Why John Muir Never Kills Rattlesnakes. Since He Guiltily Slew Two Of Them He Has Found They Never Strike Save In Self-Defense, So He Lets Them All Go Unmolested.

7 \u27 \u27 \u27 -W inhis new and very valuable book, Our. \u27.National Parks J\u27 John MuftVwho knows tne Western mountains-trettef-thah-any- -—other.man in the world, tells why he no • -longer kills rattlesnakes. According to his theory they are not the awful rnenaoe * to life that th\u27ey have been pictured. . He -declares that they strike only, in self- - defense. As he has tramped and camped in the Western wilds so many years, he —ts-certaihly an authority on the subject, Elsewhere on this page is a review of : Mr.\u27MW\u27s new book by Edwin\u27Markham, author of the Man With the Hoe \u27and Lincoln. Mr. Markham\u27s pure delight * in tfie book will be shared.by every natural L-rrTan and woman who reads it. mvm strike $tm m MLrmrmmM ute or two, save a tow, muffled; underground rumMing, and a slight, rustling at the agitated tress, as if, in wrestling with the mountains, -Nature were holding her breath. Thehsud- deniyf nut of tAft iidjtiagaJdkince, y jg_fftra?\u27gg.;. tdotlon- there -camaa-tremendous-roar .-h~ Eagle-RocfeT-arshjor t-dts tanceup - tbe-Va 11 e tt bad given way, and I Baw.it falling in thoii- aandB.of .the great boulders I had been study-., ing bo long, pouring to the valley floor ra a free curve luminous from frlctionTand making a terribly subtimo and beautiful spectacle—an arc of fire fifteen hundred feet span, aa true In form and as steady as a rainbow In the midst of the-stupendoiiB\u27roaring-.roek-atormT—iT-he sound- was inconceivably deep, and broad and earnest. tCi\u27prrlsat. 1A02. hJ Iimictatnn. Mifflin A Co,I OST of the da,ngere_Lb.a.t haunt the. _ unseasoned) citizen in the mountains are imaginary; the real ones are perhaps too few, rather than too many for his good. The bears that always seem to spring up thick as trees, in (fighting, devouring attitudes before the frightened tourist whenever a„camping trip is pTopoaed. are gentle-now, finding they are no longer likely to be shot; and rattlesnakes, the blgv irrational dread, of over* cLvilized people. * .* * Poor creatures, loved only by their Maker, they ore timid and bashful.,\u27 as mountaineers know; and- though perhaps not possessed of much ot that charity that suffers long and is kind, seldom, either by mistake or by mishap, ..dp-harm to any one. Certainly they cause no~t the hundredth part of the pain and death that follow the footsteps of the admired Rocky mountain trapper. Nevertheless, again, In season and out of season, the question comes up, What ore rattlesnakes good for?\u27\u27 As If nothing that does not obviously make .for the benefit, of man had .any right to exist; ns if our ways were God\u27s ways. Long ago an Indian to whom a French traveler put this old question replied that their talls\u27were good for tosth- ache.-rand their heads for fever. Anyhow, they are ail, head and tail; good for themselves, and we need riot begrudge them their share in. life. . r/ There are many snakes in the canyons and tower forests ot the Yellowstone, but they are mostly handeome and harmless. Ot all tourists and.travelers who have visited the Park\u27,and the adjacent mountains,- pofTone; has been bltTen by a jgnqfce of: aqy , idrt, while thousands have beenVcharmed y them. Some of them vie with the lizards in beauty of color and\u27dress patterns. Only the rattlesnake U venomous, and he care- hilly keeps his venom to himself as far as FACE TO PACE WITH A-SHAKE. aan is concerned, unless his life is threatened. . _ 1 —. -\u27\u27 Before I learned-to respect rattlesnakes . 