Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-08-04
JADE COOKS TWO RATTLERs

w. Houston.
JADE COOKS TWO RATTLERs
He Caught One Asleep, but Never Could
Tell How He Got the Other.
No, young man, I can't tell you
nothin, not but there's things enough
happened along the Delaware, an,
for that matter, right here in CALI
coon, to fill hundred little books
chock full, but amt no composer.
But I wish to land you'd come
round before Jabe Cook died. He
could 'commodated you with as
many yarns as you could shake
stick at. True onesI Of course.
Jabe want no great hand on lyin-
not ginerally. He ferried here for
oh, don't know how long. Begun
when was a boy. Run a small
boat, an when there was teams or
many people took them over in a big
scow.
"There amt scasly any heft of
work bout runnin q scow. Jabe
wouldn't a-took to it if there had
been, for he was sort of lazy coot-
didn't banker after work. When you
pole out an git pinted right, the
scow'll run itself, an then there's
time for swappin horses an talkin.
That's where Jabe's talent come in
on talkin. He could talk blue
streak-beat the hull shootin match
at it. 1t beat all how much he
knowed about everybody for miles
round. An when he begun on one O.
his stories he was hound to go
through with it. Never knowed him
to leave a story half way but oncet.
Zone day passel of us young
chaps had been up Hollister brook
fishin. When we got back to the fer
ry, Jabe want to be seen, an we set
down on the beach to wait for him
to come an take us acrost the river.
We'd been settin quite spell, when
all of a suddint we heard him shout
in an calm to us. He was comm
from an old stone quarry, an I swan
if the Teller didn't have live rattle
snake in each hand. We were fast
enough bout runnin to meet him,
but "a little skittish bout gittin very
clost to the snakes, until we were
sure he had each one gripped clost
enough to the head SOS it couldn't
turn to bite. It's safe enough carry
in rattlers that way-if you hold on
tight. The day was hot an Jake
was that excited he fairly suffered
a-tryin TO tell US how he ketched the
snakes an the way we slung ques-
lions at him didn't help to cool him
down none. A city chap, he said,
had promised him SIS an good jack
knife for live rattler. He'd kinder
calkerlated on findin one that day
because all the signs were bout
right for their bein out.
"'Say, interrupted ST Brown,
amt you gittin to know most too
much bout rattlers?'
You'll know more about man
ners when you're growed up, was
Jabe's answer. This was sock
dologer on ST, for, though he was
nigh on to 40, he was a little cuss.
well, Jabe's story was awful
long, for he'd had ruther a rough
an tumble sort of a hunt, but the
upshot of it all was he found the
first rattler asleep behind holler
log, an, said he, I crept up as stills
a cat after a mouse, an reached over
my forked stick an nabbed him. An
suitin his actions to his words, Jabe
brought his right hand over
brought it over too near the left.
Quicker'n you could say Jack Rob-
inson, the left hand snake stuck his
fangs into Jabe's right hand, an the
right hand snake did the same for
his left hand.
"Jabe's yells, which was enough
to wake the dead, an the general
thrashin round of arms an snakes,
scarf us boys till every one Of us
went lickety split up the river bank.
We went back when the snakes were
gone an helped Jabe home. ST ran
for the doctor, an was soon a.leg-
gin it up the road after whisky.
"No, Jabe didn't die, though he
come within an ace of it. He felt
awfully cut up bout the hull bust.
qess an to this day we don't know
>nw he ketched that other snake );