Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-08-29
BRAVERY.
A True story.

"pona.- exclaimed six-ycar-old
MarlanJ' leaning against his fathers
knee after listening TO a / story. *
wish i could DO as brave as that:!
..Perhaps YOU will be when you grow
up"
railroad train when there's going TO be
an accident"
"Ah. but there are sure to be plenty
Of other ways for y brave man to show
himself
Several days aftcrthis, when Marland
had quite forgotten about trying to be
brave. thinking. indeed, that he would
have to wait anyway until he was a
man, he and his little playmate, Ada, a
year Younger. We're playing in the dog
kennel. Ii was Il vely large kennel, so
that the two children often crcpt into it
to play house" After awhile, Mar
land, who, of course, was playing the
papa of the house, was to 90 ''down
town. to his business; he put his head
Just about to creep ont, when right in
front OF him in he path he saw 4 snake.
He knew in a moment Just what sort of
u snake it was, aud how dangerous it
was; he knew that it was q r%attlcsnake,
and that if it bit Ada or him they
would probably die. For MARYLAND hal
spent two IN on his papa's big
ranch in Kansas. and he had been told
over and over again, ii he even saw a
snake to run from it rs fast rs he could,
and this snake Just in front OF him WAS
making the queer little noise with the
rattlcs ut the end OF his tail which Mar
land had heard enough about to be able
to recognize.
Now you must know that 4 rattle
snake is not at all like Il lion or a bear;
although Just as dangerous i'll It's own
way. 1t VIII not chase YOU; it team only
length, and it has to wait and coil itself
up in n ring, sounding its 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 u easily
escape from il. The only danger is
from stepping IN it without seeing it.
But Marland's snake was already coilcd,
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 a lattice work ran 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 slrai@hten
themselves up and run. Fortunately,
the snakes head was turned The other
way.
"Ada,' said MARYLAND very quietly, so
quietly tnat his grandpapa, rakmg the
gravel on the walk near by, did not
hear him, "thcre's a snake out here.
and its q rattlcSnallc. Keep very still
and crawl right after me-
Eyes, Ada" he whispered, rs he
succeeded in squirming himself out and
wri ggling past the snake TIL he could
stand upright. ''1Acre's room, but you
mustn't make any noisc'
Five minutes later the two children
sauntered slowly down the avenue,
hand in hand.
"Grandpapa,' said MARYLAND, "there's
~ AtutiSNli'NS Ill tllttc "IlcIt thtli ana J.
were perhaps you'd better kill himr'
And when the snake had been killed,
and papa for the hundrcdth time had
folded his little boy in his arms and
murmurcd MY brave boy ! my dear,
brave little boy!!' MARYLAND locke! up in
surprise.
Why, it wasn't l that killed the
snake, papa! it was grandpapa! 1
didn't do anything; I only kept very
still and ran awav"'
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 | am his mamma, and so | know
just how she did feel-fclt when she
took him in her arms that night that il.
her little boys soul there was some
thing OF the stuff Of which heroes arc
made.-lN2s. Il. w. Roltius, IN UTas
-ivuEe.