Colorado History: Rattlesnake Kate Kills 140 Snakes in One Day

A lot of crazy stories have come out of Colorado over the years, many of which are taught in schools across the state, but one legendary tale of a woman encountering over 100 deadly snakes and fighting each one off is far less known than, say, the cannibalistic tale of Alferd Packer.

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Keep scrolling to learn about Colorado’s legendary Rattlesnake Kate.

Colorado’s Rattlesnake Kate’s Background

Katherine McHale Slaughterback was born on July 25, 1893, in a cabin near Longmont, Colorado. Slaughterback attended nursing school and was a skilled taxidermist who married and divorced a total of six times, but an incident in 1925 is what would earn her the nickname Rattlesnake Kate and subsequent status as a Colorado legend.

Colorado’s Katherine Slaughterback Becomes Rattlesnake Kate

On October 28, 1925, Slaughterback and her son Ernie were traveling to a lake from their farm via horseback in hopes of finding leftovers from a recent duck hunt when they encountered an astonishing number of rattlesnakes that were migrating through the area.

Concerned that the snakes would spook the horse and throw her son into danger, Slaughterback sprang into action, systematically killing every rattlesnake she could with the .22 caliber rifle she’d brought with her until she ran out of rounds, at which point she grabbed a nearby sign and proceeded to decapitate the remaining reptiles.

In all, Slaughterback estimated that the ordeal took about two hours and resulted in the deaths of roughly 140 rattlesnakes.

The Aftermath of Colorado’s Rattlesnake Kate’s Ordeal

Once the ordeal was over, Slaughterback would fashion a number of clothing items using the dead reptiles’ hides, and after the story spread, Katherine Slaughterback would forever be known as Rattlesnake Kate.

Read More: How Project Rattlecam Is Revolutionizing Rattlesnake Research In Colorado

Slaughterback died on October 6, 1969, but has since been immortalized in a number of ways, including a folk opera from Colorado cellist and former member of The Lumineers, Neyla Pekarek.