, 1860-01-23

Il. a. Glenn Estl. Of Brown County, Illinois,
i gentleman for whose veracity We eau vouch--
furnishes the followin. 10 the Schuyler Citi-<n.
was in thc year 1>Sl, there were but a few sct-
tiers Sou!h Of Crooked Creek, the whole terrific
r. now constituting the roputous townships
uf Ripley Ind Coopcr,owr in brown coun-
tr, then contsinmg only about tcn or twelve fam
lies. The attention OF the settlers had been
drawn to the amazing number Of rattle-suakes
abonndlng IN the woods, and also to the fact
that at the commencement Of wintcr tliey con-
Sresatcd at certain localities known Us "snakc
dcns,' where they passed the. winter in state
Of toEror. There were number Of those
snnke dens in the immediate neighborhood
Of which l an wiring. One Of the n,ost
famous being situatea on Section Is. n, ",
ncar the " Indian Ford on Crooked Greek, and
Known Us the 81 ltocky Branch Snake Dcn,' aud
another one about one mila Southeast OF Rip
lev, on Section ! in same township. and was
called ''logan's Greek Snake Dcn." These
d.ns were situated in cliffs Of rock, and we're
from their situation almost impregnabtc to
humun force; l say almost. for the sequel will
show that they were not fuitcso. think those
dens were originally discovered by the settlers,
observing the snakes entering them in great
numbers in the Fall, and learing them in tue
Spring; and the hybernating habits oil the rep
tile being well known. naturally suggested tile
purpose for which they rcsorted in such num-
bers to those cliffs and rocky fas,pesscs It also
suggested IL partinl remedy for the evil Of their
rast numbers, which. it wasshought, might be
rem. died by brcnking into their dcns, and de-
stroying' them while in tho torpid state. 1t
WAS resolved to make au nttemri of this sort.
and y DAY in the middle Of Winter having been
agreed upon and Dire notice given, crcry
man amt boy in the ncighborhool able
to work, armed with such mining fools
rs the county afforded, consisting Of Il few mat
tocks. spades and crow-bars, and the rest with
wooden handspikcs and axes assembled ut the
Rocky Den,' aud rery deliberately went 10
work mining for snakes. After several bours
OF a,ard aud perscvesing labor, the mining par
t. succeeded in :orcing an entry to the rocky
chambers where the reptiles lay, all twlned IL.
Eethcr in hidcpus nass, bnt al in that state Of
torpor in which they invariably spend the Vim
ter season. Eattesnakes, itack snakes, md
copPcEhcads, aud every variety Of snakes, all
mixed together, indisc'iminateiy, but by far the
the party had no difficulty il destroying ali they
could get nj, but as the entry was only, US It
were, 10 The ante.room Of the institution, and
tile main hall was entirely Inaccessible By any
means within rench of The party, by far the
larger part OF this irightfu GO immunity escaped
destruction. However, something over iiye
their Winter quarters and destroyed, most Of
then, rattle. snake<, aud many of them as much
rs six 1ert long and as thick as man's leg.
They were all thrown into one vast pile, aud f.r
many years their bleaching bones sufficiently
marked the spot. 4 few DAYS after similar
attempt wns made at the other den referred to
shove, with less SUCCESS, but still resulting in
The destruction Of two or three hundred of The
reptiles. a., p >:
Another mode Of DESTROYING chem adopted by
the settlers was TO watch ,tbc;f dens OH
the first warm days Of spring, when the snakes
first began to revive from their torpor. aud seek
the enliEeuing rays Of the SUI, and kill them Us
they emerged from their dens, which could be
easily aud safely done, as at the time they were
incapable Of escape or resistance. Ihnve spent
hours in company with other Young men Of the
nc;ghbo.hood. sitting with or rifles at the en-
try ne one Of those snake dcns, shooting them
a. fast as they, came out. which would be about
as fast as We could load and 6re. Many hun
dred snakes were destroyed iu this way, the
boys counting it fine sport; and after the coun
try became more settled, many were destroyed
~ hogs, who are the natural enemies Of the
snake, and by their peculiar rhy ysiological struc
ture are protected from injury by the reptile
So scarce have the snakes now become in The
Immediate vicinity Of Chose vast deos that j.
il very seldom one is to be met with but at the
ting g-ufBhich write, n man would hardly walk
hundred yards in the woods in the summer
season without finding ono or more.