The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1877-06-28
JERR Y GREEEIN6's SNAKE AD.
VENTURES.

ISh ohola Falls (Penn.) Correspondenoe.l
"I kin take yur to place not nore'n
three miles from h'yer," said old Jerry
Gree ming, "where yur kin git all the rat
tlesn axes yur want"
Old Jerry Greening is the head of the
cele brated family of that name, hunters,
fish, and trappers. His farm adjoins
NJ adam Ponisi's, in the garden spot Of
the Shohola region. was in no par
ocular need of any rattlesnakes just
then, and was content to take the old
hunters word for what he said.
"They's lots an lots of 'em, but faint
= good time to see 'em now. They're
scattered 'roun' the country, iayin' low
for fodder. Yur want to come h'yer
some nice day in October if yur want to
see fun with snakes. They're holed up
then, but on sunny days they comes
out'n their dens n lays On the rock to get
warm. AM they don't lay by their
sells, one by one, nuther. They roll 'em-
sells up in big balls, two n three hun
dred snakes in ball. I've seen 'em
wadded together that way till they'd
make pile Is big 'sa corn-basket. Some
times all kinds O. snakes II be mixed in
t'gether-rattlesnakes, blacksnakes, pi-
lots, gartersnakes, milksnakes, an 1 hev
seed hoopsnake now n then in some
passels."
"Why isn't that a good time to kill
snakes, Uncle Jerryf"
"a good time to kill 'em? Wall, I
reckon tits. IN mebbe we don't take
'dvantage of it, nuther. You know
snake lie g the best kind O. iniment
for roomytiz n all kinds o ailin's like
that. 1 alters carry bottle of it." and
Jerry produced two-ounce vial con-
tanning rich looking oil of a dark yel-
low color. "That's pure rattlesnake lie,
n if couldn't git no more O. that you
kin bet you couldn't buy il"
"Wall, when the snakes holes up we
watches for these nice days in October,
an lays out to git in our snakes for lie.
We takes fails n goes to their dens Pm
tellin' you of, up long the Rattlesnake.
Thar these sarpints lays in the sun,
an at 'em we goes, thrashin' into 'em ez
if they was bundles o. rye. Then the
fun commences. The snakes amt got
much vim in 'em, but they kin rattle N
hiss, n squirm, an if they don't make
music 'aint telliR' We. Now'n then
some ole sockdolyjer of rattler III try to
git hisself in shape to strike. The flesh
is willin', but the spirit IS weak, an he
gives It up. We don't care bout any
thing but the rattlers, but we hits
promiscuous, and when we IN through
we sorts the blacksnakes and other wuth-
less varmints out, an buildin' a fire
fries the grease out'en the rattlers, n
takes it hum.
81 dunno where all the snakes comes
from. I've been bit more'n once BY rat
tlesnakes, but amt dead yet. Pve cut
chunks 3 big IS yer hand out'n my legs
where snakes had bit me. Mebbe you
won't b'lieYe that, but it's fact. used
to be reckless when I were young. Wunst
l were mowin' bog medder on my farm
in my bare feet. My ole woman came
down N fetched my boots, n sez, Jerry,
for the Lords sake, put these on. Yell
git bit by rattler, surep Jes' then
sees three O. the durndest rattlesnakes |
ever see, a-layin' on log not fur ahead
O. me. They war gittin' ready to tune
up. The ole woman didn't see 'em, an,
thinks /, Pll skeer her. So mows along,
an when were but five feet away the
rattlers sung out. Lord, you orter heerd
'em, an you orter heerd ray ole woman.
Look out, JerryP she hollers. Look
out, er yer goner.' 1 didn't say moth,
in, but 1 gin leap an come down ker.
flop right on ter them snakes with my
bare feetl Whether tux 'em by s'prise
or whether Istruck 'em SO they couldn't
git their selves in shape to strike, ]
dunno, but didn't get bite. The ole
woman were near crazy, n comes out
n puts on my boots. A little yallar dog
had were in the field, an he tackled the
snakes. Fore he got through with ZEN
he were swelled up like bladder, hi
were SO full O. pizen. 1 thought, Z
course, he were as good g dead. But h,
stuck to 'em till they war all three killed
Then he struck line for a swamp hol
close by, where the mud were black a
tar. He buried hissef in that, all bu
his head. Think, ses I, that won't saw
you, old chap, n left him there. Tha
night he came home as well as ever. 81