The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-12-17

dizzy trail and regained the safety of
the cliff. I only know that 1 did not
get over the strain on my nervous
system for weeks. But now for the
snake story that turned me from my
discoveries and probably saved my
bones for Christian burial instead OF
bleaching in the depths OF Walnut
canyon. Arizona.
In Muncos canyon they draw you
up into these cliff dwellings from the
bottom of the gorge by a rope and
a pulley. Imagine being hauled up In
n sort of basket seat some 600 or 200
feeti May was pulled up this way on
one OF his excursions to a ledge about
900 feet from the top OF the canyon,
whereupon stood a particularly fine
block of these mysterious dwellings.
The fellows on top OF the cliff who
were 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, Here
he hung. like Mohammed's coffin. be-
tween heaven and earth. with this aw-
full canyon below him. He caught hold
OF the window ledge and drew his bas-
ket close. then. putting his hand into
the room to get a purchase. so that he
might draw his body through, he put
IL directly on a soft. Shiny substance. a
coiled-up rattle. in facti Mays nerve
did not desert him. His hand closed
on the rattler's throat and he slowly
drew the reptile out through the win
dow and threw IL Kissing. writing and
struggling. down a sheer 500 feet. Then
he signaled the men to let him down.
He had had enough OF cliff dwellings
for one day. Gravy boats and soup
ladies are. confess. enough to tempt
any man into all sorts of reckless en-
deavor. but coiled-up rattlesnakes are
quite another story. and sam May ;
snake yarn probably saved my life.
AT another time May and his part
ner started on one of his ransacking
expeditions after crockery. and when
they got in the neighborhood OF Do
lores they discovered they had for
gotten the feed for the horses. SO
there was nothing to do but for one to
go back after IL while his partner
camped to await his return. May de-
cided 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 RATHER COM
ing from a pile of loosely heaped-up
stones near by. He fired into the heap
and killed the snake, and drag
ging IL out. with true western
instInce broke of the rattles and
slipped them into his vest pocket.
Next morning May made his fire.
cooked bacon. eggs, made conee,
fapjacks. ate heartily. and then, well
satisfied with his breakfast. sat down.
took his toothpick from his vest peck
ct and industriously applied IL. In a
few minutes his face began to swell.
To his horror he found he had put the
rattles next his toothpick and some
poison had chung to IL and been con-
veyed to a hollow tooth In his jaw.
There he was alone In the wilderness
and visibly swelling. What did he do.
There was a gallon jug of whisky In
the outfit and he drank IL. Just as ht
drained the last drop a mounted trav'
| eler came along on the way from
Mancos to Dolores. To him May shout
| ed the terrible tale, and the kind
/ hearted stranger ran his horse TO Do
/ lores and back for another gallon OF
whisky. So May yet lives TO resur-
rect ancient pottery and tell snake
| stories"