, 1896-03-17
could have taught that pig to retrieve,

she'd have been worth a good deal to
me. for the number of snakes shed
have brought in during the season
would have been immense, but she
wasn't on the retrieve. She vas hunt
ing for her own accommodation and
ate every snake she caught. leaving
only the head. l used to find SO many
~rattlesnakes heads on my tours
through the canyon that it began to
dawn on me that my old SOW was work.
ing dead against me by destroying the
snake crop, and l was forced to kill her
for my W protection.
81 have tried the effect of Jonah's
bite on many different animals and
birds, and with the exception Of the
bantam and a cur dog that l expert
mented on. every one of them died.
some very soon after being bitten and
some % until three or four days had
passed.
Il am sorry to say Jonah has a
record of one man, too. on his list of
victims. AS a general thing l don't
believe that the bite of a rattlesnake
will result fatally to human beings, but
it did in this case. The mans name
was Flint, and 1t was all his own fault
that he was bitten. He was m of
those overcourageous, smart fellows
who think they can do anything. He
was at my old place in San Antonio
canyon one day in 1891 and got to
teasing the snake. Finally he poked
his finger through n Of the meshes
Of the wire at Jonah. When the rat
tlesnake strikes it v misses its
mark, If what it strikes at is within
reach. There Is no movement in the
world quicker than a rattlesnake's
strike. The snake struck at Flint's
finger, and, of course, hit it. In two
hours the man was dead. l hadn't a
drop of whiskey in the house, and be-
fore it was possible to send for some
Flint was dead.
"A human being seems to be the only
reature that suffers pain from a rat
tlesnake's bite. Every other living
thing that l ever saw bitten by a rat
tlesnake seemed to act as If it was
chloroformed. You can hardly see
where the snakes fangs enter the flesh
and not a drop of blood flows from the
wound. Inflammation sets in at once;
the breath begins to come hard and
short. In animals paralysis soon &C.
ours in the hind parts. The blood
leaves the extremities and becomes
thin. The heart Of the animal that
dies from rattlesnake poison will al
ways be found filled with blood In a
thin fluid state, instead of being coagu-
lated.
(" am a firm believer in whiskey for
rattlesnake poisoning. I have known
seven different cases Of persons being
bitten by rattlers where whiskey was
administered promptly and literally
and not one was fatal. Besides the
ase Of the man whom my snake killed,
l know Of two others where the victims
died. They were both treated by doc
tors, but whiskey was not used"
Tell me about the value of rattle
snake oil, and how you get your snakes
out in the mountains and canyon"
said the reporter.
For fifteen years I have sold all the
snake oil I could get in Los Angeles for
about 50 an unce In winter, when
snakes are scarce and supply of oil
runs low, the price sometimes goes up
to IS an ounce"
"How do you catch the snakes?"
Easy enough. l wear boots up
above my knees so as to protect me
from any ratler l may tread on, and l
always go with a strong forked stick
or club in my hand. l have to keep my
wits about me constantly, and to think
quickly when l am in a snake locality
and hear a rattle. l always try to get
the r~attlers by putting the fork Of my
over their neck as quick as a flash, and
then l have the critter just where I
want him. l next strangle the snake
by pressing my fingers down upon the
neck. l get the rattlers in this way so
as to keep them from biting them
selves and thereby letting the poison
into the oil that l am after. In nine
cases out of ten rattlesnakes will bite
themselves II they have a chance, and
they are the smartest things alive ex-
cept human beings. Once in awhile I
get the rattlers by smashing them in
the head, but don't like that way, for
it's dangerous and the oil is not SO
good. Have l ever been bitten? Yes.
five times, and 1 suffered so much the
last time that all the money on earth
would lot induce me to be poisoned
again. That was four years ago, and l
can feel the pains from it to this day.
l don't believe any one ever fully re-
covered from a dose of genuine rattle-
snake poison. 1t is the most awful
stuff on earth. I have e great big
COWS die of a drop Of the poison in an
hours time"
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