Arizona republican., 1922-05-05
By Heck This Here Is Sure Some
CocEroach Narrative From Oatman
Rv Rohert s. poman


OATMAN, Arizona, May 1.-"Some
feIlers in Oatman say that cants amt
friendly to cockroaches." declares
sRattlesnake Charlie" "but | know
different. We got the biggest cock
reaches in the whole Southwest in
this here Mohaye county and we got
the widest domestercated cats they
is. Yes, and more of it, we got the
wust snakes whatever can be. But
a cat will stick up and fight Tor a
cockroach every time it's in danger
and 1 can prove every one of my
predictions.
"Rattlesnake Charlie" (Charles A.
Dix is in from the hills where he
has been sleeping out all winter.
Charlie, who makes a living collect
ing rattlesnake skins, reports that
this summer will be the best for
rattlesnakes and gila monsters in
many years. He believes that the
colorado river will break all flood
records in 1922 and that snakes viii
be driven up into the mountains from
the bottoms by the thousands.
Charlie lives in the Times district
near the Oatman gold mining camp.
Some years ago the Times district
promised to become a second Oat-
an, But # petered out. The entire
town of 120 souls was abandoned by
everyone except Charlie and some 40
or more cats which We're left behind
by their owners.
Charlie adopted the cats which
have multiplied so that now the dis
trict around Ward mountain. where
Charlie has a cabin made out or
gasoline tins, is alive with a most
ferocious breed of Toms and Tab
oF y4-af n a
nest of snakes and a couple Of noun
tain lions thrown in for good mea-
sure. :,
II saw a hot fight the other day"
Charlie opened up after having his
spring bath at the barber shop. i
gotta cockroach that's the biggest in
Mohave county. He's been hangln'
round ever since last summer. first
he wanted to sleep with me but he's
trained now SOS he hunks on top
the blanket stead of under. He's
a real friendly feller and won't harm
nobody.
Him and the cats got to be real
chummv. Sometimes they'd get
around him and knock him over on
his back with their paws and he'd
flap and flop until they put him
back up again. That cockroach is
the biggest and goodnaturedest fell
Ter I ever did see. Never seemed
to get sore and I'm positively GER
tain them cats had a real fondness
like for the old feller.
81 got to callin' him Willie. It's
lonesome out there in the hills some-
times and SOS to have somebody to
talk to I'd call Willie names. Me
and him was sure good friends
well, bout a week ago when the
warm weather hottened up the table
rocks and the rattlers begun TO come
out I missed Willie. Finally / found
him on top of a shelf in the cabin
hi6in' behind an old picture of Presi-
dent Garfield. Willie looked wor-
ried. 1 put him down on the floor
but he scuttled right UP the wall
again to the shelf.
'Somethin's wrong l argued to
myself. sWillie's been tickled the
wrong way I didn't suspect snakes
was worryin' him just them. How
somever, that afternoon Willie come
down from his perch and moseyed
out to a rock to SUN hisseh. While
l was sittin' there smokin' and try
in to figure out government prob
lens I seen a big rattler come out
from under the cabin.
sHe come straight at Willie. That
cockroach sure did some tall hump
in but it looked ike as If he was a
goner. All of sudden as the rat
tier slid around a rock hot-footin' it
after Willie an old Tom cat stuck
out his paw quick as that and ripped
the rattler behind the ear.
The snake turned and struck iIf a
second but pussie bounded off just
as sudden as a kids rubber balloon
Well, sir, that started the prettiest
battle you ever did see. That Tom
cat stood up on his hind legs with
his right paw stuck out at the snake 8
head Just like Jim Corbett tantaliZed
Sullivan. Tom seemed to be try
ing to hypnotic the snake with that
right paw of his. Every time the
rattler struck. Tom wasn't there.
He'd Jump TO one side or the other
and snip that rattler on the run.
Each time he'd open up his hide a
little bit more.
tom kept a licltin' his chops clean
of alkali dust and / seen he was hav-
in the time OF his life. / could a.
swore the old cuss was laughin'
to hisself. All the b-r-r-r-r'n of that
rattler didn't feaze him in the slight
est pertfekler. Meanwhile. poor old
Willie. the coclxroach. lay on his back
looking up at the sun and Hopping
around most pitiful.
Couple a times l thought the rat
tier would get Tom. Both of 'em
were's quick as a stick of dynamite.
Finally Tom gave the rattler a nasty
four-claw slice clean down his hide.
Tom sort of took his time. seemed to
me, and hung 1t on deep. After that
Tom sorta began to take it easy.
He watched that rattIer from sit
tim down position like he would a