Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-20
AN AWFUL SNAKE STORY.
A kansan and His Wife Bitten to
Death on Their Wedding Night.

Death on Their Wedding Night.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
TOPEKA, Kan, Nov. 10. 1898.
George Higgins. Topeka travelling man.
confirms the story briefly told In the press
dispatches last week of the shocking death
in Cherokee county of August Schrader and
wife by serpents poison. Incredible as 1t
may seem these two unfortunate young
people were bitten to death by rattlesnakes
and copperheads at a time when the Their
mometer registered at nearly freezing point
and that, too. on their wedding night.
Mr.. Higgins was one of a party OF hun
ters consisting besides himself Of ex-Post-
master A. NJ. Mcpherson, ex-Sheriff James
c. Babb, w. F. Sapp and w. E. Stice. all
of Galena, Kan. They were in camp on
Shoal creek, not far distant from the In
dian territory line and within gun shot of
the cabin occupied by Schrader and his
bride. and in the early evening participated
in the festivities given by old man Schrader
in honor of the marriage of his son. The
cabin was less than 100 yards from the
domicile of old man Schrader and had been
newly built on the latter's farm for the &C.
cupancy of the young couple. 1t consisted
of one room and was built of rough logs,
chincked, rough pine lumber for the floor
and roof of the same material. 1t was
peculiarly constructed, in that a perpen-
dcular stone bluff was made to form one
end of the structure. Against this bluff a
fireplace of the old-fashioned kind was
built, the chimney extending up its side
and towering above the edge of the BLUM
In this fireplace the first fire was built
which warmed the house ready for the re-
cepton of young Schrader and his bride
after the festivities at the parental home
should be over.
They retired to their home at midnight
and the few guests who had gathered> to
celebrate the event dispersed.
Hardly had the camping party retired to
| their tent when. about O'Clock, they were
aroused by calls for help from old man
| the cries, FASTENED to the cabin of
| the young couple, where they found
| them writhing in the throes Of death
| and the old man and his wife standing over
| them and crying piteously. About the
| floor and on the low bed were seventeen
huge snakes of all species. principally cop
perheads and rattlesnakes, some of which
| had been killed and others chilled to death.
| The hunters took in the situation at a
| glance and ran back to their tent for some
| whisky, which they tried to administer TO
| the dying couple, but the remedy was too
| late and the victims died before morning.
| Upon investigation 1t appeared that the
fireplace had been built In close proximity
| to a sort of cavern IN the bluff, in which
| the reptiles had hbernated for the winter.
| The roaring fire had warmed the serpents
L
| cabin by intense heat. Young Schrader was
| able before he died to explain that he and
| his bride had been aroused from their slum-
| Der by the frightened moaning of a house
| dog sleeping at their feet, and which, too
| was bitten to death. Following this Schra-
| der heard kissing and rafting sound and
| leaping out of the bed to ascertain the
! cause his bare feet lighted upon the cold
| and writhing body of a serpent. Next he
| felt himself stung, and by the light of the
| dying embers in the fireplace he saw a
number of reptiles crawling about the flooi
or coiled in the attitude of striking. He
was stung again and again. and his cries
| arousing his wife, she. too. jumped from
| her bed only to meet her husbands fate
| Then they ran for the door and cried fol
| help, and in a very short time old mar
| Schrader appeared. The open door, how
| ever rendered human aid unnecessary, as
the cold draft quickly chilled the room and
the reptiles became torpid and were easily
! dispatched.
| on Saturday two days after the tragedy
! the young couple were buried in the Indian
! burying ground. on the banks of Sprins
| river, in the Quapaw reservation. sever
| miles south of Shoal creek. with all tn,
| solemnity of an Indian burial. This cam,
| because the bride was a half-breed Indiar
| girl named Labadie and had lived in tn.
| tribe of her mother until a year or two be
| fore her marriage when she went to liv,
| with old man Schrader as a domestic, anC
was there courted by the young man wht
afterward became her husband. Mr.. Hig
! gins and his companions assisted at tn,
funeral and Mr.. Mcpherson read the Luth
! eran burial service at the request of tn
Schrader family.
On Friday, the day following the tragedy
dynamite shot was put in by mine
from the lead mines of Galena, and the ex
plCsion tore out several yards of the bluff
and exposed the serpents den. in which n,
less than 100 snakes of all varieties, from tn
harmless black snake to the copperheai
and rattlesnake. were exposed in a torpiC
state and slaughtered.