The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1884-03-29
SOME SNAKES.
Brooklyn Eagle.l

tbfooklyn Eagle.l
"Do you suppose they will ever get so
they can train snakes?" asked one Of the
party, after the long pause that followed
an account of how Wisconsin woman
had caught rattlesnake by setting her
husbands false teeth for them.
II knowed of case," said the man
from Michigan. "a friend of mine in
the lumber dcestricts 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'd lay for the deer, and as
soon as it hove in sight he'd set the
snake after it, and the cussed snake
would jump through the deer's eye and
kill him dead!"
''l've hearn of it bein done," assented
the Iowa man. "When l was in the
mines my chum lit onto one and brought
it home. The snake took to him from
the start, and in less than week he had
the varmint drawing water" .g
How'd he work it," demanded the
Michigan man.
II never knew the right 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 grudgcd the
time to take drink of water. He'd
rather go dry. But this chum of mine
fixed things SO that he had no trouble in
keepin' wet all the time. That snake
would go off and gil himself up with
water, and then he would come back and
bite this chum Of mine. The snake had
so arranged himself that he didn't squirt
any venom through his fangs, only pure
water, and as soon as he unloaded him
self, off he went for more. He got so
affectionate he almost drowned my friend
one Gay, and chummy had to put him to
deathw
Il had one," said the Illinois man,
''who was the best and wust snake I 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 left!" : 81 Ilt{ q
"How did the mouth stand it," 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!' gan
"Got him YETI" asked the Michigan
man.
"No, he backcapped US and we had te
kill him. One day he got caught, al
usual, and turned around and bit his tai
short off. That settled it, and We
rammed him into rife and shot a sheriff
with him."
II had one good many years ago,
observed the Texan, but he got into al
kinds o mischief, and we didn't take nj
comfort in him. He used to crawl int
the chickens and eat the gib7ets of, 8
there weren't nothing left to make grav.
when we had roast. As soon a. hel
opened her mouth in he WENT, and he'
stay there until he'd eat up the crop, an
heart, and gizzard, and kidneys, and al
them things. The hens would lay wel
enough, but we had no choice parts whe
it came to cooking"
"You can never tell what they're goin
| to do, smiled the Nevada man, m
brother brought up one from Arizona
wanted him for the children to play Will
He slept in the clock nights cause /
liked to feel the works scratch his bacl
| It sort O soothed him. But we notice
the most curious thing about his rattle
Sometimes they would be bigger THAN
was, and then again he wouldn't ha'
but one or two little ones that wasn't
good to snake of his size. When
had the 'bigs' as we called it, he wal u
best natured snake in the town, but VIII
they were small there was no gettil
close to him." s.. ..st.
"How did you account for the chan
in the rattles!" asked the Texan.
"It was a long time before we got on
it." returned the Nevada man. "but Q
night we followed him. Where d.
think we found that snake! He was o
in the woods playing seven-,,p with thr
other snakes for rattles, ard when
caught him he had busfiel Of ratt'
ahead, had caught the jack, and held t
acc, and low in his handP .Fsa ].