The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-08-24
AN ASP AND DEADLY.
AMERicA,s MOST DEADLY SNAKE is
THE PIcHu-cUATE.

~ Nh2TnneTB AEo Axk1Au Oh IA Amy 1mAM&s
but It kills Very Quickly-A Writer Teals
Of EIis First HEeettng with Ons.
The southwest ID more liberallv spp-
piled with venomous things than any
other area In the Union. In the burn
ing deserta In the inhabited but arid
expanses OF New Mexico and Arizona,
the. rattlesnake aboundA and In several
varieties including the stsanRa and
deadly ''sidawinders" CrotolRs cqxaates.
The go called tarantnla--really only D
gigantic bnah spider but none the leas
dangerous because Of the misnQmar--is
decidedly common Secrpions are none
too rare In the. southern portions of the
territories, and In all parts centipeds
Of 2 TO 8 inches long : frequent and
neighborly. Bnt tho chief distinction
Of the region In this respect 10 the pres
ence of the piohu-cuAtA, the deAdliest
snake I'm North America
The p~ichn-cuAte matches: the worst
serpent fof India Not only the most
highly venomeus. but, the tiniest and
most treacheroua he would DO also the
most dahgerous-but luckily, he Id the
rarest He Ii the only true asp ON this
continent, and In the United States Is
never found outside Of New Mexico and
Arizona. That he was also known TO
the ancient Mexicans ID apparent from
his name-pichu-coatl, an Aztec word,
which was brought up to our territory
by the Spanish conquerors.
My first meeting with one was in
Valencia county, N. NJ, I'm June, 1890,
ON the sandy TANKS Of the 6erro del
Aire. Twas out hunting Jack rabbits, In
company with some Indian friends. and
had dismounted TO stalk, leading my
pet horse by the birdie. My eyes ware
ON . small chapparo bush ahead, when
suddenly Alazan morted and reared
backward SO violently as almost TO nm
hinge my arm. Hooked about I'M sur
prise, Tor Alazan was too good b horse
to mind TRIES As there Yves nothing TO
be seen. I started to pull him forward
Again he protested and with evident
terror, and chancing to look cit my very
feet T understood his fear and felt
very that his senses wefe better
than mine, for In another step I should
have walked upon my death
The only thing visible was q tiny OBJ
ject, not nearly 90 large Is o good stag
beetle--merely o head and perhaps an
inch Of neck. But il. was the most
frightful object in its kind that i bad
ever Q The head, certainly naither
30 broad nor 50 long as my thumb nail,
had Q. shape and an air Of condensed
malignity impossible to describe II
seemed the very essence Of wiukedness
and hata fairly bullying with deadly
spite. and growing upon one until II
looked several times its actual siza
The ugly triangle (Which il tho distin-
guishinR mark OF all venomous SNAKES.
being formed by the poison gland hActE
OF each eyeD told me al moe that Ala
zan was keeping up his reputatiu
never did he ,shY at o HARMLESS SNAKE
and the tiny horns, which added a
culiar and GroteaQue hideousneaA
no doubt that this was q nichR-epMsa
He had buried himself NOSE 90 the head
in the gEaE sand, against which hia up-
par skin was barely MISUNDERSTANDING. end
thus IN ambpah was Waiting tcr sopaa-
thtnR 20 turn m. ks
TusDinG Ala$ap loose Lknelb at the
safe distance OF asyard % study thu lh.
tie creatnra which fairly gwelled vii
mnrderops raga It net oply strgek
madly ct the chapparo switch ] thrusi
to III hut % Lest, evidently Discerning
that the blame lay back OF the switch,
Actually followed il mn and with such
agility that / had to jump mp and back
without loss of time. The idea Of re-
treat eve seemed to enter that fat
head. Sometimes he would lie and pun
ont with impotent rage, throwing hid
mouth 90 wide open that ID seemed tie
venom must start, and sometimes lie
glided toward me, his head an inch
above the ground, with an attitude
which seemed TO say, STAND still there,
and well see who laughs"
AT last I killed him. He wa neithex
larger round nor longer than an ordi-
nary lead pencil; a cold, leaden gray
ON the back bat underneath rosy as the
mouth of q eonch she'll Thefangs were
tiny, not much more than an eighth ID
an inch long, and as delicate az the TIM
est needle Awondrous mechanism. thu
mouth, with its two automatic needles,
30 infinitesimaI yet 30 perfectly eornpe'
tent. opened the ugly little jaws wide,
pressing upon the sides at tha head, and
when the recurring fangs had rises
from their grooves lin the roof Of the
mouth and stood tense d stream 20 inr
conceivably fine that the eye could bare.
ly note IL spurted from each, and in The
space Of two Or three inches mettediute
invisible spray. Yet that jjek, Amer thar
d cobweb strand, was enough 10 givd
swift death To the largest and strongssi
animal tllat wallis
When the hunt wa over. I told ms
Indian chuns or the pichu-cuats and
asked them many questions. They IL
knew or the snake Though several Ind
never seen one. and Ill agreed that Id i
extremely rare. The crotalus rank
among the Pueblo divinities, and thei,
chaxmers have no difIcuty with tia
steady going and respectable reptile
But even arneaag these people. viii