Mystères du Dakota

La voie électrique

Here Mr. Bloom removed his heels from a window and placed squarely down on the tiles and began twirling his thumbs.

"It was," he continued, "in the spring of 1884?No, in 1885, just three years ago?that I homestended a quarter section of land in the valley of the Big Medicine and purchased another quarter adjoining my claim.

It was my intention to start, in a small way, a stock ranch, do a little diversified farming, and, perhaps, settle for life. I commenced with only twenty head of cattle, and kept bachelor's hall. My nearest neighbor, Paxton, lived a mile south. The northern portion of my ranch bordered on Medicine creek and was bluffy. The top of these bluffs was covered with all kinds round and irregular boulders, granite, flints, graphites, cornelians, etc. I am an indifferent geologist, and ones I imagined I had discovered a petrifaction. The stone bore a strong resemblance to a dead log. I carried some of the flinty fibers to the president of the Pierre university. He at once informed me that I was mistaken. They were not petrifactions at all.

Des animaux terrorisés

At the base of one of my bluffs, on a broad plateau running back from the Medicine, my cattle used to feed. Although I had often watched them from the brow of the bluff, it struck me as singular that each individual head of them appeared to instinctively avoid the vicinity of a small cluster of round bowlders heaped together on the plateau. From my position on the bluffs this cluster of dark gray stones forcibly reminded me of a huge nest of the fabled roc's eggs, a bird which, you know, played a star part of the famous Arabian Nights' entertainment. Curiosity begot a spirit of investigation. Going to the head of a small canyon, or draw, I descended by a well worn cowpath to my small herd, and, selecting a two-ycar-old, drove him on toward the curious rock pile. But what was my astonishment to observe that when within fifty feet of these stones the animal suddenly threw up its head, snorted, and with tail erect and every evidence of supreme terror, scampered back in the direction of the herd. I also went back and tried to drive them all up to the rock pile. Each one broke away when within about the same distance and stampeded up the canyon.

Dans une atmosphère étrange

"lAnd now occurred the strangest incident connected with my discovery. While watching the retiring cattle my attention was attracted to an opaque moving body in the air, which was neither a kite, bird or balloon. Nor was it falling directly toward the earth, according to the known laws of gravitation, but sailing in a particular horizontal line, curving suddenly when about 800 feet away from the neat of rocks, and descending upon them in the arc of a circle. I saw that it was another rock. It impinged upon one of tho larger stones?did not strike it exactly on top, but on the side?and there it hung as though cemented to the surface.

", 'This in an aerolite!' I exclaimed, darting forward to secure my prize. But imagine my sensations when I found myself in an entirely new atmosphere. The air was as cool as a refrigerator car in July. Besides this I then experienced a strange, prickling sensation throughout my entire body, exactly like a shock from a battery. Passing my hand through my hair I discovered that each one was standing out from my head like quills, while my mustache was like a bunch of hog's bristles. I ran back to my former position and the phenomena instantly disappeared. I was in an atmosphere warmer by thirty degrees?the usual weather of June in that locality. The peculiar conduct of my cattle was now partially accounted for. They had been there before me.

La puissance magnétique des pierres

"But the appearance of the aerolite, the powerful magnetic attraction of the other stones, this was beyond my immediate comprehension, and again I advanced toward them. Again I found myself in the strong electric current. But I walked bravely up to the roc's nest. With the new addition there were but eleven stones in all, each about twelve inches in diameter, clinging tenaciously together and arranged something like cannon balls in a navy-yard?all except the newcomer. They actually hung against the side of the topmost rock. Rising my foot, I kicked it stoutly. It fell away to tho distance of three or four feet, and then, to my utter amazement, rolled toward the base of the small pyramid and again fastened itself like a leech against a base rock."

"Magnetism?"

"Well, yes, I should say so. I concluded to smoke on this mystery, and, having filled my pipe, drew a steel match box from my pocket. It left my hand before I had time to open it, flew against one of the rocks with a sharp click, and stuck there like a frosted fly to a ceiling. There were no other rocks in the immediate vicinity, and I was forced to kick it loose with my boot heet.

Etendue de la ceinture électrique

"Suddenly I realized that I was growing very weak and faint. Past experiments with electrical batteries had proved to me the debilitating effects if carried to extremes, and I knew my danger. Retreating fifty feet in an opposite direction from which I had entered this mysterious arena, I proved that the diameter of the ozonic pathway or belt, was In the neighborhood of 100 feet. Indeed, I did not retire a moment too soon, for upon entering the normal atmosphere of the valley I fell on the sod in a limp mass. It was fully an hour before I recovered strength sufficient to carry me home to my shack.

