Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-29
SNAKE sroRIEs FROM JERSEY
The Exploits of an Old Lady and What
Three Boys Saw

AAAcc boys Saw
Samuel Moore, Of Jersey CITY, saws a
Deekertown special to the New York
Times, is visiting, with his family, at his
wife's mothers in Montague township,
this county, in the mountains, near the
Delaware river. Last Sunday his lit lie
daughter, aged 4 years, went into the yard
to play. Presently she was heard calling
her grandmother, who went to the door.
The child clapped her hands with delight
when she saw her grandmother, and
shouted to her to come and see what a
pretty thing she had found. The old lady
went to the spot and was Mortified to dis
cover that the cause Of the childis delight
was large rattlesLake. coiled ready TO
spring, and only three or four feet away.
The child was hurriedlv removed from
danger and the grandmother seized hoe
and attacked the reptile with the handle.
The snake struck the handle ViciOusly
several times with its fangs before it was
dispatched. While she was engaged in
killing the snake the old lady discovered
another one lying a short distance away
IN the path. She approached il, when il
coiled itself and awaited the attack. 1t
was killed by one blow of the hoe handle
The lively movements of the old lady in
her yard attracted the attention of a
neighbor and he started across his garden
to see what was going on. He had pro-
ceeded but few steps when he came face
TO face with a rattlesnake lying coiled in
his lettuce bed. He killed it and hurried
OH to the next yard, where his neighbor
seemed still to be busy. She had found
two more rattlesnakes and killed them
both. The grounds in the vicinity were
searched for others that might be linger-
ing about, but no more were found. The
i've snakes were very large ones and four
of them had II rattles each. The fifth had
but 7. The singular part of the story is
that a rattlesnake was never seen in that
immediate vicinity before.
1t IS not generally believed, even among
people who live in neighbOrhOOds where
snakes are common, that these reptiles
swallow their young, as in time of danger
or when they move from one locality to
another. While it is a well authenticated
fact that many species of snakes do this,
instances are rare where they have been
seen In the act. Such a sight was wit
messed few days since. Charles Wilson,
William Gould and Harry Lawrence,
three boys, were blackberrying near this
village. They discovered a garter snake
in the bushes, which at once began to
glide to and fro, uttering peculiar hiss
ing sound. Suddenly the snake stopped
and lay fiat upon the ground, with its
heau raised little and the mouth wide
open. Instantly diminutive snakes began.
to appear from all directions, and one after
another darted in at the open mouth of the
old snake and disappeared. A steady
stream of youngreptiles poured itself into
their mothers throat for more than a
minute. When the last one had entered
the mother snake was swollen to more
than twice her natural size and she i'm
mediately started to leave the spot. One
of the boys killed her. There were 105 of
the young snakes and all were killed.
The mother was but % feet long aud the
young ones were of an average length of
inches, aggregating a length of 26 feet
stored away in the narrow compass of the
old snakes body.