Philosophia
March 29th, 2006, 07:23 AM
A mountain of mystery
America’s favorite mountain has no shortage of horror stories, tall tales, myths — and even a true legend or two scattered among them.
There are the resident killer rats devouring babies.
There’s the sea monster slithering through a mountain lake; there’s the buried treasure that still awaits discovery. Take your pick. Matt Carpenter, the Manitou Springs runner who’s spent more than his share of time on Pikes Peak, favors the tale of the homicidal rodents for sheer entertainment value. “The whole story is just crazy,” he said. It goes like this:
In 1875, Sgt. John O’Keeffe arrived for duty at a signal station the Army opened on the summit of Pikes Peak in 1873.
The next year, he reported that one night, hundreds of rats attacked the station, consumed a side of beef in less than five minutes, then advanced on O’Keeffe and his wife. They killed the rats but tragically found the worst had happened — the rats had eaten their baby daughter.
Except that O’Keeffe didn’t have a baby, or a wife, for that matter.
Nor do rats live on the peak; the biggest rodents on the summit are marmots.
“That’s my all-time favorite,” Carpenter said.
For inspirational Pikes Peak stories, he likes the one about a man named Peter Strudwick who was born without hands or feet. In 1972, he completed the Pikes Peak Marathon, wearing rubber devices fastened to his legs.
From here (http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1315969).
America’s favorite mountain has no shortage of horror stories, tall tales, myths — and even a true legend or two scattered among them.
There are the resident killer rats devouring babies.
There’s the sea monster slithering through a mountain lake; there’s the buried treasure that still awaits discovery. Take your pick. Matt Carpenter, the Manitou Springs runner who’s spent more than his share of time on Pikes Peak, favors the tale of the homicidal rodents for sheer entertainment value. “The whole story is just crazy,” he said. It goes like this:
In 1875, Sgt. John O’Keeffe arrived for duty at a signal station the Army opened on the summit of Pikes Peak in 1873.
The next year, he reported that one night, hundreds of rats attacked the station, consumed a side of beef in less than five minutes, then advanced on O’Keeffe and his wife. They killed the rats but tragically found the worst had happened — the rats had eaten their baby daughter.
Except that O’Keeffe didn’t have a baby, or a wife, for that matter.
Nor do rats live on the peak; the biggest rodents on the summit are marmots.
“That’s my all-time favorite,” Carpenter said.
For inspirational Pikes Peak stories, he likes the one about a man named Peter Strudwick who was born without hands or feet. In 1972, he completed the Pikes Peak Marathon, wearing rubber devices fastened to his legs.
From here (http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1315969).