The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-09-03
KILLED BY RATTLESNAKES.
A House Full of the Reptiles Burned
with the Corpse of its Owner,

A House Full of the Reptiles Burned
with the Corpse of its Owner,
A distiller named Jones, who lived
with his family near the lower bench of
the Big Smoky Mountain, Tennessee.
had been annoyed great deal by the
tevenue rangers last fall, and de-
termined to change his location and
business to d more secluded spot,
To carry out this purpose he selected
the head of deep gorge some four
miles distant, walked in with cliffs, where
during the winter, assisted by some of
his friends, he erected log building.
AS soon as the cold weather was over
and the spring fairly opened, the still
and other things necessary we're moved
to the place, and the work of violating
the revenue law was resumed. Several
"runs were made, and Jones began to
congratulate himself that he had at last
found refuge beyond the prying eyes
of the Government hirelings, where he
could pursue his avocation in peace
The still.hou being some distance
from where his family lived, Jones
rarely visited them more than once in q
fortnight. Everything went on we'll
enough until about four weeks ago,
when he failed to appear at the actus-
toned time.
Nothing was Thought of this for a
day or two, but when another week
elapsed without the return of Jones,
the family became alarmed, and they
thought that he had been captured by
revenue jayhawks and carried to Knox
vile or some other place where violators
of the law are occasionally convicted
and punished. The alarm was given
through the sparsely settled neighbor-
hood. A small number of men gathered,
and accompanied by Mrs. Jones and her
son, youth of ten or twelve years of
age, they started up the gorge in the
direction of the still-house.
On reaching the building they found
the door closed and fastened, and no
sign of Jones or any one else could be
seen. Mrs. Jones called the name of
her husband several times no response,
however, came back to relieve her anxi-
ETY.. But upon attempting to force an
entrance they were greeted with those
peculiar notes of warning which the
ear of the East Tennessee mountaineer
never fails to recognize. The door was
at once broken down, and a sight met
them that caused all to start with fright
and horror.
The form of the distiller lay upon
the floor, with eyes starting from their
sockets, the features horribly distorted,
and body swollen to twice its usual pro-
portions, while the whole interior of
the building was alive with rattle
snakes, some in coil and ready for bat
tie, but the larger proportion stupid
and inerts as though they had been. i'm
bibing literally of the illicit fruit of
the still. The mother and son fled hor-
ror stricken from the place. A consul
tation was had, and it was impossible
to secure the body of poor Jones with
out incurring fearful risk, it was de-
ternlined to reclose the entrance and
other apertures and fire the building,
which was done. The party stayed un-
til the house was entirely consumed,
and nothing remained but the now use
less still and the calcined bones of the
miserable distiller.
1t is supposed that Jones had built
his mandatory close upon den of the
deadly reptiles in the overhanging cliff,
and that attracted by the heat, or pos
sibly the fumes of the whisky, they
found their way into the bull ing in
large numbers after he had closed the
door and laid down to sleep.