In the Midst of Fangs

In the Midst of Fangs

By Claude T. Barnes

"Sit down, my lad, on this stone, and I will relate an incident that illustrates what I mean by 'the unexpected in nature,' " said Harry Carroll, a man long accustomed to the wilds, to Walter Janes, his companion. "Sometimes merely to recall the half hour that I am going to tell you about causes a shudder to creep over me,"continued Harry after they were comfortably seated. "Its occurrence was, as you will see, wholly unexpected; and had it not been for a calmness resulting from more or less frequent encounters with dangerous wild animals, I probably never should have survived to tell the story." "It was a sultry afternoon in July when, equipped with field glasses and a small rifle, I repaired to one of the Bonneville flats of the Wasatch mountains to observe such plant and animal life as would especially appeal to me. The air was vibrant with heatwaves; horned lizards scampered about the warm stones of the hillside; and occasionally a red-winged locust stridulated from me. Western meadowlarks, mourning doves, bank swallows, and sparrows appeared, but they were songless." "I stopped for a moment beside a thistle, admiring its beautiful, pale lilac flowers, and noting with interest the manner in which ants attempted to crawl the woolly stock. The old couplet came to my mind: 'Fain would I climb, yet fear I to fall; If thy heart fail thee, climb not at all.'

"Yellow balsam roots grew in profusion about me; and once I chanced upon a milkweed adorned with lovely, purplish flowers. Yet for the most part dry June grass and stunted sage brush comprised the vegetation." "As I thus meditated and strolled, I saw a bird wheeling slowly in the air nearly a half mile away. With the aid of the glasses I perceived that it was one of our larger hawks. I walked along the hillside towards it, knowing that such birds frequently soar for an hour or more over the same vicinity." "As I approached nearer, I was delighted to find it to be that very useful species, a Swainson hawk. I had always desired to observe this bird at close hand while in its natural environs;

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so when it flew to the futher side of a cliff of rocks and rested on a boulder, 1 saw that my opportunity had come. I quickly descended to the flat; and by keeping the bluff between myself and the bird, I rapidly approached. As I came to the rocky abutment which I noticed was of shale formation marked with several ledges and holes, I saw the splendid bird preening itself about a hundred yards away. I instantly dropped to my hands and knees and crawled towards it." "As I reached the very bottom of the cliff, I was in the act of slowly raising myself to get the desired view, when suddenly from about two yards away there came the ever terrifying 'burrr-r' of a Pacific rattlesnake. With no more thought of the hawk, I sprang to my feet; but the sudden movement on my part had a most fearful result. 'Burr-r-r,' 'burr-r-r,' 'burr-r-r' came the awful sounds from as many different directions, and I realized to my horror that I was actually in the midst of a nest of coiled rattlesnakes." "I dared not move lest fangs be driven into my legs. I did, however, slowly turn my head only to shudder at the many horrid reptiles vigorously burring with that most sinister of all sounds. One was actually crawling across a place whereon my foot had trodden; so, retreat was out of the question." "About four feet away stood a slanting boulder less than a yard high; and as I could see that no snakes were on its top, I slowly bent, and with a tremendous spring landed upon it. Never again do I want to face such a nest of angry rattlers as this leap aroused. It seemed that several of them previously unaware of my presence writhed into position and sprang up towards me from the gravel on the further side of the rock. I had heard of similiar dens of rattlesnakes and knew them to be usually on the ledges of sunny cliffs; but I had not thought it possible to become actually surrounded by the dreadful things without being aware of it. Still I knew that a snake hears imperfectly, probably by vibrations that affect its sensitive tongue, as it has no external ears. A rattlesnake can at best spring only the distance of the length of its coil; but some of the fangs came alarmingly near my feet. There now seemed dozens of the revolting serpents about me, each inflated body thrown into a gracefully symmetrical coil, with arched neck supporting a heart-shaped head from the tremulous lips of which a tongue slowly waved. Each tail pointed upward by the head and vibrated with an incessant, threatening rattle." "As one of the buzzing reptiles sprang at me, its fangs struck the rock and emitted two tiny jets of venom across my boot. Fearing lest one would reach me I unfastened a wire cleaning rod, with which I began to strike at them. Their fury

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seemed only to increase in intensity, though I was surprised at the ease with which I could stun them. Every rattlesnake I had come upon elswhere had invariably tried to get away after its first strike; but whether from the audacity of numbers or the lack of a convenient retreat I cannot say, yet these kept about me with desperate persistence. I knew that in August they become blind; but the slightest movement on my part now provoked without fail new springs and more vigorous burrs." "Then to my consternation one of them began to crawl slowly up the sloping side of the rock. I whacked at its head driving it back. Then gradually the most sickening, repulsive odor imaginable began to pervade the air. I can liken it only to the stench of a pig sty; but it was more pungent, nauseous and loathsome. I surmised that it was either their breaths or the emanation from the venom; at any rate, I could perceive that it was affecting me, and that unless help soon came I might faint among the burring coils below me." "I grasped my .22 rifle and fired at head after head. The smell of the powder had a neutralizing effect and I shot with growing calmness and better aim. Ten or more of the heartshaped heads I struck and many more bodies writhed away in pain. Strange to relate the fire of the gun had almost an equal effect whether the bullet struck or not, and soon to my great joy I found that the threatening assemblage was decreasing. Several times I reloaded the magazine and continued to shoot rapidly. I chose one side of the rock and shot away a swath; and the last bullet was gone. I hesitated but a second and took a tremendous jump forward. As my foot struck the ground the second time a rattler which I had not previously seen sprang at the side of my boot; and to my dismay remained fastened there dangling and writhing about my leg as I ran. I stopped aghast. Its fangs were caught in a buckle strap and in its efforts to extricate itself, it actually shook itself like a furious dog. I pushed it off with the gun, its fangs snapping as it fell helpless to the ground. I rushed on for a distance of fifty yards or more, and with gloved hand pulled out the broken fangs which to my great fortune had not penetrated the flesh. Safe at last I sank to the ground utterly exhausted." "My! what an awful adventure!" Walter exclaimed. "Yes," said Harry, "but it proves that one can never tell what any animal will do under peculiar circumstances. Now. if you will pick up your gun we will stroll on."

© Underwood & Underwood, New York

AMIENS This is a panoramic view of Amiens, the great British railroad center on the Western front, which the Germans are driving for. The famous Cathedral is shown in the background. Fighting of the most desperate nature has been waged for weeks in the present locality about Amiens, but the faith in the Allied arms is great that the Germans will be held.