The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1880-11-04

brooklyn Eagle. esaE - s-zs1 - - -
"Do you want some items about
snakes9" asked an a2ricultulyrural
looking gentleman of the Eagles city
editor, the other day.
"If they are fresh and true," re-
spondcd the city editor. -.
Exactly" replied the farmer.
t'Thcse items are both. Nobody knows
'em but me. got q farm down on
the island piece. and there's lots Of
snakes ON to it. Near the house is
pond about six feet deep. A week
ago my little girl jumped into The
pond, and would have drowned hadn't
it been for snake. The snake seen
her and went for her and brought her
ashore. The particular point about
the item is the way he did it,
"How was it Z" asked the city edi-
tor.
"It was o black snake, shout thirty
feet long, and he just coiled the mid
die of himself around her neck SO she
couldn't swallow any water, and
SWAN ashore with his head and tail.
Is that a good item2" es1S. sHk
"First-class." s.,.n.,i,, =.
"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 any
thing out Of that item2" ,t
tCertainly. Know any more2"
eyes. / got . baby months old.
He's a boy. We generally, set him
out on the grass of . morning, and he
hol lo,. lyo l,pph oil hn
used to, but he don't any more. Que
morning we noticed he wasn't holler-
ing and wondered what was up
When we looked there was o rattle
snake coiled up in front of him, scam
ming his features. The boy was grin
ming and the snake was grinning.A
Bimeby tho snake turned his tail to
the baby and backed his rattle right
into the baby's fist"
"What did the baby do?1 3 shI
"Why he just ratified that tail so
you could hear it three-quarters of q
mile, and the snake lay there and
griniled. Every morning we found
the snake there, until one day q big
ger snake came, and the baby played
with his rattle just the same till the
first snake came back. He, locked
thin and reckon he had been sick aud
sent the other snake to take his place.
VIII that do for an item f'lisu f14F :,
Immensely" replied the city edi-
tor. s..z.s....5.I, - l.ts..
"You can fill IN about the conf
dence of childhood, and all that, and
you might say something about the
blue-eyed chcrub. His name is Isaac.
Put that in to please my wife"
'I'li do it. Amy more snake itenls?n
3 "Lemme see. You've heard Of hoop
snakes?" o. 70 iaT.4ass 81: -.st -r+!'l,
"Yes, Often" a.l -. ,-,-. ~, 49,
"Just so. Not long ago we heard
q fearful row in our cellar one night.
1t sounded like rock blast, and then
there was q hiss and then things was
quiet. When looked III the morn
ing L found the cider barrel had bust
cd. But we didn't lose much cider.n
"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 anu tightened it up and held
it together until we drew the cider
off in bottles. That's the way Wo
found 'ein, and we've kept them
around the house ever since. We're
training 'en for rshawl-straps now
Does that strike you favoraDly'f for an
item?" .,5,-,-..., .,sf,.z....
Enormously" responded the city
editor. ''4-s''' '51l- ee TO '''s'.
You can fl x it up so as to show
how quick they was to get there be-
fore the slaves were blown of. You
can work in the details."i' 1,i -@..
"Of course. Pll attend to all that.Y