The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-27
TROOPS ON FRONTIER.
Camped in a Bed of Rattlesnakes and
Fought for Their Lives.
(Washington PostA

washington Post.)
Several months before we struck
the starvation end OF the Big Horn
campaign OF 1875, said veteran In
dian fighter to a Post reporter the
other day, General Crooks command.
TO which 1 belonged being a member
or company G. Fourteenth infantry.
during the march north in pursuit of
the Sioux. struck the Powder river
country in the midst of a drenchiug
rain In fact Il had been raining for
several days prior to our arrival on
the banks of this stream, and the
downpour continued for several DAYS
after we entered what in fair weather
IS one of the most beautiful sections of
the west.
The usual results followed. in that
the low bottom and prairie lands along
either side of this stream became in
undated, driving thousands of prairie
rattlesnakes to seek refuge from the
waters on higher land. This fact did
not, however. attract our attention I'M
I'll some days after We reached the
Powder River valley. and then our no
fice was drawn 10 il in a very sudden
and striking manner. We marched
along in this rain, every man drenched
TO the skin, slept IN il, and lived Just
as miserably as il is possible for human
beings TO live until the third day after
reaching this valley. when. after cross
ing the Powder river the sun came
out strong and brilliant, Just as the
command reached the summit of a df-
vide, coming in sight of three beau
tiful wooded knobs scattered about
over the high plateau country that rose
in a gradual slope from the river.
Seeing the cOnd ton we were in,
General Crook gave orders to proceed
TO the finest knoll of the three and
there to halt for sleep and rest for
day and a night. Every soldier in the
command was worn out, fatigued and
diSheartened. He also gave orders for
US to hang out our blankets and cloth
ing, every stitch of which was soaking
wet from the rain and water through
which we had been Flooding for three
days and nights.
1.-The knoll that General Crook had
selected for our camp was covered
with a growth of virgin timber. There
was also a very considerable under
growth of sedge grass, vines and other
vegetation; and as the region in ques-
ton had never been burnt over, the
successive crops of vines and grass
that had grown up and died down for
centuries had formed a mat over the
surface of the knoll that, l dare say
must have been fully a foot in thick
ness. The order TO halt had scarcely
died away or the breeze when every
man in the command was startled by
an ominouS br-r-r-r-rr-rrr, first on one
side, then on the other, then all around
him. Before we could even realize that
the place was literally alive with rat
tlesnakes. which, driven from their
holes and habitations in the low
grounds bordering the Powder river by
The rising waters of that stream. had
sought shelter and refuge from the in
undation in the thick mat of dead I'M
dergrowth on this, the highest point
of land in the region, before we had
time to even stack arms or dismount.
twelve men and twenty-three horses
were bitten by these snakes.
There was no such thing as fleeing
from the place or beating a hasty re-
treat, foT. the danger was upon US, and
the men, realizing their peril. drew
forth their ramrods and went to work
killing snakes. This may sound funny,
and after it was over we even laughed
at il ourselves, bat for a full forty
minutes after the first man was bitten
you never saw a lot of men work and
fight any harder than we did in kill
ing those snakes Not a word was
spoken. not an order given. but from
General Crook down to the mule
drivers every man fought for his life
against the myriad of reptiles that as
fast as one was killed dozen seemed
to spring forth in his place. and which
seemed to fairly swarm forth from out
the ground itself. 81
"The mat of decayed vegetation was
too wet to burn. otherwise We would
have driven them out by fire, and as
the case stood we simply had to fight
for our lives. Drs. McGiilicUddy and
Pachski had their hands full for a good
two hours, for as soon as a man OF a
horse was bitten he was taken to the
physicians whose names I have just
mentioned and who had all they could
do to save the lives of those whom the
reptiles had bitten. Fortunately we
lost neither man nor horse, although
several of the former became very
sick. and for a time il was thought
that the snake bites they had received
would prove fatal
well, when finally We finished the
job we had piles OF dead rattlesnakes
lying about all the way from one to
three and one-half feet in height. I
never in all my life saw so many
snakes in one place. Even after we
had finished and were able to unpack
and set up our camp in safety the men
were killing snakes on the outskirts OF
the camp all during the day-in fact,
for the full time We remained in camp.
which was from early that morning
until the next
L came very near being bitten my
self, and at one time 1 was trying to
dodge FIVE snakes and kill another all
at the same time 1 happened to get
right in where the reptiles We're thick
est and where men were being bitten
on every hand. and from the time we
began on the snakes with our ramrodS
it was fully an hour before we had a
place big enough TO spread a blanket
on cleared of these pests. Our pile
was the largest. for when we got
through Company G had pile of dead
snakes that was about three feet high
and eight feet in length Sergeant
Barr of our company understood how
TO kill a snake by catching the reptile
by the tail and popping its head off
on the same principle Of cracking a
whip, and during the battle he at
tracted a great deal of attention by
killing them in this way. After the
battle was over the boys set about
SHINING The reptiles. and when We left
nearly every soldier in the command
had a snake hatbaud-
Z