The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-01-08
Two Ways OF the Tale Indicated
There Was No Color1in
the Digging.
BUT SIX a FORTUNE
Rastus Tslls How He Arrived Com.
fortably Abe ad Of . Vigilance
cemmittss-story May Not
BE True, But It's Good.

turn In loop yer lariat round the camp,
an II 1t amt long enough, tie mine
onto it."
What for?" asked the youngest of
the prospectors. his beardless face look
ing questioningly across the Goals to
the bearded pioneer who had spoken.
WALL" continued the latter, IF you
amt p%ertickler, I amt. P'raps We like
TO wake up with a six-foot rattler fer
bed mate. I amt got none o. these
we're eastern ~prejudices agin snakes.
but I must say I don't like EN- to sleep
with"
The young fellow understood and
the four had spread their colnforters
and blankets about the fire. No snake
will cross a rope.
Stars I am concerned" said one OF
the men who had not spoken, we
needn't spread the rope. I've got a
perticklery high respect fer snakes,
an II one lonely RATHER likes to bunk
with me. he kin an welcome"
Vas, Bill. 1 reckon we've seen consid-
cradle o. snakes" commented the old
man. down thar in Arizona. I've heard
tell as the rattlers thar is mighty In
telltgent. an they say We kin tame
EN-"
Tame emf" exclaimed Bill. Eye
don't need to tame 'em; they're tame
already, If We only get acquainted with
en-. Now. thar was my rattler Mike.
what I had fer three summers, as
smart as n human, an If he had
known just a little more bout chem
istry, I'd We had him yet, but he crawl
ed into a powder key, which started
rollin' down hill till it struck a rock,
an that was the last of powder key
an Mike, too"
What tricks could Mike do? in
CURED the unsophisticated Jim. with
youthful interest.
Wall, I don't know as he had any
perttckler tricks. no more'n you nor I
have" said Bill, but he was jest an
all-round educated snake. He had
Judgment, Mike had; We didn't have to
teach him. He could take in a situa-
ton at a glance himself. We got ac-
Quainted in a very natrul way. He
w under my blanket one night,
an next mornin', when / sees him, /
seq:
"'Good mornin', subj An then he
nodded at me, an after that we was
%pardners.
the fact that Mike was powerfully
smart. even for a snake. Bless you,
the way he took to civilization was
wonderful. One mornin', as I came up
from the ciick with some water for
cooktn', I saw Mike had got hold of one
o my plugs o. terbacker, an he was
bit!n' off a piece, an then he chawed 1t.
same's you an I would. But the fun
niest part vas 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.
I larfed an larted, eos I knew he was
a maxim fun o. me.
Wall, thar was noIhln' really Won
derful about that considerin' how
Mike was to pick up new ways.
He was a sinful little cuss, though. an
took quick to all my bad habits. 1t
wasn't safe to leave any bottles OF
taranta juice around, eos he had a way
Q 'gettin' out h cork an film hisself.
Lord. now he would carry on when he
got loaded-jest whoop around the
camp huntin' trouble, tumblin' 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 we'd
Jest laze about the fire o. e%venin's, puff
I'M away an winkin' at each other.
But let me tell we the real smart
things Mike could do. Ye never saw
any man as could smell color the way
could. When 1 was out prospectin'
! always had Mike along, coiled about
the pack saddle Of my donkey. When
I'd get a promisin' lookin' spot, I'd
Jest unloese Mike, an he'd nose around,
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
to work, an it e pay dirt every
time.
In Gopher Country.
The funniest way we did p%rospectin',
country. Ye' know how thick gophers
are In some parts O. Arizona. Wall.
Mike would go along smellin' around
the holes, an crawl down until a little
of his tail stuck out. I'd wait, an II
he wagged his tail twice I'd know there
nothin' dom; an I'd jest take
hold and yank him 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 I started cookin'. Mike
ne jest lit out to forage. In about an
hour he came back. an I noticed he be-
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 1 drops
pots an says:
&C ahead Mike, what is it?"
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 a 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
coiled up, stuck his tail up from the
middle and wagged 1t six times.
Naturally, I jest whooped back to
camp, n came back with my outfit,
and IN half an hour I had panned out
ten ounces of dust. I made 500, 900 out
o. that pocket, best strike l ever made.
But you bet I'd struck somethin' big
ger yet If that ornery little cuss hadn't
crawled into that key o. blastins pow
der. 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 a sob. Jim
sympathet.cally passed him over a flash,
which he drained. For a time the part
ners lay in silence. Finally Pete, h
bearded pioneer, spoke.
BILL" he said, yer snake was a pow
erful smart snake, an I should say he
was the smartest I ever heard of, but I
must give that credit to a rattler 1 owned
that once saved my life. Otherwise /
should be willin' to say your Mike beat
anythin' I ever heard tell bout snakes.
Wall, this yere snake o. min was
NAmed Rastus. He was n most senti.