The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-11-02
FIRST-CLASS SNAKE STORIES.

DO you want some items about
snaEcsW asked an ngriculturml-r,,ral-
Looking. gentleman OF tho Eaglc's city
editor tho other day.
"lf they arc fresh and true" re-
spondcd the editor.
"EXactly," replied tho farmer.
"Thcsc items arc both. Nobody knows
'em but nc. l got q farm down on
the island piece, and there's lots Of
snakes Oh to it. Near the house is a
pond about six feet deep. A week
ago my little girl jumped into the
pond, and would have drowned if it
had not been for q snake. Tho snake
seen her and went for her and brought
her ashore. The particular point
about this item is the way TINT ho did
it,"
GLOW was it?' asked the city edi-
tor.
cit was black snake thirty feet
long, and hc just coilcd the middle of
himself around her neck so she couldn't
swallow any water, and swum ashore
with Ills head and tail. Is that Il good
itcm?"
"First-class."
"You can spread il out, you know.
After they got ashore the girI puttcd
the snake on the head, and Il wont off
as pleased as Punch. Ever since he
comes to tho house regular at meal
times, and sho feeds him on pic.
Think you can make anything out Of
that item?"
"Ccrtainly. Know any morc?"
"Lcmmc sec. You havo heard of
hoop-snakcs?"
eyes, Often"
"Just so. Not long ago VIC heard n
fearful row III the cellar ono night. It
sounded like q rock-blast. and then
there was a hiss and things was quiet.
When looked in the morning the
cider barrel had busted. But we
didn't lose much cider"
elbow did you save it?"
slt seems that the slaves had busted
out, but before they could get away
four hoop-snakes coilcd around the
barrel and tightencd up and held it
together until we drew it Off in bot.
ties. That's the way we found 'em,
and we've kept 'cm around tho house
ever since. We're training 'em for
shawl straps now. Does that strike
you tavorablv for all itcm?"
"Enormously," responded the city
editor.
"Nou can fix it up so as to show
how quick they were TO get there be-
fore The slaves were blown of. You
can work in tho Details"
cor course. I'll attend to all that
do you think Of anything morc?"
81 don't call any to mind lust at
present. My wife knows q lot of
snake items, but forget 'cm. BY the
way, though, Eve got a regular living
curiosity down on my place. One day
my eldest boy was sitting Oh the back
stoop doing his sums, and hc couldn't
get 'cm right. He felt something
against his face, and there was little
snake coilcd up on his shoulder and
looking ut the slate. In four minutes
he had done all the sums. We've
tanned him SO he keeps all our ac-
counts, and he is the lightningist cuss
ut figures you ever seen. IIc can run up
" column eight feet long in three sec
onds. [ wouldn't take reaper for
him
"What kind of q snake is hc?" in
quircd the city editor, curiously.
"Ihc ncighbors all call him an ad-
der"
'"Oh, yes, yes" said tho city editor,
q little disconccrtcd. "I'vc heard Of
the species. s."-B"oohlyn Eaglc.
The Paris police lately arrested an
English woman named Bird, q most
accomplished shop-liftcr, who has been
in the habit Of paying annual visits to
Paris, arriving with several trunks
empty, and returning after some
months with the trunks full. Every
morning she left her hotel in Ruo dc
Richclicu in carriage, Oh a foraging
excursion, in the course Of which she
slipped what pleased her into an UNI
brclla.