Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-11-03

~aich, are alike acceptable to the vora-
cious appo.ibe Of this monster. An before
remarked, this species OF the snaks tribe l.
wonderful climbSr. DULY a day or two
40 = nins-foot fellow was caught climbing
TIE TROLLS Of = log cabin here at the fort
evidently on a foraging expedition after
some swallows who had built their nests
under the eavss Of the building. When
knocked On the head this enterpriSinR
specimen OF his race was some seven OF
eight feet frsm the ground, and Just about
- gObbis up n tender youag swallow With
In reach Of his fangz
The target butts at THIS fort ara crate,
built OF pine logs laid Horizontally. whl!o
tue shooting was going on few weeks ago
marker behind che butts who was scor.
hog the shots as ared, was surprised and
HstOunded When an enormous bull-snake
reached down from log along which he
was comfortably summing himself, and
looked aHsctionatsly into his eyeA The
astonished marker Lost his presence Of
mind fcr moment. and leaped DOT In
front OF the target whsrs the bulletJ were
lying thick snd fast He might have TO
oeivod an ouncS OF two OF cold lead for
this little isliscretion, but suppose he
prefe.ro4 10 die at the hands of his frisnds
rather than be scared 70 death by such An
enemy.
No doubt this particular snake had been
lying along the log for some time, an in
terested spectator OF what was going on.
end had merely leaned down for a mo.
mont 20 inquire Of the marker how the
score was going. He was knocked from
bis perch, but in a tWinkling was halfway
up the butt agstn, when he was finally dis
patched.
Now, the rattlesnake, as q rule, Il too
lazy to build house OF his own, and ac-
cordingly takes up bis domicile in some
prairie dog hole, where be busies himself
looking after the censuz. His brother ton
ants are the prairie dogs and thoir fami.
lies and the common, ugly, mad -cOlored
hsld owl His snakeship watches careful
ly that the population OF his neighbors
does not increase to any alarming extent
nor very rapidly, either The Post Sur
Coon 0t Fort Custer (the next military fort
to VA, AID a few miles north and west of
here). relates the following curious expe-
rience be had with most Of rattIosnAkes
last fall before the snow began to ay,
and Of following up his Investigations this
spring when the thermometer was aim-
iessly wandering far down among the thir.
ties below zero. The doctor had his wife
along with him at the time. driving up the
Big Horn valley, whom all at once the
horses began shying, having run upon
some dozens Of rattlesnakes, large and
small, who were wrggling and squirming
in the road In every direction. The doc
tor, checking his ho-sss, jumped from his
seat and soon bad about as much bust
moss on his hands a. he could con.
ven emily attend to. In Q few minutes be
had laid forty odd rattlers dead on the
hdd. Still the number didn't seem TO
diminish. Tho odor that arose from the
crushed and bleeding reptiles was so often
sivo and sickOning that It almost made tho
doctors good lady i'll. She begged her
husband TO desist, who afterwarI assured
the writer that he was just getting warmed
up 10 bis work and was having all the fun
any reasonable man could expect under
the circumstances Watching the SHAKES
for few minutes tho gentleman saw the
survivors all pointing in one direction. as
" anxious To attain some certain spot In
tho shortest space Of tin1. Following the
route taken by the snakes in a few sec
Onds he camo to a largo prairie dog hole,
down which tho survivors poured, one
after another until he had counted more
than a hundred that had disappeared from
sight Tie next day the gentleman re-
turned to the spot and killed forty more,
the living ones again making all speed for
the same place of refuge.