The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-09-03
Snake i'm His Shoe.

Mr. RUFUS ANDERSON, who has been
living with JOHN 7. VEsTAL, on the head
waters of Knob Creek, a number of
years, recently met with very curious
accident He was afflicted in his early
youth with rising on his right foot,
which has made it so crooked that
large cavity is created on one side of his
shoe. On the morning OF the Goth of
August, he got up from his slumber
and put on his shoes hurriedly, and
started to take neighbours hack home
He felt all the while something rather.
Gurus like in his shoe, but supposed it
was bunch of cotton, or a part of his
sock rumpled up. He came back home,
however, and walked about half a mile
before it troubled him sufficiently to
cause him to pull off his shoe and exam
inc. When he did so his establishment
and horror can be better imagined than
described, at finding black snake 20
inches long, rather uncomfortable stow
ed away in his shoe. The snake was
little stunned, but the cavity i'll Mr.. AS
SdNeu Hill llOlii uCdtbs VII thS
night of the same day, in the same neigh
borhood- ANDREW and JOHN MORROW,
with their wives, concluded to go to a
negro meeting, on Mr.. VEsTAL's place,
and on the way one of the gentlemen
told the ladies what had happened to
Mr.. ANDERSON that morning. The Ia
dies were so much affected by the re-
port, that they stopped on the roadside,
and pulled off their shoes, TO see if any
snakes were in them!
Young ANDERSON sleeps up stairs,
with the door wide open, winter and
summer, and it is supposed the serpent
creeped up stairs. He never puts on his
right shoe without first turning it up
and hitting it against the wall, so as to
give snakes chance to fall out.
Some people have had much to say
against the cultivation of cotton in Mid
die Tennessee, since the close of the war.
Before the war the people of Middle Ten
nessee, having no lack of capital, found
that stock-raising paid them better tran
cotton planting, and consequently but
few Of them planted cotton. The close
of the war found the price of cotton sew
eral times higher than the amount it
took to produce it, the people sadly re-
duced in circumstances, and not only
unable to re-stock their farms with fine
horses, mules, cattle, etc, but even
Obliged to sell the produce of their farms
each season. Cotton was planted then
because it was necessity, and it is
planted ROW because it pays, which is as
convincing as necessity to most people
We are glad to sec cotton planted, be-
cause it is the main source of our reve-
nue., but farmers should be careful to
raise cereals sufficient for home con-
sumption. For export cotton is the
thing. Without it the South would
have become bankrupt, or else it would
have taken her many years to recover
from the effects of the war. When the
land lies perfectly level, wo do not think
that cotton is much, if any, more eX-
hausting than wheat or corn. If the
land be rolling, the thorough cultiva-
ton which it requires will pulverize the
soil. and makes it more liable to wash:
but il is we'll known that everything
grows better after il than any other crop.
We are glad to hear far-seeing cotton
men predict that the present crop of
cotton, though likely not to be more
than half yield, will bring as much
money into the county. We are not
quite so sanguine, but still we are graft
fled at the prospect.