The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1897-08-15
THE PROFESSOR HAD SAND.

INNING HAD, formerly OF Arizona. a pros
pectOr had come into Tombstone from that
section with such show OF gold and silver
specimens that the Shurtlesf Mining De
yelopment Company asked me TO make
Up party to go out and explore the canon
thoroughly and report whether it would be
worth while to buy the mans claims and
begin opcrationsthere Our party when we
got together, was made up of five besides
myself "a cook, packer, two miners, and
the professor. We had to pack our tools,
blankets aid provisions on the backs of
burros AMI when 1 saw the outfit that
Frof. Voa Hartmann was preparing to take
along, ! groaned in spirit and rose up 10
protest There was enough in the way OF
1etorts, cruc:bles and bIowpipes to set three
ordinary mine camp assayers up in bust
ness, and, as II this Were not enough, he
had books for pressing flowers and plants
and two jars OF alcohol for preserving bugs
and reptiles
''It'n take a string of burros reaching
from here to Malayersa to carry all that
truck ! told the compaDy's agent. But
the agent joIed me, and said he was sure
| could f1nd Some way to take the stuff
along-that the professor was mighty
knowing nan about minerals and analyses.
tested on the spot so that fair averages
could be obtained. ! gave in at last
hired extra burros. and We made OUR start
1t was six days journey, over the rough
est kind OF mountain country, TO Malaversa.
and OH the first night out We came near
shipwreck through Pete, the cook, getting
hold OF one of the professors alcohol
jars and starting in for royal drunk, with
h. pfh hnv era IN in hi
got it away from him in time and the
professor and / passed the rest OF the
night on guard over the stuff, turn and
turn about, with shotgun across our
knees In the morning 1 set the boys
To hunting, and in an hour there Were
centipedes and spiders and scorpions enough
in the alcohol jars to destroy the taste for
the liquor, even in Pete. But it ranked in
the COOKS mind that neat spirits should
be ruined in this way, and he laid it up
against the professor until the time when
he thought be saw his chance to get even
with him.
This chance came about wo weeks after
| our arrival In Malaversa. on the day We
moved camp from the lower 10 the upper
| canon. The professor by this time had
| got to be fairly popular with the boys. He
| was a round-faced, German looking little
man, who was busy in every hour of day
| light, analyzing, botanizine, collecting
| animal and mineral specimens, and looking
| for Indian antiquities. In the evening he
| would tcIk If we urged him, in a way
| mighty interesting to us, for miners, you
| know, never miss a chance to inform them
| selves in scientific matters Connected with
| their calling Asfor his sand we had had
| nochance totesti it: but for a tenderfoot just
| come to the West he stood hardships well,
never Sinking or grumbling. At the close
of this day, we sat at supper around the
cloth, spread on the ground, in open air.
| Pete, who was serving US, stopped beside the
! professor under pretense of taking up D
dish to be refilIed- A minute later he
pitched a yell so loud and sudden that IL
made me spill the coffee l was just lift
ing 1o nag lips.
.'.6ood Gawd, professor, don't move!
he Shouted 'Thars a rattler coiled right
| at yer elbow
Most of us had thought of Indians when
the cook made his outcry. but the thing
was bad enough. for one of the party, at
least, as it was. By the professors side
so near him that by dropping his arm he
would have touched IL, large rattlesnake
lay cooled, its head resting upon the coils
i'll the attitude of waiting. The thing was
so sudden and terrible that we ali sat mo-
tionless, except the man next the pro-
fessor, OH tie other side of the snake, who
edged away until ne was beyond the reach
| of any possible stro Ike, and then jumped and
| ran.
Keep perfectly still. He won't strike
il ycu ,ioIi't mover who can trust his
aim to shoot the critters head OFF, No,
bullet might glance ia the ground and hit
any of u.s. That's So And if the snake
isn't killed dead first pop, it's all day with
the professor, was said by one man to an
other.
1.-The professor, the coolest man OF the
lot, was loo king down a the snake care
fully through his spectacles. Still keepin z
his eyes ON the reptile, he reached his hanc
down TO his lineup of coffee. within foot
of the snakes jaws, raised it to his hps
and drank slowly. Then al we looked OH
astounded at this perfoma nee. he tilted
his cup above the snake, splitting little
| hot coffee on its head.
Don't let this incident disturb your
supper, gentlemen he said politely. The
reptile was dead an hour ago"
Pete, who had been holding in hismerri
ment with difficulty ever since he cried
snake lost his chance to laugh. The rest
| of us saw the joke and where it had land ell
and for the rest of the evening the cooi
| was one of the best laughed-at men that
| ever served about grub pile. He was
glad enough when the last man had rolled
himself up in his blankets to go off tt
sleep on the ground in the open air Even
this man did not close his eyes until ut
had given the cook parting reminder:
Say, Pete, you'd better sling that snak'
| clear of the camp. Rattlers are apt tC
travel in pairs, you know, and If thi
ones mate comes around in the might
looking for him some CT US may run VI
against live snake game more risky than
dead ONE
'Petc's answer was a profuse one, but
living half asleeu, l heard him throw tn,
tunibled into his blankets, and the canl
was still 1t was a Yell from Tim tina
some time toward morning brought all d
us to sur feet, every man grabbing hi
gun and looking around for danger. Itwa
q scary s:gnt that our eyes rested OI
when We found out the trouble. In tn
bright moonlight the cook, clad only Ii
shirt and drawers, was standing still a
| a craven mag with his blankets falle
| about his feet. Around his neck was cole,
something that twisted and moved some
thing gray, and round, and long, and thicl;
and we saw that the thing that swung 4
the lett and right, reaching sometimes be
| yond his shoulder and again curVing bac