckon. A Mg dock of'em." . "Sheep I Ton innocent, tbeyn pecoarles pep- carlea I Come on, or wCn done for I" and off he started again, I toUowlng at hu heels and wosder- iDg What ■'peccadea" were, bat oallsded that they weteat ballt on the Ovls plan. Within a (nitong ot the rock Boh alowed to awilk and aald,''ever aee a paccaiyl" Kerer did, and never before heard of the haast-lf It waa a taut— I told him, and then aaked blm what It waa Uka, U anything, and what Ita dlspcaltloo wka-aomeihlng wicked, I Judged by hli hnny. "Like? Like nMhlagon eaolh, except In shape. Looka like tb« hog, and is a near ntallve, probably, bnt ot smaller growth. Diapcalttont^dsrlllshl A tend on fonr feel, with bell's deepest mallgalty wlihlnl Know anyiUBi of the wild hogt Do,ehr ^H. the peccaiy cao give him ninety In a hmdred In the gam* o( rniniBWi ui wln'mfj tuna. Toa-U luDBBher lha peeearj for yaan It by any posMbl* ahMcawa gwmow teiMadwra than an thns hoBdnd In It It ona." "Oaaicf'sBl Wkyvsaaa taaek Ik* laek ba- ton— n (VOLUME XLII.-No. 37- I Prie* 10 CMltl. "Oh I the rock-yes, p'rapa wo can, bnt—" "Bat wbatt They cant climb that, can theyi By^ovel can wer It looU a perfect sphere, and twelve feet high." "Two can: manage It-one ooild with a ladder. Oome OB 1 The getting on the rock Is • matter ot seoond^ and seconds connt aowi" On I went, willing enongh to do my beet. Iconld now see'ihe, lo me, new revelation—the pcccuy- lhatts, Icoa1dseehlm<nnia««,and that he was rapidly hearing na. The drove waa ahont half a mUe from the rook, going nonhtaat Oonld It make that half mile as tnlckly aa we the eighth r Didn't Iblnkso; bnt there was the climbing ot the rocki How It was to be managed 1 didn't know. I con- "Now let 'em come on," said I, "we're ntoi" and polled a revolver. "Safel ;ea,uacstnpatiee from a dog." 'That's pnity safe. Bnt yon mean more-wbatla It?" "It Is that, like the cat, we're Oxiaret here. Un- like the car, which can't ge. down when the dog leaves, we can when these devils lesve, bat the tronble Is they'll be Oxiarta below as. They are •tayera to the death from pure caaaedaess, we from compolslon." 'Ton don't mean lo say that these beasts an go log to camp hen Indclnliely, Bob!" "It yon pnl It that way, yrs. Now, undentand- theae hellbom beasts—devils locanute-wlll never their buds, and covered with dirty brown, ihagty hair. TherewaaaleerlnthelrlllUe,wicked looking eyes that anmrd diabolical,and tojusllly nob's eitt- nuia ot them, to say nothing ot thelryellow, dtead- tal looking tnsks, abont three Inohea long, halt an Inch wide at the gam, laior edged and needle pointed, and crossing In a manner to nuke a terrible rronnrt I Ye«, taking ibem all reoDd. ibej really were"devillib" looking beuia, and 1 hadnoavttof donbl their looks beapoke their dlsposlUon. They were more alliie then pnu In elte, save Ihe boan, which were a mne larger, with longer tnilisa and a IllUs more ot the "devil" In them, perhaps, bnttbis didnt matter maoh, aa all had enonnh, I wu aatls. Ded. fees that I began to get nervoai. From what Bob had Bid aboat.the peccary It looked like a race for lite, with the chances possibly agalnat ns I The sltnatloa wasnt a pleasant one, and I wlahed Ihe rock wonld rou towards na. Dnring that spnrt Bob nnwonnd from bli waist six yards Ota lariat which he always carried. It often caoe In handy, and did ao on thia occasion. Passing It K> me, be said: "When joa get In, off with yosr boots snd wind one end ot this lariat roand one ot yonr hssda, then face the rock, aims np. That's alL" Asking no qnesUcns, I pnt on an eitn spnrt and imched the goal—never waa one gained with more thankfnlness—Jnst ahead ot Bob, Ihe pecearlea a fnrlong away, nve tor three or fonr leading onea, and oottlng like Nanoy Uankaea I Oonld we achieve the top of the rock