The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-09-29

this year" said Jerry Martin the snake
hunter, '.tire over to Hammonton way
drove EN- off last summer. The big
'uns took to the pine swamp bout quar-
ter of mile below the clearin' in the
| piney woods over to the right of us, and
the little ones was burned up. It's hard
or for me to git snakes now, but when
l finds one he's sure to be whopper
an big enough to send to circus. The
hitler ones l send to saloons an res
| taurants for show windows. Billy
| Howe, in Camden, he used to sell 'em
for me, but he's gone out of the BUSH
| ness, and have to keteh 'em and sell
en- myself. l was up to the Zoooligi-
cal Garden in the city last week to see
about selling big piney snake, but
Mr.. Brown, the superintendent, was
away, and the duffer at the gate
wouldn't let me in. Mebbe I'll 60 up
next week. l amt seen the big snake
for three weeks, an if he amt pulled
up stakes an gone on vacation he's
hiding in the swamp. Can't stand the
hot sun, dye see, and only comes out
for any length of time on cloudy days.
Not much chance for i'm to-day
At the edge of the woods the horse
was unroped from the wagon and turned
loose. A covered basket, a pronged
stick, bottle of chloroform, and a
small sponge were taken from u box in
the wagon. In the basket was an imi-
tation mouse, fastened to the end of a
stout stick, and wound around the end
of the stick was small ball of Irvine.
An old cloth apron completed what
Jerry called the 'outfit.
Down to the edge of the big swamp,
where the weeds and the bushes grew
thick and high, Jerry walked softly
and, after five minutes of slow creeping,
sat down upon log.
"Keep quiet now" he continued,
"there's lots of snake-holes around
here. Here's where saw the big 'un
three weeks ago. Now, you hold the
end of the string while l fasten the
mouse in the clear spot over there"
The stick upon which the imitation
mouse was fastened was forced into the
ground so that the mouse rested in an
upright position about an inch above
the sand The string reached from the
mouse to the log. We lay down, side
by side, behind the log, with our heads
appraised so thatwe could command O
view of a semicircle thirty or forty feet
in diameter.
We waited five minutes in utter
silence. Then Jerry's arm moved back
ward quickly and the string fluttered
an instant in the sand.
Squeak! The imitation mouse cried
out as if caught in q trap. A bird
stopped chipping overhead Squeak
squeak The bird few away. At irregu-
lar intervals for ten minutes the mouse
shrieked in anguish, but only the fit
ting shadow of the swaying string dis
turbed the dull gray surface of the
sand. Through an opening in the
trees the sun blazed down in sullen
fury. Out in cleared field the heat
throbbed upward like waves from a
furnace. The narrow horizon beyond
the trees waved like banner, and the
branches of the bushes hung motionless
in the sitting air.
Squeak-squeak-squeak! The mouse
was becoming furious. Over at the base
of stump something moved. A streak
of yellow-gray sand seemed to start into
life. Jerry nudged me softly
"a snake" 1t was but whisper,
but the snake heard it and stopped, with
head appraised and tongue darling back
The mouse became frantic at its danger.
Jerry seized the crotched stick, the chic
reform and the sponge and was making
ready for spring, when saw by sud-
den pallor in his face that something
had happened. l leaned toward him
and he put his lips close to my ear.
There's q snake crawling over my
legs" he whispered. Don't move Z
1, muscleW
Jerry bowed his head upon the log
and became as marble. In moment
something touched my legs twice. A
chill ran through me; my veins ceased
throbbing and my lungs refused to dc
their work. The snake was feeling
his way across me. A second length
ened into a minute, the minute to al
hour, seemingly, and still the snak,
dragged his heavy length across my
legs. In that second of horror and dis
gust the reptile was as long as a Ship
cable and as heavy as tree. When
felt myself free of the weight | turned
my head. Jerry had risen, and will
stick in handwas stepping over me. H,
made q lunge at something, and when
jumped to my feet found him holding
the stick upon the snakes neck.
'Wet the sponge with cloroform
quick, and hold it down upon his nose.
While l was doing this the snak,
wound himself about the stick and abou
Jerry's leg twice but in moment tn,
folds relaxed and the snake was as limp
as rope.
"That's the way ketch EN-" sait
Jerry, as he wrapped the snake in thu
apron and crowded it into the basket
''No trouble about that. is thereP To
morrow that piney snake will stretcl
his six feet o. length in box that Nv,
got up to the house, an next week he'll
go to New York or to the new museum
on Arch Street, Philadelphia. Tina
mouse does the business every time
That first snake skipped back into hi
hole when the mouse stopped squeakin'
No use tryin' for i'm to-day any more
Wouldn't come out for drove of mice
They're mighty sharp, snakes is. -
| - = M