Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-11-03

noldS pushing through the crowd.
80 Rattlers.' said the mountainecr
"'L Let me take one said Reynolds,
reaching for the box.
- Better look ont: they bite. and
when they bite they KILL was the reply.
90 If Yer brought these in answer to
the advertisement them's my snakes
said Reynolds, as he plunged his hand
into the box. In a second he brought
forth Il siX-fOot rattlcsnake. and holding
it between n thumb and finger looked at
it. The far-away look in the eyes of
the mysterious man had given way to a
dancing, sparkling brilliancv. before
which the snake was powcrlcss.
80 Amt he purty9 See the sun strike
its handsome hide and cum back in rain
bow colors. Kiss me, boy
"SlOwly the deadly serpent went to-
wards his mouth, and then darted down
his throat. The crowd did not move;
they scarcely breathed. felt my hair
rising; might say, in New Haven slang:
We were paralyzed.' At all events.
we were rooted to the spot as firmly as
the Pyramids are to Egypt's sand. In
an instant his hands were in the box,
and no less than twenty of these deadly
animals were dancing around him to
the music of their rattles. The mount
aineer was pale as sheet, and trembled
as with the ague. Back went the snakes
into the box. Turning to the mount
aineer, Reynolds exclaimed What $
the matter; are We cold?' His voice
broke the spell; the mountainccr gave
one look, and then made for the door,
He never came for pay for those snakes" ="
Among the visitors to see the enor-
nous 3OO-pound python on exhibition
there was native of Central America.
Tie told the attendant at thedOor that q
long residence in warm climate had
mad9 Kim perfectly familiar with rep
tiles and their habits. He acknowl-
edged that the python in the museum
was wonderful serpent, but he said
he had seen many such in Guatemala
A representative of the Star, who hap
pened to come along just then and
overheard the Central Americans re-
marks, asked him to relate some of his
experiences with snakes. The man was
aveteran OF sixty-tive or seventy years.
His face was bronzed. and his hair.
which he wore long, was as straight as
that of an Indian. He was full six feet
tall, and the lankness of his figure gave
him singular appearance. He told
the reporter that his name was Senor
Jose Dece. that he was born in Mexico,
and left that country for Central Amer
lea when a young man. The Senor
was well educated, and is able to speak
in the English language with the same
fluency that he does in his native
tongue. He said:
81 have camped in swamps and
thickets, and slept with pythons and
anacOndas crawling all about me. l
never thought of being afraid of them.
The stories told in books of immense
snakes attacking large animals and
men, coiling about them and crushing
and swallowing their prey, are for the
most part exaggerations. 1t is true
that small animals are often killed and
swallowed whole by anacondaS and
boa-constrictors; but it is safe to say
that no full-grown man was ever made
a meal of by serpent
''Were you ever attacked by ser
pent?" the reporter asked.
81 never had one tackle me, but q
sailor with whom l was acquainted had
pretty severe experience. He was
walking in thicket on one moonlight
night, twenty-five or thirty years ago,
when he suddenly found himself encir-
cled with the folds of tremendous
snake. l suppose he would have drawn
knife from his pocket and cut the
hxrf Il 60,
him he did not happen to have any cut
ting instrument with him at the time
So all that was left for him to do was
to struggle and free himself the best
way he could. He made a desperate
effort and loosened himself from what
was very close embrace. Once free,
he procured stick and pounded the
anaconda upon its head until it was
dead. There is certain spot at the
base of a snakes head which, if struck
even a slight blow, will cause death"
"Is an anaconda good for human
food?'
"Now. that is a question which is very
hard to answer. 1t may be wholesome,
but l think it would be pretty tough
eating for any human being who has an
ordinary set of teeth and the average
digestion. l think would prefer good
beefsteak or . tenderloin if l wanted Il
good square meal"
"ls any kind of snake suitable for
food?"
30, yes; rattlesnakes are delicious
and wholesome. l have been in coun-
tries where they formed large share
of the regular diet of the inhabitants"
ITO what countries do you refer?"
''Well. sir. the people Of Brazil and
Chill eat rattlesnakes; but you need not
60 so far away from New York to find
serpent-eaters. The folks down in the
northern part of the State of Pennsyl-
vania eat rattlesnakes. The serpents
in that State are particularly plump,
and exceedingly inviting to the palate
OF an epicure. According to the ortho-
dox method, the rattler is skinned and
cut up into pieces about an inch or an
inch and half long, and then fried the
same as you would cook an eel. Ihave
eaten rattlers lots of times. They taste
something like eels. only q great deal
sweeter. prefer rattlesnakes to frogs
any day in the week. Frogs are in
sipid."
did you ever see a pyramid of
snakes?"
''lf you mean one of those conical
piles of reptiles, such as Livingston saw
in Africa, | will tell you that l never
saw a pyramid; but have seen heap
or big knots of serpents all twisted and
entertained in wriggling, squirming.
Shiny, Kissing bunch. l was exploring
a cave in South America few wears
ago. when came to passage that was
SO low and narrow that was compelled
to get down and crawl upon nv hands
and knees. had to hold my torch in
my teeth, and, as | could not manage
it very well, my light was extinguished,
and my only alternative was to crope
along in darkness. Suddenly / felt
something cold and Shiny against nv
hands. knew from the feeling that I
had touched snake. Then l blindly
put my hands forward and thrust them
into nest of serpents. You can be-
lieve that | got out of that place as
speedily as possible. ~. \. Star.