The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-06-01
sERpENTs IN CONNECTICUT.
The Black Snakes Plentler, Biggsr and
Fiercer than Ever.
HaIr.IlHislng stories Told hy HDHest
Farmers Climbing Trees for Robins,
EEEs-The Nocturnal bird that the
Black snake Fears.

EEEs-The Nocturnal Rlrd tlsAt tint
Black snake Fears.
!, New York SUM-
New BosTor, Conn, May 23.-Unels josh
Peters. when he cams In from days plant
Ing last evening, remarked that hs actually
, believed he had killed more snakes than he
had planted hills Of corn. I've been born
and brought up In this ere town. he said, as
he stood With his hos over his shoulder talk
Ing to o few ut his neighburs. .and seen
heap OF snakes in IA time but never seen
go many big black snakes, regular lighters, as
have this seasotl. Ut beats ALL
How MANY have you seen to-day, Uncle
Josh n
well, now, couldn't begin to count back
\ and reckon on EN-, but there must have been
i forty or fifty Some on EN- were little fellows.
i my wrist. and should think pretty nigh six
i foot long, and they was lighters
II ibid they fight your"
Il "Uidn't give en- ehanee. III had, they'd
d gone for my throat. They don't bits, but
they choke fH1lur to DEATH / amt much
sksered ut snakes Ii can sae en-. but dom
want to come on q bunch Of the black ones oil
Of q sudden. don't know what to make ON t.
II Where dO they all come fTomY'
i From oil parts OF The State come reports
that confirm Uncle Jssa's experience. Con-
Il naCtigut seems to De DNBrE11n with large and
| fierce black snakes. There have been found d
se n and Oh the Ms aa 2PR a Il 6s
northwestern part Ut the State there are dis
covered almost every season y few rattie-
snakes; but there - no record OF 50 many Of
the swift and ugly black reptiles having beeu
seen and killed In any previous season.
i The frost had hardly got cut Of the ground
| when two young men III Bridgeport stroll
| ing Ia the avlnes near Tra1nbulI, discovered
d nest Of black snakes. They were then lust
coming otg Ut their torport and were still
sluggish. The young men Killed forty.eight
| without much trouble. farmer uatnsd
Peckhan1, who lives In that settlement Id the
town OF Lebanon, known as Kick Hill, began
to clean ont. his well few days ago. He
came up In hurry. He had seen half d dozen
serpents heads projecting from The stones
| that walled the well. How the reptiles got
there he could not guess: f0r the well Ia In
hls door yard, and some distance from any
killed fourteen. Every one was D. black snake.
| james Tyler, OF North Ashford, town
near New Boston, In the northeast corner of
thu State. came upon six OF these snakes sum
stick nor stone, and preeipitately retreated.
| Cutting ~ 1.-the walnut sprUut, he returned
and dealt them blow which broke the backs
Of three Of them. The others raised their
toe ah ss wh Is oRsh hnn a asba ~ a asnsa
toward Mr.. Tyler. He jumped back, aad
with the walnut stick leveled two more, The
last was 90 close that MI. Tyler could not
use his stick. He had the presence Of mind
to jump on 1t, and WAS fortunate enough to
crush his back with his heels. None Of
these snakes measured less than four feet In
length.
A Meriden farmer reports that he saw d
black snake, fully i've feet long, climbing an
head reached the lower branches the farmer
heard the cries Of q robin. He then knew what
the snake was after. There was nest In the |
tree, and there ls nothing, black snake likes
be very small toids. But black snakes rarely |
trouble owls nests. They lose their eyes n |
they do. The cries OF the robin brought its |
mate, and thestwo, after pathetic appeals for
helps boldly attacked the snake. Their pecks |
hurt him evidently just enough to anger him
he raised his head and darted at them as hs /
moved along toward the nest. just as he /
reached " The farmer with q pole struck the |
snake blow that brought him to the ground,
About ten miles from the place where tIlis I
battle occurred and d day or two later. /
Daniel B. Perkins, middle-aged farmer.
was repairing stone wall On bis farm. HI
ders, and OF first supposed that limb had
fallen from tres Then he felt another, and
heard DIT the same time hiss. He at once
knew that he was attacked by q black snake.
Wy. Perkins had had similar experience d
year or two before, and knew that the bite Of
The black snake is perfectly harmless, but
that II one once gets d coil about d mans
neck, Its muscular power Is great enough TO
strangle him. He seized one Of the snakes
tor thefs. were two Of them, although at first
MI. Perkins did not know. it-and, while
lighting desperately, stopped and picked up
an OK that lay On the ground. Selling ID near
the iron. he managed to cut both reptiles. and
they ct once dropped. Then he killed them.
One measured Dix feet, and the other five and
. half. MI. Perkins says they would proba-
bly, have strangled him had he not had the AK.
Just over the Connecticut line, In South /,
bridge, Mass, Alyan Grover, one DIV last
week, while working In his field came sud-
denly upon nest Of black snakes. He at first
saw only two, the others being hidden By d
log, and be picked up stick and struck these
Two. Instantly dozen Or more black heads,
with sparkling eyes and kissing tongues. a.. ,
peared from the log and darted toward Mt. !
Grover. He would have run If running had !
been Of any use. 1t seemed to him as II he |
was surrounded. but he kept his face toward !
hem, and swung his stick right and left, 10 :
md down. After fight that lasted fully fif-
zen minutes they were all dead, or Law with
broken backs. Then Mr.. Grover counted
hem; There were sixteen, every one over