Posted: Thursday, September 4, 2014 11:00 pm
Valley Morning Star
HARLINGEN — From the Hurricane of 1933, also known as the Cuba-Brownsville Hurricane, came stories of bravery and courage. One of the best was that of Bill King and the Snake King Ranch in Brownsville.
After the hurricane hit the Valley on Sept. 5, Bill King stayed with his family in a brick office building. The Snake King Ranch had some 17,290 wild creatures within its fenced walls. There were five lions, eight or 10 mountain lions, a savage old chimpanzee, bobcats and javelinas, but the majority were rattlesnakes.
The tremendous speed of the wind and the power of the frightened lions allowed them to escape; they went on a killing rampage. They first met up with a pony. It did not take long for the lions to make a skeleton of the pony. One of the lions came to an office window that had been broken out by the wind and looked through at the occupants, scaring the people half to death: The lion had the pony’s bloody head in his mouth. Had they screamed or moved, the lion might have come through the window and attacked the family. Finally, the lion left and found a barn full of mules. It was not long until the other lions joined him. Bill King heard the roar of the lions as they fought over the choice piece of the mules.
Shortly after the lions entered the barn, Bill heard his brother-in-law crying out for help. He was in a frame building on the other side of the barn, about 50 yards from the office, and it was being torn apart by the terrific winds. Bill went from the office to the house in order to help bring six children through death’s alley. On Bill’s first trip from the house to the office, he was looking for an object to use for protection against the wild animals. He saw a board lying under the water, but when he started to pick it up, it started to move. It was a snake.
After a few more unsuccessful trips, Bill found a five-foot pole. When he got to the house, he discovered that it had fallen off one of its supports. His brother-in-law carried one child while Bill stood guard. They had to lean backward so that the wind would not force them off their feet. As they passed the barn, they could hear the lions fighting and killing. As they neared the house, a black streak passed between them. It was a javelina. Had it been a foot closer, it would have put Bill in the hospital, for a javelina tusk can rip a leg wide open. As soon as the first child was delivered to the office, a new trip began.
They tried to find the brother-in-law a weapon, but after they picked up the four-foot tail of a python that was over 20 feet long, they decided Bill’s pipe was enough protection. On the trip back, Bill stepped on a snake. The snake wrapped around his leg, but fortunately did not bite him. After a few more trips, they saw the house fall off two more supports. The mother and baby were in the house. Just as they were rescued, the house crumbled and lumber flew in every direction. Bill was hit by the falling debris but recovered and continued his journey toward the office. As they passed the barn, a female lion came out. Bill stayed behind to fight the lion.
As he raised his pipe over his head to get a good stroke, the lion heard the other lions in the barn roaring over another mule they had just killed, and the female lion retreated into the barn for her share of the spoils. Bill continued toward the office. After the hurricane passed, they had the hazardous job of getting the wild creatures back into pens.
No comments:
Post a Comment