Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1876-11-17
A BIG SNAKE STORY.
[From the concordia, Kansas, Empire.l

1
about the snakes" We hadn't, and
be proceeded to tell us story that
we at first thought incredible, but
which we were at last fain to believe,
and which we know now to be true,
having seen the horrid sight, and can
vouch with sworn affidavit if neces
sary, as can others who may have Wis
tied the scene within the past two
weeks, as to the truth of what we
| have to relate.
On the I'd instant, 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, a
neighbor, in quest of his fathers cattle,
when he accidentally stepped into a
small hole, and drawing his leg out
quicdl !, drew with it several serpents.
The sight frightened the laG.., ami he
ran home with all speed and reported
his experience He sooE returned,
however, with another lad, and found
that the hilltop was the home of a
community of crawling reptiles, and
before they left the spot they had dis
patched forty-six.
The matter was now reported among
the neighbors, and on the following
day Messrs. j. Fulford, I. Il. Graves
and B. Bessee went to the place indi-
Gated and began war upon the SER
pents, finding that the hole into which
the boy had stepped was the resort of
hundreds of snakes, and that the hill
top was literally "alive" with them.
They dug down to crevicc between
two upright stones about two feet be-
low the surface, and then fought for
hours. killing hundreds, and still appa-
rently 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 the
den. The number of l,776 was coun-
ted, and still the work of killing goes
on from day to day. We went to the
place on Monday, accompanied by L.
Fl. Smyth, and the astonishing sight of
near 1000 snakes in one pile met our
gaze, with live ones still in apparently
undiminished numbers upon the hill.
We killed fifteen in as many minutes
and had enough, while two little lads
were all the time at work. And the
work of killing has been going on ever
since, until now we hear that about
{, 900 have been dispatched, and there
are hundreds, perhaps thousands, left.
The snakes are of the species called
the blue racer, with sprinkling of
adders, and vary in size from the thick
ness of a mans finger to that OF his
wrist, and the length from a foot to
four or five feet. They run with re
markable speed, and at first were
cowardly, endeavoring to escape, and
not much disposed to show fight They
are now, however, becoming vicious,
and show fight, and at times get start
ingly aggressive.
A reasonable theory is that the hole
eads to a cavera somewhere in the
depths of the hill, where there are
many thousands, possibly, of writhing
and that they have gathered
lere from all directions fora winter
,esidence. Some think that they are
poisonous; others that they are harm
ess, except the kissing adders, which
ire daubtlcss venomous. At all events
dr. Graves informs us that three hor-E
los that had grazed upon the hill du-