Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-14

scdIeu, not 10 run, Dut rather TO NY upol
wings like exaggerated thistle-downs. The
stand about three feet high and weigh from
10 to 90 pounds, but the smallest seemed t.
me much nearer six tons BY the time 1 hac
l packed him 20 miles. 1t took an hour
work, and the securing of several acres II
get together enough sagebrush, blue-stem
and the bulbous roots of the soapweed t.
build fire which would roast few pound
otsteak, and despite the bitter ashes witt
which 1t was covered, meat never tastet
better
The later afternoon brought another ex
PeTlence-different, but no less exciting
lucky shot brought down large hawk a.
very long range, and went over to get him
Coming back through patch of thick, tai
gum6o-grass to where my antelope ant
blanket lay, was wading carelessly along
When a sharp sk-r-r-rl under my very feet
sent me about a yard into the air. There
were my tracks in the broken stems on each
side of big rattler. had stepped right
across himl Now, he had thrown himself
into coil and was in unmistakably bad
humor, with angry head and the dry whirr
of his tail, which moved so fast as to look
like yellow sheet From boyhood have
had curious affection for snakes-an at.
traction which invariably prompts me to
play with them awhile and to kill them
when the one-sided romp is overi Even the
scar of a rattlesnake bite on my forefnger
has not taught me better.
A Frolic With Death.
Now, 1 poked out the muzzle of my rife
to his angry snakeship, and no eve could
! follow the swift flash in which he smote it,
his fangs striking the barrel with little
tick, as though needle had been stabbed at
a pane of glass. L know of nothing more
dreamily delicious than to tease rattler
with some stick or other object lust long
enough to keep those grim fangs from one 5
own flesh. l have stood for hours thus,
thoughtless of discomfort, carried away by
the indescribable charm of that grisly
presence. Perhaps the consciousness of
playing with death and as his master con-
tributes something of that claim. Be that
as it may, no one who has ever played with
a rattlesnake can fully disbelieye the SUPER
stitution that it fascinates its prey. I
have felt it often-a sweet dreaminess
which has tempted me to drop the stick and
reach out my arms to that beautiful death.
|. Unluckily for them, the field mouse and the
rabbit have not mulish mans will
Talk of grace in the cat, the deer and the
swan, why, they are lubbers all beside that
wondrous liquid form. Two-thirds of its
length is coiled in triple circle, the
beaded tail forward, and up on the other
circumference while opposite and a trife
eccentric (as machinist would say)
towers a Something which no man can de-
scribe. Afterward you may see that it was
only couple of feet of body, with an ugly
little delta of head; but in life it appears
distinct and superior creature.
No Wonder 1t Can Charm.
No other creature in the world, save it
wear feathers, is capable of such absolutely
unhampered motion. 1t swings, sweeps,
waves from side to side, backward and for
ward, in liquid sinuousness that is so beau
tiful as to seem unreal. The tiny bead-eyes,
which never wink, glitter like living dia-
monds; the strange, pink mouth, open wide
and fiat as palm, twinkles its f1exile thread
of a tongue; and through all burrs the
weird, dry lT-r-r-r! of that mysterious tail.
When our play was over, and it was time
to hasten toward Kit Carson, pinned the
neck of the snake to the ground, with the
broad muEzle Of the rifle, and reached
around for my hunting knife to chop off
that unsafe head. just as / was stoopingu
thus above him he writhed loose, and
quicker than thought made a 1unge at nv
face. That hideous open mouth, which in
that instant seemed larger than my hand,
came within three or four inches of nv
nose; but luckily he struck short-for nv
wild jump backward was not tithe swift
enoug gh to have escaped. But / must have
made a considerable dent in the atmosphere
At least L got him pinned down again and
finished him. Did you ever examine the
wonderful adaptation of a rattler's head for
its purpose of death? The teeth are like
those of ordinary snakes, SO tiny as to be
hardly visible, and are only to assist in
swallowing, for no snake chews. AT the
very outer rim of the upper jaw and little |
back from the front are the fangs-two tiny
points, fine as cambria needle and about a |
quarter of an inch in visible length. They |
are lmbedded' in a strong, white, elastic |
muscle, and when the mouth is closed thew |
lie fiat along its roof, pointing backward. 4
Opening the mouth throws them forward, |
rigid and ready for action. They still |
''rake" backward, and therefore strike far |
more effectively.
The Essence of Death.
AT the very back of the head, on each |
side of the neck, are the little bags which |
hold that strange, colorless, tastcless essence
of death, and a very tiny duct leads from
each to the base of its corresponding fang,
which is hollow its whole length. The
action Of striking squcezes the bags, and a
few drops of poison squirt in an infinitesi-
NAL stream, but with great force, through
the duct and the hollow needles 1 have
a snake which shared my room for wear
struck at me from the other side of wire
screen. The poison-bags give the head of a
snake that breadth at the back
which make it a sort of triangle; and if YOU
see any serpent without that you NAV be
sure he is not dangerous. The head of a
harmless snake looks but little wider than
his neck.
An hour later killed very tinv snake.
only ten inches long, but with six rattles,
He had the prettiest skin eyer saw; and he
was so wee L "didn't know he was loaded -
He was only half-dead when / reached Kit
Carson, and all that dozen miles was wrig-
cling at the end of a string tied to the leg of
he antelope on my shoulder his spasmodie
mouth opening and shutting close to INV
ingers. L removed them from this careless
very hastily when the station
houted: "Why, you fool, he's twice as
oizen as the big oneP' The skin of the
arger one served me as hat band until
mousse afterward devoured it for meas thew
ave many such trophies since. + don't |
NOW why mice should be so fond of eating
make skins-,mless it is their only revenge |
N their traditional foe.
Typical Floating Town.
Kit Carson, which 1 reached that night.
Tas sad example of the 'sfoating towns
f early Colorado. When it was the ter
linal of the track it was rough busting
lace of 5000 people. But soon the rail-