The Bite of the Pichu-Cuate.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 185, 4 August 1894, Page 11 (Supplement)

The Bite of the Pichu-Cuate.

By Chables F. Lummis,

Clearly Claudio waß. tired, and ib book a deal to tire thi3 big, towsie-hoaded young Mexican. Bub ib was not to be wondered ab, after his morning's work. The lambs in his barn were now five days old, and a t that age a now Mexican lamb is smart enough in body and impish enough in mind to undo Job himself. Then the mothers, whoso age might have been expected to give them discretion, were aa crazy as tho lambg. To add to the worry, tho snakes were beginning to como out from their winter nap. The cpening of May ab the 8,000 foot altitude of San Miguel is rather curly for these long sleepers ; but the spring was forward, and though none had been seen, yeb there was no doubting of their presence. The hungry sheep were wild for the fur tender blades of green that began to 3how about the mouths of the prairie dog's burrows and nowhere else. But in some burrows were other tenants than prairie dogs, lying in the sunny mouth of the hole, and savagely resentful of interruption. Already that day Claudio had found three dead ewes, each lying close beside a burrow, fearfully swollen, and upon the nose of each were two tiny black marks such as one might make with a tattooing-needle. Late in the afternoon the ewes, with a chorus of strange whistlesj went tearing and galloping over the swale and disappeared over the brow of the ridge, as if tho very wolvss were after them. Claudio started in pursuit, bub the lamb 3 hung ab his heels, in epite of a bombardmenb of words and pebbles that he directed ab them, and whenever ho paused, pranced up to him and muzzled againsb his legs, and dropped contentedly at his very feet. Pulling off his coab, Claudio swung ib vigorously aboub him bo clear a space; leaped over the backs of a few loiterers, and wenb running up a slope at a gaib ib was a wonder to see. The coab dropped from his hand as he jumped a gully; and as the lambs came stumbling along, several tripped on ib, and finding ib warm, prompbly sprawled upon their knees and be^an to nurse at whatever rag or tag they first found. And the others, fancying: that they were being robbed of their dinner, crowded and jostled about butting, falling down, clambering over one another. Claudio might have laughed cab the sight; but when he cauae back, fifteen minutes later, ho saw aboub bhe coab only a lob of little white patches, smeared with blood. Hero and there a lamb was to be seen wandering disconsolately about or fallen exhausted under a shrub. And over bhe farther swale was juab disappearing a big, dark, shambling figure with two white objects shining upon ib. Ib was all plain enough. Tho ewes, scenting the bear from afar as he sneaked through the woods, had fled incontently ; for tho actual presence of no other wild beasb so terrifies sheep as the mere smell of a bear. Aud taking advantage of Claudio's brief absence, Bruin had sallied from the juniper, played havoc among the lambs (which were too Btupid to fear even him), was now making off with a couple * for future reference.' The bear, like bears always, was only anxious to get away if he decently could, and ran his best. Ordinarily, that would have been far better than Claudio's beat— or a very fair homo's best, for that matter. Bub greediness is costly, even for bears. The Inmb in lub mouth was no handicap whatever ; and having eaton two or three on bhe ground, he'mighb have been conbonted with thab. But the one he persisted in carrying hugged under his forenrm did seriously impede him. Even then, in the long run, he was more bhan a match for his pursuer ; when Claudio camo in full view of him and only a hundred yards behind, he whipped from his belt tho aixahoober he carried in lieu of a rifle. ' Throwing down,' in tho swift, instinctive motion of thosa who really know how to use a revolver, and never stop to ask whether.ib has sights or nob, he eenb a leaden proxy running for him. It was a good shot, tired and at speed as he was— the kind of shooting one had to learn on the frontier, and cannob learn in a gallery. The bear turned a complete 6Omersaulb, and, gathering itself again, began biting viciously. Claudio had not stopped at all, bub now, within thirty yards, he halted, and watched for the brute to give him a shot