Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-06-13
A MONSTER SNAKE.
The Curious Sight witnessed by a
miner-A Hunt IN a COllierY.


Rev. Alfred r. Rossiter drove wildly up
to the Mansion House and declared that
while passing Carey'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 its
way down the mountain side, followed
by a wriggliDg stream of small
reptiles. The monster moved very
leisurely and stopped every few minutes
to raise its head several feet above
the ground and utter peculiar whirring
sound. As Mr.. Rossiter was on the OPP
posite side of the ravine, and within
three hundred yards of the snakes, he
had an excellent view of them. The
snakes disappeared in the black mouth
of the Mayfower tunnel, and the aston
ished witness drove here with all speed
to tell his remarkable story. Bis hearers
were inclined to be skeptical at first, but
his manner was so earnest that an armed
party, headed by Captain Daniel Derr,
went to Careys patch in search OF evil
dence corrOborative of Mr.. RossIter's
statement. All their doubts vanished
when they crossed the ravine below Ca
rey's patch and in the mud found the
trail of the huge reptile. The trail was
a trifle ever 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 'Rattlesnake Tom, an old man who
had for years earned a living by killing
snakes for their oil.
That night nothing was talked of but
the big snake. On Friday morning
David William Williams, miner, saw
the serpent come out of a "cave-in"
about the mouth of the Mayfower tun-
mel and coil itself on 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. Its head is adorned with yellow
crest, and its eyes are large and fiery.
When Williams first saw the snake he,
Tor safety, clambered up Sagarman's
old breaker fifty yards away, and from
that structure looked down on the mon
ster. Its head was held erect. Mr.. Will
liams insists that its Kissing could have
been heard a quarter of a mile. A few
minutes after the big snake made its APP
pearance perfect ball of rattlesnakes
came rolling out of the tunnel. This
strange ball was composed of thirty
rattles, each measuring from three
feet to five feet in length, and
so twisted, and twined, and locked to-
gether were they that it appeared as
though they would never be able to sep
arate themselves. They got apart, how.
ever, with remarkable celebrity and
quickly ranged themselves in a twenty
foot circle, in the centre of which, with
head erect, glazing eyes, and rising crest,
was coiled the king snake" as people
here call it. The perfect silence which
lasted moment or two after the circle
was formed was broken by rafting
chorus, in which every tail was used
vigorously. This strange music had
wonderful effect on the king snake Its
eyes became frightfully enlarged, the
yellow crest swelled to double its former
size, while its head and that portion of
the body that was upright swayed TO and
fro in perfect time with the rafting. The
most remarkable thing was that every
snake stopped rafting at the same in
slant.
Three of the largest rattlers then left
the circle and approached the king, rat
ting as they went. Reaching his body,
their tails became silent. and the king,
Kissing loudly, moved down the hill to
the platforms below the breaker. The
rattlers followed in his track, but made
no noise. Reaching the platform the
king snake stationed himself on the
south side, which is open and 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 terrific rafting began
under the building This was evidently
a signal as the king snake raised his
head and glared at the opening before
him. An instant later out darted rat to
be picked up and bOlted alive and kick
ing by the waiting monster. Half a
dozen rats driven from their nests by the
came darling out and were
snatched up by the serpent much in the
same way that chicken picks up corn.
When thirty odd rats had been devoured
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 old breaker
recovered from his establishment at this
strange sight he fastened to Minersville
and became the lion of the hour.
The Shenandoah snake hunter reached
Csreys patch on Friday afternoon, and
at once set a deadfall, baited with a
chicken, in front of the entrance to the
cavernous haunt of the great reptile.
The hunter and a crowd of curious peO-
pie occupied the old breaker on Friday
night, so that they could come out and
finish the snake when the trap fell.
About midnight the 500 pounds of stone
came rafting down, and rolled into the
creek below. This noise aroused the
men in the sleeping breaker, but no one,
not even the redoubtable Rattlesnake
Tom, was willing to go out into the
darkness and see whether the big snake
was crushed or not. The fear that it
had escaped, and would make a meal of
the first man that showed himself, kept
them all in the breaker until daylight,
when they found the trap down, but not
even scale of the big snake.
The Mayfower colliery has been aban.
dOned for years, and its miles of work
ing have caved in at various points,
making a score of entrances to the tun.
mel. While the hunters were examining
the fallen trap recently one of the party
looked up and was Mortified to see the
big snake coming down the mountain at
racing speed. When discovered the
snake was two hundred yards away, and
the men, without waiting to get closer
view, fled for their lives The snake
stopped before the mouth of the tunnel
was reached and disappeared through one
of the sink holes. The professional
snake hunter and eleven volunteers, all
miners, armed themselves, and started to
explore the old mine, and, if possible, kill
the much feared serpent. Owing to the
foul air they were obliged to move eau.
tiOusly, but they were resolute lot and
pushed on sturdily, through shallow
lakes of inky water, and over heaps of
fallen slate, rock and earth, until they
we're mile from the entrance. Then the
damp became so bad that they were I'M
able to go further and began retracing
heir steps, exploring the breasts as they
went Suddenly John Mulhearn clutched
lis nearest comrade by the arm, and.
up into an old chamber, whis
)ered in tones that chilled his hearers,
There it is. :"
They looked and saw glazing out of
hat zimmerman cavern a pair of blazing
,yeballs that moved backwards and for
wards as the serpent swayed its neck.
They must have passed within fifty feet |
If the reptile when they came in, and |
hiding it so unexpectedly on their return |
.OmnletelV nnnprved them nnd d.