It may be surprising to learn that Kate McHale Slaughterback (or Rattlesnake Kate) survived an attack of 140 rattlesnakes! During her early years, she had many talents that were unusual and usual. Kate had many challenges provided in her life and she was able to overcome them. Slaughterback had many adventures and wanted them to be remembered. Kate’s many adventures are still remembered and told today. Do you want to hear some?
Growing Up
As a child, Kate Mchale Slaughterback enjoyed unusual things. For example, she liked to wear pants (which was an unusual choice for women at that time). Kate was born on July 25, 1893 in a log cabin near Longmont. Kate and her family lived on the plains of Northern Colorado. Her family members were Wallace and Albina (her mom and dad), James (her older brother), and Roy (her younger brother). Sadly, five days after Roy was born their mom died. It was a big loss, but they put it behind them. They had work to do!
There were many things Kate did in her early years. Kate was strong, strong enough to work in the field of their farm. She was also very good at taking care of herself and of others and wanted to make that her talent. Later, she went to St. Joseph School of Nursing to work as a nurse in World…show more content… On October 28, 1925, Kate and her son, Ernie, rode down to the lake to collect ducks that hunters might have left wounded. She had to climb off her horse to open the gate and that’s when the first snake appeared! Kate was good with guns, and shot it. Then, three more rattlers appeared as she shot them. After, snakes kept coming at her and she kept shooting them. Even if she still had bullets, she didn’t want to waste them. So, she grabbed a No Hunting sign and was able to use that to fight the snakes off. It took about two hours for her to be able to fight off enough snakes to get back to her son and
