St. Landry democrat., 1880-01-31
A Reign of Snakes.
A RAILROAD BLOCKADFD WITH THEM,
AND A TRAIN COMPELLED TO HALT.

Communication in st. Louis Globe-DemOcrat
In Northwest Missouri, where ex-Gov.
r. NJ. Stewart resided years before and
after his political career, up to the time
of his death, many old citizens love to
tell of his brilliant conversational pow
ers and ineXhaustible fund of anecdotes.
The Governor often told of the diffil
cuties which he had to surmOunt, and
in one of his happiest moods he related
ID snake story which l have never seen
in print. In those days, said the Gov
ernOr snakes were not uncOmmOnly
numerous, but infested certain portions
of the State to such an extent that far
mers would often pack up their house
hold wares and remove elsewhere.
During the building of the road |
have seen them so troublesome and nu-
merous that the hands would sometimes
stop work and inaugurate a short cam
paign against them with shOvels, axes
and crowbars. The serpents were not
vicious, the men being hardly ever BIT
ten, but the great vexation consisted IN
their sociabiity and perfect Indifference
to danger. They apparently were ut
terly devoid of that instinct of self
preservation with which the Almighty
endowed every creature. At night
they would sometimes make sleep
impossible by Kissing and squirming in
and about the tents, and during the day
they would vex the men almost beyond
endurance by running between their
legs and otherwise annoying them. They
were not considered dangerous, being
of that species known as prairie hissers.
1t was only now and then that a rat
tier was discovered among them, and
death was sure to follow, for the men
would alway stop and find time to chase
one until he was Overtaken and his head
chopped off. The men always dreaded
a shower, for then the snakes were
worst. They would literally swarm out
on the praries and travel in schools.
On one occasion of this kind, when
the road was in course of construction
in Livingstone County, the construction
engine with three fiat cars was at the
last campaign place, about ten miles in
the rear OF the track builders. | was
their awaiting the landing of some tools
and spikes, which it was intended to
convey to the end Of the road. 1t had
been raining all morning, but cleared
up about noon, and when we pulled out
after dinner the weather was pleasant
but lite hazy. We had travelled
about half the distance when the engin-
eer-l was riding on the engine-called
my attention to the hundreds of snakes
crossing several hundred yards in front
of us, the track for short distance
being black with them and entirely
lost to sight. The engine-driver
opened the throttle and in a few mo-
ments we were crushing through them.
The drivers had not made more than
two Or three revolutio when they be-
gan to fly around at lightning rapidity,
and the speed of the train was slack
ened. The wheels of the engine were
almost clogged with crushed snakes,
aud still the track was actually buried
beneath them for one hundred yards in
front OF us. We did not succeed in
getting much more Roadway, when the
train came to a standstill. We were
unable to make our way through them,
and amused ourselves by knocking
them off the engine. We we're detained
nearly an hour before the grand march
of the serpents had crossed and we
were enabled to proceed. They seemed
to be moving that day, and the earth
seemed to be alive with them; indeed
they seemed to cover the earth.