The record-union., 1894-09-24
MAJOR HOLLANDS SNAKE STORY.
His Tale of the Living Lariat and the
Serpent Guides to Death.
Startling Chapters In the Personal
Experience of Texas
Landlord.

When Major Holland of Galveston,
proprietor of the Texas Farm and Ranch,
was in New York not long ago, he left
with the boys many startling chapters in
his personal experiences on the border.
but none of them is likely to last SO long
in the memory of those who heard it mar
rated, or is calculated to lift Texan verac-
ity to so high notch, as the Majors tale
of himself, the living lariat, and his ride
over the plain escorted by detachment
of deadly serpents.
1.-The great plains of Texas" said Major
Holland, at the time ne told this story,
''are strewn with snakes almost as are
the Northern forests with leaves in
autumn. Long snakes, short snakes,
thick snakes, thin snakes; snakes that
whistle, snakes that below like bull;
snakes with horns on their heads, snakes
with horns on their tails; red snakes,
white snakes, blue snakes, green snakes,
| black snakes, yellow snakes; snakes that
are red and White, snakes that are red,
white and blue; snakes that are red,
white, blue and green: snakes that are
red, white, blue, green ana black; snakes
that are red, white, blue, green, black and
yellow; snakes that can turn any color
they choose; snakes that you never see
only when it thunders; fast snakes, slow
snakes, savage snakes, with poison
enough to kill an Apache Indian in his
tracks with one dip OF it, and shakes as
gentle and as harmless as the Zephyrs
that play on the prairie grass.
but of all the snakes of my beloved
plains the living lariat and the guide 10
death, as the tiery-marked pilot is called,
| 10 fla = 81
animate thing that approaches nearer TO
lightning in rapidity of motion than an
other it is the living larIat. 1t grows to
be ten feet long, but il is so slim that it
can be likened to whip lash i'll appear
ance more than anything else. 1t is of a
light yellow color, and flashes along on
the ground IN ZlgZag course, passing by
you and disappearing in a yellow streak
in the distance so quickly that ii you had
never seen one before you would have no
idea of what it was that had swept by
you. The plainsmen fear this snake more
than they DO the raiIler, and that is say
ing good deal, The strength and con-
strlctiug powers of the living lariat are
almost beyond belief.
"It delights to pursue the swift-footed
rabbits OF the Texas plains, and if you
should see one OF these animals bounding
| by you, its eyes big and projecting with
terror, and every nerve and muscle
! possible, you may know that living
lariat is on its trail. Presently a yellow
| streak Will whIZZ past. 1t Is the living
| lariat. The snake soon overhaulS the
| rabbit, but does not capture it by seiZng
it with its mouth. When it is near
enough to its victim the serpent hurls its
| tail and nlne-tenths of its whip-lash body
forward, winds coil about the poor rab-
bits neck, and brings it down as uner-
| ringIy as the most ex pert rancher would
| throw his lasso about the neck of a steer.
| The next instant the rabbit is lying
within the folds of the snake, crushed
| into shapeless mass, and ready for the
reptiles slow and easy dinner.
''If the living lariat confined itself to
| chasing rabbits and using its fatal lasso
on them nobody would find any fault
with it, but it lassos sheep, and even cat
| tie; and worse still, it lies in wait and
| lassos human beings passing by. man
living near the Mexican border thought
| he was smart once, and reared as pet a
! living lariat that he had caught when it
was young. The snake grew to a tre-
| mendous length, and was the pride of its
owner. Even after it had thinned out
| his sheep flock by lassoing and killing
| dozen lambs or more, and actually roped
and stranged TO death his most valuable
| herd dog. this man still held the snake III
| favor. lie laughed at the warnings of
| his friends, who declared that he would
| be sorry for il some day if he didn't slay
that wicked serpent.
''One day the mans wife heard asmoth-
cred cry. followed by a gurgling sound,
| coming from the direction where she had
seen her husband passing along "a mo-
nent before, She ran out of the house
| and saw her husband hanging at the end
| of something from the limb of tree.
| struggling convulsively. She hurried to
The, spot and was horritied to find that he
had been lassoed by his pet living lariat,
which was up the tree and had raised him
two feet from the ground. The wife cut
her husband down by seyering the snake
with sickle, but she was too late The
snake had finished its foolish master
1T was jus. about the time that this
unwise tellow-citizen of mine had fallen
victim to his pet living lariat that | was
on business trip among the ranchmen
down that way. | was riding leisurely
along one day, bound for a ranch some
ten miles distant. l had travelled about
three miles, and was so lost IN admira-
tion OF the Incompatible beauties and ad-
yantages of Texas that [ hadn't noticed
that my horse had left the trail and was
! bearing oil to the left. [ pulled on the
| bridal TO turn him back to the trail. but
he refused to respond to it, much to my
surprise.
Just then 1 glanced down to the
ground, and was surprised no longer
! Ou iily TISnt, t,CrOWOlIg close 10 the hOrSe'S
| feet, were four snakes, Two more were
on my left. Straight ahead was another,
leading the way! a red stripe down the
back Of each, from head TO tail, and one
down each side, with brilliant markings
between them in shape exactly like the
| zigzag representations of lightning
flashes, told ME what they were, and why
my horse had left the trail. Ii he hadn't
left it he would have dropped dead in it
before he had gone many rods further. A
detachment OF pilots lad come to escort
him and Inc in the direction they wanted
us 10 go.
''The horses and cattle of Texas know
these serpents instinctively. When they
come along and cut Oft "a steer from herd
and the leader OF the snakes moves away
the steer Will follow. 1t knows if it tries
to go in any other direction the pilots that
are guarding il OH either side will sock il
full of poison only too quick Horses
know the same thing. SO there | was.
under escort OF these tireless and unrelent-
ing guides to DEATH IL isn't exactly clear
wnere these pilots take the victims that
they surround in this way, but as it is
well known that they are the close and
particular friends and devoted body
guards OF the bloated rattesnake of the
Staked Plains, it is believed that they run
their captives down to that delectable
part OF Texas and turn them over to the
pleasures OF those terrible serpents. Cat
tie do not know where they are being
taken, but they do know what will hap
pen 10 them il they don't go along. So