Une douloureuse maladie guérie

"To say that I slept much or soundly that night would be a deception, I don't know that the discovery of a gold mine on my land would have occasioned greater or more pleasurable surprise. My mind was filled with a vague sense of tho possibilities of my discovery. It was high noon the next day before I found time to revisit the mysterious locality. And then another sensational surprise awaited me. For eight years I had been annoyed by a mild, though vexatious, case of salf rheum or eczema, on my left ankle. This disease is accompanied by an almost continuous burning sensation. Once only had it in that time disappeared for a brief period, and that was after a long series of salt water baths at Galveston, Tex. Upon iiui-hUjf: mj ^niall dinner it occurred

to iny that i l;.,;l llrgotten all about my In-

fiiciioJL I r.\i:n;iiiv«l my nukle. Tho hkiu

was as Mii'Kfih ;.=«! t\& fair txn an in fant'si.

Xot a w«yi igv oi: :ir di*ca*c remained.

A V.W.I >1\IUXS OVKnTOWKUEft

•'That atternor.n 1 vinittd r.iy roc'fi noht.

Kvo.y j?3irnonif»r;si wan rr-iwitcd, butldb1

nutailuvv myself to remain over ainiraxtc

witLin the charmed, yet f^taj, circhv i \Y*H

force.1 t'j estimate thh period vaguely, for

my uutch wah rendered Utterly^ifttsteM by th-a

nrrioitof the ntrong rnngnetiii curreutdiu

this vicinity of lliv riK'ks, The peculiar «crt

siitiouH within the olecLric circle wore plervs-

uruh!e, and the temptation to ruiiuiiii thoio

only to be r«'-*:^te*l by a strong exei-cine of

]i:d>ririeip.. UiU'iip when out af the range of

the arena, 1 looked up to tho jiuuuuit of tins

bluff.

"Therf. i saw A daughter of my nearest

neighbor, Paxtou? Mtsa Iivne. Evlilently

,Mhe way intent upon some en and for her

father, for she taught a siinall iiclionl about

half a nvlc from my Shack.' and munt have

come our of her way to c*U there. I iinme*

dinttfly joined her bynuudng up tin* canyon

cow pHtli. Once or twico Imfott* 1 had met

MiKsf IiTiie, Intt until now I had not n»a!L.ed

how pi*<ftty slu wa*?H bright, cheerful,

WIUM'V. d g:ii, with a beautiful head ot RU-

bum L:iir.

PtWjES OF TTIK ^TRANOTvCt'R^F.NT.

nOn the seconil dityl mam «<nt Alwvt 8

o'clock in the morning aud looke<t ovtr the

brow of tho bluff, Thla time I looked Into

thnl valley with horror, i saw Minn Irene

wil\ur\ ten feet of the rock pile, her arras ex-

t<r»le<l wildly, her gnlt> as she wandered

Minilessly urouud, Ataggirringnnd uneeitulu.

I llvw down tiie canyon and waH ?oon by hen

■fide in the icy atmosphere nf the strong:

■%leclrlc currents. The gill Iwvn withl)}.

thtj pernicious cii*clu ior w>me tiuus?too

long I then feared. ILT luxnrtont hair wo^

extended like & huge fuunbovM and around

htfr bend, giving her something or the weinl

appearance of nn albino. Her eye* were

Turm^l upwai^l tmtil ouly the ■white'* were

vniblc. Seising her in my arms I horo he;

fully 600 feet beyoudi tho electric

circb", and upon coming into the

Warm air of Ciie June inorttitig ».ho

really appeared to die. Her pnl*o wan ^nue;

I could scarce discover a heart Iwat. 1 hur-

riedly brought water from the Medicine

creek (truly most appropriate nnmt? at

this critical juncture) in ray nut and nnurcd

it over her l>Kly from head to foot, dreuch-

iuff ber completely. She revived tdowly,bnt

with life came rei^llection. Thirty icd.s

awiiy wai< the rnvtiteriotuf, almost fatal rock

pile. She looked toward Lb em, and vritii a

convulsive shudder her eye* closed as

though she would shut out the night of

some hideous object. Fully an hour WHS

spent in t/ilkin^ unout this now distasteful

yet j>tm 11:^1'!y fascinating myntery.

**My rcnirtJihln ftnd nmrriago in but a side

issue of little uiLerest to you or your rcad-

litre Mr, Bloom's strange yarn concluded-