Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-09-10
SOME SNAKE STORIES.

Three cavalry soldiers sat in South
town lager beer saloon and over their
glasses and pipes rehearsed their expert
ences during last summer on the plains
and barren sands of New Mexico and Ari-
IONA. They were brswny, muscular fell
lows, with bright, intelligent eyes and
weather beaten faces and that Indifferent,
matter OF. course air characteristic of the
frontiersman and old soldier. "Snakes !"
exclaimed one of the saberers, as he blew
away the cloud of smoke that almost con-
cealed his eountenance-' thought / had
seen snakes among the buttes or clay hills
of Wyoming, but | never knew what rep
tiles We're until 1 got down into Arizona.
Why, I've seen fifty tarantulas in single
your hat, following buffalo trail to the
water to drink. Tarantulas always follow
each other in Indian file. Some people
thihk that tarantula's bite is not poison
ous, out l tell you it is certain death. I've
seen tarantula jump four feet to strike a
horse in the face, and fifteen minutes after
that horses face would swell to an enor.
nous size. He would act as though he
had the blind staggers and then in little
while drop dead. Moceasins? by the
thousand? The plains of Arizona and
New Mexico are full of rattlesnakes, and
everywhere in the vicinity of stream of
water are the moccasins. Their bite, too,
is certain death. Strange these snakes
never bite wild animals or the Indians.
No one ever heard OF an Apache Indian
having been bitten by snake. They
seem to be of one and the same nature
You never heard of snakes fighting among
themselves, nor of an Apache fighting
snakes. Deer and antelope know how to
defend themselves from snakes. | once
was out hunting, and got very close to
fine-looking buck, and was about to give
him q shot when my interest was excited
by his strange conduct. His eyes appeared
fixed upon some object on the ground, and
through the telescope of my rifle l was
able to see, close before him, an enormous
rattlesnake. He had ooiled himself into
that peculiar position the rattlesnake takes
just as it is about to strike. Instantly the
deer stamped upon him with his front feet
and trod the reptile into jelly. l shot
the deer and 1 got the snake. 1t had
twelve enormous rattles. Ali the wild
animals appear to be on the lookout for
reptiles. A wolf never lies down without
walking round and round in circle for
some moments, until it has trod every inch
of ground, almost, upon which it lies. So
with the elk, deer and antelope, or any
wild animal"
" But why are not more persons bitten
by the moccasin than are?" inquired
bystander. 81 hear they are very diff
cult reptile to kill"
g Yes, they are difficult to kill, unless
you know how to make them kill them
selves" replied the frontiersman and scout.
60 The first thing a moccasin does, when it
is alarmed, is to initiate itself with air.
Then it is as habby as a sponge, and if you
were to hurl stone upon it it would have
no seeming effect The way to dispose of
the moccasin, and have put hundreds Of
them out of the way, is Just to strike it
with a switch or your riding whip so as to
sting it, and it win instantly bite itself
and in three minutes be dead snake"
"What do snakes live on"
"Whatever they can get hold of-fies,
grasshoppers, berries and toads. They are
very fond of fresh meat, and good sized
toad is luscious feast for moccasin."
eyes" spoke up another soldier, who
had been listening with approving silence
to his comrades recital of che habits of the
reptile; but even the toad knows how to
defend itself against the voracity of the
rattlesnake. A rattlesnake never bites
anything it swallows, and so it will cram
toad down its throat whole l once saw a
rationale, about six feet long, trying to
capture large toad The toad adopted a
novel method to thwart the reptiles inten-
tions. The snake had come upon the toad
unawares, and it could not turn tail and
jump, else the snake would spring and
catch it in his jaws. So the toad took up
a small stick, about six inches long, hold
ing it at the center in it's mouth. The
snakes mouth could cot be distended to a
width of six inches, and so facing the
SNAKE with the stick in its mouth, the
toad wearied his would be destroyer cut of
all patience. and finally he gave up his
efforts and crawled away. The toad
dropped the stick and hoped to a safer
retreat"
Somewhat of snake story that, my
friend"
Eyes, but as true as Washington IT.
Wings story Of the snake, prairie dog and
owl, which all who read believe, unless
they have been enlightened to the contrary
by some one who had lived on the plains"
I Chicago Times.