Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-08-11

Last nights Denver q Rio Grande
train brought three men whoIhad just
passed through an ordeal that Is, terrible
to contemplate, and their many wounds,
90 to show that the story they tell ID
but too true and horrible in its details,
The men are T.. w, Smith and George
H.White, Jr., of Pueblo and Thomas
McGough, of Colorado Springs They |
detail the account of their adventure
about as follows Nine miles from the
mouth of Cottonwood Creek up the
stream, Is a barren wilderness of
scrubby underground, and powders
and rocks and stones. To stand on the
verdant shore of this sea OF waste land
one would naturally conclude that they
were that many miles away from no.
where, and, for ought they knew, were
the first to discover this blank sea OF
waste, barren, worthless tlyspeck on
the shirt-frOnt Of creation. The men
were on fishing expedition and started
Wednesday morning from the mouth OF
the Minnehaha stream to wend and
wade their way toward its source, when
they reached the spot above mentioned.
Here night overreached them, and hav-
ing lunch, .thcySbuilt a fire and made
themselves as comfortable as possible
on the surface of scraggy messed
rock. Being tired and footsore, as soon
as their scanty repast was eagerly de-
vOured they were soon revealing In
dreams that, perhaps, are more or less
pleasant to the mind while fitting in
the realms of such fancies. One of the
party had not been tangled with Nor
pheus long until he was awakened by
something checking him, and, feeling,
found his strange collar was cold and
slimy. 1t was very fine specimen of
the black species, which was girding
his throttle in its anything but loving
embrace. The monster was soon dis
patched, and the party were about to
lie down again after Kidding themselves
of his snakeship, when they found by
the aid of the dying embers and the
assistance afforded by the quarter
moon that they were literally sur
rounded by the acknowledgement trailers
Two of the party proposed to decamp
for more congenial cline, but when
about to leave the rock they found them
selves trampling on a living sea of SER
penis. The Kissing and rafting became
more audible, and it was but few min
! utes until it YVES as loud rs ordinary
| toned voices. The men, finding they
were thus surrounded, broke branches
! from the stubby underground OF pines
and commenced flashing the writhing
sea of darting, Kissing snakes Real
ling that they had an all-night job,
| they added fuel ~ the fire and secured
| the largest sticks obtsinable, and COM
menced the killing in earnest The
| light and noise seemed to awaken the
| whole barren waste into tempest OF
Kissing and rafting. Each began the
slaughter with redoubled vigor, vainly
trying to fight their way to the stream,
some hundred yards away, down a slant
| inc hill They would gain few PAGES
of tire distance. only to be driven back
again to the rock. The rafting and
Kissing became so loud that their voices
were not atgtlibIe unless close by. The
sound was something like four or five
wheat separations i'm operation at one
time. 1t was terrT5le. The hair on their
heads was standing straight and stiff
like the wires on n patent hair brush.
\ Their hands and arms we;'e Dlood-stained
to the elbows, and the stcSth from the
snaky battlefield was sckeAing in the
extreme. One hour after the FIRST snake
was killed no less than 5000 ldy slain,
and they kept coming thicker andfatter
The sound became hideOus, and soon
the moon disappeared and the three
fishermen felt that hell had sweetet'
charms, than the place it seemed their
fate to- die in. Two of the men were
bitten, and Them legs and arms be-
gan to swell AID pain badly, and
they frequently had to- rest and
permit one to do the killing
of three. The hours wore slowly by
and the slaughter was kept up as best
they could AT last morning came and
lifted the curtain of night from most
appalling scene. For Fifty feet all
around the huge rock Lay heap of
stunned, squirming and dead snakes.
AS far as they could see all around the
barren waste was - seething tide of
reptiles that came towardthe rock with
maddening fury. Concluding that they
might rs we'll earn death by dearer
fate, they made ready to- rum for the
stream; thinking that if they gained the
other side they would have better
chance to care for theirwomds- Leap
ing as far as possible from the rock they
ran, frantic, struggling, bitten and wild
with pain, they plunged into the water
and reached the other side, completely
overcome by the terrible ordeal just
passed through, and, after some time,
bandaged their bleeding and swollen
limbs.
BY nine o'clock they were sufficiently
recovered to continue to- Cottonwood
Springs, where they took the first train
for Leadville to secure medical aid, ar
irving here last night. The unfortunate
men are now under the care of DR. ID.