Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-07-07

A correspondent Of the Missouri Democrat
writing from Paoli, Kansas Territory, on the It'll
of June, relates the following incident of his owl
personal experience;
On last Sunday evening the air was SO bewitch
ingly balmy, and the sky 50 softly yelled by shad
owy clouds, that was seduced into heightened
stroll along the bluffs, which proudly aspire Ia
overlook the outrageous woodlands on the one
side, and the sm-lit plains upon the other, until
Preached an elevated pinnacle, SO tall as TO COM
mand panoramic view, whose picturesque and
varied beauties ravished all my senses and lost
me in most dreamy reveries.
l recned upon the summit Of the rock with
my head upon my hand, until, presently, il rolled
away upon the cushion of springy moss, which
grew there like an emerald diadem, and1 was
locked in that strange slumber which leaves you
semi. conscious, and yet restraints voltion. | had
laid thus several minutes, with my left arm
stretched TO its extent, when at the extremites Of
the fingers of that hand there was a sensation,
new and peculiar, that sent thrill of pleasure to
the mind and heart, IL was soothing, drawing,
and agreeably titillating, as if the fingers were
dissolving away in delightful selfabsorptpn
Just then, from this sort of blissful abandon, /
was startled by the report of gunshot within
few PAGES of me. | sprang to my feet, and with
establishment, saw my friend Mitchell standing
near and gazing at me with fixed looked CHASTITY
horror. Before could inquire what he meant,
my attention was caught by the sound of the
most shril, keen, ringing rattle that ever pene-
trated human ear; and on looking down | dis
covered huge rattlesnake with CORY head, quiv-
ering and writing in the agones Of death, and
sending forth from his erect tail the terrible toe
sin thatI heard
From this fearful propinquty, began 10 real
ize my position, but not until Iheard an explana-
ton from NJ, could fully understand and appre-
cate its horrors.
al. II. Al
of rattlesnake den, and pointed out the orfces
through which they passed; that he was in the
habit of coming there on Sunday evenings to
shoot rattlesnakes; that when he approached that
evening, and saw me lying upon the den, he
supposed ] had been bitten and was dead; that
he crept nearer and saw my respiration, and
knew | was alive, but discovered monstrous
snake licking my hand and covering it with a
Shiny coating, preparatory to degluttion; that
he made slight, involuntary shudderng excla-
nation Of My God! which drew the snake s at
tention and caused him to turn his head, when he
discharged a load of buck shot into his neck,
mangling and tearing it TO pieces, and thus
saved my life. He had scarcely told me this,
which took but moment when rattles all around
brought us to recollection that we were not yet
free from danger.
We ten or fifteen large rattlesnakes APP
preaching US from every quarter, with eyes glar-
ing revengefully, barbed tongues thrusting threat
eningly, and rattles sounding alarmingly. They
are brave and cannot be inundated, and will die
over the dead body of their companion sooner
than desert it. We knew the indomitable char
acter of our enemy, and nj. and I,with his double
barreled gun, and my sticks and stones, fought
our way out as best we could. You may ina
CINE that my nerves were slightly agitated that
evening, and that dreamed Of snakes that night.
M has killed one hundred and seven Of them
the largest of which had twenty-six rattles He
says the Indians, who have been in the habit of
hunting them for many years, have killed much
older ones, and have slain thousands.