The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-07-09
HYPNOHSM OF RATILERS.
OLD MINING PROsPECTOR TELLS
OF HIS EXPERIENCES.
A snake That Held Him for Five
Minutes by the Power of stare
a Charge on n Nest of About

at IL fact that snake can
hypnotic. He can hypnotic grown
man Just as easy as ne can a
child - SAYS Perry Brigham, an old min
ing prospector, who is in this city for
rew days 81 shall never forget an en-
perienee one morning when out on the
Mains not a great ways from Denver. 1
was piodding over the prairies or rather
buffalo grass. afoot, I'd been waking
couple OF hours. 1 guess, and kinder cas-
usiiy happened 10 notice what appeared
20 be a stout stick with the end OF II
kno,ted and rising UP little over the
grass I paid 70 particular attention TO
Il until, for some reason, l seemed 70
bear all my thoughts on to that SUCK.
As looked again / found / was looking
straight at monstrous big rattiesnake.
He hadn't ratified. nor given any warn
ing mt there he was with his head
raised up there. like a picket. kinder sur
yeying things and especially me.
my, but he was a tremendous big TEL
Ter, I don't want 10 exaggerate or any
thing, but. honestly. / believe he was
fully as long as this billiard table. lie
was running his old tongue out and seem
ing to say. Well, what are you going to
dor Want a flghtY I just stopped stock
still Didn't Jump nor nothing, for Ia
seen too much OF such reptiles ana
things TO let 'em excite me any. stood
there, with my hands at my sides and
merely looking at him thought, wen,
I don't know. old fellow. whether l want
TO tackie you or not. ] don't know lie
kept dartins out his tongue and looking
directly at me.
,"rbere we was for should think fully
I'VE minues, each OF US sizing the other
up. Each not afraid of the other. yet
neither eager to open battle. The longer
/ looked the more IL seemed as III l was
powerfesa 20 move or do anything. i
wasn't very much scared. but seemed to
be attracted somehow. My eyes were
fixed right on the snakes eyes and /
don't believe that could have taken
them on Of him. The old fellow wasn't
making a move TO attack me. III he had
I think I'd been all right and could nave
fought for all ! was worth.
Ut was not, tell you. the hypnotism or
magnetism OF fear. II was feeling that
/ cannot explain further than to say
couldn't take my eyes on OF him. III
had been closer TIM actually afraid
should have had an uncomfortable impulse
20 reach out my hand and touch him.
Then fsd got BIT sure's blazes. We kept
looking at each other until something
stirred OF In the grass nearby, and my!
that sneak turned and went like a streak.
They can go mighty fast when thy're
mind to, though It's generally supposed
that rBttiesnakes are slow and sluggish.
''Weli. the minute he stirred. see? was
all right Been brought back to my senses
ms It was, and I ran after him as fast as
l could, bus l couldn't keep up with him.
and he reached hole a few hundred
yards on. prairie dog or rabbit hole,
don't know which, and when he went into
the hole got close enough TO see him and
ma did very peculiar thing. He didn't
no In head first as you'd naturally ex-
pscs. of course. but IL seemed "a II he
wiggied into Il or around IN such a FASH
ion that he always kept his head toward
me. lie sorter doubled. You understand.
and got himself into tho hole SO that he
could be ready for-m IL made for him
I watched him for several minutes more
and there he WAS just 50 you could barely
make out his ugly three-eornere6 head.
laying there at the entrance waiting for
all visitors. Now, want to confess that
that there dirty brown RATHER had me as
much under the spell as any mortal ever
was by all the arts Of the professional hu-
man hypnotist. Some folks claim its all
bosh and immigration. but l assure you
q snake will hypnotize any creature that
Will keep perfectly still and watch the
varmint.
Il was gu, about forty miles south OF
Denver one day In 'S, In company with
a carpenter. when we come on to perfect
army OF rattlers IL was early In the
spring and had just got warm enough for
the snakes to get out of their winter
quarters and into the sunshine. There
wac a sort OF high. sandy place of some
hundred feet In circumference and the
snakes was out there a heating up. On
thorr must have been two hundred OF
EN- at leastl The air was Just slckening
with that stencil that rattlesnakeA make
and an tncossant rafting and burning.
don't know scarcely what made me take
the notion. but says to my partner:
Let's 20 through them feilers'
All right he says. and no took a saw
from his kit and | pulled out another
we went TO swinging them saws. and
II We didn't work With all the strength
and uuickress we could muster We Topped
on heads right and left Hiss. sixEle. rat.
Tie. clstter. huH7, forSed tongues wtEgltng
variants, and holy Moses the stencil
You couldn't stood that stencil long A
dozen times I caught a Fattlnrs head last
In the nick ~ time. We swung tho saws
80 fast and the danger was so close We
sweat like slaves We must have been
ten minutes working our way through
There we're scores ~ the vAFmnts that
We Killed and scores more that hustled OF
through the grass bat when W got on
the other sidc ~ the space thetn saws
wore covered With Virus. and guess both
81 NJ wouldn't have tackled the lob again
faF considerable ! didn't want anything
90 ca, Tor q week. almost
= shall never forget rs the way. being
down IN Florida / was visiting a rsla-
uvc who had "a place tNcrc. an orange
sFNNe. cut back 20 bits house there MS
sort 90 h0Wcr-llEv. "A summer house.
suea~ Yru'a rnn &c. lattice WON ana,
over it Mas trailing Vine haeNNsli. kis and
such pHt away tir i.r0ev. aa1 faei-
rs hndfs iFowsv ] Thought 10 go ou,
e. thet summer house and road ar Anga
fcr while picked up % book that was
lawns about thr room nwA kinBev fen ia
rcadag lt WAS ore ~ thciu sleepy So.
pfN Waller novels Well. I read aa Tor :