Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-08-14
ONE WAY TO BE BRAVE.
A True Story.

''Papa," exclaimed Slx-year-Old
Marland, leaning against his fathers
knee after listening to true story, II
wish could be as brave as thatr'
Perhaps you will be when you grow
up"
"But may be shan't ever be on a
railroad train when there's going to be
an accident"
'Ah! but there are sure to be plenty
of other ways for brave man to show
himself"
Several days after this, when Marland
had quite forgotten about trying to be
brave. thinking, indeed, that he would
have to wait anyway until he was 3
man, he and s.little playmate, Ada, a
year younger, were playing in the dog
kennel. 1t was very large kennel, so
that the two children often crept into it
to '.play house." After awhile, Mar
land, who, of course, was playing the
papa of the house, was to go ''down
town" to his business; he put his head
out of the door of the kennel, and was
Just about to creep out, when right in
front of him in he path he saw snake.
He knew in a moment just what sort of
was; he knewAhat it was rattlesnake,
and that if it bit Ada or him they
would probably die. For MARYLAND had
spent two summers on his papa's big
ranch in Kansas, and he had been told
over and over again, ii he ever saw q
snake to run from it as fast as he could,
and this snake just in front Of him was
making the queer little noise with the
rattles at the end of his tail which Mar
land had heard enough about to be able
to recognize.
Now you must know that rattle
snake is not at all like lion or a bear;
although just as dangerous in its own
way. 1t will not chase you; it can only
spring distance equal to its own
length, and it has to wait and coil itself
up in a ring, sounding it's warning all
the time, before it can strike at all. So
if you are ever so little distance from
it when you see it first, you can easily
escape from it. The only danger is
from stepping on it without seeing it.
But Marland's snake was already coiled,
and it was hardly more than a foot
from the entrance to the kennel. You
must know that the kennel was not
out in an open field, either, but under
a piazza, and lattice work rnn very
near it left very narrow passage for
the children, even where there wasn't
any snake. If they had been standing
upright they could have run, narrow as
the way was; but they would have to
crawl out of the kennel and find room
for their entire little bodies on the
ground before they could straighten
themselves up and run. Fortunately,
the snakes head was turned the other
way.
"Ada,' said Marland very quietly, so
quietly that his grandpapa, rak1ng the
gravel on the walk near by, did not
hear him, "there's snake out here,
and it's a rattlesnake. Keep very still
and crawl right after me-
Eyes, Ada he whispered, as he
succeeded in squirming himself out and
wriggling past the snake till he could
stand upright. "There's room, but you
mustn't make any noise ~
Five minutes later the two children
sauntered slowly down the avenue,
hand in hand.
"Grandpapa," said Marland, 'there's
a rattlesnake in there where Ada and |
were; perhaps you'd better kill him ~
And when the snake had been killed.
and papa for the hundredth time had
folded his little boy in his arms and
murmured: "My brave boy my dear,
brave little boy!'' Marland looked up in
surprise.
why, it wasn't that killed the
snake, papa! it was grandpapa 1
didn't do anything; only kept very
still and ran awayn'
But you see, in that case, keeping
very still and running away was just
the bravest thing the little fellow could
have done and think his mamma
for l am his mamma, and so l know
just how she did feel-felt when she
took him in her arms that night that in
her little boys soul there was some
thing OF the stuff of which heroes are
made Mrs. a. W. Rollins, in Vide
.4eUake.