The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1890-07-10
JEWELLERS IN MINES.
Queer Creatures Found In Under
ground Workings.
Beasts, snakes and vermin T,,at Lurls In
lmpenctrlble Darkness - Trophies
Gathered in Various Places by
o Mining Expert.

animal that has taken up its abode In
the dark and deep underground work
ings Of the gold and silver mines of tho
Far West. Often bears, mountain lions,
dogs, cats, rats, birds, snakes and many
such things are found in the mines and
make many an interesting story. Mr..
A. +. Wuensch, now Of Denver, but
who for several years was the mining
editor Of the Leadville Herald and Dem
ocrat, and who has examined and report
ed on about 1900 mines between Brit
ish Columbia and Old Mexico, recently
told the Denver correspondent of the
Kansas City Journal some interesting
stories about animals he has found in
the mines. These were all in gold and
silver mines, and not coal mines.
~ once went to Mineral, I. d."
said Mr.. Wuensch, "to make report on
the Black Maria mine. On entering the
large tunnel that leads to the workings,
I stopped to strike match, and, in so
doing, placed my hand on one of the
timbers Of the tunnel. Don't do that
said the superintendent to me, and then
further explained to me that was in
danger of being bitten by rattlesnake.
He said that rattlcsnakes were
quite numerous in that section,
and that they sometimes crawled
into the tunnel. Rattlesnskes sleep
during the night, and are not dangerous
then. But early in the morning they
crawl out and bask In the sun, and in
the evening seek secluded spot for the
night. 1t was owing to these habits OF
the rattlesnake that the superintendent
gave me the warning. was at first
surprised, for 1t is an unusual thing to
find a rattlesnake in mine. But the
warning was timely, for we had only
gone a short distance before we ran
across large snake that was uncoiling
itself from behind tho timbers to make
its way to the sunlight at the mouth Of
the tunnel. We soon killed the reptile,
which was a large one, and secured as o
trophy eleven rattles from the tail"
Mr.. Wuensch was sent out by the
Union Pacific in 1888 as q geologist
through Oregon and Idaho. Every
night he and the party slept on the
ground and never once thought Of
snakes, for the reason that even in
those sections where the rattlers are
quite numerous these snakes usually
sleep in the night time. This suggests
to me story wfioh cowboy once told
me. He said that although the rattle
snake is not often used for food, yet he
liked them. He says that tender
rattlesnake's meat is as white and de-
licious as that of frog. He claimed,
strange as 1t may appear, that the
whipping of q snake with switch
when no club is convenient, paralyges
the reptile so that it is easily killed
According to his idea it is not the
quality of the meat, but prejudice, tha
keeps more people from eating rattle
snakes. "Always be careful, though
added the cowboy, 'and do not let thu
rattlesnake bite itself and thereb,
poison it's own flesh"
Rattlesnakes are sometimes captured
for the museums by placing forke(
stick on the neck and holding the rep
tile down until the snake Is safely sc
cured, but no one not accustomed to thi
should attempt so dangerous an expert
ment | have often seen large rattle
snakes coiled up under the sage brusl
on the plains, or along the mountain
gulches, but never had any desire to ex
pertinent with them. "Bears ant
mountain lions are suspicious" contin
ued the expert, recalling other storie
OF his experience in Western mimi
\ camps. "Hence they are not often foun
in tunnels. They rarely take up thei
& abode in workings made by man. hav
seen their tracks in tunnels where pos
II sibly they were compelled to seek she
ter, but not often"
:, Mr.. Wuensch says the most annoyin
~ circumstance OF all his experience 1
,r the mining regions of the West was
some mines in Old Mexico. Here ar
!. found owls, bats and rats. Some of thes
- famous old mines have inclines froi
t. the surface workings, and here an
there large chambers, worked out man
years ago, as large as the rotunda {
many well-known hotels. The lengt
of time In which some Of these mine
are idle causes them to be infested wit
% rats, owls, bats and other animals.
i. 81 had quite an experience wit
9, rats" said the expert, 'in the SAM
y Barbara district in Old Mexico, ne;
20 the boundary line between the State
y of Durango and chihuahua. 1t was I'll
~ most uncomfortable sensation ! evt
'g had in the gold and silver mines OF II
q West. ! tied my broncho to post ne;
~ by, and had descended the shaft alon
ly 1t was not very deep, and from the bo
r- tom of the shaft | followed dri
81 about three hundred feet 1t was ju
~ wide enough for narrow-shouldert
n. Mexican to work in cramped positio
Of Near the top Of the drift and about IL
height of my head was streak
su quartz four to six inches wide, in
I'd horizontal position. This had bet
n washed out, leaving o kind Of groo'
n on both sides Of the drift. Well tn
8, ss groove had become the abode Of tho
nd sands of large, long-tailed rats, whit
b. had probably not been disturbed
many year. Feeling my way car
= fully along this drift, with feeb