Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-05-07
A Big Snake Story.
Oil City (Pa) Derrick.

e.5 $50 Oil City (Pa) Derrick. st 1898
Zebulon Martin and his son, VINO live
about six miles from Oil City, we're en-
gagged In removing a huge pile of stones
on their farm the other day, when they
suddenly unearthed what seemed to be
a large ball Of black rope, knotted and
curlously interlaced.f The mass was as
large as bushel basket and was cover
ed with q light, powdery substance,
more resembling bran than anything
else. The sun was shining brightly at
the time, and as the warm rays fell
upon the ball the two men detected a
slight movement in its many coils. Old
Martin immediately yelled "snakes"
and jumped back to a safe distance.
His son Charles. who was of more in
curing mind, procured a long pole and
stirred up the yielding mass. The
touch and warmth revived the dormans
reptiles, and the surface Of the ball was
seen covered with rattles which sWayed
to and fro, the sound resembling the
blowing of wind through the dead leaves
OF tree. What seemed at first a
Gordian knot began to unravel. The
tails protruded more and more as the
snakes unlocked their intricate coils, as
they appeared to be packed with their
heads in the centre of this living ball.
Ii was curious yet disgusting sight,
the squirming and contortions of the
hldeOus serpents as they emerged from
their winters nap, and the two specta-
tors watched them with some feeling of
apprehension. One of the men picked
up q small stone and tossed it into tn G
writing mass In order to ''stir them
up" as he expressed it. He succeeded
most effectively. The ball Of snakes
fell apart and disclosed some fifty or
sixty rattlesnakes of all sizes, covered
with a whitish slime, which had exuded
from their bodies, and perhaps served
as means of protecting them from the
severity of the winter. Thoroughly
aroused, the venomOus reptiles dashed
their tails i'll fury and glided over each
other with surprising agility, their bright
eyes shining with excitement, their
mouths wide open and their forked
tongues protruding as they Missed de-
tiance st their prosecutors. One huge
reptile, nearly six feet in length, with
swollen body, raised itself half its length
from the centre of the group, and turn
ing its fiat, ugly head toward the intru-
ders, opened wide it's mouth and sway
ed to and fro, kissing angrily. Another
stone was thrown, this time good
sized one, crushing and manning many
Of the reptiles in its fall. The scene
was simply frightful as described by one
of the spectators. In their agony the
snakes writhed and Kissed with redoubl-
ed fury, twisting over and over in the
blood and slime, while the uninjured
ones escaped from their wounded COM
panions and glided toward the Martins
with heads uplifted and rafting omiu-
ously. Both men acknowledged that
they were little frightened when they
saw the deadly reptiles going straight
for them with the evident purpose Of
revenge. Perceiving the situation look
ed decidedly unpleasant, the two men
armed themselves with stout clubs and
began killing the serpents. Strange to
say the creeping foes were so agile that
this was accomplished with great diff
Guilty, and several times the men were
obliged to retreat to escape the deadly
fangs. At last the work was accom-
| plished, and the battlefield was strewn
with the dead bodies of snakes of all
sizes, from the huge king to the diminu-
tive young ones. The largest sported
seventeen rattles, trophy which Mr..
Martin cut off and took home with him
to convince disbelievers in his marvel
Gus exploit. Fifty-six snakes were laid
low. ..G5 u., sH& Est