The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-02-02

IN the world is that there was really
10 snake in it, which is more than can
bc said even nf the Garden Of Eden.
1t had been very hot that summer
ON the rancho. Men work in the fields
ol California with the thermometer at
no degrees. while they fall down Of
heat a!prlo>y in the streets Of New
YORK anI hicaso ut 30 degrees.
'rha, i, The ,naxim they preach to the
stranger il the West, and it has truth
in il bat it IS Il mistake to suppose
;Ma, even in California men work in
;ie fields ia comfort in such tenn
yoraturc and that summer the thcr-
'iipinrt"r hal cone very near H. de
crrcS. 50 wc were grateful enough to
ct away into the hills for spell,
with Il wa-pn and tent and the usual
onifit Of po!S and pans. three Of u,
white mon. with Louie. the Mexican
whom wr called in the ysrnacular he
Grcascr,, 10 mind III" horses and max Q
himself Generally useful Our pro
yra'nmc wa to ii,h the rivers, shoot
deer. and possibly grizzly bear, di,
cover Il gold mine and 90 back to the
.Hnchc with prospective fortune.
We had Just pitched our tent.
Down on tho plain for weeks before
We had been sleeping out on our We
randa, but the air of the hills had a
nip in it by contrast. 1t was late in
the afternoon. but there was still
plenty of sunshinc. followed Louie
round a shoulder Of the Hill, going to
fetch water ut little stream tumb-
ling from somewhere among the snowy
peaks that capped the zone Of fire on
the great mountains above us These
mountains had, at some time or other,
sent down little avalanche Of small
rocks, that lay heapcd on our left as
VIC walked. The scene was the most
peaceful imaginable.
In an instant Il succession OF small
incidents sent the peace to limbo.
Louie dropped his rannikin with a
tinkling clattcr, crying "Sancta Ma
ria - in a voice Of terror. At the
same moment heard the dread rattle
OF a snake, and saw its length CLEAN
under Louie feet and vanish among
the rocks
"Sancta Maria y he tottcrcd back
into Try arms, his dark face livid with
fear.
What is it. Louie ? Did the snake
strike you ?''
''In the foot, he said yes"
Let US get back to camp. Quick,
lean on me.
Whats the good, boss p he ask
cd. "l'm dead man. Neycrthe-
less he came with me, leaning on my
shoulder, and making lame walk Of
it,
Down in the plain we had no rattle
snakes For miles about .hc ranch
there was no rocks for them, and
though there were plenty Of ground
squirrel holes VIC never saw snakes
about them. The thought of such
things did not enter our heads, and
Louie, weary Of his boots, had kicked
them off, with the long spurs, and
come with Inc in his stocking feet on
this quest for water.
4 word explained to the boys what
had happened.
'Strychnine S the BEST" said Jock
Peters, who was our authority on the
question Of snake bites, which he had
studied in Australia but we haven't
got it: so we must do what We can
with this. But it's a poor chance.
he added in n whisper, as, to save
time, he knocked the neck off bottle
of brandy. Drink it, Louie he
said; "ncver mind cutting your lip:
=et it down-that' the chief thing
The Mexican teeth chartered as
We forced in the neck Of tho bottle,
but he drank great gulp without
winking. The liquor. or pickle either,
to scorch the throat of Mexican has
yet 10 DC found.
Jim Kelly, the lrishman, was sad
ding the freshest Of our horses, 20
ride at best speed into Lindsay, IL
miles away in the haze Of the plains,
for the doctor. In a minute he was
pounding away along the hills. "Fix
up light as high as you can put it if
it's dark before we get back he
shouted as he went.
We pulled the sock off the Mexi-
can IS foot. Already it was swelling
fast. with purplish tinge round a
tiny blue spot, from which the small
est imaginable drop of blood had
yellcd.