The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-10-01

the term. for it is nature, after all, that
goes to work in its endeavor to elm
mate the virulent poison from the sys-
tenn, which she would accomplish I'M
aded, if the physical constitution Of
the individual affected could always
stand the violent shock Whisky Is
merely a powerful stimulant, keeping
up the vitality, until nature herself
throws off the poison
In February, 1869, during Gen. Sheri-
dams winter campaign" against the
allied Indian tribes of the plains, Gen.
Clusters command, consis.iag of his
own famous regiment, Ia Seventh
cavalry, and a large port ~ OF the
Nineteenth Kansas volUn cers, was
camped on the Wichita. in the Indian
territory. Half starved. t.:cir horses
without forage, the troops were COM
PEELED to remain there, waiting for ra-
tons of corn and food, the arrival OF
which was daily expected and ANXIOUS
IL looked for While necessarily idling
in their forced camp. the enlisted men,
true to their ever inquisitiTe and roar
ing nature, went on little expeditions
of discovery in every direction, within
a radius of few miles of their camp.
Sometimes they made remarka bic
| finds" One of the most interesting OF
these was an immense dcs q rattle
snakes, where they had hibernaJed II
almost uncountable numbers. The re-
suit was that nearly every one OF the
Kansas boys-the regulars did not seem
to fancy them-set themselves to work
manufacturing belts out of the skins OF
the notified serpents, which they wore
around their waists or SLOUGH hats.
cowboy" fashion.
The den" which, of course, was dis
covered by a Kansas youth. who had
been reared on Be broad western
prairies of the stat was great crack
in the indurated rock, about twelve
feet in length and a foot wide How
deep it penetrated into the ledge could
| not be determined accurately, as tho
longest pole obtainable failed to reach
| bottom" The cliff itself. on which the
''den" was found, was situated very Pc
culiarly: an isolated mass of disrupted
earth and stone, immediately opposite
| Medicine bluff, the top of which COM
prised an area of only three hundred
square feet, elevated more than one
hundred feet above the base of the hill
on which it stood. a sort of a mountain
on mountain 1t was cut off from all
| access, except by water, and another
ledge which lowered above it. To
reach the den one had to climb down
the almost perpendicular side of the
ledge or wall of the upper mountain, a
very dangerous passage. The den had
evidently been alternating place of
| snakes for ages, if the smoothly-worn
rock over which they were obliged to
| travel to reach their holes was any indi-
cation. for it was polished like mir
ror, the result of centuries Of their
migrations; besides. the kiowas have a
very ancient tradition concerning the
spot.
The number of snakes killed and cap
tured by the soldiers was marvellous
| They would have filled q six-mule army
wagon without any exaggeration. They
were very large, too, many of them
measuring eight feet from head to tail,
not counting the rattles.
Among the traditions of the Kiowas,
that of this snake den is the oldest 1t
has been handed down orally from
their earliest existence. "a great
| many years ago, when the earth was
young, and no white man had ever yet
been seen by the red man of the prai-
ries, there was an old Arapahoe chief,
who was so aged that he knew he was
drawing near to his end One morning
he wandered away from the camp and
the lodges of the tribe, in the hope of
finding some place where he might lie
down resignedly and pass over to tho
| happy hunting grounds calmly and I'M
| disturbed. He believed the top of the
bluff, out of sight of all his people. to
be the most suitable place, SO there he
dragged his weary and nearly paralyzed
| legs When he arrived at the month OF
| the den he entered it and was never
seen again by mortal eye in his normal
| shape, but, transformed into a snake,
| he became the father of all the snakes
| on the plains. Detroit Free Press