Show the prospector and his burro the only good that I 1 can see in intoxicating liquor said the prospector to his burro is to have it somewhere about handy in case of 0 snake bite in an event of this kind it is and is wanted in a hurry there are very few however who keep it in camp with them who do not seem to ve be in search of a snakebite and so pack it about with them all of the time these are generally very resourceful individuals and if they cannot find the snake are apt to take frequent swigs at the bottle as a preventative they say in case they should be attacked unexpectedly by a rattler taking time by the forelock as it were the result being that during their waking hours they are not in fit condition for active and effective work men of this class in defending their drink habit claim that self preservation is the first law of nature and that if they are not snake bitten it is the fault of the snake and not theirs all of which goes to show that the regular tippler is always ready with an excuse even if it is rather a flimsy one you say continued the prospector that you fail to see any connection in what I 1 have been saying with the adlisa ability of keeping a bottle of whisky somewhere around camp and that you halt half believe that if I 1 have one I 1 have been canil sampling it somewhat freely of late but none whatever and to ease your mind on this point I 1 will state that the remarks I 1 have made were in the nature of a preamble if you know what that is to a description of an adventure I 1 once had with rattlesnakes and now that I 1 have tied a hammer to your tail so that you cannot raise your voice in unison with the coyotes who are singing a chorus around behind the bluff yonder I 1 will tell you of a thrilling experience I 1 once had in making an ail examination of a prospect hole that had been practically abandoned for years the prospect I 1 have alluded to was located up on oil the south side of the buckard range and was quite inaccessible it took me three days to get there after leaving the main trail and it was almost dark when I 1 found the old camp your mother was with me on that trip and the old girl was mighty glad when I 1 took the pack saddle from her back and led her to a small spring a few rods distant from an old and tumble down cabin there were mountain lions in the near vicinity for we could hear them and so she kept within speaking distance of the cabin all night in the morning I 1 began to explore the locality near the spring there was quite a pile of weather beaten quartz pieces of which I 1 shattered with my prospecting pick the broken rock fairly glistening with the yellow metal I 1 also found the remains of an old which was conclusive evidence to me that the former owner had been milling small quantities of ore on the ground that the prospect had been worked many years ago there could be no doubt and I 1 only heard of its existence through mere inere chance the former owners grandson having told me about it and how his grandal had abandoned the mine because of the existence of rattlesnakes which fairly swarmed about the place however it was late in november and I 1 had but little feir fear of encountering any of these venomous reptiles and I 1 could not see any signs of any around camp and your mother always so keen to detect their presence was as unconcerned and quiet as a decapitated trading rat so I 1 nosed around for the rest of the day and finally found the old shaft which I 1 judged was about feet in depth over the shaft there was an old windlass and the old rope although much weather beaten seemed strong enough to hold my weight the next morning I 1 prepared to go down taking candles with me having dropped my pick in advance taking a hitch of the rope around my wrists I 1 began to slide down noting the vein as I 1 went when my feet were almost on the ground the rope broke about four feet above me but I 1 lit standing and at once lighted one of my candles while so engaged I 1 heard a trilling strident sound which I 1 knew at once to be the warning of a rattlesnake tle snake from the bottom of the shaft a drift had been run in on the vein and in the drift about four feet from me I 1 saw several snakes coiled ready to strike the pick had lodged just beyond my reach so 0 o I 1 could do nothing to defend myself if I 1 made a move the snakes would stand up on their tails and strike their full length at me my aly but I 1 was scared and my hair stood up like knitting needles looking up I 1 saw a little rough place on one side of the shaft about three feet above me just enough for a handhold hand liand hold I 1 jumped at this and made the proper connection here hare I 1 hung for several minu minutes fes vainly trying to 0 o get a toehold toe hold while the snakes hissed and seemed to spring for my feet af after ter awhile I 1 was able to lodge my feet against the opposite side ot of the shaft and oy by twisting and squirming was able to get up a foot higher from which point of vantage I 1 was enabled to get hold of the rope knowing that the rope was weak I 1 only used it to maintain my equilibrium bearing my weight mostly on my feet after hours of the most painful and tiresome work I 1 managed to reach the surface and I 1 fell over the collar of the shaft in an almost insensible condition after awhile I 1 crawled to the old cabin where I 1 took a good pull at the bottle I 1 had brought with me believing that I 1 had been near enough to an actual snakebite snake bite to entitle me to a little stimulant I 1 felt like leaving the spot at once but by morning after I 1 had rested and recovered by strength I 1 began to get mad and the more I 1 thought the matter over the madder I 1 got then I 1 wanted revenge and I 1 got it taking two sticks of dynamite I 1 had in your pack I 1 attached fuse and cap and dropped them down tha shaft the explosion was terrific and about demolished the old windlass the way rock and debris came out of the hole after the explosion resembled a young vesuvius in action and when calm had again settled over the landscape the ground around about was literally covered with the remains of dead snakes for there must have hae been twenty at least in the bottom of the shaft the next day I 1 put on a new rope I 1 had brought with me and again made the descent this time there were no rattlers to be seen but the dynamite in its explosion had torn a great hole in one side of the shaft exposing a mass of ore that was exceedingly rich in its gold content for six months I 1 worked there alone only going down to the nearest settlement once anc le in a while for supplies I 1 also reconstructed ted the old which I 1 worked with your mother and another burro anthe on the sweeps and before I 1 sold out for to an eastern syndicate I 1 had taken out almost in gold bullion the mine I 1 is being worked today after all these years and has been quite a noted dividend payer 1 I want to tell you old long ears concluded the prospector just because a man may never need a drop of tangle foot is no reason why lie he should not always have a bottle hid away in case of an emergency A man out in the hills should be prepared for almost everything from a cough drop to a darning needle it is not safe to depend upon pure luck in this world even if you are looked upon as being a lucky man in cases of emergency it is always best to be prepared and there you are and then some |