at a vital port. But in fchab very instant the bear, with a snuffle of rage, wheeled, and came galloping ab his late pursuer. Claudio drove a square shob ab the gkull nob in any notion that ho could bore thab sloping forehead, bub hoping tho rap might startle tho beast into rising so that he could get a chance at the throab, the besb of all shots at a bear. Bub the heavy ball merely ploughed a red furrow up the squab skull and the boar came lurching on. Ib was worse than useleas to * run. Slender as was the chanco of life now, ib all lay in standing firm. Within six feeb the huge bruto did rear upon his haunches; and springing back a etep, Claudio was bringing down his weapon like lightning to ' lob go ' when is should be on a level with that mighty throab, now fully exposed. But tho bear was no innocent;; and cleverly judged as \va3 Claudio's move, he had met his match in quick wit. Even tho sweop of his swift aim was slow beside tho flash of that great paw as ib swooped far forward, mob his descending hand with a calculation an Indian eye might have envied, and sent the hervvy revolver spinning forty feet, going oft as ib flew. And in another instant tho shepherd waa on his back and the bear upon him. The groat claws had struck only the sixshooter, and Claudio's hand wns unhurt., save where bhe violenb wren|Rring of tho guard had cub and bwisted his lingers ; and instinctively ho grippled deep in the thick fur where first hi 3 hands lighted. Neither had he been hurt by the fall, for hero was soft grey sand—which a little relieved, too, tho fearful pressure upon his leg". But none of these things comforr^d Claudio; and he fought only as a msin tighfcs blindly | to the end. His last faint hope had gone when the six-shooter went whirling far beyond reach. The bear, which had gone to bed in his cave in the canon of Acebache. rolling-fat, in November, had bub a few dnys neo come forth from thab long nap, the shadow of hitf proper self. His long, heavy fur was sadly ru«ty, and Ma huge frame lean as a rail. Ka had been interrupted in tho first, square meal in five months ; and from that long fast came two strange result*. One was that ho was not half himself in strength ; and thab the powerful young Mexican vvaa therefore something more than a puppot in his paws; Of the end, certainly, there could be no doubt; bub meanwhile, Claudjo wrestled mightly, and even succeeded in struggling to his feet, hugging close, to give those paws no chanco for one of tho swipes that would make an egg-shell of his head. His face he anugeled into the bear's ctaet, and co kepb clear of tho drlppSni?

jaws. And despite the fearful pressure under which his ribs creaked and sprung, he hunched and tugged and swayed blindly and desperately, a3 wrestling with come tall man whom he might hope to pitch ab lust. Bub it waa nob for long. Finding bhese close quarters unsatisfactory, the bear brought up its muscular arm, and clapping its paw upon Claudio'a mat of hair forced his head resistleßsly back. Tho great claws were buried in his scalp, and little streams of red spurted out. The bear's left arm was around his j waisb. whilst the righb was giving him bhe I ' break hold' as scientifically as any wrestler could have done. And now a villainous warm breath came eickeningly in his face, and he could Bee bhe red jaws and white beeth within six inches. He even noticed with that strange inconsequence which came upon man in those moments, thab blood from tho calp wound bad run down and tinged tho froth which dripped from that great mouth. In a frenzy of terror he caughb a clutch under the throat, to hold back that horrible head—and the strongest man could scarce have benb againsb Claudio's desperate arms. Bub ib wa3 only a question of a little longer. Slowly, slowly, those resistless neck mosclea bore down Claudio's iron arms; and the big jaws, working grimly, drew nearer. A deadly faintness began to spread from his stomach ; and Claudio shut his eyes. Jusb then a sudden jerk ran through the body of the bear, add there was a sharp snort as of rage or pain. Claudio opened his eyes. He sould see nothing but thab demoniac face ; but in ib he fancied there waa a nevr expression. Then there was a sickening movement of the great claws, which had sunk deep into his back and scalp. Surely bhey were relaxing ! Their wibhdrawa.l was far more painful than bheir entrance had