betonther came npt Iconldn't By, and was Impallent to falntneas. Bob came np, shed his boots qnlckly—he won no socks, so Ume waa saved—gnaped me Jnst above the ankle, and aald: "Spring all yon can, then allien, flood I np yon go-np yon an I" I was. The rock was qnlte smooth and, booked by Bob, a poweitnl fellow, dolBf what I oonld myself, I was atop ot the roik la a Jiffy. Twisting roand, I pnlled np onr boots— onr gnns wen alnng over onr shonldera—Bob saying: 'glide over the other side far enongb to connler- aot the sadden stnin and weight on the lariat when I go np, and sing ont when ready." I gave the word tnlekly, felt the strain on the lariat, saw the bead end shonlden of Bob swear u he spnng apon th« nek, his ban (set getting Drm hold, then his eattn penon, he easily achlevlag the amootb iphen, with the poll on Ihe lariat "By the skin ot oar teeth, simoal," he said as he cams op. "Ihe Mad devU Isn't ten yards away. We'n ahont tiro seconds ahead, Dan-a clcae Aavel" I thonifet kwla by two sscoodsaa good aa two boora, so aald nolhlng, both then amnglng onr- salvea aa ooBtonahly aa poaslbis, and poUInf oo ou boots. LaoKUr, Iba t^ ot IBs took waa aoo*- what dattmsd nd dspieaae» In spots, thasaAnd- Iif Mr aalik eoMldariac. leave this rock while you and I are opoo It, and we can never leave while they an belnwl "flood Qodl Dob, IhiC means starvation for aal —hal but tiioy'll alarre, tool Which will hold out ihelongesti" "Don't thiuk they'll starve, my lioy. They'll go off In dolschmeiits lo feed—hal the Indeni are ben, grunting their ntlstsctloo." "My flodl It what yon say Is trae, Roh, we'n caught In a irep from which there Is no cscapel" I exclilmed, not a utile mttird, I am free to coufess. "Yes, we're comllM permanently, unless Roms- thlngejitn''rdlnary occurs." 'What extraordlniry thlngoon occnr,"l asked Impatiently. "Oh, many a thing might occur, but — " "It's not likely to, eh i Damn It, luiii, we had nat- ter renalued where we were. The iiesHts might not have seen as. It so might not have lackled us." "Theyf They'll tsckle snylblng sllvacr dead— sny moving thing In their path—a locomotive or ihreshing mschloe 1 They've no Judgment or dls- crlmlnstlon, noibing but the vitriol of belllshness I As to nmslning where we were, they were heading rightupforus, and we Rhould have been part and parcel of tiem before this. I prefer the present iltnstlon. Bomeihlng msy tun up, you know, I don't know what, can't think, lint we're alive, and who's alive may hope. Rot for this rock we would have been beyond hope i" "Beg pardon, Doh," aald I In a burst ot contri- tion for the words I bad spoken. "It was ungen- erous, tmDROly, Ihe way I " "Bhoot wide, old mso," he bunt In. "Nothing to pardon. Now take a look at the devUs-lhey'n closlBg In. Tskt a good look and let me know what yon think ot the beaoUes. "IH lead my pipe and lake a smoke." As he ssld, ths beasts wsn closing rennd Ihe rock, and by aeeiea and stores—hundreds of them I I did take a good look at thsm, and saw a lot ot mean looking, meaaly UUIa boga-ihe thlnaeat I ever aaw, except the maor backset northern dime* —bulltoD th« wedge plaa. in th long sttoatShnaHDW heads, daep where they Joined the neoka, Utile oal- nDlsBt«yti,|tkeJ)Odtes ■ oUs tnlotsr oaly ttaa "Well, what do yoa think of 'emt" qaerled Ucb ebortly. "They seem to be all you painted them," atld I, "They're all they seem to be, and more. too. They're not showing ont yot; they're a lliut wind- ed. Stir 'en np. I went yon to see 'em when they're dning Jnsiico lo the pisoe of their nativity— Bheoli lion't use a rerolrsr, but your gun, and give 'em liuck shot and bird shot. Ton'll hit men fli 'cm, and the men hit the more cmsednsM yonll see. Pity they're too cloae for the shot to scauer Doch. But blare away at'eml" ' I stirred