The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-10

lie QOGS Is TO coll dIu lilSu
he can strike two-thirdS of his length.
He will bite as high as he can reach
and his jaws wide open, like striking
a thing with the palm of your hand.
His fangs are as sharp as a needle, but
they won't go through thick leather,
and if they go through clothes, partic-
ular wool, the chances is the piZen will
be sucked up by the wool. Right along
the under side is a groove and when
the fangs goes in it presses down on
the pizen bag at its roots and that
squirts the juice right around the fang.
It will throw the piZen as far as three
feet"
Efficacy of Whisky.
Can they bite when not coiled?"
bite any time; but they can't sock
their teeth in so deep. No, they amt
as many people bit around here as
man would think, but onct in while
somebody gets bit. 1 was bit onct.
was hauling freight with a bull team
among my stuff l had five barrels Of
whisky for the Arcade saloon at Tue
son. Comm along down toward Arroyo
Seco camped one evening early where
there was plenty of wood and grass.
and I see a little spring branch trlcklln
by the spot and knowed the spring was
not far off, turned out my stock. built
d HIS dIIQ WSllI " IllC SPINS ~ -
drink of water. 1 see the spring there
in among the lavvy rocks, and L kneel-
ed down on all fours to drink. l am
the biggest liar on earth, partner, II
1 didn't put my right. hand down with
in six inches of the biggest RATHER
ever see, layin' there, all coiled up.
just ready to strike, with is tail
straight up in the air jist a-whizzin'.
he was that mad He was thinkin',
10 COIN t0p fO11 him
81 was that paralyzed that 1 hadn't
enough sense to jerk my hand up, and
he hit me a fair lick right on the
wrist. When 1 see L was bit, and well
bit at that, grabbed a rock and |
pounded that snake into thousand
pieces. Then I began thinkin' what
was best to do with myself. [ put
learned that suckin' the wound was
good, if you had sound teeth, but I
| knowed that would never do for me,
as my teeth was about half of 'em
good Mighty few people here have
good teeth. L am here to tell you
poor cookin' and plug terbaccer. Well,
I thought of the whisky. 1 had one
barrel of good stuff for Billy Flynn.
that bossed the big ditch in them
days when the mines was flush, and
I had a hole already bored in the top
of the barrel and had been hittin' her
| a lick along the road when the sperrit
moved me- broke off a few rye grass
straws that growed up by the spring.
and 1 laid at that bung-hole and
sucked whisky till I thought I would
| bust. My nanny never whipped me
for 'holdin my breath. Then I draw
ed some in a tin cup and mixed it with
sugar and mint-mint groWed wild
there I didn't want to drink too
much and 1 wanted to drink a plenty.
you know. I felt like I could eat a box
full o. rattlesnakes, rattles and all.
Then I knocked under, laid down
under my wagon and went to sleep
I woke up next morning fresh as a
daisy, and went on about my business.
The pizen never took effect on me at
all
'Then there was Tom Shuck. He
was camped up on Blue creek holdin'
a band of horses there to get them
used to the range. He was about
seventy-five miles from Benson. One
night he was out getherin' some sage
brush to throw on the fire and he felt
something prick him on the hand and
thought he had grabbed a-flold of a.
briar and paid no more attention to it.
1t hurt awful that night. He had to
git up fore day and he knowed a
RATHER must have bit him. He took
some paper from his pocket and tried
to write his will Tom had money
yes he was Jest a-rottin' with coin.
He couldn't write. He managed to git
the best horse in his band saddled and
bridled and he rid him through to
Benson by noon. The doctor cured
him. but it was a mighty close call
"Old man Johnson Crin-Cup john
son they used to call him) and his boy,
Feather-Leg Willie. went out one day
after a load of juniper. and they see
the dog tree a ribbit in a cleft of
rocks. The old man wanted to get
the rabbit, so he rech his hand in the
hole after him, and his hand was too
big. He felt somethin' scratch him
in the ham So he tells Joe to rech
in. Joe he rech In for Mr.. Rab-
bit and a rattlesnake nailed him quick.
The old man sucked his hand where
on after his load of wood But Feather
Leg came back home and lay at the
pint of death. They saved him on
whisky and rUow he breaks out in blue
blotches every time the dog days come
around.
indians used to put the pizen on
their arrow heads when they went on
a fightin' expedition. They'd tie a
chunk of fresh meat on the end of a
stick and go where rattlesnakes are
thick around these gopher or prairie
dog holes Then they'd whip the snake
with switch and let him bite that
meat until it was rank pzen, rub their
spikes in the meat and then set em
up in the sun to dry. Speakin' gen.
orally. a rattlesnake is like whisky
let him alone and he'll let you alone"