While recently rereading my 1968 copy of Follow the Mount by Bruce Heald I came across this excerpt about Rattlesnake Island from the Travelogue 1968:
SLEEPERS ISLAND - Depending upon the course of the ship, left or right is Sleepers Island, formerly known as Little Rattlesnake Island. The island on our right is Rattlesnake and to the aptness of its name, it is believed to be infested by reptiles.
Some say that they have seen these reptiles basking in the sun upon high ledges on the island. Others feel that no one had really shown proof of their existence. Regardless, it was long hoped by past owners to establish a game preserve and indeed, now many deer can be spotted on the rocky ledges along its two mile length.
Even today, few people dare set foot on this island because of wild game, but more because of the reptiles in the crags of the rocky ledges. According to early owners, Dr. Arthur Libby, son of the founder of Libby Museum, was the only man who was supposed to have been bitten by these snakes, and he recovered. They tell us that "Doc" Libby used to trap them and send them all over the United States. Which story do you want to believe?
This island is one of the largest in the lake and has the highest elevation of any of the islands, rising to a height of 390 feet above the lake. The elevation of the lake itself is 504 feet above sea level.
A first edition copy of
Follow the Mount can be found at Abe Books for $40.
Rattlesnake Island
An early postcard of The Broads side of Rattlesnake Island.
Unused, no date. (Would have cost 1 cent to mail.)
Rattlesnake Island from the gallery of
McDude