The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1880-07-02
EATrLE.NAKE Co1cEKr.
The ,4rAnze sGsry TeId by an ArszSn4
PPssPeefoF.

fFDEpeef0F.
'.I'alk about snakes" remarked an
old fr0Btiersman iB conversation With
a Chronicle reporter few evenings
ago, ntbefc are more snakes in Ari-
z0na than ever existed inireIand he
fore good old ST. Patrick cane along
md gave them the grand bounce.
Why,I have been every where; wad-
ed Southern swamps when I had to
stop a minute, with ihe water up to
my chin, 10 allow OF drove or school
Of wateF-noceasins and cotton mouths
to 90 by; up In the far Northwest
aud British America / have lived
like fghtingcock and TO the Queens
taste for weeks al atiIGe on snakesteals,
but ! saw more rattiesnakes down in
Arizona last Summer Was year ago
than ever before in my life, all put
together. Down there they don't 90
in pairs, clusters or droves, but in
columns. just for the world like The
children OF Israel got up and tramped
out OF Egypt with AIosen ard Aaron
In the van, and Joseph, with his cir
Gus coat, bringing UP fhe rear. land
friend were over in the Tombstone
country, among the hills on .)ro--
pecting expedition. There were
Iafliesnakes all around Us, Tut they
did not seem tp be very savage. We
would scare them up riding along,
ard they would sneak away from cur
track like coyotes. One day about =
D'ciDcb Isl the afternoon we were TAX
| ing niii, and as the ascent was very
steep, our horses wonId stop every
/ few PAGES 10 blow. L9ng before We
/ got 10 the summit We heard a strange
noise, or rather a jaT=on Of hi>se-, ap-
psreHily just on tire other side, ard i
we had been shot The next minute.
we could not have told from whence
it emanated. Why it was w'urs..
than the average church cheir.
Well, we got to the top eft5r while,
/ the noise increasing every sep we
! took up. By the time we had got
there il had become little short OF
terrific. and looking down over Tie
side we saw "a sight that took the
ctSe. On little plateau of perhaps
fifty yards dimensions, about seventy
FIVE feet below US, was rditlesnake
reunion and concert. The graunil
and stones were just yellow with
| them, aud if there Was one there
were 10000 snakes in the gang.
They were of all sizes and ages, and
how they enjoyed themselves. The
two oldest king-pins of the crowd
were in the center; and the other
snakes were al gathered about them.
} Each and every snake had coiled him
self up in such manner as to allow
their tails and rattleS good play, and
they were all rattllng away a. if for
wages, and their wicked tongues were
darting out and in, keeping up an ac-
compartment 10 their tails. We
looked at the racket for about min
ute, and then with an awful flourish
ing the rattling stopped. The two
I old snakes reared their heads at least
5 three feet Off the ground aud looked
all around over the field in a manner
: Indicative of n General on \ battle
ground. After surveying the situa-
2 tion and apparently seeing that every
=. member OF the snake combination
was ready for business, they sounded
: note by way of tuning up ana then
, the whole crowd commenced theiF
+ concert again. 1t took them about
ten minutes TO finish one tune ano
{ we must have watched them through
: lat least dozen. After while | goi
J tired of the business and rolled a
e rock down in the crowd. This broke
: up the meeting without delay, and
# as several of the snakes We're crushed
i to death the others sat up an awf's
r rafting ard crowded away to theil
# respective denS. / have been among
: snakes all my life, but that was th'
+ first snake concert / ever witnessed