The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-11-10
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rate to Las Jula5 was
announced, he threw his gold upon the board
with loud bang, swore little at "ther
blamed railroad monopoly" for charging
so much, and turned into the waiting room
with heavy tread. I knew / had made
discovery. On the train / sought him out and
asked him to tell me all about Las Juas.
80, thar amt much to tell erbout, Cap"
said he. "Ef you've ever seed one o. them air
leese desert holes they call towns in Arizony,
why reckon yer know bout wot Las Julas is
like. A dozen rough pine shanties, lined with
thin cloth-hotter'n bazes ter live in when the
sun takes notion ter scorch things, which il
purity much all the time daown thar on the
desert-two gin-mills, railroad station and
section house, Chinese shakedaown, an
cattle c'rell. That's erbout all, 'cept the peo-
pie an the coyotes. The kentr7? 0. yes,
thar's plenty o. kentry, but it's durn near all
sand an cactus"
:" 1t must be desolate spot" ventured.
"Deserlate's no name fur it, An yit, Cap,
wouldn't live anywheres else on top o Gods
green airth. Thar's suthin' erbout the desert
tibet fetches me. l 's'pose it's the air. Yer
don't find sech air anywheres of'n the desert.
AM thars no place on airth whar things tastes
80 blame good. Gimme plenty o good spuds,
an SOW belly an cornbread, an leetle canned
truck an dimmyjohn o. tranter jooce, an
Pll live in one o. them air cloth-lined shanties
tlli OLD daDe glts up on TOP tne fnountlnS3 an
begins ter toot
"Ef it warn't fur them pesky Greasers, life
daown thar nd be ez good ez | wanter see it.
Redskins don't bother much, though I've made
good Injuns out'n 10 Peaches up in the kenyons
near thar. Las Julas, yer know. is near Rattle
snake Gulch. Fust-elass chance fur gold up
thar in the old gulch, but the rattlers is so all
fired thick tibet prospectors hey ter keep outer
the way. Them air rattlers is all over the
md AMI txya he pRQ thar amt hav
strike at yer from the four pints o the COM
pass to 0ncst. It's the skeeriest place ever l
got inter. / kin fight 'Paehes, but when it
comes to million O. rattlers, l sw' ar 1 draw the
line right thar.
yer wouldn't think, Cap, that man 'ud go
near the blamed gulch, but knowed Teller
tibet lived thar fur years. Did he kill EN-
Off Not blamed one Mebbe yer won't
b'leve 1t; thar warn't so many rattlers thar
when he come. but he drawed EN- thar by the
thousand. These is solemn fac's, stranger.
Anybody in Las Julas III tell yer so. Yer see,
this ere mamie called himself Hank burden
war a queer crittcr. He war more snake
than man. 1t war quite long time afore /
larnt his hist'ry, but l got it dead straight
one day. His father war a snake-charmer,
horned in Araby er some sech cussed place, an
his mother the lady sarpint-handler in
side-show-a Virginny gal, war told. Wa'al,
| don't know much bout hered'ty an them air
kinder things, but when Hank war horned he
war a curio. l only knowed him ez man, AN
he war ez big curio then ez ever. reckon.
He war q lean, lank kinder man, with q
long neck an queer leetle head. with sorter
fuzz on top of it, and low, fiat forrid. He
he'd thin cheeks, covered with close cropped
beard, an thin nose, ruther long; snappy
leetls black eyes, deep sunk, an fur all the
world like rattlers, only bigger; small,
firm-set mouth, with thin lips, pearly teeth,
an no chin ter speak on.
