The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-11-09
A Snake Story.

On Saturday last we were asked by
Mr.. Jonathan Fulford if we had
"heard about the snakes" Wehadn't,
and he proceeded to tell us a story that
we at first thought incredible, but
which we were at last fain to believe,
and which we now know to be true,
having seen the horrid sight, and can
youch 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 inst, toward evening, a
young son of Mr.. A. Thompson, who
lives about eight and half miles
from town southwark, was passing
over 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 quickly drew with it
several serpents. The sight frightened
the lad, and he ran home with all
speed and reported his experience. He
soon returned, however, with another
lad, and found that the hilltop was the
home of community of crawling
reptiles, and before they left the spot
they had dispatched forty-siX.
The matter was now reported among
the neighbors, and on the following
day Messrs. J. Fulford, I. R. Graves
and B. Bessee went to the place indi
Gated, and began war upon the ser
penis, finding that the hole into which
the boy had stepped was the resort Of
hundreds of these snakes, and that the
hilltop was literally "alive will
them" They dug down to crevict
between two upright stones about tive
feet below the surface, and ther
fought for hours, killing hundreds, ant
still apparently making not the leas
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 1,776 was counted
and still the work of killing goes OF
from day to day. We went to thu
place on Monday, accompanied by l.
H. Smyth, and the astonishing sigh
of near 1000 snakes in one pile me
our gaze, with live ones still in appar
emily undiminished numbers upon tn
hill We killed fifteen in as man,
minutes and had enough, while tw'
little lads were all the time at work
And the work of killing has been 90
ing on ever since, until now we hea
that about 5000 have,been dispatched
and there are hundreds, perhaps thou
sands, left.
The snakes are of the species calle
the blue racer, with sprinkling o
adders, and vary in size from til
thickness of a mans finger to that o
his wrist, and in length from a foot
four or five feet. They run with re
markable speed, and at first were COW
ardly, endeavoring to escape, and nc
much disposed to show fight. The
are now, however, becoming vicious
and show fight, and at times get start
lingly aggressive.
| A reasonable theory is that the hol
| leads to cavern somewhere in tn
/ depths of the hill, where there ar
many thousands, possibly, of within
serpents; and that these have gathere
: here from all directions for winte
| residence. Some think that they ar
poisonous; others that they are harm
l less, except the missing adders,
l which are, doubtless, venomous. A
f all events, Mr.. Graves informs us thu
5 three horses that had graZed upon tn
: hill during the raid have had seN
} eral spells of sickness. -Concordi
| (Kan.) Empire.