The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-07-21
[BrooklyniEagle.l
Some Items About Snakes,

Some Items About Snakes.
"Do you want some items about snakes?"
asked an agriculturural looking gentleman
of the Eagles city editor. the other day.
"If they are fresh and true,' responded the
city editor.
Exactly" replied the farmer. "These
items are both. Nobody knows 'em but me.
I've got farm down on the Island piece,
and there's lots of snakes onto it. Near the
house is pond about six feet deep. A week
ago my little girl jumped into the pond and
would have drowned if it hadn't been for q
snake. The snake seen her and went for her
and brought her ashore. The particular point
about this item is the way he did it,"
"How was it?'' asked the city editor
"It was a black snake about thirty feet long,
and he Just coiled the middle of himself
around her neck so she couldn't swallow any
water, and swum ashore with his head and
tail. Is that good item?"
First Glass;
"You can spread it out, you know. After
they got ashore the girl patted the snake on the
head, and it went off pleased as Punch. Ever
since then he comes to the house regular at
meal times, and she feeds him on pie. He
likes pie. Think you can make anything out
of that item?"
Certainly Know any more?"
Yes. got baby six months old. He's
boy. We generally set him out on the grass
of morning, and he boilers like bull all
day, at least he used to, but he don't any more
One morning we noticed he wasn't hollering,
and wondered what was up. When we looked,
there was a rattlesnake coiled up in front of
him scanning his features The boy was grin
ming and the snake was grinning. Bimeby
the snake turned his tail to the baby and
backed his rattle right into the baby's fst.''
"What did the baby do?''
why he just ratified that tail SO you could
hear 1t three-quarters OF mile, and the snake
lay there and grinned. Every morning we
found the snake there, until one day a bigger
snake came, and the baby played with his
rattle just the same till the first snake came
back. He looked thin, and reckon he had
been sick and sent the other snake TO take his
place. Will that do for an item2"
Immensely" replied the city editor.
"You can fill in about the confidence of
childhood, and all that andlyou might say
something about the blue-eyed cherub. His
name is Isaac. Put that in to please my
wife,"
''I'll do it, Any more snake items?"
"Lemme see. You've heard Of hoop
snakes?"
Eyes, often''
Just SO. Not long ago We heard fearful
row in our cellar one night. 1t sounded like
rock blast, and then there was hiss and then
things was quiet. When 1 looked in the
morning found the cider barrel had busted
But we didn't lose much cider"
"How did you save it?'
sit seems that the slaves had busted out,
but before they could get away, four hoop
snakes coiled around the barrel and tightened
it up and held it together until we drew the
pi6ar off N botflaa Thof,o ha "A
'em, and we've kept 'em around the house
ever since. We're training 'em for shawl
straps now. Does that strike you favorably
for an item?" Ilt-
Enormously" responded the city editor.
"You can fix it up SO as to show how quick
they was to get there before the slaves were
blown Off You can work in the details"
"Of course. IN attend to all that. Do you
think of any more?"
Oh, yesl One Sunday ' me and % my wife ; was
going to church, and she dropped her garter
somewhere, She told me about it, and I no.
ticed little striped snake running alongside
and listening to her. Bimeby he made q
spring and Just wound himself around her
stocking or tried to, but he didn't fetch it,
"Why not?" -
"He wasn't quite long enough. He jumped
down and shook his head and started off. We
hadn't gone more'n quarter of q mile when
we see him coming out of the woods Just
ahead of US. He was awful hot and tired, and
he had another snake with him, twice as big
as he was, They looked at my wife minute
and said something to each other, and then
the big snake went right to the place where
the garter belonged. He wrapped right around
it, put his tail in his mouth and went to Sleep
We've got him yet. We use him to hold tho
stovepipe together when we put the stove up.
Is that any use as an item?"
Certainly" said the city editor.
"You can say something about the first
snakes eye for distances and his intellectually
when he found he wouldn't go round You
know how to do that better than me-"
"I'll give him all the credit he deserves.
Can you tell us any more?-
Il don't call any to mind just at present.
My wife knows lot of snake items, but
forget 'em. By the way, though, I've got
regular living curiosity down on my place.
One day my oldest boy was sitting on the back
stoop doing his sums, but he couldn't get 'em
right. He felt something against his face, and
there was little snake coiled up on his shoul-
der and looking at the slate. In four minutes
he had done all them sums. We tanned him
so he keeps all our accounts, and he's the
lghtningest cuss at figures you ever SEEN
He'll run up column eight feet long in three
seconds wouldn't take a reaper for him.
"What kind of snake is he?' inquired the
city editor, curiously.
''The neighbors call him an adder"
"Oh yes! yes!" said the city editor, little
disconnected. "I've heard Of the species
When did all these things happen?"
"Along in the fore part of the Spring, but 1
didn't say anything about 'em, cause it wasn't
the season for snake items. This is about the
time for that sort of thing, isn't it?'
YES" Clipped in the exchange editor, "you
couldn't have picked out better time for
snake stories"