St. Landry democrat., 1890-10-18
a Florida Snake Story
TWO GIRLS, EEa1 s0ED BY RATTL ERs, VIII
NESS A HUT BATTLE.

TWO GIRLS, EEaI sGED BY RATT1 Frs, WIZ
NESS A HUT BATTLE.
MIAMI, Fla, Aug. 80 That big rattlers
still exist here the experience OF Misses
Fay and May Barnes, living some five
| miles from here, conclusively proves;
| The girls were out berrying last week, ana
| went down into the Pony Creek hammock,
| a wild and small stretch of dark woods
| and heavy underbrush. Late in the alter
noon, while getting ready to return nome
Nav stepped on rotton log, which broke
and let her down into deep hole which IT
concealed AS she fell she heard dis
nal and curious rustlipg, rafting noise,
but the fall 80 scared her that she did
not think what it might mean. She
screamed out loudly, and Fay, who was
short way behind, came running up. May
then was in the hole, only her head being
visible.
Hurry up, and help me out y she
| screamed, as her sister came up, "lhere
snakes in here, I'm sure, and the poor 'glrl
almost tainted in the intensity OF her
fright.
girl as she was, and tried to pull May out;
Int it seemed an impossible task, as she
had sunk into the hole so deep, and the
rotten wood had almost wedged her in.
Selling MAY by the shoulders she pulled
Instilv' but to no avail. Then after
moments thought, she took off the shawl
that she wore, and twisted one end
to a big limb near by. This made it SO
that the imprisoned girl could aid herself
some. Nerving themselves, and with
|snull all together" they strained and with
delight both saw they were successful.
Nav came up out of the hole and sank
fainting on the ground. AS Fay turned to
helm her she was Mortified to see the heads
of several vicious and angry looking rat.
tiers emerge from the hole, and their loud
: rattles were echoed from several points
around them in the forest. Hastily catch
ing up her sister, with superhuman
strength that she was surprised at after
ward Fay carried her fainting and
HELPLESS sister off out of the threatened
danger. Soon, under her energetic treat
ment. May opened her eyes with shud-
der. but as she heard the loud Kisses OF
serpents that had escaped out of the hole
, and saw their horrible aspect, she screamed
out loud in her fright. Fay proved the
heroine of the occasion, and. getting her
. sister on her feet, she managed to get her
up on tall pine stump that stood some
Eve or six feet above the ground, as she
Q saw it was impossible to carry May off in
her present unnerved condition.
u As the girls scrambled up on the stump
out of present danger the angry ratings
of the snakes became very startling, and
) their vicious kissing made the girls shud-
der in spite of their present safe quarters
The snakes became more and more angry
u as their numbers increased, and they be-
, gan surrounding the stump on which the
two girls now covered praying for help
=, for or
sound of their voices plainly angered the
. rattlers. and they soon presented SOHO
. ring around the stump They would crawl
}. nm as near as possible and then coil W
u and strike at the imprisoned girls, bu1
ALWAYS falling back with Kisses of rage
y and venom. =,
IL One of the largest managed to hit the
8 TOP part of the stump and his fangs hello
u him there a moment, but May, with 4
. ouick movement, arose on her feet anc
stamp I'd on his head, completely crushing
!, it. His squirming body fell back among
the others, and the long body thrashet
around in their midst till. arous sd to th'
utmost fury by this disturbance, which
thew did not seem to understand, the Others
fell on is dying reptile and bit him time
:. and again One of the fercest made
:. .misli *" and hit another, and this on
LII retorted with vicious bite that stirred III
q war at once and then the fight becain
-, general The vicious and ugly-lookln!
20 fathers struggled around that stump IL
one mad fight, hitting one another, hlssin!
% - with impotent rage and thrashing abou
~ madly in their dying struggles. The girl
- looked on with big frightened eyes, de
d. voutly hoping that their deliverance wa
IN working itself out. The sickening stenc
from the poisoned fangs of the serpent
;" began to effect the girls, and both soon re-
forward in faint, the broad top OF tn
er pine stump fortunately holding them fast
:" How long the fight lasted they KNEE
re not. rs their first recollection of recover
70 was to hear the guns and shouts of the
vn friends. Their eager replies soon brougl
of their rescuers to them and frlghtt'
to scene met their eyes. Scattered about II
he stump were fifteen or more big rattle
er dead or dying, mutilated and torn up
er their mad fight together. Only three WEI
in fonnd alive and these were around tt
stump, coiled up and eying the girl
forms on it, They were soon dispatche
". and the po>r girls brought down fro
on their fearful position. Their exposu
and fright proved quite telling and oo
~ have been ill ever since.
LII Old hunters think that May fell into
rattler's home, and that she was not bltt
while in the hole because it was dark
TO- there, her body filing up the opening
that the snakes were too beWlldereo
of strike Globe Democrat.