Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-07-30
A NEBRASKA SNAKE STORY.
The Thrilling Experience of a Sojourner in
the West.

| The Thrilling Experience of Sojourner in
| the West.
"It was in Nebraska" said the racon-
teur with dignity, land | was visiting
some relatives who lived in a sod house
they had gone there to grow up with
the country. / found them living in
! three rooms. with blanket partitions,
and they had committed the great folly
of taking their fine furniture, their
piano, books and carpets out there to
| bestow them in shanty below the
earth six feet. The dug-out was at the
| foot of the bluffs on which the United
States government had built better
houses for the Omaha and Winnebago
Indians thar the white folks could af-
ford to live in. / had noticed
| that handsome carpet which
spread over a hollow place in
the ground for the little ones to
play on had been forgotten, and as the
children no longer used it, | suggested
| that the sun would fade it, and the dews
shrink it, and carpets didn't grow on
every bush in that country. AS is usual
| with those who give advice unasled, l
| got myself into business.
"'Just pick it up and bring it in,
| cousin, suggested my relative.
Il took off my coat and tackled that
carpet with a great big pull. 1t was a
red-hot day, and | wanted to make a
quick job of it, and swish! had hauled
the carpet off some six feet at the first
pull. Then stood stock still and stared
at the hole l had uncovered. 1t swarmed
with snakes, ugly, hollow-cheeked rep
tiles, thrashing the air with their tails,
squirming, kissing and striking their
deadly warning rattles in a way to
make my blood Jun cold.
81 have lived among the boa con-
strictors of South America and have
camped with the deadly cobra of India,
but | dread an American RATHER more
than the other two combined. Before
l had time to run from them they scat
tered, darting here and there into the
ground as the family cat came stepping
along, looking as if she might spring
on them. l was told that she often
killed them and that they were really
afraid of her.
My cousin and her family laughed at
the idea of being afraid of rattlesnakes
and said that it was rare exception
that anyone was bitten by them. l
explained that did not want to be the
rare exception and must say that did
not enjoy their close proximity.
My next encounter was even more
annoying. There were natural steps in
the smooth, almost perpendicular sides
of the bluffs, and l was accustomed to
climb these, taking one Of the children
with me- One day / took little Walter,
a baby of three years, swinging him up,
step by step, in front of me, the steps
being only wide enough for one person.
When we reached the table land above
l wandered about looking at the Indian
graves, and when the child was tired |
started down again. This was diff
cult performance. The grass on either
side was as smooth and hard as glass,
and it would have been impos-
sible to descend by it. 1 was
obliged to hold the child in front
of me, and as he stepped down, l
followed. We were less than half way
down the mountain ladder when he
drew up his feet, hung his weight or
my hands, and yelled:
''Snahes! me see snakes!'
Il lifted him up, at the risk of over.
balancing, and saw the fiat, black head
dart out, and could even discern the
beady eyes of the reptile. / knew that
the serpent was more subtitle than any
beast of the field, and l was mortally
afraid that before / could 'bruise it's
head it would bruise my heel. 1 must
go down in front of that deadly muzzle,
and l did-but | have often wondered
that it did not turn my hair gray. can
face black bears without tremor, but
cold, crawling, Shiny snake, with the
kiss of death ON it's lips-faughr'
troit Free Press.