Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1899-09-13

one solitary stone left.
Hen was grown pretty angry by this
time, and he resolved to make the last
one count He did make it count, too.
Another such jolt would probably have
laid the '.dook" low; but the days i'll
luck came up again, for the stone
stopped rolling shade too close, and
was in surveillance, like the others.
Hen secuted around for more stones.
and could not even discover a sign.
Then he went back to the scene of ac-
ton, and surveyed 1t again. The last
stone lay right on the rim of the
'dook's" range; but the big fellow
looked SO sick and battered that Hen
Thought his alertness must surely be
over. So the cowboy got carefully
down and snatched Mt the stone.
His movement was not ut all slow;
it was simply slower than the snakes,
whose vitality had been moderated.
Hens white hand-for he had soft,
white hand when he removed his buck
skin glove-was met by n streak of
dark color, and the cowboy felt SEN
sation as of several red-hot needles be-
ing driven into the feshly part of his
thumb.
You can imagine his startled back
ward leap.
Fifteen miles to the nearest human
quarters. and in that blazing sun. A
cold sweat of terror broke over him,
and for a moment his brain reeled.
Then the easy habit of the range life
reasserted itself. and he went over his
resources with the utmost GOODNESS.
He had in his pocket some rawhide
that he was braiding into hackamore
browband, and the first thing he did
was to bind n thong of it around his
wrist twisting it tightly with his splic-
ing-horn for lever.
That finished he thought of an emer-
gency treatment which half-crazy
old sheep-herder had acquainted him
with. The treatment seemed about as
foolish as the old herder had been, hut
Hen was in no position to be unduly
fastidious.
Snakes We're without terrors for him
now, SO he jumped boldly in on the
triumphant RATHER and trnmpled its
head thoroughly into the sand. Then
he cut the body into number of
pieces two or three inches long as the
herder's recipe demanded. The next
step was to cut open his wounded
thumb. which he took n grim sort of
enjoyment in doing thoroughly. Then
he split n section of the snake. and APP
piled the raw surface of flesh to his
bleeding thumb.
1t was not Il nice thing to do; Hen
had to grit his teeth, in fact, to bring
himself to it. but the effect was pre-
cisely as the old man had foretold. In
the contact the snake-fiesh rapidly be-
came discolored. Hen used more and
more of it, until all the poison. IL such
| 1t We're that caused the discolOration,
seemed to be absorbed. Then he
climbed into the saddle. turned the
good little roam homeward and put the
animal to its best gait.
He had not been riding five minutes
when Blues clean, steady stride
! seemed to have changed to the mad
rack and pitch of a new bronco. He
unslipped his rawhide lariat, and wear
| ily-Oh, SO wearily!-endeavored to tie
himself in the seat. weaving the rope
through and around his snaps belt, and
making 1t fast with many bitches to
the high horn and cantle of his stock
saddle. Then he took the kerchief
from his neck, wrapped up the be-
numbed hand, twined the other in
Blues name, and allowed himself to
go.
When Blue got him to camp he was
hanging halfway down The pony's
side, but everything had held splendid
ly. AS the ranch people slid his limp
body to the ground some unusually fine
rattlesnake trophies rolled from his
snaps pocket, which explained the case
perfectly. They doctored him with eff
fective ranch remedies. and in few
weeks he was the same lnnk jocose
boy as ever.
No, not exactly the same. The
thumb on his right hand was wizened
and unsightly, resulting from close
intersection of thin white sears; he had
sworn war-at long range--against nj,
snakes. and the story having got
abroad, he was never by any lapse
called other than "Rattles.' They
called him SO at Tampa and at Santi-
ago, and il YOU search the files of the
bright New York dailies, you may see
that he was celebrated as "Rattles" Mt
Camp Wickoff, and had some funny
adventures there.-Youth's Companion.