- I wrote and presented this poem at the Medora Cowboy Poetry Gathering on Memorial Day weekend in 2023. Mary knew this man, he'd drive into her folks' yard to sit and visit and the event featured in the poem really happened.
Dan Panko aka Rattkesnake Dan
This happened, my friends, I swear it’s so
‘bout that time when Dan Panko,
thought his colleagues were insensitive
about not passing a bounty
he’d proclaimed so loudly
that deadly danger dictates
bounties should be paid on rattlesnakes.
He lived south of town ‘mongst the hills
where dens of rattlers send chills.
The only way you could dilute
the danger lurking in those buttes
was pass a bounty, but they wouldn’t budge.
As for Panko we’ll see they misjudged … >
the resolve he brought to this debate.
He knew he must create
a scene to change each mind,
cuz up til now they’d been blind.
They wouldn’t let loose of the cash,…
the answer came to him in a flash!
He went home and found a crate -
thinking, you boys in Bismarck, just wait!
He carried the crate to the devil’s lair
and stuffed stiff, cold snakes in there.
Then back to Bismarck for another session
where he hoped to gain concession.
He dumped them out on the floor,
… there’s something they couldn’t ignore,
And such a commotion you never saw
as when those snakes began to thaw…
and crawl about in the warmth of the room,
set free from their wintry tomb.
Some people screamed, everyone scattered
as if to say their lives mattered.
Panko, put them back in the box!
Yes, let’s sit down and have some talks
about your long sought after bounty.
You’ve so profoundly
made your point about paying a fee.
You’ve convinced us, we’ll agree.
Well, there’s the story of how Dan battled.
One headline stated, “Legislators are rattled.”
Panko even wrote a book,
explaining the measures that he took … >
to convince each and every man,
that he’d earned the name, Rattlesnake Dan.
