Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1879-10-22
SNAKE OIL.
HOW AN OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS
is MAKING MONEY

The Pottsville Miners Journal tells
an interesting story of an old man liv-
ing on the Broad mountain who has
devoted many years to rattlesnake
hunting and the sale of the oil he pro-
cures from their bodies as curative
power for rheumatism, In 1865 he
suffered severely from an attack OF
rheumatism, when he tried the oil
upon his own person with success.
He at once set to work hunting snakes
and making oil, for which he found
purchasers rapidly. The second sum-
mer he began snake hunting in June,
and before frost came had killed over
800 of the reptiles, whose oil brought
him nearly 500. Since then he has
devoted himself regularly to snake
hunting in the summer and sale of the
oil during the winter. There is not a
path on Broad mountain, he is not
familiar with, and he knows the ex-
act location of over forty rattlesnake
dens. He has studied the habits and
peculiarities of the snakes 50 thor
oughly that he rarely returns to his
cabin without dozen or two, and on
one day last summer he succeeded in
killing forty-three, two of which were
over twenty years of age. He states
that the oil of black snakes, copper
heads and water racers does not pos
sess any curative powers; but naively
admits that once in 1870 or III, ''when
rattlesnakes was scarce" he sold "a
heap of black snake oil instead, and no
one knowed the difference" Bandle
says the snakes are not fit to kill until
late in June, unless the spring has
been particularly warm. Before that
time the reptiles are very lean, and it
takes two or three dozen of them to
make teacupful of oil In July and
August the snakes are the fattest and
most plentiful One of Bandle's favor
ite hunting places is about seven
miles from Frankville, in little rocky
ravine. The lower part of the ravine
is filed with blackberry and buckle
berry bushes, and the snakes that in
habit the holes in the rocks come down
to the bushes to catch birds that feed
on the berries Bandle "spects" that
he killed "nigh unto" thousand
snakes in that little ravine. When
hunting he is only armed with a long
hickory wythe, with which he breaks
the backs of the snakes After killing
one he cuts off it's head and, passing
the body through belt around his
waist, resumes his work Persons
who have seen him returning from one
of his hunting expeditions say he pre-
sents curious appearance with a
fringe of twenty or thirty dead snakes
hanging around his waist. On reach
ing his hut the snakes are skinned and
the fat fried out in an old iron pot
over fire in his yard. The oil is
amber-colored and has a peculiar
musky odor, and it varies in price.
When people come to his shanty after
it he generally gets ten cents a spoon
full, but when he peddles it in the sur
rounding villages he charges accord
ing to the supposed wealth of the
buyer Last year he made two hun
dred dollars by the sale of the oil, and
now and then he sells an unusually
large snake skin, or q string of rattles
to persons who visit his shanty. He
was never bitten but once, and that
was four years ago, when man in
Shenandoah offered him S. for pair
of live rattlers. Procuring a forked
stick, he set out on the following
morning and in less than three hours
had captured the snakes but in pick
ing up one of them after he had pinned
it to the ground with the stick, il
turned and struck him on the back O
his hand. He enlarged the wound
with his pocket knife until it blet
freely, and then, after washing it will
whisky, bound piece of tobacco on il
until he reached Mahanoy City, where
the wound was cauterized by a physi
clan. His arm swelled to fearful
size, but it soon got well. Bandle has
no companion but a halfstarved dog
which he enthusiastically says car
| "smell rattler more'n mile oil"