TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 293 



artistically arranged as a life- 

 like picture of an antlered deer. 

 The collection of these rattles 

 has taken a great deal of time, 

 as well as trouble and expense. 



"The last thing to which I will 

 call the reader's attention is my 

 seventy-eight pronged Texas 

 deer head, in which I feel the 

 greatest pride. It is mounted on 

 a shield, forming a five-pointed 

 star, on which is spelled the word 

 "T-e-x-a-s;" protruding there- 

 from is a neck and head of sym- 

 metrical proportions. Growing 

 from the head is a number of 

 horns, forming an unique cluster 

 which wraps the beholder in as- 

 tonishment and admiration. 



The Curator of the Smithsonian 

 Institute says: "'The antlers are 

 the most rema,rkable I have ever 

 seen. In the number of points it 

 far exceeds any specimen of which 

 I have knowledge." 



It is not within the scope of 

 these sketches to dwell in detail 

 upon this superbly illustrated 

 "Souvenir Booklet of Mr. Fried- 

 rich's collection (each photo- 

 graph being extra and separately 

 itemized), but the readers who 

 are not familiar with this grand 

 collection of native and some 

 foreign horns, and who will take 

 the trouble to visit this, one of 

 the most refined and elegantly 

 decorated establishment of its 

 kind, in Texas, visited even by 

 ladies — ^hundreds of them monthly 

 to inspect that gorgeous display 

 of deer antlers, etc., will be 

 amazed at the richness and attrac- 

 tiveness of this unique buckhorn 

 collection. However, I wish to 

 dwell a few moments on the in- 

 teresting and unique rattle de- 

 sign work, exhibited exclusively, 

 I understand, the work of Mrs. A. 

 Friedrich, in which over fourteen 

 thousand rattles have been used — 

 from the largest size rattles down 

 "to the smallest specimens nrocur- 

 able. Each line, each curvature, 

 and each dot seen on the various 



photo illustrated designs repre- 

 sent one rattle, or the horny tail 

 end part rings of the deadlv cro- 

 talus; and I was not surprised to 

 hear Mrs. Friedrich, herself, ex- 

 claim : " I tell you it certainly was 

 tedious work:" For instance, the 

 deer design, a miniature pho- 

 tograph of which is seen herein, 

 was made up with six hundred 

 and thirty-seven rattles : — a "Rat- 

 tling fine deer indeed: (this or- 

 namental design, under glass, 

 measures 5 feet 4 inches long, 

 and 4i feet in height. 



The three designs repre- 

 senting an "Indian and Squaw" 

 "Souvenir Books" and "Texas 

 Star ' ', cost the lives of two thous- 

 and three hundred and thirtv-five 

 rattlesnakes. The supposed feath- 

 ers, seen on the head of the In- 

 dian and squaw, were made of the 

 skin of a huge rattlesnake. And 

 then, the six advertisement de- 

 signs seen on another page, repre- 

 sent one thousand seven hundred 

 and fifty-one rattlesnake rattles, 

 and the letters of these designs, 

 as well as those of "Souvenir 

 Books" appear more like real 

 printed large letters than the un- 

 ique designs they are— -made of 

 rattlesnake rattles — 1751 of them ! 

 Indeed, a tedious but elegantly 

 artistic work! Likewise exceed- 

 ingly attractive are the designs 

 "Albert's Saloon," "Texas," 

 "American Eagle" and "Anch- 

 or." The sign " Albert "s Saloon" 

 is made of 485 rattles; "Texas" 

 Mr. Friedrich says, was the first 

 design composed of rattles made, 

 a strictly home production, repre- 

 senting 356 rattles ; the American 

 Eagle is composed of 574 rattles, 

 a bieautiful and tedious design 

 work of Mrs. A. Friedrich, as well 

 also the next work, representing 

 an anchor, which required 121, 

 mostly extremely large rattles, 

 and it is an artistic showing not 

 so easily duplicated. 



Mr. Frederich tells me a total 

 of 14,000 rattles had been used for 



