Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1894-08-25

them deaf. The men had not dared
step from the tub, but had signailed
hastily to be raised to the surface
"A lantern lowered to the bottom OF
the shaft showed that the men knew
what they were talking about. The
depths were literally alive with big
rattlers, and they writhed andtum6led
about, furious at the intrusion of the
LIGHT among them. Some of the savage
old chaps struck their fangs against
the glass of the lantern, so that we
could hear the sound of the contact
where we stood gazing down ON the
cheerful sight from the mouth of the
shaft, and the noise of the fierce chorus
of ~rattles was like the rasping of a held
full of Kansas locusts, The sight and
sound made HE honiesick. | haven't
seen or heard anything like that for
vcars-not since | left my native place
in the Big Coon country, Tennessee
THAT rattlesnake music at the bot
tom of the mine shaft way out ON the
Pacific coast made me homesick. | be-
Gan to pine for the Big Coon country,
but | hadn't a cent. If hadn't been
so homesick | don't believe I'd have
Jumped at the offer the superintendent
of the mine made after he found there
was no other way to get those rattlers
out of that shaft.
I'm give one hundred dollars IN
gold he said, to any one who will
clean ont them snakes
| stepped to the front.
make it a hundred in gold and q
quart of whisky and I'll go you! said
|.
"He added the whisky and we closed
the deal right there. l borrowed a
pair of buckskin ~leggings and a pair
of buckskin gloves, Aiming myself
with Il long club and the bottle OF
whisky, and taking a lantern, jumped
into the tub and they lowered me to
the bottom of the shaft. | hadn't in
tended to be hoisted until | had
baggcd all the rattlers in sight. But
after threshing away for twenty min
utes at the snakes as they hurried
away to hiding places or showed fight,
ank killing all that lcould get my club
in on the poisonous odor that exudes
from these deadly reptiles when they
are angered, was too much for me.
Even Pacific coast whisky couldn't
counteract it. and | felt myself grow
ing dizzy and faint.
Il had thrown into the tub the rat
tiers | had killed, and was getting into
it myself to signal for a hoist before !
succumbcd to the n~oxious rattlesnake
air | was breathing, when. in a niche
in one side of the shaft, wen with my
shoulder, not a foot and Il half away
from my throat, | caught sight of Il
big RATHER coiled and ready to strike.
Mechanically | threw my head and
shoulders back, just as the snake
launched his big, arrow-likc head at
my throat, That movement of mino
saved me, The rattler'saim fell short.
His fangs were buried in the collar OF
my coat, an inch from my jugular. |
instantly clutchcd the reptile with n
hand around its neck, and with the
other, as | tumblcd unconscious into
the tub, | pulled the rope.
Il did not know when | reached the
top, but the superintendent told me
when | came to that when the men
who were at the windlass saw me in
the tub and what | was bringing up
with me, they dropped the crank and
ran. But for the fortunate presence
of a stalwart Mexican, a giant miner
named Valarez, who caught the crank
as it came around and held it, | would
have gone %plunging back to the bot
tom of the shaft, and my fate would
not have been pleasant.
And ! can't say thaa | blame the
men much who were manning that
windlass. Lying in the bottom of the
tub, apparently dead, was still clutch
ing the big RATHER by the throat, his
fangs almost in mine, and lying about
me were twenty-seven enormous and
demonstrating rattlers, victims of nv
club. Seems to me I'd have dropped
something myself and ran if ! had seen
such a sight as that coming up out of
the dark depths Of Il mine shaft.
II revived in a few minutes. and was
soon feeling in shape to go down and
finish my contract. don't know how
could have done it, but in the twenty
minutes | was in the shaft / had drunk
half of the quart of whisky. / re.
manned in the bottom forty-tive min.
utes that trip, and | brought out fifty.
seven dead r~attlcrs to the surface. |
had to chase some of them into the
sloping tunnel. | had absorbed the
remainder of the whisky, and when |
made my third trip, ten minutes after
| came up, took down another pint.
| was down just forty-five minutes. |
garnered forty-eight rattlers, and fin.
ished the third pint of whisky.
"lf there was another snake left in
the shaft or tunnel ! couldn't find it,
and the superintendent handed me over
five twenty-dollar gold pieces."-N. Y.