Evening star., 1922-06-11

snake was discovered. However,
things did not end in that way for
it was soon entirely out of the trap
and quietly gliding beneath side
board at one side of the room. AS
this was just off the floor on castors.
/ felt quite relieved, and was sure
that the snake would hide there until
the opportunity presented Itself, after
prayers, to secure it.
Uncle was closing and was about
half way through long and ardent
sentence with which he meant to close
his supplications. He was tall and
slender of limb, and his black cloth
trousers fitted him rather loosely. In
the attitude of prayer-that is, in
kneeling-there was a considerable
open interval between his ankle on
either side and the leg of the gar
ment AS glanced up, at once ap-
preciated the excited state of mind
evinced by my brothers. Both were
doing all they could under the cir
cumstances to call my attention to
something going on in the immediate
neighborhood of uncle's feet.
l realized what was up, for the
snake had come out from beneath the
sideboard and had already passed
ways up into one Of the legs of
uncle's pantaloons. In an instant L
was upon my feet and bent on pre-
venting a scence that would surely
be anything but one befitting the oc-
casion. But 1t was too late. My
sudden approach startled the snake,
which was bent on hiding some
where, even II it was compelled to
select the inner recesses Of minis
ters trousers.
A T the best, uncle was no lover Of
- snakes, while at heart he had
very wholesome dread of them. His
PRAYER came to a sudden close-in
deed in the very middle Of a SEN
tence-as he fully realized his pre-
dicament. There was an instant OF
ominous silence, which my brothers
and I easily accounted for, but which
the others took to be the silence that
usually follows upon the conclusion
Of a prayer. However, this prayer
was not destined to terminate in any
such placid mapner. for as the
startled snake shot into Its selected
place Of hiding uncle came to his
feet like a fash-in fact, stood on
tip-toe-as he uttered yell after yell
that would have excited the jealousy
to the limit of a bunch a Sioux war
riors at a scalp dance.
All the ladies were instantly on
their feet, and their cries were by no
means weak samples of what ladies
can give vent to when aroused by
such an unusual happening. The
rest of the scene needs no descrip-
ton. Surely none Of those present
ever forgot the experience to their
lives end, and at this writing I am
the sole survivor of all those that
were gathered there that evening.
X X X X
MANY years after this. having be-
AsA come an offer in the Medical
Corps Of our Army. I was attached
as surgeon to the 5th United States
Cavalry-the old I'd Dragoons-then
serving in the field under its COL
onel, Gen. Wesley Merritt. We were
in Wyoming, with orders to sub
due the Indians roaming over that
part of the country the year follow
ing the Custer massacre. ! was rid
ing one afternoon at the head of the
column with Col. Sanford c. Kellogg.
My horse, a dun-colored split-ear
from Texas, exhibiting the usual
stripes, was a wonderfully intelli-
gent animal, full of vim and pos
sessed Of great strength of limb and
unusual powers of endurance.
Rattlesnakes were very abundant
in those times and in that particular
part of the country, and from one to
q half-dozen of them were killed by
the men every day that passed. Dur
ing lull in our conversation my
horse suddenly came to a standstill.
threw back its ears, stiffened all its
muscles and Strengthened out its left
foreleg as if it were made of iron.
This unusual behavior was instantly
followed by the loud and angry rattle
of rattler, coming from the dfrec-
ton of the horses forefeet.
On glancing down. I saw at once
what had happened, for my horse had
stepped on one of these reptiles-a
mighty big one-a few inches back
Of Its head, and was now holding 1t
down with the foot. The body Of the
snake was tightly coiled about the
horse's leg, with the rattle going at