Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-11-08
A wHoPPER.
Three Thousand Snakes at One
killing and Not q Good Day
for Killing Either.
Concordia fKan.,Emrirs

Concordia (Kan.) Empire.
On Saturday last we were asked
by Mr.. Jonathan Fulford If we had
"heard about the snakes" We hadn't
and he proceeded to tell us q story
that wo at first thought incredible,
but which We were at length fain to
believe, and which we now know to
be true, having seen the horrid sight,
and can vouch with sworn affidavit il
necessary, as can others who may
have visited the scene within the past
two weeks, as TO the truth of what we
have to relate.
On the I'd inst, toward evening, a
young son of Mr.. A. Thompson, who
lives about eight and half miles
from town southwark, was passing
over a hill on the farm of Mr.. Gibbs
Myers, neighbor, in quest of his
fathers cattle, when he accidentally
stepped into small hole, and draw
ing his leg out quickly drew with it
several scrpents. The sight frightened
the lad, and he ran home with all
speed and reported his experience.
He soon returned, however, with an
other lad, and found that the hilltop
was the home of community Of
crawling reptiles, and before they
left the spot they had dispatched for
ty-siX.
The matter was now reported
among the neighbors, and on the fol
lowing day Messrs. j. Fulford, r. II.
Graves and b. Bcsse went to the
place indicated, and began q war up
ON the serpents, finding that the hole
into which the boy had stepped was
the resort of hundreds of the snakes,
and that the hill top was literally
"alive with them" They dug down
to crevicc between two upright
stones about two feet below the sur
face, and then fought for hours, kill
ing hundreds, and still apparently
making not the least diminution in
their numbers.
Day after day this work went on,
until last Sunday, the dead snakes
were picked up and counted and
placed in pile near the mouth of
fhe den. The number of LIS was
counted, and still the work of killing
goes OH from day to day. We went
to the place on Monday, accompa-
MED by l.. ii. Smyth, and the aston
ishing sight of near 1000 snakes in
one pile met our gaze, with live ones
still in apparently undiminished num-
bers upon the hill. We killed Is in as
many minutes and had enough, while
two little lads were all the time al
work. And the work Of killing has
been going on ever since, until now
we hear that about 5000 have been
dispatched, and there are hundreds,
perhaps thousands left.
The snakes are Of the species called
the blue racer, with sprinkling CT
adders, and vary In size from the
thickness ola mans finger to that OF
five feet. They run with remarkable
speed, and at first were cowardly, en-.
deavoring to escape, and not much
disposed to show fight. They are
now, however, becoming vicious, and
show fight, and at at times get start
lingly aggressive.
A reasonable theory Is thattho hole
leads to cavern somewhere In the
depths of the hill, where there arr
many thousands, possibly, of with
ing serpents; and that they have
gathered hero from all directions fol
a winter residence. Some think tina
they are poisonous others that the,
are harmless. except the "hissing ad
ders," which arc, doubtless, venom
GUS. At all events, Mr.. Graves in
forms us that three horses that hat
grazed upon tho hill during tn
"raid" have had severe spells Of sick