DID YOU EVER HEAR A RATTLER CRAWL? 



GEO. WALKER. 



During the spring of '98 I herded sheep 

 on the tablelands of central Montana. The 

 season was unusually backward, being cold 

 and windy, and for 3 weeks it rained almost 

 continuously. Constant exposure all day, 

 and often part of the night, had nearly used 

 me up. 



One day in the latter part of May and 

 near the end of the rainy season, the clouds 

 broke away for a while and the sun poured 

 down its rays with intolerable heat. About 

 noon my sheep camped and I improved the 

 opportunity to eat my lunch and smoke. 

 Then, as the herd remained quiet, I lay 

 down, using my coat as a pillow and pulling 

 my hat over my face. 



In the same locality and on the same 

 day a rattlesnake ventured from its den 

 and was, perhaps, made uncomfortable by 

 the sudden burst of sunshine. It cast 

 about for shelter from the fierce rays and 

 seing a dark object on the ground, ap- 

 proached it. 



I should, doubtless, have been fast asleep 

 had it been less warm. As it was, I 

 became aware of a faint pattering or 

 crackling noise which to my dulled senses 

 suggested that it was raining again. An 

 instant later the sound became more dis- 

 tinct and I noticed something peculiar about 

 it. Surely rain never pattered in just that 

 way. I could plainly distinguish a faint, 

 but constant, noise, punctuated with a 

 sharp and rapid crackling. There was no 

 mistaking!' the message that time ; snake ! 

 it read. Yet, while the sound grew louder 



and my ears were still attentive. I seemed 

 to reason thus with myself : 



"Pull yourself together, my _ boy, and 

 get up. That is a rattler and it's within 

 12 inches of your head ; maybe it's only 6 

 inches. Anyway it's time to move." 



Then there waved before the eyes of my 

 imagination a newspaper on which ap- 

 peared fat headlines, reading, 



"Sheepherder Found Dead. 

 Bitten by a Rattlesnake." 



Instantly I threw myself to a sitting pos- 

 ture, and thence to my feet. In transit I 

 looked over my shoulder and saw the snake 

 strike my coat. Then it retreated a few 

 feet and coiled in the attitude of defense. 

 Thereupon I got a few stones; also revenge 

 for my fright. 



The reader may conclude that I am of an 

 extremely reflective disposition ; that I 

 bank too confidently on the good old saw, 

 "Look before you leap." Be it known that 

 the time which elapsed after my hearing 

 the first sound until I sprang up did not 

 exceed 2 seconds, to the best of my belief. 

 One's mental machinery works rapidly un- 

 der such stimulus. 



There may be others, but until they are 

 heard from, I claim the distinction of be- 

 ing the only person who ever heard a rat- 

 tlesnake crawl. 



[ " Nessmuk," that delightful writer who for so many 

 years entertained us all with his pen, tells of hearing the 

 crawling of a rattler in his tent in the night. It must 

 .have been a most uncomfortable experience, but he tells 

 it so naively as to provoke a smile in spite of the horror 

 of it. - Editor.] 



Mr. Newlywed — Isn't there any ice 

 water, dear? 



Mrs. Newlywed — I know it's silly of me, 

 George, but you know the danger there is 

 in germs, so I got the cook to boil the ice. 

 — Exchange. 



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