The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-26
A FEW SNAKE STORIES.
A Little in Advance of the Regular Season,
but Still Good.

Brooklyn Eagle
''Do you suppose they will ever get so that
! they can train snakes!" asked one of the party,
after the long pause that followed an account of
how Il Wisconsin woman had caught rattle
snake by setting her husbands false teeth for
them.
II knowed of a case" said the man from Mich
| igan. "A friend of mine out i'll the lumber
deestricks found one in his pocket one day and
sewed the pocket up until the snake was nigh
starved. Then he let him out and fed him, and
after that the snake would do anything he told
him to. He used to hunt deer with that snake
He'd lay for the deer, and as soon as it hove in
sight he'd set that snake after it, and the cussed
snake would jump through the deers eyes and
kill him dead!"
GIVE hearn of it bein' DONE" assented the
Iowa man. when / was in the mines my
chum lit onto and brought him home. The
snake took to him from the start, and in less
than week he had the varmnt drawing water. "
How'd he work it," demanded the Michigan
man.
81 never knew the rights of it." replied the
Iowa man. ''You know when we were diggin'
we didn't have no time to waste. If man got
dry he grudged the time to take a drink of
water. He'd rather go dry. But this chum Of
mine fixed things that he had no trouble IN
keeTing wet all the time. That snake would 90
off and fill himself up with water, and then he
would come back and bite this chum of mine
The snake had arranged himself so that he
didn't squirt any venom through his fangs only
pure water, and as soon as he unIoaded, off he
went for more. He got so affectionate he almost
drowned my friend one day. and chummy had to
put him to deathw
II had one" said the Illinois man, ''who was
the best and wust snake 1 ever seen. One end
of him was all off, and the other was the moral
business in that neck O the woods. The wust of
him was he'd steal things around the house, but
when the tail end caught the mouth at any
crooked business it would rattle, and we always
got there before he could get away with the
goods. You ought to see the grateful wag of
that tail when the mouth got
How did the mouth stand itF asked the Iowa
man.
''The mouth used to get mad" replied the
Illinois man; but it couldn't bite unless it
stood up on its tail, and the tail wouldn't have
it."
''Got him YETI" asked the Michigan man.
mo; he back capped us, and we had to kill him.
One day ne got caught, as usual, and turned
around and bit his tail short off That settled it,
and we rammed him into a rife and shot a sher
iff with him"
II had one good many years ago. observed
the Texan, "but he got into all kinds o mischief,
and we didn't take no comfort with him. He
used to crawl into the chickens and eat the glib
let's, so there weren't nothing left TO make gravy
when we had roast. AS soon as a hen opened
her mouth, in he went and he'd stay there until
he'd eat up the crop and heart and gizzard and kid
neys, and all them things. The hens would lay
well enough but we had no choice parts when it
came to cooking"
''You never can tell what they're going to do"
smiled the Nevada man. MY brother brought
one up from Arizona; wanted him for the chill
dren to play with. He slept in the clock, nights.
cause he liked to feel the works scratch his back
1t sort o soothed him. But we noticed the most
curious thing about his rattles. Sometimes
they would be bigger than he was and then
again he wouldn't have but one two little
ones that wasn't no good to a snake of his size
When he had the bigs, as We called it, he was
the best-natured snake in the town, but when
they were small, there was getting close to
him"
How do you account for the change in the
rattles!' asked the Texan.
1T was long time before we got onto it" re-
turned the Nevada man. But one night we
followed him. Where dye think we found that
snakel He was out in the woods, playin seven
up with three other snakes for rattles and when
we captured him he was bushel of rattles
ahead had caught the jack, and held the ace
and low in his hand!'
''Who pays for these drinks, gentlemenF in
quired the bar-keeper, solemnly.
And then they got up and wandered out, and
were seen of men no more.