The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-07-14
A Michigan Snake Charmer.

Last Friday evening Blade reporter
CHANGED to be in a small village called
Ransom, in Hillsdale County, eight miles
south of the station on the Lake Shore
& Michigan Southern Railway called
Osseo. 1t is the center of a rich agricut-
ural district, and at the stores, where
the commerce of the neighborhood is
carried on, center of a night the young
men, boys, and perchanCe old men, to
make their purchases, compare crop re.
ports, and have a little rest, relaxation
and knife trading. On the evening in
question quite goodly crowd had been
assembled, when there sauntered into the
group a short, medium thick-set young
man. His movements were almost as
leisurely as the progress of the hour
hand of a dumb watch, and he seemed at
ease anywhere. He sat down on the
platform in front of one of the stores
and kept his seat but a moment, when
he struck his coat pocket quite smartly
two or three times and said: Behave
yourself and lie still there" 1t was sup
posed that he had kitten confined in
the depths of his pocket, and some one
asked why he did not let it out. He
smiled, and said perhaps the crowd
would object, as it was not very at
tractive animal. They urged him to let
the cat out so strongly that he requested
them to stand back so that it would not
hurt them, and then, pulling apart his
pocket, he said coyly to his pet that it
should come out and have some fresh
air. =
With the lightning-like movement of
its species, there glided from his pocket
a monster snake of the blue-racer varie-
ty, which, in that section of the country,
is very common and attains great size,
1t was full six feet in length, and as it
shot from his pocket it is needless to
remark that the audience retreated in
bad order, and were not for some time
bold enough to come near enough to the
nake-charmer to see him perform with
his pet. 1t glided over him, wound it.
self around his arm and neck, and al
lowed him to throw it around like piece
of rope. 1t always obeyed his bidding
and showed no inclination to get away.
He stroked its shining body with his
hand, and played with it as if it had
BEEN as the people first supposed, a
kitten. Finally he made it crawl back
into his pocket and carried it away.
A man who saw him capture the snake
in question said that twas racing through
the field at fearful rate of speed-for
the blue racerin his liveliestmomentsg goes
as fast as a horse can run when Wilson,
the charmer, rushed up to it and sud
denly caused it to stop and come toward
him. Wrapping it around his arm and
patting it fOndly meanwhile, he took it
to the house, and from there brought it
to the village. When he sets them at
liberty, it is with great difficulty that he
can persuade them to leave him, and
oftentimes when he has turned them
loose and driven them away he has
been veXed to find on turning around
chat they still follow him. He stated
that he has always had power to charm
reptiles, and has frequently captured rat
tlesnakes, or the more poisonous moe
casin snakes, and kept them under per-
feet control. His statements were cor
roborated by several gentlemen present.
He says that he never pulls the fangs
out of snakes, as they will sometimes
die from the effects of such treatment,
but he is perfectly able to control them at
all times, and there is no danger that
they will ever bite him. Owing to his
peculiar talents and tastes it requires
some forbearance on the part of the peo-
pie who employ him, as very frequently
it occurs that when he comes home from
the field to his meals he is followed by
one of his unattracCive pets. Toledo
Blade