1 Silled two, the first on the San Joaquin \u27plain. He .was coiled comfortably around a ( .tuft of bunchgrass, and I discovered him tCvi.wh.en he was between my feet as I was ; stepping over him. He held his head down ;; and Sid not attempt to strike, although in danger ? being trampled. At that time. ;, thirty yeacs ago, I imagined that rattle- - | snakes should he killed wherever, found. I had no weapon of any sort, and on the smooth plain tfrere was not a stick or stone ,, within miles; so I crusted him by Jumping. on him, as the deer are said to do. -Looking— me in the face, he saw that 1-meant mis- _ ontef, jiWlpny-cast-Mihselt-lBto a-eoli— . ready to strike in defense. I knew he could not strike when traveling,_therefore I threw . handfuls of dirt and grass sods at him, to - tease him out of coil. He held his ground a few minutes, threatening and striking\u27, and then started off to get rid of me. I ran forward and jumped on him; but he dre\u27 iWiis_head back so quickly my heel missed, \and he also missed .his stroke t\u27rne. Per- .. .hecuted, tormented, again and again, he retried to get away, bravely striking out to protect himself; but at last my heel came -squarely, down,sorel.y--wpundlnghim4and. h-k few more brutal Etamr-iga crushed him. I\u27felt degraded by the killing business..t . farther from heaven, and I made up my . yibdfodrHo-Hrr-fco be lat-leasfcas-fMr-apd-cfaar— itable as the snakes themselves, and to kill no more save in.self-defense. The second killing 2lso, I think, migjit TTbave been\u27avoided, and I have always felt somewhat sore and_guilty about it. I had built a little cabin in Yosemite. andforcou- . veriience in getting water, and for the sake of music and, society, I let a small stream from Yosemi,te_creek. into . It. Running v along the side of the wall it was not.in the \u27\u27:\u27(;way and it had just fall enough to ripple land \u27-sing In low sweet_tojjes_makinjii& ...llgStful company, especially at night whan-, l-TftfiSr-.lxingaarake. Then a.-few frogs canw ;in-and-nrade.merry withihTatream.and one .-jsnake, I suppose to catch the frogs. •\u27..; Returning from long walks, I usually brought home a Inrge handful of plants, partly forjstudy, partly for ornament, and set. them in a corner of the cabin; with. * th/elr stems in the Btream to keep them fresh. : One day. when I picked un a handful that had begun to fade, I uncovered a huge rat- .v- tier, that had been hiding behind the flow- :; era. Suddenly brought to light, face to face with the rightful owner of the place, :..;the poor reptile was desperately emba1\u27- ...raised, evidently realizing that he had no, \-rlRht In the cabin. It was not only fear that .-he .showed, but a great deal of downright isbafihfulneea and embarrassment, like that of !.a more than half-honest person caughi un- der suspicious circumstances behind a door. Instead of striking or threatening to strike, though coiled and ready, he slowly drew his Jg head down as far as he could, with awkward, ;\u27.\u27; confused kinks in his neck and a shamefacad -expression, aslf wishing the ground would l*-: open.and hide-him— I-have looked into the ,-..;;e yea. of so many-wild animals that I fesl euro,rdld: hot- mistake the1 feelings of the .unfortunate snake.: I did not want to kill ?-;,\u27-hlm,;Jt I had many visitors, some of them ;,;:::childrtn+\u27W I oftentimes came in late at g-Jijgfrt sp. I judged he must die.. .aee then I have seen perhaps a hundred ) in these mountains, but I have - J olliearihe. t sordid\u27Saprices of-ignorant and selfish men. A?S: .JHEETTEOl A FEW MORE BflUTAL STAMPINGS CRUSHED HIM. I FELT DEGRADED BV TJH.E KILLING,BUSINESS, FARTHER ; .. FROM HEAVEN. ;.. sLIU and lot him go In peace. he.caught sight of me he eyed me angrily, Jtnarleo From Japan. ?,, The only time I felt myself !n serious and with an air of righteous Indignation\u27 By far the quaintest and oleverest pub- danger was when I waa coming out of the seemed to be asking why I had thrown that llcatlon of Its kind In -the .local book mar- Tuolumne canyon by a steep side canyon stuff on him. He was so amall that I was ket m the dainty Tolume recently Issued by toward the head of Yosemite creek. On an Inclined to slight him, but ho struck out bo A. M. Robertson of this city,\u27 titled Jin-: earthquake talus, a bowlder In my way pre- angrily. that I drew back.-and approached giea From Japan. Each page Is whimsl- sented a front so high that I\u27 could Juat.