The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-15
QUEER ANIMALS IN OLD MINES.
Albiro Flies and white Rattlesnakes
Discovered Below the Earth.

In connection with the resumption OF
mining along the famous blue lead" in
this section most peculiar discovery was
made. Among the mines now being
worked is the old Potter mine, owned by
Mrs. Ben Bishop, and rechristened the
Bishop mine When the Bishop mine was
first reopened one Of the VIII boys entered
q dry slope leading to second shaft whose
existence was unknown, owing to thick
growth of brush and trees about it, and
had nearly reached the shaft when he no
ticed large number of flies buZzing about
him in very troublesome manner. He
made several slaps at them, and accident
ally caught one.
On examining it by the aid of his Ian
tern ke was nearly startled into letting it
go by the uncanny appearance of the in
sect. 1t was absolutely white, with the
exception OF its eyes, which, having the
usual red color, seemed unusually large
and prominent. The red eyed white fly,
while not being common, is not unknown
in the older mines, particularly the deep
coal mines of the east; but this is the first
time, so far as known, that they have been
found in any California mine where access
to light and the open air are too easily OBJ
tainable for flies to remain below long
enough to f@de out.
Scarcely had Mr.. Will recovered from
his surprise at the white flies when he was
startled again, this time by the whirring
sound Of rattlesnake's musical appara-
tus Looking carefully around, he saw
the eyes of the reptile and threw a rock at
them The rafting promptly ceased, and
a mass of white glstening convolutions
writhed into view from behind a protrud-
ing bowlder A couple more rocks dis
patched the creature, which proved to be
a rattler over four feet long. One of the
rocks thrown had knocked off good part
of his snakeship's rattles, so his age was
not TO be discovered, but he must have
been an old fellow The color of the snake
was pure white Though temperate man
Mr.. VIII was not fully satisfied that he
was in his ordinary condition Of sanity
until he had dragged his prizes back to the
newly opened shaft and listened to the ex-
pressions of surprise of his companions at
the appearance of the two captures.
Professor Harlow Ballard, of Buffalo,
who was visiting Bangor in search Of min
eral specimens, secured the snake and sew
eral specimens Of the white flies, which he
has preserved and shipped to the east. The
prOI6SSOF fS VI Vic OJlIiiOA eld0 Clic iIlCS tT6
the offspring of some imprisoned in the
slope years ago by the rising of the water
in the lower workings. The old and par
TALLY filed shaft allowed air, but no light,
to enter the slope, while the stream flow
ing into the slope may have provided them
with food.
The snake, he thinks, may have been
carried down by the water while very
young, as it is scarcely possible that it is
80 years old, which it would have been had
it remained there ever since the mine was
flooded. What the reptile ate during its
long captivity is among the mysteries.
Since the reopening of the Bishop mine
the white flies have entirely disappeared,
and few which Professor Ballard kept
in small glass case resumed the colors OF
ordinary house flies within a week after
exposure to the ight.-Bangor Cor. San
Francisco Examiner.