The weekly Butte record., 1863-03-28
A DAY WITH SNAKES.
A French Traders Story.
BY ". D. JENKINS.

The following thrilling narrative was related
to me by an oil French trader, while l was
stopping at his rancho, few weeks in the
summer Of SO. will here state that the old
man had been educated for Roman Catholic
priest, but be had cast off the cossack and
cowl, and, entering the army as q private,
served under the First Consul through several
campaigns, was promoted to the rank of first
lieutenant, was in the battles of jena aud
Austertz, and, after the disastrous battles OF
Waterloo, which sealed his sovereign's fate,
he emigrated to the United States, where he
entered the service Of and was for number of
years chief clerk Of the American Fur Com
pany. Still later, he had held the Office of a
first lieutenant and of surgeon in the United
States Army, and at this day, although eighty
four years of age, holds the post of Indian in
terpreter at Fort Laramie. Conversing fuently
in twenty-five different languages, including
English French, and Spanish, and most of the
Indian tongues. learned, during my short ac-
quaintance with him, to place implicit conf
dence in bis veracity, and can therefore vouch
for the truth of the following story:
al had been down to Galveston" said be,
" TO dispose of large stock of pelts, which l
had received from the Utahs and Shoshones
some time previous, in exchange for powder,
lead, hawk bells, and other trinkets and hav-
ing been more than usually successful in dis
posing of my furs, was on my way back to the
north, expecting to reach Santa Fe about the
middle Of August:
Having a pair Of high spirited mustang
ponies attached to light vehicle, had out
drove the rest of my party. and was endeavor
ing to reach the northern boundary of the El
Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain before
night-fall, when l was overtaken by one of
those terrific hail storms for which that region
Of the country is remarkable. The atmosphere
had felt damp aud threatening all day, but
thinking that it would soon wear away, had
paid but little attention TO it until l saw the
unmistakable hail cloud fast rolling up from the
west, and then knew that | must drive at
furious rate to reach the shelter of the rancho
on the Pecos, at which we intended to stop for
the night, before I should be oyertakeu by the
storm.
And it came even sooner than had anti
cipated. The sky suddenly became darkened,
the wind came howling over the Jumanese
mountains, driving the dark storm-cloud before
it, and the huge drops of rain fell at intervals,
seeming to come as messengers from the Tenn
pest King, warning me of the terrible storm
that was certain to follow. l laid the lash on
my ponies. and struck out for the nearest point
of timber, although knew that by 50 doing l
must deyiate from the true course to the Pecos.
The storm at length broke upon me in all its
fury ere l had made half the distance to the
destined haven.
i have spent thirty yeas of my life in the
great West, but never before or since do
recollect seeing such storm as that one l
had now no need to use the whip to increase
the speed Of my beasts, for the meyciless pelt-
ing OF the hail drove them almost to madness,
and they plunged wildly forward toward the
point of timber where hoped to gain the shel.
ter Of an arched rock or elf, for my mustangs
that were now struggling 50 calamity, although
nearly exhausted. On arriving at the place it
proved TO be the Great Tuoumeari Mountain,
and now knew where to look for toerable
shelter for both myself aud team. had been
around the base of the mountain once or twice
before, on a hunting excursion with compan-
ion, and We had discovered large cave-like
opening il the rocks on the south side of it,
running back some twenty-five or thirty feet,
and then suddenly decreasing in size, but still
leaving an opening of four or FIVE feet in hight
snd three in breadth. On examination We
perceived that after passage Of few feet it
again widened out TO unknown dimensions, aud
rsn back into the heart of the mountain TO an