The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-19

that had got away from our camp, about
fifteen miles down the valley. and
found him dead a the foot of the cliff.
Somehow or other he had tumbled over,
and. of course, that ended him, and my
partner and / went down the cliff to get
the saddle and bride and traps off of
him. 1t was the closest picking 1 ever
undertook to scale down that wall, and
lots of times we just had to hold on by
the skin of our teeth
About fifty feet from the bottom we
come to a bench about three feet wide,
and there We set down to catch our breath
and pull ourselves together for the last
climb. The bench seemed to run into the
cliffsa hundred feet or so around a cor
ner there was, and we slipped along the
narrow path to see where IL went to. We
found that it turned into a kind of a set
on, or side canon. which wasn't anything
more than a cave The cave was queer
enough, but good deal queerer was the
sight of three or four skeletons Of cattle
and lot of bones of all kinds of animals.
How they ever got there was a mystery
beyond us. for we could seen where the
cave and the narrow path ended and they
surely couldn't have climbed down the
cliff like we did But we didn't stop
there long to study out the puzzle, for in
minute or two we heard a noise like a
wind blowing through the cave, and look
ing up, we saw millions and millions of
snakes hanging from the rocks above and
coming out of the cracks in the walls ev-
erywhere. l don't think l ever say any,
thing that scared me worse than them
snakes did. and the way we got out of
that and back along that narrow path
was a caution.
Somehow or other we climbed and slid
and fell down the last fifty feet of the cliff,
and when we struck bottom we went down
the gulch at forty miles an hour, leaving
the mule and his trappings to take care
of themselves. All 1 remember was that
as looked back just after we had cleared
the cliff and got Strengthened out for our
home run there was a great fringe of
snakes hanging over the edge of the mar
row path we had got off so quick, and look
ing for all the world like the hair that
used to see in pictures on some of mythol-
ogy ladies. Furies, believe they called
them.
This was about 8 o'clock in the after
noon, and we got into camp about Z and
reported what we had discovered. OF
course they gave us all sorts of guying
put we held on to our story and agreed to
show them next day If they would go back
with us after the saddle and trappings on
the dead mule. They said they wanted
particularly to go and see those skeletons
up the Cliff, for they had always under
5NoSN tAihb NAlGAN were lGIuS OIL DuHalO ana
cattle and even horses and mules in Ari-
iona with wings, and this would prove the
matter beyond doubt and give the govern
ment chance to send a corps of Smith
sonian Institute experts out to get on to
the wing business.
The next morning we set out for the
snake joint at Z o'clock, and by noon we
had reached the spot, showing that men
afoot when scared will travel faster than
men horseback vuhpn fbaxr at A.
when we turned the last corner and come
out within 200 yards of where we had left
the dead mule. the entire party of us
stood like we had been struck with paral-
ysis, for the mule, instead of being on the
ground where we had left him the day be-
FORE was now forty feet up the cliff, and
slowly rising. At first we could not I'M
derstand, but as soon as we got our wits
together we did, and we had the whole
mystery explained to us at the same time
to wit, the snakes had formed themselves
into an immense cable, which thew
wrapped around the mule, and were grad
ually lifting him up to their cave, to be
disposed of at their leisure They had
done the same thing with other animals
that had dropped over the cliff, and they
had probably been doing it for ages. and
nobody could tell how many animals
them snakes had dragged into their den
and eat.
None of us had ever saw a sight like
that before and we just sat there on our
horses and gazed at them till one of our
crowd all at once give a yell and a cuss
and then we saw that the snakes not busy
with the mule had started for us and we
didn't stop to get any particulars to report
to the scientific department 1t was nip
and tuck with us for a mile or two down
the valley and then the snakes give it up
as a bad Job and went back to their mule
meat
"Of course" concluded the Hon. Will
liam In somewhat of an apologize tone
some Of you gentlemen, 1 can easily I'M
derstand, may not believe my story, but
II there be any such I can show him In
two minutes on any ordinarily good map
of Arizona the exact location of the coun-
ty In which Birthstone Gulch lies.
Lies, did you say?" asked a man who
went out hurredly.
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