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Show GIRL'S BATTLE WITH ALLIGATORS I Rescues Her Baby Sister from Saurian s Jaws. Savanah Walston, A pretty Texas girl. Is tho herolno of the little town of Tunis, on tho Ilayou Pa rah, an arm of tho Ilratoa She made herself famous fa-mous a few days agu by killing two mounter alligators that had entered her mother's cottage during the night Few men would halo been capable ot performing the feat that this brave girl accomplished The houso occupied occu-pied by Mrs Walston stands within twenty feet ot a large Irrigating ditch, AcroM which thero Is n small foot bridge. The ard gate opens at tills little bridge, and n wire fence extends some twenty feet either way along the bank of the ditch and then turns at a sharp right angle and Joins the corners of the house. This makes a small front yard which has but ona gate. It Is supposed that the two monster alligators were prowling along tbo Irrigating ditch In search ot food when they encountered the foot bridge, nnd In crossing over It they may havo pushed tho little gate open Miss Savanah Sa-vanah Walston was sleeping on a cot on the little porch in front of tho opon door of her mother's room, nnd a little negro boy a years of ago was lying under a china treo In the yard. Mrs, Walston, who was sick nt tho tlrae, occupied n bed In tho parlor of tan cottage, and her little baby wua lying In a cradlo within easy reach of her band She says that she heard tha alligators for some moments before she called her daughter The moon was shining almost us bright as day, and when Miss Savanah was nrouaed by her mother she raised up on her cot and put one of her hands an the head of one ot tho monsters At that Instant a little dog that had ran out of Mrs. Walston's room was snapped between the Jaws of another alligator at the young girl's side. In her fright sho sprang over one of the monsters In order to reach her mother's bed Hoth ot the alligators pursued liar across the floor and one of them fxrned the cradlo ever Tho little boy fell out on tho carpet Miss Savanah had reached the bed In safety, but when she heard the cries of ber baby sister she sprang bark on the carpet and rescued tha child almost from the Jaws ot one ot the saurian. Mother and Oiughter wero now standing up tin tho bed, but they wero not sum thnt they occupied a position beyond the reach of their hungry assailants. as-sailants. Tho nolao nwnko tho little negro, and the women saw him running run-ning towards them They shouted to him warning him of the danger, nnd telling htm to run outside of tha yard. Kvldently ho did not know what was the trouble for he ran towards tho bed, stumbling over one of tho alligators, alli-gators, and falling with his head right Into the mouth of the other The women w-ro helpless to defend the unfortunate Utile African The monster crushed the little negro's J- -- fWM ?W ImiiihiiiwiwiiTIi iIiw iliilTTiini mmi i hi i i i imiisiiiiimiiiimii i mi head between 111 Jaws, and the women could plainly see tha child's blood streaming over tho carpet "To add to the terror of the scene," sa)s Mrs Walston, "the other alligator seized tho little negro's tegs and lli)y toro tho child's body to fragments before be-fore our eyes. Wo did not know what to do. At una moment we thought of springing out on the floor ami trylnif to escape and run lo the houso of n uelghbor." While, the women were hesitating In thilr fright n curious thing happened. On tho previous dny Mrs Walston had ordered n largo mirror which sho haj set on the floor against ono ot Ihu walls of tha parlor Tho malo alligator alliga-tor caught tho rcllectlou of his own Image In this glass and with a furious bellow he plunged nt It and shivered tho costly mirror to fragments. This seemed to tnrago tha creature and ha began to bellow and run about over the house, overturning everything that came In his way Miss Savanah saya that she threw pitchers, wash bowls, glass tumblers, and boxes of matches Into tht monster's mouth and ho would crush and swallow such things as If they were drllraclrs that tickled his palate Whllo tha smaller ot the two creatures crea-tures wns overturning tho stove and destroying (he kitchen furniture thu other remalm d In the parlor terrorising terroris-ing the two women. He would doubt-lem doubt-lem Anally have succeeded In overturning overturn-ing the bod If Miss Savanah had not adopted n plan of battle which put an end to the existence to tbo two ter- H ror Her brother's gun was hanging; tm against the wall on the opposite Jid H of the room She determined to take H advantage ot Ihe first opportunity and .HH get hold of the weapon Her mother jfr? tried to dlssuado her from such n den- IVJf pcrato venture, but the moment that 9K tha big saurian left tho room aho 9B sprang out on the carpet and ran after 'Ef! tha gun The alligator heard her slept 'ilUJ and ha pursued her to the bed, amp- fiJH Ping his hideous Jar; nnd making n, MR nolso that would have paralyzed it tout JfJM courageous girl fSt Miss Savanah says that sho hail KW never shot a gun licfore In her life, WN but she had often seen her brother ft handle a rifle nnd sho had some. Hfflg knowledge of the way the liner wn mm worked In order to load and eject tho htTJ shells from tha barrel Her heart MlH bounded for Joy when she found the H magazine of tho gun full of cartridges jH Aiming well at one eye ot tha big bull sho fired and had tha satisfaction jB of seeing him cavort about over Uio carpet as If there wo something hot Inside of his head, Bho pumped a few moro shots Into his body behind his forelegs and It wa not long befom ha rolled over lifeless. Tba female, rumc crawling Into tho room Savanah sent a hot bullet Into Us body The furious nnlmal turned and ran straight towards tha bed with wde open Jaws, nnd, furious with pain and rage, alio got her forefoot, on tho bed, and tho women were now worse frightened fright-ened than before. Tho horrible Jaws of tho maddened creaturo were rloso to their bodies. Savanah pushed tho barrel bar-rel of the gun Into tho alligator' mouth and fired. It was a forlunato shot Tho big ball tore through tho full IcngUi ot tho creature' backbone, and It fell, qultorlng and lifeless, ou the carpet. Tho smokn had hnrdly cleared and tho women had not yet dared In von-tura von-tura from tho bed when A Nelson, n neighbor, entered the gute nnd asked 1 It they wcro having n bittlo with burglars bur-glars Tba man could hardly credit his own eycalgbt when ho saw tho carcasses car-casses ot tho two big alligators lying on tho carpet Other citizens of tho little town wero soon gazing In won- ' der at tho dead alligator and tho wrecked furniture They proved to be two of 110 largest alligators ovor killed In tba country The people of ' tho little tTwn havo voted Mis Savanah Sa-vanah tho bravest girl In Texas, and fM tho young n'cn of tho ploca gava a ball iW In her honor and crowned her mascot 'jjj of their military company and tho ,cEj queen of the hunting club. Ky |
