The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-04-02
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slme to time, dark witnesses of creations
5us. taseIui mystery, loathsom, reptiles bearing
ana In 10 tneir fangs, malice In their hearts
and rattles on their tailsi
90 Sa,nn ne .ne workmen were blilding this mill
e a. oa'Inon Falls on the Westfirld river. one of
ants ~, awning outcasts of creation, descend
nowned ~ uoEot OF that 'pesky sarpent' re.
nowned In Sprngfelds ancient ballad crent
uhawares within reach oe Nj basal,e.I icp'
AS MS great ancestor was merciless 90 rsre
MS captors. He was bearen ,T;,h -
mauied with stones till he lay linn and He
! less, put horrid still. Brought TINS ne,r III
Duilding ne was laid prone on piece of finn.
Der, an op)ect OF curiosity and m-rited dis
gust At length, moved by that Caution
which breads a fallen foe, or by a strange
though not uncommon spite, one of the ,nen
chopped off the head-tbe fiat, evil skull,
hard filmy eyes, the jaws closed erimly upon
the cruel fangs within chopped it off and
brusl ed il away. Later, tae engineer COM
ing out, thought to save the taper chain of
rattles. CHASTITY memento. But these bad
just been severed from the lifeless trunk,
which still lay bruised and beedir g where it
had been thrown.
Among those looking on, boy stood near
IN homespun dress, stout boots enve.Oping
ms pants. A gray-haired denizen of tbe re-
gion, drawing nigh, bale the youngster
stamp on the serpent's tail. Nothing loath,
tne heavy boot me down where the rattles
USED TO grow-came down and, straitway, up
It came, while sicky pallor blaneh,d be-
meath the tan and wholesome dirt No won
der! The spirited, sly snake'' had been
dfinking sunshine, as he lay ou stretched, and,
manged as he was, had gathered strength to
resent the insult, as instinct prompted him.
Quicker th a liberated spring his head
less trunk trunk struck the offending boot
with the same malicious violence as when the
poison fangs were were set erect to do its ia
tai bidding! Happily,the head was quite sew
cred from the body, and lay in the dirt sever
al feet away.
It's not pleasant to tread on sprgbtly rat
tle-snake, even though one wear thick boots
aud the reptile has neither head nor tail. So
these unsclentifc investigators pursued their
experiment with piece of board, but twas
quite conclusive. Every time the smaller end
of body was struck the other retaliated
with spiteful blow.
Surely strange phenomenon, from which
interesting theories might be drawn aside
from the obvious caution-don't handle rat
tlesnakes till their heads are taken off; but
who shall say what occult law of life's deep
mystery is shadowed in fact like this? ''As
often as that ghostly carcass C )iled and struck
the offending boot, so often, and at the self
same instant, the grim, repul i've head. lying
discovered in the dust, opened its jaws, the
deadly fangs protruding, and closed them
with a snapv' Again and again, this was
done till the broken aud divided-or was it
the indefinitely extended ?-ghost of the rep
tile, at last departed.
Whoever wishes to satisfy himself of the
truth of this relation can easily do so. Al.
ways the belief or unbelief of those who do
not care TO investigate is matter of no i'm
portar ce. -SprinQfeld Republican.