Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-12-05
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Snake VS.. Whiskeu

-n"m Inc circumstance IL rolo+od
III letter 70 the paper above indicated writ
ten by Mr.. o. B. Stone, whom the g DEM
erat' says IS a reliable man, and tborororo
the story must be believed.
Mr.. Stone says he is engaged in d;st;Il;nc
and that his son Alfred is the chief man Il
attending the distillery. In attending 70 bis
duties as dibtiller this past fall, he began 70
be frequently visited by an uplv customer
in the shape Of a snake. lie was worry mnob
annoycd'by his snakeship. Telling his faith
er OF what he had seen, Mr.. Stone accomno
MED him to the distillery, but he could not
gain a glimpse Of the reptile. 1t would an
pear to Alfred on different PARTS of tho fam,
but moro frequently at the still house than
any other place. 1t being so remarkable that
nobody could see the snake except Alfred Il
became n general ncighborhood cossip-I
Neighbors came in to see what thew eould
see. They could see nothing like a snake.
Alfred would point them TO the spot where
the extraordinary creature lay-he could see
IL plain, Yfipable. gross, as n mountain. but
thewltnesscs could not possibly sec it. Pub
lie wonder was all agog. Guns were brought.
A trusty piece was placed in Alfred's hands
and he was bid shoot the monster. Taking
deliberate aim he pulled trigger, but 10! the
gun missed fire. Other guns were tried with
the same remarkable result. Alfred was bid
to point the gun away from the snake and
see II 1t would fire. lie did so-pullcd tric-
ger when 10! the gun would fire as usual.
These guns were never known to miss FIRE or
TALL half cooked before. Public opinion was
staggered. Some limited that Alfred was
playing OIL a trick upon them in the shape
OF u most fabulous story. They tied Alfred
and sprinklcd ashes over the floor of the still
house in order to see if snake would leave
a track upon its next appearing. They left
Alfred tied so that he could not possibly
make a track himself. When they returned,
Alfred told them where the snake came in
and where it went out. They examined the
busted floor and 10 there " was the mark of
the snake as broad as a mans hand ~ Thir-
teen respectable men saw the mark. -
There was great CONSERVATION. They were
convinced that Alfred was not %uttering false
hoods. He was advised " to wear Uoyer in
his hat" and when it came, to ask it in
the name of the Lord what it wanted."-
While thus invested with the charm dispell-
ing clover" he saw the reptile &" peep in
at the still-house, having u face, eyes, mouth,
tongue and nil, precisely like a man he per-
teetly knew, and all but the head was pre-
cisely like Il rattlesnake - lie asked it " in
the name of the Lord what it wanted" And
its verbal reply was that GIT WANTED To DE-
srRoY THE sTrLLING"' This scared him
prodigiously ,'
So much for circumstances. Whether it
is all a snake story does not become us to
venture an opinion. Respectable, reliable
men have givon-it currency through the pub
lie press but from it we wish to point q
moral" if not " adorn a tale"
Why should this serpent, the most detes
ted and odious Of all creatures, visit the still
house more than any other place? VIII.
should it appear to Alfred, the chief distiller
only I? If it was q messenger, either fror
hell or Heaven, why should it come in tn
similitudc Of n serpent? Why should it a
sumo the appearance Of both man and Sc
pent? Why should it " want to destroy tt
s%tflinc?" We have head that the Rockin
ham whiskcy was almost past the enduranC
of human palatc-but in our charity we h;
meyer conceived that it was SO detestable tn
s~erpents aud devils should cry out " again
the deep domuution Of its taking off, !
the aid Of the mystic " clover" we are gray
IL informed that its " face, eyes, mou
tongue and all were precisely like a man
Alfred perfectly knew" Who was it?
Was it the blotchcd face, the bloodshot ey,
the distorted mouth and s%lavering tongue
some poor wretch, wrecked-wasted-c
stroycd-doomcd-damue by Rockingha
whiskcy =? Mayhap it was the image of t
senior partner Of the establishment. Afr
says ii was call precisely like a man he p
.fscHy knew We arc at n loss to KIN,
whose " image and superscription" it w
The perplexity is very annoying. This sho,
have been written. The world would ha
been u whole volumn wiser.
Good Master above, send m%ysterio
speaking visions, whose heads shall be Il
Of men "pqtschy known and whose bod
and tails shall be as serpents, into every s
house aud grogshop in the land! May til
hiss out through their repulsive lips tn
mission" that they want to destroy
milling" until All men engaged in this
Aoly business shall be scared pr0digiouStJ
ray their mysterious faces always be
ace of perfectly known" drunken S
es. that their wounds may gape atrC
bleed like Caesars in the presence of tn
Nv and " scared" murderers. And p
= orphans. and weeping mothers, Q
yollen images Of all the slain of X
s. kindred compounds, present to the
Master, send the serpents upon
ePharoahs Of the still-houscs and or
quickly, that the children Of, not o.
nut all nations, may be free!
Master dust the floor with ashes t
'he S see the mark" Of the beast!
Master, cause " Cioeer" to take 7
t NJ up abundantly in their "ha
'"' nay see and see Alright
se11Ss,am's Magazine. for Decent
W. me- ~ ,pletion with elegantillustratio
" 80" ITrten spoken in commendat
Gr u ~ n,.ical. that it is only necesst
WI US US tL,t tho nresesent No. W