The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1889-11-29
A MONSTER cRorALus.


A Scranton (Pa.) Mans Lucky Escape
From His Fsngs.
Mr. A. C. Drinker. OF this city. hns
been an enthusiastic student OF natural
history since he was small boy in
the beech woods of Clifton fifty years
ago II have had three vary narrow
escapes from being bitten By poison
GUS snakes." said Mr.. Drinker the
other evening, land In each case II
was different variety Of reptile that
came near giving me dose. One si-
ternoon in August. good many years
ago. ! was tramping along near the
Burnt bridge with my rife on my
shoulder. when ! happened 10 see an
immense blackberry bush. loaded down
with dead ripe berries. II was up the
bank little way. and ! stood my gun
up by stump and went to the bush.
The body of the bush was as thick as
good sized cone. and 1t lay within
few inches OF the ground. ! carefully
reached my fingers around 1t and
started to pull the bush toward me
slowly, when | felt something pushing
and pulling on it. 1t startled me
good bit. and / let 20 OF the bush and
watched. Something kept on shaking
1t. but what it was / couldn't tell. |
was bound to find out, though. and
after little. poked the leaves away
with stick and got at the mystery.
The power that moved the bush was
big rattlesnake. His iangs were fast
in the thick stem. half an inch from
where my fingers were when he struck
at me, and he had hunted and pulled
till there wasn't berry left on the
bush. ] didn't hear the least noise
while ! had my fingers on the bush.
and / was certain that the old fellow
didn't make his rattles buzz before he
struck.
81 wanted to have little fun with
him before | pounded the life out Of
him, and so ! let him hang there and
hunted up tough dead hemlock limb
Then went back and gently touched
the snake on the head with the stick.
pulling the bushes apart SO that he
could see me. That set him to rat
tIing and wriggling to the top OF his
strength. and ! never saw madder
creature than he was while ] teased
him. His eyes blinked and his mouth
was as red as fire. After awhile
pried him loose and put the end of my
club where he could strike ut 1t. He
was good fighter, and he drove his
fangs at the stick FIVE or six times.
hitting it within a sixteenth OF an inch
OF the same spot each time. BY and
by the rattler got tired Of fighting the
club. and with his head and tail un he
made for me.
Just as he reached out. his head
iattened. his mouth opened to its
widest extent. and the fangs in his
fiery upper jaw CLEANED. Then ] gave
him bat with the club that paralyzed
him. killing him with another blow.
lie had thirteen rattles and button
and was fvefe long. ! brought him
home and dissected him, and my sister
las the rattles yet. The poison sacks
1t the roots Of his fangs were not
arger than small peas. In each one
here was a small drop OF fluid that
ooked good deal like glycerine
There were four distinct growths OF
angs on each side. one back of the
,ther. SO that when he shed one set |
here was another set to take its place.
The poison is elected through a very
inc hole at the point of the fang. a
lole no larger than that In the needle
'f hypodermic syringe. have dis
Iected many a rattler since then. but
have never caught a finer one than
ie was. ."--Scranton (Pa) Cor. N. Y.
sun.
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