Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-08-03

Then said the other, ut tain must he;
He thinks thee fair, but his loves for me-"
But the knight that rode in his pride Of might,
Won death as the prize OF the well-fought
fight;
And the maiden that chose the better par:
Won red rose and broken heart.
HUNTING RATTLESNAKES.
Odd Experience that may Be Had III PENN
sylvania.
Correspondence New YORK Sun.
The party was to start from the cabin
of Jake Smith. whose home is miles
from Snipe Creek, on y spur of the
Blue Ridge that jutS out from the
northwest boundary of Lehigh county.
Three miles from his place is barren
tract known as Rattlesnake Ledge.
Smith had three friends, Henry Lar
kins, Budd Hemple, and Hiram Endy,
of whom he is the acknowledged lead
er. He is Il tall, raw-boned siN-footcr
with IL face covered with short black
whiskers. The three others are rough
woodsmen, yet full of fun and fond of
adventure. They seemed to he elated
at having Il stranger in the party.
:.Just come along said Smith, ''you
won't be getting into any harm. Put
on a heavy pair OF boots. and keep
your eyes open and your wits about
yOu.' The party started early yester-
day. The Ledge reached. pipes were
smoked until slln-up. Smith went
away, and after he had been gone 4
half.hour he called up from the rocks.
and we went to him. He stood smil.
ing, and exclaimed, "Ilere's all early
bird out for an airing On the rock,
and pinned to it by q forked stick.
writhed Il reptile about feet in
length. Jake told Endy to hold the
prong down. Taking out small phial
IRON Il vest.pocket. he saturated Il
piece of black wadding with the Ii.
Quor it contained. He placed the wad-
ding on Il stick, and then put it into
the serpent S mouth. 1t operated like
magic. The snakes body dropped flat
on the rock.
'.That'll do said Jake. ''Take the
prong off. He's dosed like Il charm. -
Jake thcn held the snake by the tail,
and said that the stuff would keep it
unconscious for ten minutes. The
reptile had six fully.developed rattles.
These were cut off. The ten minutes
had scarcely ella >sed before the snake
revived. His throat began swelling,
his eyes protru.le. and lie shook his
tail, but the rattles were gone. lie
tried to shake again, and then sank
his fangs deep into his body again and
again, frothed at the mouth, and died
apparently in agony.
81 just did that to let you know how
mad RATHER gets when he is clipped, >
said Jake. ::YOu see how blue the in.
side of his mouth is Well, that's the
way they all get. That pronged long
tooth of his is not dangerous. Behind
that long tooth is q small bag that l
will show you after awhile. It is a
kind of bag about half as big as a pea.
In that is the poison. When RATHER
gets mad, and just before he strikes,
he'll give his teeth bath of poison
and then drive in the fangs. The
teeth are no low on the ends, and no
matter if they go through a man S
clothes, the poison won't wipe off, but
it will drop when the teeth touch
blood.''
The sun was very hot. and the bar
rem ledge, exposed to the full rays, was
getting scorching. Each man was pro.
vided with y stout hickory stick, with
prong at the lower end. Each put
on his feet rubber bottoms made out
of cast Off shoes, in order to get over
the rocks without making noise.
Each took different direction, with
the understanding that they should
meet at spring, miles over the hill
at noon. ':You come with me- said
Jake, whispering to the dog, and the
hunters separated among the rocks al
a distance beyond hearing, SO that
whenever one might want help the
other could come to his assistance
without losing much time.
s'Wc generally find 'em stretched OF,
the rocks. They're naturally lazy
and they take to the sun like ducks tc
the water. They don't do much but
sleep. On these hot rocks they be-
come full of poison. Look there al
that dog will you?'' Maj stood or
ledge of yellow rock about 50 yards
from where we were. His body WA:
silent as statute, and his tail wagget
with the regularity of pendulum
We approached silently, and when We
were within ) feet of the rock the dog
left his post and got behind his master
Jake pointed ahead, and there lay /;
rattlesnake ! feet in length sleep
ing in the sun. It lay
stretched out. The hunter walked ul
Carefully, placed the pole in position
and in twinkling it descended on the
neck of the reptile, making it a pris
Oner. 1t took all the strength of that
brawny man 1T first to keep the snake
fast on the rock. Rattlesnakes do moi
curl as other snakes do. When pinned
down they simply lash the ground OF
the rock with their bodies.
''Stand back" said Jake ''let him
lam that tail until he gets tired
The horny chain on the snakes tai
ratified, but the prong was too small
for him to slip his head or body
through. 1t pinched just enough to
madden him. In three minutes lie
seemed tagged out, when Jake was
enabled to dose him and lay him out
The body was beautiful in gold, dark
brown, and black. The belly had
grayish white with black stripes. Or
the back there were black spots. Jake
took out the poison sack, which looked
very much like - water.blister on
human flesh.
"That stuff in the veins of twenty
men would kill every one Of 'em,'' said
Jake. ''Some people would s;.y this
fellow was II years old, according tc
his rattles. l don't believe it. l be-
lieve these snakes get 'em more than
once year when they are young.
When they're old it may be different.
This skin ain t worth much, but well
take it along anyway" Suddenly we
heard the shrill whistle of one of the
men, about 200 yards over the rocks.