the broles np with both bamls ot my gun, and mast have wounded qnlte a number of them, tor pandemonium broke loose at oooel Ba- ton I dred th* beaals wen packed about the rock u clear as they oonld pack, all Ihoae not In the front moks wedging In aa If to gel there; and ao great wM Ihe preature thst when one lost Its toot- hold It was tslrly sqoeeied out of ihe mass of lis fellows to their hackal But now they broke with the most discordant and dlstiolloal chores ot squeals and gnnis ot ngs that ersr onltBged mor lalesra-ltwaslnftmali Where all before waa the order of massed ranks, all wu now Ihe wlldast eon fusion, and, alter two shoia more, confusion wons confounded. They iMed about In all dinotlooa, leaped Into ths sir and lo ths backs ot gnnps; they toighl dssper- siely, their snapping Jaws obnnlng bloody foaa, the clashing ot their tushes tcminf asortof cat- tuiet areompanlment u> iho Infernal oboma ot snarls and sqnsals; thslr oallgnaol lltne eyas shot tendlshglanoeaat nsss they leaped Intothaalrlo their Impotant rag*, as If l« reach ns. Allegtttar It was a medley of alibia and aonnda lo mats one ahadder, and shudder I did. Out that nadley was nothing lo ths on* later on, after I had stiired up the vloleas little bmiss with the ooolenis of a doien otnrtdfaa-aotkligt Th* dsvUs wen then ragtag, raving n»d, ahowlof trenay and fendty nothing If not deawnlaol i I likened them lo verlMbl* daada al the pit, bddlsd ot their prey sad •ihlMUag thalr;asDdlaha*H to Ttsysargsd sgilutlth* rack tofmasas*, semes springing at It abovs their tsllows, to fall hack upoa them. We felt the shocks, aud I thought It tona- nate we wen not on one of thoae "rocking tuinea' weteadot. Theqalckneaandenergy otthedovlllsh brulea wen u nmarkable u their rage and fero- city. 1 bad wounded m»ny, and theae In their In- furisted rage altaoked otheis, only lo be set opon end ton to pieces I And all the while that horrls- onons, blood curdling ohoros I And added to theae sights and sounds wss a alck- enlng, horrible odor which came up to ns. My companion atld the beasis all had eoro backs, and that from the sotes ran a tnilld humor, reoarklog that he didn't know whether theae tana were the cans* ot the cussodness of the brutes or their ous- stduets the cause of the sores, the latter ho niher thought I slopped shooting at length and went lo smoking tor a change of tniellS, and becanae I bad etpendsd many oaruldgas to UUIe purpose, beyond eiclting the beuls to th« extremes of diatolism. With an ununited supply ot rllle Rnimmnlilon—Bob had hla rlilo, bnt only an ordinary supply ot cattrldge*-lt would have been a quotttun ot time only when wo ooold have deicendcd from that nick; as Ihlnga were the qutatloo w«a: Hhoolil we ever descend t Neither could answer, ao wo aal there amokliig and watohlug the wildcat "vIM wcat Rhow" that man ever looked upon, prohaiily i oh, thst the snsp shut caman,klnetosoopeaadpbuno|reph had been with na tben I What alghls and soumla they would bavs caplnred thatday for other days,Rnd miior ean anil eyea than onn, Aa I asid, we sat aooklng and waluhlng, talking bnt Utile—Ihe scene wu too thrllllcgly ataorlilng, our poalUon considered—wu to me, at all evcnui- 10 allow of many words. Buddenly, howerer, I ssked Bob to shoot at one paitlcular lioar that 1 fancied was the oussodeatol the Internal troop lie- low ua-all fanny; iiion wu only one degree of onisedneu there, the superlsUre I lie said It wsi simoat nsslesa, as bo didn't bsllevo Iho poccsry hail any vliala, not even a heart; that yoa might ahoot one full ot bolea and be would ooullnue to do liusl- ncu u usual. However, be shot threo times at thst liosr and lilt him three Umes, but the lieut continued, u he a^ld, to "do bualneu sr usual"—1 will awear thst he wu livelier than even That