The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-09-15
The Latest Snake Stories.

boro. On Saturday, as they were Jog
ging along by McMunn's, three miles from
Wurtsboro, three big rattlesnakes Law
coiled up in the middle of the road and
set up chorus that made the transfers
stop. A stone thrown at the rattlers
drove them into the woods. It's bad
luck to let a rattlesnake get away from
you. A Sullivan County mountaineer
would sooner miss circus than to go
home and say that he had seen a rattle
snake and then couldn't pull its rattles
out of his pocket to prove it. So Temp
kins and Van Deuzer left their teams and
! followed the snakes. The rattlers led
them chase of two miles, but the ex-
citement that followed paid for it. The
men had been taken plumb to Matt.
Tallmage's famous den. The snakes Law
about in scores, taking in the merry sun
shine and regretting that the huckleberry
pickers had all left the woods. This was
a picnic Van Deuzer and Tompkins had
not hoped for. They got clubs and went
at the snakes. The fight lasted about
ten minutes. More than half the best
ones got away and hid in the assures of
the rocks. But the men gathered the
rattles of fifty-six very fair specimens.
Some of the snakes they killed were
three feet long. They took home t93
rattles, and expect to get out at least
four gallons of oil for liniment.
This den was a favorite one of the
celebrated snake-catcher, Matt. Talmage.
He used to take hundreds out of it, alive.
He lived in Wurtsboro, and a rattlesnake
bite never had any effect on him. He
followed snake breeding, and he had
some of the most curious and rare speci-
mems of the snake family ever collected.
In 1873 he captured large pilot or COP
perhead. He made a great pet of it,
but finally it bit him on the thumb. He
paid no attention to it, althougha pilots
bite is especially dreaded, being very
deadly. Talmage's thumb began to
swell after some days. His arm then
commenced getting larger, and by and
by he got blind, and suffered untold
agony. He lived several weeks, contin-
uing to swell all over, and at last he
died. His den has, probably, not been
visited before since his death.-Port
Jero5s Cor. N. Y. ISua.
A large rattlesnake was killed in
Breathitt County few days ago that
proved to be quite curiosity. 1t was
perfectly formed, save it had two we'll
developed necks and heads. The prongs
of the necks were about four inches
long, and the snake used both heads at
the same time, striking with both, and
thrusting out its tongues in spiteful
manner, and had the appearance of two
snakes-so much so that the parties
who killed it did not discover the de-
formity until his snakeship was dead.
We give Judge E. G. Strong, of Breathitt,
as authority for the above, and he says
it can be substantiated by dozen good
witnesses.-M. Sterling Democrat.
Mr. James Chick, farmer, reliable
citizen, and an old settler, lives some four
miles from the Brazos, where he has been
in the habit of going to fish, often re-
naming over night. On recent occa-
sion Mr.. G. had repaired to. his favorite
fishing hole in the river, below a sueep'
embankment, which was overlaid with a
big rock. Having swung himself down
to the waters edge by means of a grape
vine, he discovered near the middle of
the river very large snake heading to-
ward him with great speed and determi-
nation. Mr., G. threw a heavy stick at
the monster as he neared the bank, striking
it about the head; but, nothing daunted,
the serpent continued its course, bearing
his head eighteen to twenty-four inches
above the water. Feeling unsafe in that
situation, Mr.. G. scrambled up the grape
vine to the top of the cliff, where dismay
! wy aA1a6 To Lyt c;r.l,t ,f
the snake few feet from him, which
had in measure, by circuitous route,
cut off his retreat. How Mr.. G. got
away, or what became of his terror, the
snake, are questions that will ever re-
main mystery, for, becoming lost in un-
consciousness, our terror-stricken friend
remembered, as the first return to con-
seriousness, vending his way home, look
ing back now and then for his pursuer.
Mr.. c. thinks the snake was fully fifteen
feet long and six to eight inches in diam
eter in the middle. His track over the
sand bar on the opposite side of the river
appeared, in the short time he had to
look at it, like the track of log. Since
this occurrence it is related that large
snake was seen by other parties few
years back about the same locality.
Pinto County Star
A gigantic blue-racer, twenty feet
eight and three-fourths inches in length,
and ten inches in circumference in the
largest place, was killed in the south
western part of the township of Cannon
by citizen of good repute. He had
terrible encounter with it. On going
from his work to a neighboring spring to
get drink of water he saw the grass
wave few rods from him, when 10! the
blue snake came toward him with light
ming velocity and head uplifted about
three or four feet high from the ground
When within about ten feet from the
man he halted, as if to look his prey
over. He ventured nearer and nearer,
and finally attacked the man. The snake
twined itself several times around the
mans legs and felled him to the ground.
The man took his knife out of his pocket
and with few desperate strokes com
pletely severed the monsters head from
its body. 1t had previously been hurt
l H. Il I