Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-07-31
A WMOPPER.
A RattIesnake That Swallowed ;
Lamb-Five Snakes at One Shot.
New York Sun

THIS county, the QIm6nSIOHS OIL WHICH
it is expected, will go great way to
ward restoring a reputation for ver-
aclty TO persons who have heretofore
told OF killing rattle snakes over four
feet long. and which had eleven rat
tles-three feet ten inches and seven
rattles have been tie extreme limit
that snake killer was permitted to
iI.dnlge in IN this part of the country.
without straining the credulity or his
fellow men and losing caste. The
snake to which the skin referred to
belonged was few days ago cooled
on a sunny ridge in Cameron County,
waiting for the first invoice of buckle
berry plckers. Tom Ehrgood, of
Wayne County, happene! to be
tramping Whereabouts at the time, and
discovered the snake The reptile.
being coiled, struck out once for Tom
and missed. It then tried 10 run
away, but Tom mashed It's head with
club; he brought the skin home
with him. As ii haugs row. after =
weeks embalminE, il measured ia
length five feet and ten inches yoaat.
and III width q trtla less shan nine
inches. Nineteen ratIleS sdora its
Tail. The slayer of the snake de-
clares that the skin has shrank two
inches since II was taken off.
\ great many people have floof>ed
to Whittaker'S store To see the snake
skin since it was placed on exhibition.
Old residents have come forward with
rccollectionS of serpents long dead
and gone. and unburden their minds
Of them with an evident feeling of
thankfulness that at last relief need
not be purchased at the expense of
personal standing in this community.
your mind and be compelled to keep
it there simply fer lack of means to
get to Canada The way things look
now in the Dreher neigh borhood,
truth has long been crushed to earth
there and Whereabouts, but tie Gamer
on county snake has come among the
people like Gabriel and hidden it rise
again.
eff that snake was five inches an
half lengthier,' says an old inhabi-
tant, taking recollection out of bond
from the storehouse of memory, can
kivered a stretch of an inch an a
quarter withier, an had six more
pieces of music on its tail, it'd be as
nigh on to picture O one stepped
on over in HeInlock Holler thirty
eight years ago this haj in as any one
ever see. 4 lamb O mine had got
lost, an I was lookin' roun' the neigh
borhood fur it. [ stepped on this
snake as | clum over stone wall an
begun to call out the name o the lamb,
thinkin' it mowt be in hearin', an
KNOWN if it was it'd come runnin' to-
find me. 'Spot-t ee e! Spot t-e-e-en I
hollered The lamb was black and
white one, an q great pet, and we
called it Spotty. [ hadn't more'n hOl
lored fore / was raised eff o Rny feet
and tumbled over on my nose as sick
as a greaser. / jumped up an looked
aroun'. Then / sec the snake. and it
was lumpin' roun' like [ never see a
snake afore. But the mex minute the
hull thing planked through my heal.
The snake was as big rOun' as bar'l,
almost, in the middle, where all his
life seemed to be, 'cep in his tail, and
there was beatin' such tatto as 20
giner1 trainin' day never heerd the
music of. | know'd in a minute that
the snake had captur'd and swallered
my lamb, and that the lamb, hadn't
died yit, an hearin' my voice had
gumption enough left to tarn over an
flop aroun' to let me know it heerd
me. Well. | socked stun on that
rattler's head quicker'n that lamb ever
jerked It's tail, an there didn't much
grass grow fore | had my lamb out
an souzed i'll the creek In twenty
minutes it was jist IS good as ever.
That snake skin hangin' there I'd
think was the one / yanked off o the
rattler I'm tellin' bout if it was con
sid'able bigger an had more heft to
its tail"
Il should think that some folks that
sees this tig snake skin would feel
like hangin' their heads in shame, J"
remarked another long suffering resi-
dent. If their consciences don't
prick 'em now, their consciences
must have their prickers worn down
TO the gums. Look at the time [
kllled them nines<rattlers at one shot
with a rifle back o. Purdytown, every
ore of 'em five foot or leetle over,
WITH 1913 rattles betwixt 'em. I
know'd how people giner'lly looked
ca a Teller if he told about KILN a
snake that measured an inch more
than they thought it orter, or that
had rattle or two over the strict
Presby terian idee o how many rat
ties snake killed by truthful man
orter have; SO I KEEP back more'n
half o the truth when | told about
KILN them nine snakes, and said,
kinder modest like, that I just ben
over back o Purdy's an happened to
have the luck to kill FIVE rattlers.
The biggest one, [ said, was leetle
over four foot SIX, an the rest ranged
from three foot eleven an a half to
four two apiece, an divided up eighty
rattles the lot. ! throw'd off four
snakes from the mess, an from six
inches to foot on ev'ry serpent, an
almost divided the rattles by two, an
never said nothin' bout KILN 'em at
one shot, an yit folks said I'd better
90 tell that SOme'rS where no snakes