Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-10-16
NAY AND THE SNAKES
TWO STORIES TOLD BY THE CLIFF
DWELLING CURlO COLLECTOR.

and It Seems That One of the Snakes
Carried Poison In His Tail-How One of
the Yarns Saved a Tourists Life.
Zone of the most interesting men I
met out west," said a man who had
Just got back from Colorado and Ari-
zona, "was Samuel May Of Durango.
Everybody knows May in that country
as the chap who has the cinch ON the
cliff dwellings. He's the most indefati-
gable collector of pottery and curios
from those extraordinary prehistoric
skyhouses, and don't suppose there is
a nook or corner in the Mancos and the
Spruce Tree canyons which he has not
rummaged for ancient crockery. His re-
searches have extended beyond the Nav
ajo reservation, even to the Four Cor
ners and to Cottonwood lake, in which
localities he reports the most marvellous
and extensive mines.
''To reach many Of the cliff dwellings
in the Mancos canyon is hazardous
and almost impossible feat. Eastern
people who have never visited these re-
gions can form no idea Of the remoteness
and the inaccessibility Of some rude
primitive dwellings. While at Flag
staff, A. T., last summer determined
to visit the cliff dwellings in Walnut
canyon and make no fuss about it, Ell
ther Well, when stepped out on to
trail ~ feet in width, right on the
edge of precipice 600 feet deep and
filed with loose stones, the rolling of
any one of which might send me to
kingdom come, began to feel very
weak. Still I would not give in, but
picked my way gingerly along, trying.
my best to keep my fascinated gaze
from that frightful cash in the earth's
crust at my side.
''I stood it, though | was constantly
growing dizzier, until came to place
where must jump dc live feet in Or
der to round cliff alid get first class
view of the dwellings and to enter them
and pick up antediluvian soup ladies
and prehistoric gravy boats to take back
as souvenirs to my friends in the east. l
stopped and mentally calculated the ex-
tent of that jump l readily saw that if
I were to jump one-sixteenth of an inch
too much to the left would be falling
until snow flies. l suddenly sat down
and hid my face in my hands to shut
out that tremendous chasn. felt giddy,
weak, sick. l wanted to get back up the
trail to the top Of the elf, but didn t
dare rise thought Of the sonp ladies
and gravy boats with regret and was
Just about to make another effort in the
direction of prehistoric RESEARCHES when
suddenly thought Of Sa4huel Nays
snake story, and that settled it. To this
day / do not know how | arose, turned
round On that dizzy trail and regained
: the safety OF the cliff. / only know that
I did not get over the strain on my nerv
GUS system for weeks. But now for the
snake story which turned me from my
discoveries and probably saved my bones
for Christian burial instead of bleaching
in the depths Of Walnut canyon, Arizona.
"In Mancos canyon they draw you up
into these cliff dwellings from the bot
tom Of the gorge by q rope and pulley.
Imagine being pulled up i'll d sort of
basket seat some six or seven hundred
feet! May was pulled up this way Oh
one of his excursions to a ledge about
800 feet from the top Of the canyon,
whereon stood q particularly fine block
Of these mysterious dwellings. The fell
lows On tie top CT tie cliff who We're
hauling him up stopped his car in front
of a second story window, through which
May intended to enter the dwelling
Now, think Of It'll Here he hung, like
Mohammed's coffin, between heaven
and earth, with this awful canyon be-
low him. He caught hold of the Win
dow ledge and drew his basket close,
then putting his hand into the room to
get purchase, SO that he might draw
his body through, he put it directly on
a soft, Shiny substance, coiled up
ratt1er, in fact
"May's nerve did not desert him
His hand closed Oh the rattler's throat,
and he slowly drew the reptile out
through the window and threw it, hiss
ing, writhing and struggling, down a
sheer 800 feet. Then he signaled the
men to let him down. He had had
enough of cliff dwellings for one day.
''At another time May and his part
ner started OIL one of these ransacking
expeditions after crockery, and when
they got in the neighborEOod Of Dolores
they discovered they had forgotten the
feed for the horses. So there was moth
ing to do but for one to go back after it
while his partner canped to await his
return. May decided to camp and let
the other fellow do the rustling. His
partner had not been long away when
May heard the peculiar kissing note of
a rattler coming from pile of loosely
heaped up stones hear by. He fired into
the heap and killed the snake, and,
dragging it out, with truo western in
stinct broke off the rattles and slipped
them into his vest pocket. Next morn
ing May made his fire, cooked bacon,
eggs, made coffee, 1apjacks, ate heart
lily, and then, we'll satisfied with his
breakfast, sat down, took his toothpick
from his vest pocket and industriously
applied it. In few minutes his face
began to swell. To his horror, he found
he had put the rattles next his tooth
pick, and some poison had clung to it
and been conveyed to hollow tooth in
his jaw. There he was alone in will
derness and visibly swelling. What did
he do? There was gallon jug of whis-
ky in the outfit. and he drank it. Just
as he drained the last drop a mounted
traveller came along on the way from
Mancos to Dolores. To him May shouted
the terrible tale, and the kind hearted
stranger ran his horse to Dolores and
back for another gallon of whisky. So
May yet lives to resurrect ancient pot
terry and to tell snake stories New
York Sun.
A writer in To-Day says: Il was
chatting the other day with we'll
known writer, who told me some inter
esting news about the late R. L. Ste
venson. 1t is commonly supposed that
Stevenson was an ardent literary sports.
man who pursued his game of style on
little oatmeal. The fact is that, being
the only---and delicate-child of his ia.
ther, tolerably wealthy engineer, he
had very substantial allowance, which
was interrupted during that short period
(about 1879-SO) when he persisted
against the parental prohibition in going
to America. On his return, married and
l.. l, H., 1N<l -