The Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake is the most widespread rattlesnake in the Chiricahua Mountains, being found locally in the Cave Creek Canyon area from below 5000 ft at the transition from Semi-desert Grassland to Oak Woodland just west of Portal to the Mixed Conifer Forests above 8000 ft near Barfoot and Rustler Parks. Adults are three to four feet in length and females mature at about four years of age. Color can vary from olive and grey-brown to golden-yellow and black, with the brighter-colored, more vividly-marked snakes generally being representative of higher elevations, but this pair from Mike & Cecil's home at the mouth of the canyon shows that even specimens below 5000 ft can be quite striking and very yellow. The "blacktail" is particularly common from Pine-Oak to Madrean Evergreen Woodlands, and although having a strong affinity to rocky terrain is an adaptable habitat generalist. Often noted as a crepuscular or nocturnal hunter, it is not uncommon to see blacktails moving during the day in milder weather, and in August I have seen plenty crossing the forest road from 5200-7500 ft in the middle of the afternoon on very warm days.

 

The reproductive behavior of this species is poorly known. In some populations mating takes place in spring and the young are born in summer. The pair in Cecil's photograph, photographed on August 10, show that Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake mating and courtship may take place during the summer North American Monsoon season. It is believed that in much of southern Arizona mating usually takes place the first half of August, but can occur July to September. Most females breed only every other year (or every three) and males follow a pheromone scent trail left by receptive females. After copulation males are known to guard the mated female from pairing with other prospective males, and that may be what Mike and Cecil observed as none of the series of images I saw show actual copulation, or they may have been courting. Some studies suggest that blacktails have a monogamous mating system. Sperm can be retained over the winter with the live birth of 3-16 young occurring the following monsoon season. 

EXCERPTS FROM THE CHIRICAHUA BULLSHEET 

The Chiricahua Bullsheet, an entertaining and highly opinionated newsletter and journal of local history written by Carson Morrow

Courtesy of Dick Zweifel 

November 18, 1958 

"As plentiful as fiddlers in Hell" is an old simile that might well have been applied to Paradise, Arizona and all the surrounding country during it's balmy days and for several years thereafter. 

Back in the time we are talking about there were no radios, very few phonographs and only a very few Player Pianos which were usually located in a Honky tonk and therefore not available for general public entertainment. (If you don't know what a Player Piano is, ask your granddaddy), In other words there was no canned music. 

But never the less we had music and some singing on about every occasion and the occasions were frequent. Seldom a week passed that there wasn't one or more dances somewhere within horseback distance and in between dances it was not unusual for groups ranging from two or three to a couple of dozen in number to get together just about any where and fiddle and sing a little. 

Mark Chapman was the head fiddler around Paradise, except when Ira Scheley would drop in once in a while from up on Blue River. Mark was really good but Ira was in a class alone. He had won the title of Worlds Champion Fiddler at the Saint Louis Exposition in 1904. 

When he showed up it was something like the Pied Piper coming to town. All the male population would follow him from saloon to saloon to hear him play and by night fall Ira would drift down to the town dance hall where all the female population would join the males and the grand Rompin and Stompin would go on until day break the next morning. 

While Ira and Mark were conceded to be tops in the Fiddlin Business there were plenty of others who could get the job done too. The Bass brothers, Hon and Del who had a cabin down the creek near Old Dutch Arthur's place made their living by playing in saloons and for public dances. Hon played first fiddle and Del accompanied him on second fiddle. he had the Palsy or Saint Vitus dance as it was sometimes call pretty badly, so all of their music was timed Del's shakes which increased in tempo as fatigue and excitement abetted by a few shots of Red Eye began to take effect. So generally by the time the dance broke up the dancers were stepping pretty lively. 

Frank Botete and Bud (Big Nose) Sanders were another brother; that is half brother Fiddlin Team. Frank played the fiddle while Bud beat out the time on a Spanish Guitar which sometimes had all six strings and seldom had less than four. 

George (Scotty) Murry, an old prospector who lived down near the Rube Hadden Spring was about the only musician around who claimed to be a Violinist that could play classical music. Maybe he was right but it was very noticeable that no one ever listened to him play second time if it could be avoided. 

Bill and Willie Clark, a Cousin Combination team from Mogollon, New Mexico beat out a good many thousand Hill Billy tunes at dances and other gatherings around Paradise in later years. 

In addition to all those there were a good many other lads who could wield the Bow and make the Cat Guts scream or get some rhythm out of a guitar, among them were Bill Sanders, Ralph and Roy Morrow, George Coryell and Walter Reed. In fact just about everybody fiddle a little back in those times except your Cub Reporter and Bill Reed and it seems like Bill would play a Jews Harp but he couldn't sing very good but he would try by moaning about Billy Venero and the Old Oaken Bucket as long as he would get anyone to listen. 

There must have been at least half a dozen fiddlers in the Kennedy family and somewhere near the same number in the Amalong family.  As we remember the Kennedy family there were Frank, Dave, Carmen, Ambrose, Cicero, Weely, Clarence and a sister whose name has been forgotten (Tom Stafford would probably remember).  The Amalongs were Harvey, Joss, Virgil, Elmer, Walter George and two sisters, Ivy and Gerty. 

Those people all did their stuff with fiddles and guitars. Generally at the El Dorado School House or at the Ash Creek School House or at the long ago defunct City of Light, Arizona. 

Sheri Ashley        Vice President                           Bob Ashley     Wynne Brown  

Mike Williams      Vice President 

                       Alan Craig     Rene Donaldson

Rick Beno 

           Treasurer                                

 

Rolf Koford         Kim Vacariu

Stevie Wayman    Secretary

                                               

  Cecil Williams      

FOCCC Board of Directors meets on the first Wednesday morning each month  at the Chiricahua Desert Museum on Highway 80.  If you have interest in attending or putting something on the agenda, please contact President Reed Peters at 520-558-2334.  All members are welcome to attend.