The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-12-12
NOTHING Is LEFT OF IT NOW BUT
FIVE GRAVES AND AN
INSCRIPTION.
RATTLESNAKE'S OLD CHARACTERS
The Man Who Once Owned 1t Died ;
Fugitive From Justice and
Pauper-Texas Ben Plays
His Last Game.

| lex, says tne 81. LOUIS GlODe-DelllOCTdl'
All that now remains of this place is five
grass-grOwn mounds, the graves of the
victims of the big killing" and on a stone
in the center of this group is the following,
inscribed in rude lettering:
"Rattlesnake Grave Yard. A Modern
He'll"
A mushroom city had grown up in a
| week down i'll Greer county in the fall of
1887, while the government was disputing
as to whether this land belonged to the
Indian territory or to Texas. First, Il
big fellow calling himself "Rattlesnake
| Joe" had gone through Kansas and Mis-
souri,, making speeches to the Oklahoma
boomers and inducing them to stop try
ing to force an entrance to Oklahoma and
go to Greer county, 1.-THE paradise of Amer
| ica," as Joe called it. incidentally, Joe
lectured and took up collections.
Somehow the people got the idea that
Greer county had unwOrked gold mines
and diamond fields of fabulous richness.
Perhaps Joe told them so. At any rate
! Bob Rogers and Louise, his pretty wife,
| left the boomer camp at Hunnewell, in
| Kansas, and with others of the home
seekers they trundled off down the old
Kansas and Texas trail into the promised
land. Once there, they found that others
| had come in from the Indian territory,
| Texas and Mexico.
( In some manner peculiar to the West a
! little shanty, wagon and tent town sprang
| into existence, and they called the place
'Rattesrake City" By common consent
Texas Ben" Jones became the marshal.
| No one proposed the name in a cOnVen-
ton, nor was there an election held. Ben
simply became the marshal because he
| did, and probably because he was bigger,
| quicker on the draw and ready to go into a
| fight any day or night of the year. Rat
tlesnake was daisy" while she lasted,
and the boomers were unusually law
abiding.
Unlike mining camps, there was moth
ing to keep up the town. No one worked
because there was no work to do. Al
most every one had little money, and
gambling became the recognized trade of
Rattlesnake. While the men played
poker and bucked the tiger, the women
pitched pennies for cash. Every shanty
and every wagon had layout for
gambling, and soon the desperate bands
of highwaymen, moOnshiners and cattle
thieves that infest this country began to
come in to play. Quite Monte Carlo
was thus built up.
Bob Rogers and Louise had been raised
in Ohio and came of good stock. Bob
| huu SUM- W IOllCSc lOuS IL " lCuID
TO play poker and swear. He soon be-
came leader in the colony about Rattle
snake because of his nerve, bearing and
good looks. Louise was the beauty of
Greer county and by virtue thereof the
queen of border society. She led in all
the dances held in the center of the
canvas-and-shack city once week. BY
degrees Rogers won all the money of his
neighbors and as fast as an unsuccess-
nj YNln hpp h, f,1-
his outfit and move away. Not always
though, for sometimes he would wager
his wagon and team and lose them, also
Then he walked out of Rattlesnake.
AS Rogers won money he took on i'm
pOrtance. He opened big gambling
house in tent and called the place
Rogers pavilion" He now virtually
owned the city. This tent became the
center of attraction for all that part OF
Texas Louise objected to the opening
of this house, but her husband, carried
away with the fever of gambling, laughed
at her fears.
He that lives by the sword shall
perish by the sword" she told him more
than once, but Bob went right on win
ming the money of the people who played
there. 1t appeared that he could not
lose. One day Texas Ben strobe in and
took a seat at table where three stran
gers were preparing to play poker. He
picked up the cards and joined in the
game. Ben had money and so had the
other people.
BY and by when big jackpot was il
sight. only Ben and a dapper little char
remained in the game. Ben drew one
card, the stranger three. Then they
went to betting and raised until all the
Texan had was in the pot. Every one
in the room had quit to watch this play
I'll call YOU" swore the big marshal
and if you beat my hand you've got t.
fight
The little fellow on the other side Of
the table only glanced up with a sidewist
glitter in his eyes. Bob Rogers pushed
his way through the crowd and declared
that the game was on the square and il
there was any killing done in the pavilion
he'd have Il hand in it. The more peace
full boomers moved away, but the gam
blers and outlaws generally remained
Bob tried to get Louise away. but she
refused to comply unless he would e
Still the big Texan glanced across the
table ut the little player on the other sid,
and the little one smiled back at him
Everyone smelled tragedy in the air
Texas Ben was known killer" and thu
little cuss facing him had all the indica
tons of killer" himself.
Three kings and a pair of queens,
roared Texas Ben, laying down his hanC
on the table.
-Four aces" cried the little man, drop
ping his cards like hot cakes and catchin!
Il knife from his sleeve. In moment
free-fOr-all fight was in progress. Bel
Jones was killed. Louise tried to dra.
her husband away and was shot in tn,
nose. Bob was bound to defend hi
place and shoot the matter out Tn,
dapper stranger was one of the slain anC
proved to be a woman in disguise.
In all, five were killed, and Louise wa
disligured for life. Rattlesnake City haC
had shock that made the people awak,
as though from a hypnotic trance. The!
shouted that the place was accursed TIL
shooting occurred at noon and by nigh
not even a dog was left to tell where Rat
tlesnake City had stood. The dead wer
hurriedly buried and the wounded wer
carried away in wagons. The tents wer
folded up and the shacks were burned t,
the ground. When the United States of
ficers heard of the big killing" as it wa
called, they went Mt once to the plac
where the town had once stood. but foun,
nothing hut a few heaps of ashes and fiv
newly made graves.
The outlaw portion of Rattlesnake'
population returned 10 their hiding places
in the hills. The gamblers sought new
pastures, where money was plenty. ant
the boomers slowly trundled back to
ward Oklahoma. They had had enough
of Rattlesnake JOe's earthly paradise
Poor Louise Rogers. her beauty foreve