Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-05-23
BABIES In PERIL,
Thrilling Snake Story from the
Keystone State.
AN ADVENTURE WITH RATTLERs.

A PeriIous Experience Which Happily
Resulted in No Harni-Two Little Chill
dren Found by Their Mother Playing
with a Observation-Disclosures Serpent
Coiled Up with Her Baby in the Cradle
A Lifetime of Horror in Moment.
PINE CREEK, Pa, May 23-Mrs. Cyrus
Jones, of Leidy, has three children-twins
aged years, and baby months old.
While working in her garden she left her
baby asleep in the cradle in the kitchen.
The twins Were playing in the front yard
Having been at work for some time in the
garden, Mrs. Jones walked around the
house to go in and see if her baby was all
right. As she came around one corner of
the house she stopped To watch the other
two children moment, attracted by their
peculiar movements, which seemed 70 give
them great amusement They were sit
ting on a grass plat, one of them having in
her hand short stick with which she was
giving occasional blows on the ground.
Made Startling Discovery.
After each stroke the children would
laugh heartily. Now and then one of them
would bend forward until her face was
near the ground. while she stroked some
thing with her hand Then the stick
would he brought into nse again, and the
mirth of the little ones he renewed. After
watching and enjoying their play for some
time Mrs. Jones walked out To where the
children were sitting. She was Mortified
TO discover that the object of their sport
was large rattlesnake The reptile lay
at full length, apparently not displeased
with being made a playthingof.
A Trait of RattIesnakes.
1t is well known belief among back
woods people that rattlesnakes will not
bite children, and many instances are cited
where those deadly reptiles have shown
actual fondness for them. But the pres
ence of a grown person Will throw the
snake into rage. Mrs. Jones account of
her experience on this occasion and one
that Immediately followed it certainly
seems 10 give foundation for the truth of
the possession by the rattlesnake Of that
curious trait Not knowing exactly what
to do after her startling discovery she eau
tiously approached, with vague idea of
snatching her children away from their
deadly plaything
The Children saved.
The snake saw her and instantly its atti-
tude changed With the quickness of
lighting il threw itself into the coil the
rattlesnake always assumes preparatory
to striking and set its rattles going. Mrs.
Jones stopped and screamed to her chill
dren to come To her. The sudden change
in the manner of the snake had frightened
the children. although the reptile showed
no inclination To modest them. and they in
stinctively tumbled ont of its way and
quickly ran to their mother. Mrs. Jones
led them TO a distance and ran for her
garden hoe. She returned and killed the
snake
4 Snake in the Cradle.
After diSpatching the snake Mrs Jones
and the children entered the house, where
the mother sank half unconscious To the
floor she was so overcome 10y the trying
experience she had passed through She
had hardly recovered from the effects of
the shock when scream from one of the
children alarmed her. She staggered to
her feet and saw the child standing near
the cradle To her renewed horror, Mrs
Jones saw another rattlesnake lying con
tentedly in the cradle, not six inches from
IKE sleeping baby's face.
Reaction from the Excitement.
Mrs. Jones says she will never know
how she managed to dispose of the snake,
for she had no recollection of anything
after discovering it. She found herself
lying on the floor by the side Of the cradle,
all three of the children crying bitterly
near her. the baby being in her arms and
the snake dead near the door. Her hus-
band came from his work soon afterwar1,
and was 80 affected on hearing his wife
story and finding the dead snake that he
was unable to 20 to work again that day.
The snakes were evidently mates. They
were above the average size AMI had nine
rattles each.