The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-06-15
A Phenomenai Snake stery.

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Last nights Denver & Rio Grande
train brought three men who had just
passed through an ordeal that is terrible
to contemplate, and their many wounds
go to show that the story they tell is
but too true and horrible in its details.
The men are E. 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 Greek, up the
stream. is q 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 hyspeck on
the shirt-front of creation. The men
were on a 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 a lunch. they built 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
Shiny. 1t was very fine specimen -
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 venom-tongued trailers-
Two of the party proposed to decamp
for a 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 a few min
utes until it was as loud as ordinary
toned voices. The men, finding they
were thus surrounded, broke branches
from the stubby underground of pines
and commenced lashing the writhing
sea of darling, Kissing snakes. Real
izing that they had an all-night job.
they added fuel to the fire and secured
the largest sticks obtainable, and COM
menced the killing in earnest. The
light and noise seemed to awaken the
whole barren waste into a 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 slant
ing hill. They would gain few PAGES
of the distance, only to be driven back
again to the rock The rattling and
kissing became so loud that their voices
were not audible unless close by. The
sound was something like four or five
wheat separators in operation at one
time. 1t was terrible The hair on their
heads was standing straight and stiff
like the wires on a patent hair brush.
Their hands and arms were blood-stained
to the elbows. and the stencil from the
snaky battlefield was sickening in the
extreme One hour after the first snake
was killed no less than 5000 lay slain,
and they kept coming thicker and faster.
The sound became hideous, and soon
the moon disappeared and the three
fishermen felt that hell had sweeter
charms than the place it seemed their
fate to die in. Two of the men were
bitten, and their legs and arms be-
gan to swell and 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 a heap OF
stunned. squirming and dead snakes.
As far as they could see all around the
barren waste was a seething tide of
reptiles that came toward the rock with
maddening fury. Concluding that they
might as well earn death by dearer
fate. they made ready to run for the
stream, thinking that if they gained the
other side they would have a better
chance to care for their wounds. Leap
ing as far as possible from the rock they
ran. frantic, struggling. bitten and wild
with pain, they plunged into the water
ond reached the other side cOmnletely
overcome by the terrible ordeal just
passed through, and. after some time.
bandaged their bleeding and swollen
limbs.
By nine. OF 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 light. The unfortunate
men are now under the care OF DIR. ID.
H. Dougan. They describe the snakes
as being specimens of all kinds, such as
adders, vipers.. copperheads. rattlers,
milk, house, green and black, and
among them was two hoOp-snakes, and
a racer. which they declare was no less
than twenty-five feet in length. The
doctor says the men are not fatally
bitten, but it will be some time before
the swelling and pain will disappear.
They leave on to-night's train for their
respective homes. feeling that they have
had enough fishing and an abundance
of snakes for one eXcursiOn.-Leadriile
fCol. Chronicle.