\u27tbe opening fro.in the other side! \u27\u27But ha cally Oriental In treatment, and Is the reach the upper edge ot It while standing \u27 bd been listening, and when I. lookea Comtrlned work of Helen Hyde and Mabel on the next below It. Drawing myself.up, through the brush I found him confronting Hyde, the illustrations being by tho tot- memeaiiXhmghih danger of oelnisteDDed *? f,° ?y ?efd w8a abovc tfie flat top me\u27 sU wlth a =ome-If-you-daro expMa m9r the rhymes by the latter. From Onw.wWlwMonmyknee.WudHnB h.in h 6 °\u27 a C0 ed rattlor- My B\u27°n- lD I-fled to explain that I only cover to/cover the volume is consistently ono glided under tHe arch made by for L h ) flnQ he was Te7 vmit* m/ brM0; e stoutly .held the jar*neMi the folded leaves are of rice ™. Hswa. only golig away hoi the ll, S S \u278 * m™Mm anl *™mi * J™ .\u27 °f. f FJ W°Dt * d° D * V- **& ) • 1° decoratlon-ar. mmmi...,,._._** mOmffl&W. whe°my esdcamelneIghtwlthlnafootof rods and kept still lor half an hour and ,ttSlmwited\u27 by .equally\u27 fantastic Mas.. !L-5?fl..B.e!j? 5°rjl .d there .him..he did not strike. when! returned he had gdne. In verse. .JTh* book. It a collection of i not the ftiightest dAhger, because I keo\u27t The lant Tim\u27: ,* T .L\u27i j A. - *;~ 7.\u27 . , ~ — • -, \:-. * -s. • •.- ii -vm.-ii ,t wiwhod oi S .\u27 a. .\u27.- j. - . ; iaTr *ne(iMt time I sauntered ,through the One. evening, near nundown. u\Mn amu-ln uia)a - -l f „- By\u27 EZc3w.ni Markhann.- HENEVER I think of our Western mountains, I think with thankfulness, of four great names—Joseph, Lo Gonte,\u27 William leth, Joaquin Miller and John Muir—four\u27 men who havo done most Lo reveal our mountains, to make known their might, their majesty, their mystery. Keith is still placing their Immensities and radiances upon canvas; Miller is still living upon a mountain-top,, a client of Apollo.. Joseph Le Cohte, servant of science to the last, died last summer in Yosemite, majestic audience chamber-wherein to, confer with Death\u27 and Journey hence. - \u27 \u27 It is of John Muir that I would apeak to-day— Muir full of tho .wonder- spirit of Viking and Bedouin*,: going\u27from-place to place, gathering the story of the agonies and victories of Nature\u27s mighty world-building. His now book, Our National Parke la a graphlo chronicle of the wild forest, reservatidns\u27 and retreats of our country, their mountain history and beauty; their sylvan alienees, their flowers, their grasses, their birds, their, beasts, their many waters. It is an epic theme, and Muir has voiced it with a large and. noblemt- terarice. The magic of the book sweeps .us through vast reaches of time and space.. Indeed, on clbslng\u27the volufaae-we feel as though -we hod been walking with the early gods, in the days before the coming of these dim- seeing men—as though ,we hadwltnessed; the primeval world, the birth- thloes of mountain, canyon and.lake; Qlsciers, avalanches, volcanic storms/ lightning cleavings, earthquakes; league-long forest conflagrations; huge sequoias, too, that were already old when menvVere hewing the Cross\u27for Calvary—all these are spectacles in the mighty drama of the making of the mountains... \, e ./: - - \u27 -• * \u27 \u27 .—.••-. Listen -to this Impressive description of a midnight earthquake in Yoxemito: , \u27: * . \u27\u27\u27 \u27 \ \. • It u a calm njoonllcht Digbl, ond no cound wao heard for the flrot rain- \u27 NEW, ADVERTISEMElvrS. The city is full of Colds and Grip; every one is coughing and sneezing1. \u27 -- To avoid\u27taking Gold, keep the feet dry and wear warm clothing. A lighter shoe at night, a-~high-neck flannel set aside —just for once to wear an evening gown—are fraught with danger. - -~ A change from a thick business suit to evening dress makes many a sore chest. Going out of a superheated hou3e, hal church or theatre, is a freqaent cause. Ute care in your dress, avoid- exposure; carry and take SEVENTY-SEVEN ( 77\u27) Dr. Humphreys\u27. Famous SpeciSo. It stops a cold at the start and breaks up Colds-that\u27hang on. 51F]2?-WMCHFBEi Tills .\u27eleftnt oolldt fold-lftld liiiDtlni crsco wteh. lid or nnt\u27a M. IT ie.w*Ued ipnnv un.-: balance.\u27 f u I • . |unnicd. Attorlean tnotpmant. U a\u27titn /• to Mcb neraoii wiiinj oiir.Jetf#]r.v Hfiid. jour addrew nd we .-.will *nd IS piecei -1 9 •ell it 10c- \u27*ck.\u27.\u27Whcih •old imrt *.ndin wm rend .jm at Onc; prt, . . Jld;ftiH :, |iur*Qted - ... a OTDtt|:-: - witfh.\u27.---.-.-:-1.-: V \u27\u27https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/1273/thumbnail.jp