Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-14
TWO SLICK RATTLERS
Two Tail Ways Meant No
Color in the Digging.
SIX MOVES A FORTUNE
HOW 'RAsTUs GOT AHEAD OF A
VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.
The Story Reads a Bit Like Fairy
Tale, but It is Inter
. esting.
SIX MOVES A FORTUNE

camp, an if it amt long enough, tie mine
onto it."
What for?' asked the youngest of the
prospectors, his beardless face looking
questioningly across the Goals to the beard
ed pioneer who had spoken.
WALL" continued the latter, IF you amt
pertickler, 1 amt. Praps we like to wake
up with a six-foot RATHER fer bed mate
amt got none O. these yere eastern preju-
dices agin snakes. but l must say l don't
like 'em to sleep with
The young fellow understood and looped
the lariat around the spot where the four
had spread their comforters and blankets
about the fire. No snake will cross rope.
Stars 1 am concerned" said one of the
men who had not spoken, we needn't
spread the rope. I've got perticklery
high respect fer snakes. an If one lonely
RATHER likes to bunk with me, he kin an
welcome"
Vas Bill, I reckon we've seen consider
able O. snakes commented the old man,
down thar in Arizona. I've heard tel as
the rattlers thar is mighty intelligent. an
they say we kin tame EN-"
Tame 'em.' exclaimed Bill. Eye don't
need to tame EN-; they re tame already
if ye only get acquainted with EN-. Now
thar was my rattler Mike what l had fer
three summers. as smart as any human
an if he had known just a little more
bout chemistry, I'd We had him yet, but
he crawled into a powder key, which start
ed rollin' down hill till it struck rock
an that the last of powder key an
Mike. too
What tricks could Mike do?" inquired
the unsophisticated Jim, with youthful in
terest.
wall. l don't know as he had any per-
ticker tricks, no more'n you nor l have
said Bill, but he was jest an all-round
educated snake. He had Judgment, Nike
had; We didn't have to teach him. He
could take in a situation at glance him
self. We got acquainted in very natrul
way. He crawled under my blanket one
night, an next mornin' when l sees him.
l seq:
Good mornin', sub" An then he nod
ded at me- an after that we was pardners
Mike Was Smart.
1T didn't take me long to rekernize the
fact that Mike was powerfully smart even
for a snake. Bless you, the way he took
to civilization was wonderful. One morn
in as l came up from the crick with some
water for cookin', saw Mike had got hold
O. one O. my plugs O. terbacker, an he
was bitin' off a piece, an then he chawed
it, same's you an l would. But the fun
niest part was the way he'd shet one eye
an squirt the juice through his teeth from
one side of his mouth, same's he'd seen me
do. The little cuss l larfed an larfed, cos
l knew he was maxim fun o me.
Wall, thar was nothin' really wonderful
about that conSiderin how quick Mike was
to pick up new ways. He was sinful little
cuss, though, an took quick to all my bad
habits. 1t wasn't safe to leave any bottles
of taranta juice around, COS he had
way O. gettin out the cork and film his
self Lord how ne would carry on when
he got loaded-jest Whoop around the camp
huntin' trouble, tumblin' all over hisself.
Most amusin, though, was the way he'd
smoke my pipe After he took to that habit,
I got him a pipe, an w'd jest laze about
~ fra ING an in
at each other.
But let me tell ye the real smart things
Mike could do. Ye never any man as
could smell color the way he could. When
/ was out prospectin' 1 always had Mike
along coied about the pack saddle Of my
donkey When I'd get to a promisin'
lookin spot ID jest unloose Mike. an he'd
nose around, an If he didn't like the place
we'd move on. But if he liked a place,
he'd just coil up an wink his eyes, an
I'd go to work. an it meant pay dirt every
time.
In Gopher Country.
"The funniest way we did prospectin'
though, was when we'd strike gopher coun-
try Ye know how thick gophers are in
some parts O. Arizona. Wall, Mike would
go along smelin' around the holes, an
crawl down until a little of his tail stuck
out. I'd wait. an if he wagged his tail
twice I'd know there was nothin' doin' an
Ia Jest take HOlu anu ydHk IuIl out But
if he wagged three times I'd know thar was
color, an if he wagged four times I'd
know he'd struck quartz.
Wall, one day we was camped in a big
ravine an l started cookin'. Mike he jest
lit out to forage. In about an hour he came
back. an l noticed he behaved in a most
peculiar way. He kept slidin' round a.
shakin' his rattles an a-hissin' between
his teeth like he was tryin' to whistle.
Pretty soon I caught on he had somethin'
| TO say, so / drops my pots an says:
Mike Was Slider.
eco ahead Mike, what is ito
wall, Mike jest slides out O. camp. down
| the ravine, lookin' back to see that 1 was
| follerin'. I kept close behind him down
| the trail, and Mike jest glided along for
| half mile. Then he left the trail and
| struck off into the brush, up the hillside
| Pretty soon he came to a small spring, and
| then he coled up. stuck his tail up from
| the middle and wagged six times.
Naturally Jest whooped back to camp,
| and came back with my outfit, and in half
| an hour 1 had PANIED out ten ounces of
| dust. I made $4,000 out O. that pocket.
| best strike I ever made. But you bet I'd
| struck somethin' bigger yet If that ornery
| little cuss hadn't crawled into that key o.
blastin' powder. Boys, excuse my feelings,
| but we was powerful good friends. was
Mike an me-"
| Bill broke off his story with a sound that
was suspiciously like sob. Jim sympa-
| thetically passed him over flask which he
| drained. For a time the partners lay in
| silence. Finally Pete, the bearded pioneer,
spoke.
| BILL" he said. Eyer snake was a powerful
| smart snake, an l should say he was the
| smartest 1 ever heard of, but / must give
| that credit to a RATHER owned that once
saved my life Otherwise should be willin'
| to say your Mike beat anythin' ever heard
| tell bout snakes.
Sentimental Rastus.
"Wall, this yere snake o. mine was named
| Rastus. He was most sentimental kind
| O. critter, an IL he was separated from me
/ for MORN hour SO he'd weep jest like
a small baby-jest open his mouth wide. so $
| We could see his whole innards, and bawl
| out in most sorrerful way, an the tears
would come outer his eyes like from hui
man. Then, when I'd come back he'd cud-