Evening star., 1922-06-11

a great rate. while the Intelligent
animal had pinned the specimen
GOWN, not Intentionally, but fortu-
nately in such way that it could not
reach above the hoof to inflict a bite.
A cavalry sergeant to my imnedi-
ate rear was off his horse in fash,
whipping out his big knife as he dis
mounted, and the alacrity with which
he decapitated that rattler would
warrant his being decorated. My
horse appreciated what had hap
pened. and before I could check ii,
out it tore on the prairie, where it
pranced around In curves and circles
for several minutes, which was Its
way of expressing delight at the out
come of what might have had far
more unpleasant ending. I gave full
rein. letting it go until the excite
ment was blown in and it cooled
down again. 1t was an unusually
! fine and intelligent animal, and car
ried me safely out Of not few tight
places that summer, getting into
quicksand being one of them.
! * x
nN another occasion, When l was
~ attached to the same regiment,
the column was entering Pryers Gap,
on the northwest termination Of the
| Big Horn mountains. In one place to
our left great sandstone and other
rocks bounded, upon either hand, the
old military road" Toward mid
day 1 noticed on the side of one Of
|
futtering in the breeze. At once L
said to myself, 'Ah, there is an In
dian buried there. and the skull Of
| that fellow is mine for some museum
in the east
| Without attracting an special at
tention. 1 dropped back to the rear OF
the column, where my outfit and am
| balances were in line. The country
here was rolling foothills or mark
| edly undulating. So when the entire
command passed over one of these it
was quite out of sight for while,
| being in the valley between it and
the next hill beyond. AS the last
mule went out of sight, trotted back
| to the cliff to ascertain whether my
suspicion about the grave was a cor
rect one. and, sure enough. it was.
! It was ali old one. apparently OF a
| woman, or perhaps subaduit male,
that had been buried In full costume
| in a great fissure that ran suhhori-
| zontally in the rock. 1t was twelve
Lpr thirteen feet above the ground,
and had been reached by slanting
rock that led up to 1t from terra
nj r.
citing my horse nearby with short
ened lariat.
When I got on the end of the slant
rock 1 noticed foot was sticking out
f, In my direction. and other parts Of
the skeleton could plainly be seen.
The drop in front of me was some
thing like ten or twelve feet, and the
angle filled up with a dense growth
of bullberry bushes. By balancing
myself on the extreme edge OF the
slant rock upon which I stood could
Just about reach that foot and prob
ably work the skeleton toward me.
should it hold together. If lost my
balance and fell, it would be only
drop of ten feet or more into the bull
berry bushes below, and, apart from
little scratching, no harm would be
| done.
X X x X
MY horse was quietly grazing and
A|I the day was clear and intensely
sultry. 1 had left my carbine and
revolvers in their holsters in the
saddle. So, balancing myself as best
| 1 could, I reached out to my limit to
grab that foot. 1t was just bit too
far, and in the effort lost my bal
ance and was compelled to jump into
the bushes below. I wore a big pair
of spurs and heavy leather boots that
reached almost to the hips.
| Well, the unexpected surely hap
pened, for no sooner came in con-
| tact with the ground below than the
| jar was followed by the worst rat
thing and kissing that ever saluted
| the ears of any man-prairie rattlers,
all sizes, whoppers and pgymies!
The getting out of that tangle of
burberry bushes was done in a hurry,
l can tell you! And you should have
| seen the ugly fang marks on my boot
legs-some of them up to the knees
| and above. But, bless those boots,
they had saved my life.
To get into the only shade In the
neighborhood, believe every rattler
for miles around had squirmed into