The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1871-11-11
The Home of the s:nnskes.

wlliri, Guarantees the truth of every
word. and gives the names of Il num-
her of distinguished public men of the
State as additional vouchers. 1t APP
pears that n certain Mr. Cummings
owns Il gypsum qtlarry near Fort
Dodge. and employs Il force of some
Twenty-Five men in the stone. He has
worked it only Il year or two. but ever
since he opcied his men have suiIel'edI
serious Inconvenience aiA. annoyance
from the myri:ld> OF snakes that have
2 sien in the crevice@. asd swarm III
during the Fail and ont in the Spring.
The quarry has Il northern exposure.
lie kind That is always chosen by
>ntkes a> Il den. ftol. the reason that 1t
Is not effected by tie premature tiEaW-
ing and freezing OF early Spring, aS a
southern slope would he. A. soon as
the weather. gets .efged in the Spring
and The effects Of the April sun i felt.
the serpent. begin TO show themselves
and the battle begins. From ont OF
the crevicos and the hooks Of The rock
the reptiles swarm. crawling up the
slope of the bluff. baSl>in@ i'll the sun
or Fastening away over the prairie to
their summer llauntS. Now comes
the tug of war: the foreman of the
quarry i compelled To detail two men
to light the liie!eotis things that the
men may work, ard one is kept car
rying away the dead in Il wheeibarrow
aud b.rying them so that the Hlln-
berlesS fe-terilg bodies will not breed
disease. And from all the surround
ing country, the SllalSe-htlnters throng
to enjoy the sport of killing snakes.
and in among them they go slashing
and striking until the poisonous odor
compels them to beat Il laSty retreat.
Twenty-Five snake, III fifteen minutes
l. Il common haul.
The editor of the paper III question.
iii company with number OF other
gentlemen. recently paid Il visit to the
quarry. Tie sun was just warming
up the northern S.ope When the party
arrived. and this Is the description of
W hat followed
From out of the crevices the snakes
We're crawling in all directions. and
..sw;tSh. "swa+h, went the hugo
clubs OF the two men who We're defend
lug their fellow-workmen, every blow
was the death OF Il snake. just 1T our
feet crawled a deadly Jnoccl-in, while
to the right and lett spotted adders and
clEtsers squrmcd AID his>ed as they
twined among the stones or escaped up
the bluff. Directly III front Of Us lay Il
pile of dead snakes as large as two
bu>hel basket, While OH the f;lce-of the
sloping bluff We're probably three hum
dred reptiles which had escaped the
clubs OF the men, ard Were. fastening.
away to the prairie. their elevated
heads and Writhing boslies transform
ing the bluff into no mythical Gorgon
head. just above us Oh Il ledge OF
rocks. was a huge adder !; Alr. Cum
miilgS took up Il piece of rock, heaved
it Oh him. pinnipg him to the ledge,
but the snake was game some three
feet OF his body was free. and gathering
himself up he would leap full at Us
with ali his force. Missing and opening
his jaws in Il way that made the blood
run cold. and, the next leap he made,
Il blow from our cane sent his head
spinning score of feet. and the bleed
ing trunk dropped to tie earth below.
The snakes are said to retire into
their dens about 2 z. II. every day, at
ter which all is quiet until the suns
rays again reach the quarry. when the
same thing is repeated. Two hundred
and Seventy-five snakes were killed
that elav. the number for two weeks
footing up $500. while it is supposed
that ten times that number escaped.
On the 14th OF October the snakes COM
menced to return and enter their dens
for the winter. when the same slaugh-
ter Is repeated. The ledge Of the quar-
~ is twenty-five feet in height, and
nearly perpendicular, and down that
distance they crawl, roll and tumble.
catching on a crag. and. with twist
of their tail, they disappear i'll the clark
creviees for their long sleep.
~ s.~1l -, f+I. Il, 81 Not
came unnoticed by the men they
were busy with their toll in the rock
below. The foreman was half stoop-.
for a blast. when suddenly across his
der. hanging and Kissing half his
length on either side. On looking up
they saw fifty or more snakes pouring
over the edge of the cliff. and crawling
down tie ledge. Then it occurred to
them that the 14tl day of October had
come, and for the next two weeks
swarms Of snakes kept pouring in.
This quarry with its den of snakes is
worthy the attention OF the curious and
scientific. 1t has doubtless for centll-
ries been a resort OF serpents, for. at
the bottom Of the ledge of gypsum
where it joins on the iron ore. are
found the petriiied bodies of snakes.
How long has this twenty-five feet of
gypsum taken to form? Doubtless ever
since the waters subsidized, the Shiny
denizens of the prairie have had their
winter homes in these rocks. and there
is certainly there to-day curious sub
ject Of inquiry for the naturalist and
scientific, as well rs Il subject ofhorror
for those who late the wriggling SER
pent.
Mr.. Alcott, who is hard rider of
the vegetarian hobby. once said to DR.
Walker, of Harvard College, g think
that when man lives on beef, he be-
comes something like an OK; if he
eats mutton he begins to look sheep