HE could stretch tibet air neck o. his'n
amazin'. Yer never seed anything like IL in
all yer born days, 'cept in snake. They said
he war gifted with strange power over other
bein's an the fac war, he did hev sorter O.
charmin' light in his eyes which war ginerally
restless eZ the devil at picnic, but sometimes
ez fixed ez rock. He'd put tibet air slim hand
o. his'n up ter his face, an leanin' his head on
it, nd seem ter fall ersleep with his eyes wide
open an starin' out over the desert, lookin' at
nothin' in pertickler. When he'd get excited
it war jes' like st:rrin' up RATHER. He'd whisk
erbout an dart out his head from that long
neck O. his'n, an his eyes 'ud turn different
colors an snap an burn like Goals O fire.
when Hank fust come ter Las Julas he
went ter work fer the railroad company, clean
n keers an putin packin' In the Journals
an tappin' the wheels ter see eff they was
cracked. But he war 80 blamed snskey tibet
long. So then he tried gold -minin'. They say
he made out fustrate up in the mountings, but
when he struck Rattiesnake Gulch tibet settled
it, He got out a pile O. gold thar not mindin'
the rattlers ez much ez ordinary man nd
mind SO many skeeters.
HE didn't seem to keer fur gold, an though
he ID struck it so rich he'd fool away his time
on cussed nonsense. How7 Why, playin' with
the snakes. He'd got ter be chummy with
'em. His cabin floor war most kivered with
'em sometimes. Yer know. up thar in tibet
gulch they's leetle caves whar the rattlers is ez
thick ez hasty puddin'. You'll wrigglin'
masses on 'em, all wound up like balls o knit
tin yarn. Thar's one place they call the ledge.
It's sorter shelf O. rock, hangin' over the
kenyon wall Ye kin look down on it from .
high rock above, an any day o the week ye
kin see within gobs O. them rattlers-big fell
lers, some on 'em more'n four feet long.
Its the wust hell-hols on airth. An ordi-
nary man 'ud be bit ter pieces by the sarpints in
less n no time, eff he war fool 'nough ter go
daown thar But tibet man Hank he didn't
keer bean. He'd 60 along the trail till he
struck the LEDGE an walk out thar an pick up
half dozen o. the reptiles to oucet, an talk to
'em like they was leetle children, in dev'lish
langwidge thet he'd q lot o. smooth an sickish
hissin' an purrin an spittin' in it, 'nough ter
make yer blood creep.
81 saw him do that air aorter thing three or
four times but though Pm purity tough, o.
most Arizony miners is, l didn't enjoy the
spectercle blame bit. The rattlsrs 'ud
more think o. bitin' him than they nd o. btin'
themselves. He'd have 'em all over him-eyen
in his buzzum. An they'd look ez pleased ex
though they'd jes' pizened 'Paehe. They'd
cuddle their ugly heads daown close to his
cheek, an never think O. snappin' their tails
onless somebody else 'ud come erbout. Then,
Lord "a. IN lightly, how they'd rattle. Ye kin bet
yer pile, though, durn few people ever bothered
Hank an his nasty pets. It war wusser'n
trustin yer head ahind the heels o. pack-muls.
"But somebody did come botherin' 'em in
the course o. time-an' botherin' all fired hard,
too.
81 war playin' freeze-ont along with some O.
the boys up ter Old Rsdick's ono AFTERNOON,
when the train with the vanished keers
pulled in an left a solemn-lookin' man, purity
we'll dressed an with baggidge 'nough ter stock
q cowboys camp, of it he'd a-ben the right kind.
He seemed to be kinder relig'us, cause when
he pnt daown his name On Redlieks register
an TUX look aroun' an seed mo an the boys
a-throwin' the keerds an clinkin' the coin. he
kinder scowled disapproyin'ly. sized him up
fur Sund' y-skule Superintendent or Baptist
minister.
'Arter he got his supper he come out on the
porch and sot aroun' awhile. seomin' kinder
restless all the while. He he'd one O the starn-
est-lookin' phizzes ever clapped eyes on. /
TUX look at the register an saw his name wRr
Jon'than Fales. He staid aroun' Redlicks fur
quite WHILE maxim leetie side-shoots off up
into tho kenyons. now an then, on mustang
he hired from the old man.