olroumstaioe atrengly euphaeUed the horror of the altnatlon, with me, nnd I muat have expressed something ot ibo state of my feelings In my tonu when 1 aald to my companion: For nod's sake, Uunlsp, what are wo to diir llcn we arc nmanded by anlmala that refuse to be killed end refuse lo dopwti" Bit end wait," he responded, going on loaari "We're cormllsd by demons Incarnate-scores of them. With oarsnimunlUnn wemlghtposslbly Ify out bait a soon. What oun w* do but wait and bops tor something to break the corral i" "What, yoa don't know i" "No, not having the gift of tscood sight Thsra are many waya to break the oorni, bnt spsolsl prevldences and mlnoles " "Holy smotsl—look, Bohl the dsvlls ars piling np, ons above the other, In acorul My Qodl tbey'll reach usi" llwusolndted. Thebeutswsnnow showing method In thslr madnsss and mtllgoancy. TIem wen formlag, th* beuls wsdged together like ssrdinu In a box. The third tier wu being wedged together. Five Uers, and' the horrible eraatorea wonld be level with, and could reach uai The ailnaUon wu appalllugl Though the lutsroal ohoms had ceased, gruntsi seemingly of satlafac- tlon, reached our ean. lleeldes, those not engsitrd In th* lower bonding were rooning aluut, many of them tossing bloody foam from their Jaws, u they leered at na wllh eyes of tsndlsh iiislsvulsuce. It sesmed u Ihcngb they knaw that In atew momenta they would be tsarUg OS wplsossi Itwuhorrllile —borrlblel I was oonpleMy unnerved, hut re- course lo my lluk-th« tnl time since leaving camp, twenty miles away—nalored ne, and my gun wsot lo my shoulder. "Wsit," said Bob, coolly. "I don't tblok they dan STSot thslr Btractnreagalost the rock alMve the line of greatest clrcumferenoe. They conld If there were tDongh of them lo pile up all 'roand Ihe rock, Thoy will have to recede from that line, having no snoot soppon, and on a Isvsl they'll be u good u eight feet away and not more than eight or ten of them at that Uy Jorel they pack, don't they f" "I think you're right. Bob. Let 'em build their pyramid and dlsoovsr what foola they are. But tlils stench is woru tlian aver. I^t's Imlilbe. Vnu haven't taken a dropslncocamp, and I onlyalulo." Homehow, I wu feeling belter. The prospsol ut belDg eaten allr* shortly and aaalmllaled by that pack of horrlblu had receded, res, I felt iietler thongh the real allaailon wu nnohanged. "Here's to yon and t. Bob, and may tlie devil Uke his Impa down than I" said I, and raised my Osak to my lips, l had scsrtaly laatsd ths contenia whsn a tbooght lUshed through my head, at whicli I burst out laaghlng, and most lauoodeiately. Bob looked at me curloualy and might have tbonght I bad goo* dati with the horror ot the alluatlon. "I'm lot daft Bob," I Mid usooB sal could. "I had an Idea-slagnlar, shr-thst It we had-but we haven't ao what's lb* ose ot talking) But I wu Isnghlug at the pletore — " "Outwlththeldaa. Hons; have to do with onr esse, I'm aare." "It has. It U this: That It ws hsd wblsksy enongb, we might pour It on theae troobled beasts u oil on Iroabled waten,aad drop a lighted fn- ae* — » "Jnllns Ocsar and Ohrlslapher Oolombns I Dan Ford, thu's an InapliMlna-ao Insplratloo I" w- clalmad Bob with (amaataeu praclndlog any soa- piclonofstrosan. "Ton shaOwork Hoot Toth* viator th* spdl*, to the Ihlnksr th* honor of carry. lagonthlaldeul" "Batth*whlsksy,manl "Ws'vslwonsska-snoogo. Wooldn't wuls any more on the d«vlls If I had a hogshead I Ton slide down to the bnlge line theie-ril hold you with the lariat about yonr walat-and inthallaskia sack kand yon asn soak bait a dot** of Ik* oaasts, wedged toctlfctr M Iheyan. Then drop yosr tsa**«od yofl'U ss* moeh more of th* plctot* than yoo coa- jortd np, or I'm greatly mistaken. Oone, mak* ready." Bob wia la dead •amssi, aid wllh more enthul- O umisuiii oa Psaa m