Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-06-11
RATTLESNAkE JIM.
A Thrilling Experience with Rattlers
California.

why, ne crleu, oion you e'ci
hear how got that name? | thought
everybody knew about that"
He evidently felt chagrined. | hast
ened to explain that l was stranger
in the state, and had just come up to
this little mountain valley on fishing
expedition. This at once modified him,
and he explained the origin of his name
as follows:
Bob McGill and were down on the
Middle Feather one summer. prospect
ing and hunting. We killed little
game, caught plenty of fish, had lots OF
hard bing, but did not find a claim
that was worth a cent.
1.-THE river canyon is very deep, ana
the sides are almost solid rock. 1t Is
the hottest place in all California
lone day we came to queer spot ana
stopped to examine it. 1t looked ike
big stone cup turned upside down in a
stone saucer The rock was lava, and
full of cracks and assures. On three
sides the cup was pretty steep, but on
the fourth was a little narrow place TO
walk ND. We crossed the stone saucer
and climbed the knob or cup.
Just as we got to the top Bob says:
Look thar and p'inted right down on
the other side. Three big rattlesnakes
were coiled up in the sun / always did
hate RATHER, so l polled my gun over
the edge of the rock and let drive.
Right thar made mistake. We ought
to have skipped out and left them snakes
asleep. The moment / fired two of
them, for l only killed one, twisted
and ratified and coiled up ready
to fight If they had been the
only ones we would have laughed,
but YOU see that old rock basin
was plum full of the pizen critters. We
were right in the middle of rattle
snakes den. Those two made their
rattles fairly whiz, till every snake in
the place was crawling out of the cracks
in the rock. Ifyou hear me tell it, we
were in fix We could not run. and
thar were too many snakes to fight. 1t
were lucky for us that the little trail
was the only place whar they could
reach the top of the rock.
I'VE kept still minute, thinking
maybe they would go back, but it was
no use. They were spilin' for fight,
and seemed to know they had us in Il
box. They could see us right above
EN-. and that riled 'em madden than
yaller jackets.
''They didn't wait more than a min
ute or two till they started up that lit
tie trail. Just how many of the blamed
snakes thar were l have no idea. !
reckoned about thousand, but Bob
always stuck to it thar We're round
million.
''Our guns were double-barreled
breech-loaders, and most of our cart
ridges were filed with bucl>>hot. The
snakes were so thick that we killed
from one to half dozen at each fire.
We managed for time to keep the
little trail clear, but they kept coming
faster and faster We killed EN- by the
bushel, and if we could have made the
pizen things into lie and sold it at five
cents gallon, we could have made Il
pile of money.
ssWe were nightly scared for fear
they would find Il way up through the
big rock itself, and kept a sharp watch
all the time. If our cartridges held out
long enough we could stand EN- off, bat
we had to shoot lively, and they would
soon run short. The whole rocky bot
tom was plum full of them wrigglinr
rafting, squirming snakes. We didn
have a drop of anti-snake bite with us.
Had drank it all up long before. What
was worse, it was good five miles up
the mountain to the nearest place whar
any could be got.
''We were shaxy in our knees, for the
smell of them snakes made us sick.
Reckon you think we were scared
Bob was no SLOUGH at fighting anything
in the woods; and, stranger. / never
turned back from the biggest grizzly in
the mountains; but right then we would
have been mighty glad to have got
away.
ssOur cartridges were running low.
We made up our minds that we would
have to take chances of running right
across that lot of pizen rattlers- WAS
"a desperate case, but we had big, thick.
boots on, and might get through.
Bob give groan when the last shot
went. We've got to chance it now
said he.
We grabbed our guns so as to use
them as clubs. Then we walked down
the rock little bit, and looked down
among the snakes / tell you, stranger,
It were like going right down into hell.
The snakes wriggled and twisted, coiled
up and ratified till the air fairly whizzed.
Thar is many a thing in the woods
that sounds like the rattle of snake.
Sometimes it's weed, sometimes it's
a leaf, it may be a little stick. or some
dry seeds in a small pod. You jump
for a minute, and then laugh to think
how easy you got sold. But when you
hear genuine rattle from snake that
is mad, you will never mistake it. 1t
will come nearer waking a dead man
than shock of bottled lightning. Thar
is not beast nor bird but what will
get out of the way as quick as man.
Just as we shut our teeth and gripped
our guns for a start, Bob caught me
by the arm and cried. Wait bit
Then he run to the top of the rock and
yelled: Come here Give me hist
says he, as 1 reached him. 4 think /
can reach that oak limb
"The limb of big oak came down
over the top of the rock, and this Bob
could just reach by my holding him up
as high as | could. He grabbed the
limb and climbed up little, and that
brought it down SO / could get holt on
it.
1--WE were none too quick. for the
blamed snakes were crawling up mighty
lively, and / had to kick one of em
away from me as ] swung off on the
limb We climbed that limb and got
| down the tree in less than no time and
struck off up the mountain. We never
StoDped till we reached tho Mountain