Rattlesnake Kate: The Snake Killing Women Who Made a Dress and Shoes from 140 Snakes

I first heard about Rattlesnake Kate when visiting Colorado's Greeley History Museum. On display was a 1920’s flapper dress entirely made of rattlesnakes with a necklace made of large rattlesnake rattles. I thought who would make such a dress? Well, a Longmont woman named Kate McHale Slaughterback. Better known as Rattlesnake Kate. The more I dug into her story the more I was intrigued.

Rattlesnake Kate in her Rattlesnake dress and her headstonePhoto byHeadstone by Colorado Martini and Public Domain

Katherine (McHale) Slaughterback was born near Longmont, Colorado on July 25, 1894. She was born in a small log cabin that was located about nine miles east of Longmont. Her mother died when Kate was quite young. So, Kate grew up with only her father and two brothers.

Buckskin Bill and Kate were pen pal friends. Buckskin Bill was the dime-novelist and poet Colonel Charles D. Randolph. He called himself “Buckskin Bill” the “Poet of the Plains.” He wrote many tributes and love poems about Kate. A total of 21 poems were dedicated to her. He writes of the love and affection between them. Truth be told, even though the two corresponded for almost 40 years, they were never lovers or had not spent any time together.

In Kate’s letters to Buckskin she tells him she ran away from home at a young age. She stole clothes from her brother so she could disguise herself as a boy. Then walked the railroad tracks all the way to Red Cloud, Nebraska. She worked along the way, slept under bridge trestles, catching minnows in the streams, and eating them raw.

During World War II she was said to be a Red Cross nurse stationed in Pusan, Korea and Nagasaki, Japan. Once the war was over, she earned a living farming, doing odd jobs, midwifing, bootlegging, and taxidermy. It is thought that Kate had been married and divorced six times. But only had one child named Ernie Adamson.

Kate' rifle, doll of her, handwritten poem by Buckskin Bill at the Greeley History Museum.Photo byColorado Martini

How she became Rattlesnake Kate

Kate earned the nickname “Rattlesnake Kate,” on October 28, 1925, when she and Ernie were looking for ducks that had been behind from hunters the evening before. As Kate dismounted her horse to open a gate, she spotted a large rattlesnake coiled up by the fence, ready to strike. She shot the snake with her .22 shotgun. The sound of the gun upset an entire den of rattlesnakes. Several snakes started to appear surrounding her and Ernie. Kate continued to shoot each one until she ran out of ammunition.

She noticed a “No Hunting” sign on a post a few feet away, so she ripped the sign out of the ground and began to beat the snakes with the sign. This continued for over two hours with her son on her horse just sixty feet away.

Rattlesnake Kate with two strings of rattlesnakes.Photo byCity of Greeley Museums

After Kate’s ordeal, word spread of the snake-slaying woman. Soon newspaper reporters were showing up at Kate’s farm. Kate took the 140 snakes she killed and make a dress, headband, necklace, and pair of shoes.

After the incident Kate actively began to hunt rattlesnakes. She used her taxidermy skills to make snake souvenirs. For a period, Kate kept rattlesnakes in a pen behind her home. She would milk the snakes for their venom and then sell it to a research laboratory in Los Angeles.

Kate's snake skin shoes at the Greeley History Museum.Photo byColorado Martini

Kate’s Outfit Was Lost Then Found

In 1979, a curator and historian at the Greeley History Museum stumbled upon a mysterious artifact buried in the museum’s storage. It was a dry-cleaning bag with a dress made of skins of rattlesnakes, hemmed with rattles, accessories, a pair of shoes, headband, and necklace made of rattles. The very one I saw on display when I first heard of Rattlesnake Kate.

Rattlesnake Kate's dress on display at the Greeley History Museum.Photo byColorado Martini

The Musical “Rattlesnake Kate”

The musical “Rattlesnake Kate” was written about Kate’s life by an ex-band member of the Lumineers, Neyla Pekarek. Pekarek is originally from Denver and was fascinated by Kate’s life that she wrote entire musical that premiered at Denver’s Performing Arts Center a few years ago.

Kate Dies

In 1969, Kate died of a sudden illness at the Weld County General Hospital in Greeley. She is buried at Mizpah Cemetery in Platteville, Colorado. I had the pleasure to pay my respects to Kate in the cemetery. She is buried next to one of her brothers. See graveside visit video below.

Colorado Martini next to Rattlesnake Kate's gravePhoto byColorado Martini

There are many generations of Kate’s family (Mchale) buried in the Mountain View Cemetery, Longmont, Colorado. Her son Erine (Ernest Frederick Adamson Sr.) made his way to Southern California. He died in 1990 at the age of 68 and is buried in Westminster, California.

I also had the pleasure of meeting her nephew at the Fort Lupton Historical Site. An older gentleman who made us laugh, told us tons of stories, and played the piano for us.

Have you ever heard the story of Rattlesnake Kate? Let us know in the comments.

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References

• Greeley Museums: The Story of Kate McHale Slaughterback
• Greeley Museum: Buckskin Bill’s Imaginary Love Affair with Rattlesnake Kate