The bee., 1882-06-24
A MONSTER SNAKE.
The Curious Sight Witnessed by Miner
Hunt In IA COIlIery.

A Minersville Pennsylvania cores
pondent of the Philadelphia Times,
writes under a late date as follows
Since Friday last people living in the
mining patches in the neighbolhood OF
Mime Hill Gap have been in fever OF
excitement over q monster snake that
lives in the abandoned working OF the
old Mayhower Colliery, a few miles from
this place. On Thursday evening the
Rev. Alfred r. Rossiter drove wildly up
TO the Mansion House and declared
that while passing garey's patch, north
of the "Gap," he saw snake between
thirty and forty feet long and as thick
as the body OF an ordinary man winding
IFS way down the mountain side, fol-
lowed by wriggling stream Of small
reptiles. The monster moved Vely
1eisurely, and stopped every few minutes
TO raise its head several feet above the
ground and utter q peculiar whirring
sound. As Mr.. Rossiter was on the op-
posite side of the rayine, and within
three hundred yards of the snakes, ne
had an excellent view of them. The
snakes disappeared in the black mouth OF
the Msyfower tunnel, and the astonish-
ed witness drove here with all speed to
tell his remarkable story. His hearers
were inclined to be skeptical at first,
| but his manner was SO earnest that an
armed party, headed by Captain Daniel
Dsrr, went to Carey's patch in search of
evidence cor1oborative of Mr.. Rossiter's g
statement. All their doubts vanished
when they crossed the ravine below
Carey's patch, and in the mud found the
trail of the huge reptile. The trail was
trihe over thirteen inches wide, and
the impress in the mud an inch deep.
The hunters followed the trail of the
serpent up to the mouth of the tunnel,
where they held caucus, and decided
to return to Minersville and send to
shenandoah for "RattlesIake Tom," an
old man who has for years earned liy-
ing by killing snakes for their oil.
That night nothing was talked OF but
the big snake. On Friday morning
David William Williams, a miner. saw
the serpent come out of "cave-in"
above the mouth of the May yhower tun-
nel and coil itself on a little plateau
near by. He says it is about thirty five
feet long, nearly two feet thick and
covered with black, red and green
scales, each of which is as large as the
palm of a mans hand. It's head is
adorned with a yellow crest, and its
eyes are large and fiery. When Will
liams first saw the snake he, for safety,
clambered up Sugarman's old breaker,
fifty yards away, and from that struc-
ture looked down on the monster. It's
lead was held erect, and Williams in
sists that its kissing could have been
heard quarter of mile. A few min
utes after the big snake made its ap-
pearance perfect ball of rattlesnakes
came rolling out of the tunnel. The
strange ball was composed of thirty or
forty rattlers, each measuring from
three to five feet in length, and SO
twisted and twined and locked togeth-
or were they that it appeared as though
they would never be able to separate
themselves. They got apart, however,
with remarkable celebrity and quickly
ranged themselves in a twenty-foot cir
Gle, in the center of which, with head
erect, gIaring eyes and rising crest, was
cGiled the skiing snake" as people here
call it. The perfect silence which
lasted a moment or two after the circle
was formed was broken by rattling
chorus, in which every tail was used
wonderful effect on the king snake. 1rs
eyes became much enlarged, the vel
low crest swelled to dou BE it's former
size. while its head and that portion of
its body that was upright swayed to and
fro IN perfect time with the rattlinp.
The most remarkable thing was that
every snake stopped rattling at the
same instant.
Three of the largest rattlers then left
the circle, and approached the king.
rattling as they went Reaching his
body their tails became silent, and he, |
kissing loudly, moved down the hill to |
the platforms below the breaker. The |
rattlers followed in his track, but made
no noise. Reaching the platforms, The
king snake stationed himself on the
south side, which is open aud much
fallen into decay. The small snakes
went under the platforms and buildings
from the north side. A minute or two
after all the snakes, except the big one,
had disappeared a terrific rattline
began under the building. This was
evidently a signal, as the king snake
raised his head and glared at the opeu-
ing before him. An instant later ont
darted rat, to be picked up and
bolted alive and kicking by the waiting
Half dozen rats, driven
from their nests by the rattlesnakes,
came darting out, and were snatched
up by the serpent much in the same
way that chicken picks up corn.
When thirty odd rats had been
deyoured the rattlers made their
appearance, and, after repeating the
circle performance referred to above,
they wriggled off in single file down
the valley, making a procession fully
two hundred feet long. When the
Welshman in the cid breaker re-
covered from his astonishment at
his strange sight, he hastened to
and became the lion of the
hour.
The Shenandoah snake hunter !
cached Carey's Patch on Friday after
loon, aud at once set deadfall, baited
With chicken, in front of the en-
rance to the cavernous haunt of the
great reptile. The hunter and crowd !
II curious people occupied the old 6
breaker on Friday night, so that they j
could come out aud finish the snake j
Vhen the trap fell. About midnight t
he five hundred pounds OF stone came c
attling down, and rolled into the /
reek below. This noise aroused the J
leeping men in the breaker; but no c
ne-not even the redoubtable tR4ttle. I
mako I0m n-was ruillincr 70 90 -