Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-12-13
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A WONDERFUL ORCHESTRA
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drummer with the extra pale. hair. when
the usual after-supper crowd had as
Se'hbltd IN the lobby of the Washing
ton avenue hotel. Its Il severe test to
Il mans crcdulity to ask him to believe
a snake story however plausible it may
appear. 50 ] shall not expect you To be-
ileVc what ! am about to tel you.
couldn't believe it myself if | hadn't
seen it.
spent my vacation last July in the
hiue isldEe mountains. Ii was my Gus
tom to take Il long walk every nornin.
before breakfast. One morning | wan
Tered deeper into the mountain fast
lissscs than usual. When I started To
retr;'ce my steps soon discovered tina,
! was lost. After walking through the
brush for nearly two hours found my
sell on the side of the mountain on the
crest of u small peak one side of which
descended almost perpendicuarly to a
ledge OF rock about hundred feet be-
low. The broad. smooth surface of the
rock was surrounded by banks of vel
NelE moss. and the place looked alto
Stther So inviting that 7 could not re-
sist tn. inclination to scramble down
I" II. a brief struggle down the rough
d"Scent landed me on the ledge. was
taking in the scene with delighted eyes
when the sound of music noated out
family upon the air. 1t seemed very
fnuch like the music discourscd by the
musical artists of the vaudeville. the
;,iers. who play upon sleigh bells. The
notes while very faint appeared to
come from an instrument not far away
rom where 7 stood. I could distinctly
distinguish the tune II was /; waltz
song. quite popular. some years ago OF
| course, | was Overjoycd for had now
only To uhcarth the musician and in
luirc the path to the mountain road 7
listened ntcntly for several minutes and
he music stopped before | had quit,
| satisfied myself as to the direction
whence it had proceeded 1t appeared
to come from underground as We'll as
my car could make out. Just as | was
about to call out the music began again
This time it was a rolicking jig tune
AS before. it seemed to come from tho
rock beneath my feet. However, de-
cided to discover the mountain musician
ana come upon him unawares if posi-
bile. projecting bank Of earth on the
side Of the peak. about twenty yards
away. smut out from my view Il part of
The ledge. on the opposite side. Cross
ing over t" this recred around the cor
ncr Of the projection confidently expect
ing to find my musician He was there
all right. but the sight that beheld al
most made my eyes pop out. y chill
ran down my spinal column and my
knees ratified together like Il pnl OF
triphalnlners. y little. weakened old
man. With !; grizzly beard ana snow
whit" hair. who might have been any
where from 10 10 $50 years old, SAT cross
legged nron a he'd NJ moss. Before him,
a dozen huge rattlesnakes lay stretched
side by side The suns rays We're Just
creeping down into that nook, and as
The light fell upon the suuirming bodies
of the ratilers their scales glistcncd like
$50 many jewels For half Il minute
was struck dumb. The varinits lay
Il,. n f,,l
We're of different sizes. The smallest.
should say. was six feet and the longest
-,Htcsn: When 7 hogan to realize that
The snakes We're making the music
thought must be dreaming. The old
man held a short wand in his right hand
and played upon the snakes just as one
would perform upon She keyboard of $,
piano AS he touched each sr;.ke light
~ upon the head with the end OF ;fa
wand the snake would lift its tail and
sound its rattles sharply The rattles
OF the twelve snakes correspondent with
the twelve notes of the chromatic scale.
forming complete Keyboard from
which the old fellow extracted perfect
melodies. AS soon as I recovered the
power of my limbs stepped back AT
the same moment the snakes discovered
my presence. In an instant the music
came to a sudden stop with a discord-
ant crash and the rattlers disappeared
flash. The old man looked up in open
mouthcd surprise. His eyes rested on
me for a moment: then he arose and
greeted me cordially. FIe assured me
that | had nothing to fear while he
was about, and asked my opinion Of his
rattlcsnakc orchestra. After we had
become better acquainted he told ME he
had been living alone in the mountains
for twenty years. He had been the
musical director of an opera company
in his early manhood. Reverscs Of for
tune and disappointment in love had
driven him to his present hermitage.
The snake orchestra was Il conception
of his own He spent several years eff
fecting the capture Of over n hundred
rattlesnakes. from among which he Sc
he twelve needed to make up the
Five years more We're
training the