boon ; but, even with the faintness of the new pain, a sudden wave of joy swepb through the shepherd —for the first time, now, he hoped, though he knew not why. He shook hie head savagely to clear the blood which streamed down over his eyes (the paw had dropped from his scalp), and dug his fists into the deep-furred throat, and foughb wibh bho Btrength of two Claudios —fightingno longer as a dying rat fights, but like a man for hopo of lite. Then a very wonderful thing befe). The bear was groaning and panting heavi:y ; and suddenly it lurched and fell to tho ground, carrying Claudio with ib. But ib was no longer trying to gob his head between its jaws. For a moment it lay half upon him, writhing, grinding its teeth ; and thon flung itself to one side, biting up a greab mouthful of sand. Claudio leaped to his feet, ran to the six-shooter, and fell upon ib, crying like a child. Ib was ten minutes before he could get up ; for loss of blood—and, more than all, the frightful strain—had left him hmp as a rag. Ab lasb, he staggered to his feet, clutching the tix-shooter, and walked unsteadily toward the bear. Laying down his rovolvor, he caught the heavy fur to burn the bear over. Ordinarily he would hnve succeeded. Four hundredweight is no fool of a lump ; buo Claudio, as you have seen, was an uncommonly powerful young man. Now, however, worn out by his fearful struggle, and with nerves so unstrung that ho trombled all over, it was too much for him. Still, the mystery would not let him resb ; and hunching his shoulder againsb the bear's back, ho ran his hand under, feeling for bhe wound. He groped and groped ; but suddenly in a hollow felt tho touch of something very different from fur or sand, and in the same instanb an inconceivable pang. And when he jerked away hia arm a tiny snake, less than a foot long, grey-backed and coppery on the belly, was hanging from his thumb. The laaD vestigo of colour faded from bhe brown face and left it grey ag ashes between the drying streaks of blood—for Claudio knew tho pichu-cuato, the only real asp in tho Now World, the deadliest snake in Norbh America. So he had escaped bhe boar only bo dio by bhia tiny foe —for never yet had one bean known to recover from the bite of the pichu-cuato. A rattlesnake was nothing ; but this—well, p.eo what it had done for such a monster as the bear. And in the space of less than a minute. Evidently in their struggle bruin had stepped too close to this unsuspected danger — that great lump on hia hind leg explained all. Had he carried his usual coat of fat, the venom would have taken far longer to operate, and he would have had abundant time to settle accounts with Claudio. But he no longer looked gaunb. He waa still swelling—already ho looked fab as if July were here. Already Claudio was reeling. Fearful pains fihob up his arm and wonb forking throvi his body. Upon the thumb were only two tiny black dots, right at the tip, but the hand in theso five seconds had taken twice ita size. If ho could only cub ib off. Bub alas, his knife was in his coat— and before he could get half-way to that, he would bo a dead shepherd. All this had taken not so long as you have been in reading it—nay, scarce the time in which one might spoil the longest word in it; for in these crises things and thoughts movo swiftly, and one lives fast. Claudio was still squeezing his thumb and crying aloud for a knife, when his eye lit on the six shooter. Quick as a flash, he sprang, and caughb ib up, and cocked ib. There was just one cartridge left! His nerves were steady now. He held his hand arm's length before him, tho wounded thumb erect, drew tho revolver back to his very oye, that the ball might nob manglo too much and. thus Btop the blood which must flow ; and with a hand as firm as if it had boon carved of stone, pulled the trigger. There was a dull, numb sensation, hardly a pain, in all that ] side ; and when the smoke cleared from his oyes, his right hand waa black and blosding. Tho thumb was gone clean ab bhe lower joinb. Thero is one man in Now Moxico who has been bibton by bho pichu-cuate and lives to toll of ib—a tall, powerful, goodnatured shepherd, with four grim, erey furrows in his hair, and L-he thumb of the right hand missing. But Claudio eeema rather proud of those disfigurements, and often pays : 1 Who talks of barjains? For so cheaply I boupht my life twice in one hour.'