Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-02-29
Snakes.

''Do you suppose they Will ever ge, so
they can train snakes?" asked one of
the party, after the long pause that fol-
lowed an account of how q Wisconsin
woman had caught rattlesnake Ivy
setting her husbands false teeth for
them.
al knowned of a case" said the msa
from Michigan. "a friend of mine out
in 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 deer's eyes and
kill him dead!"
1--WE hearn of it bein' DONE" assented
the Iowa man. when l was in the
mines my chum lit onto one and brought
him home. The snake took to him from
the start, and in less than a week he had
the varmint drawing water"
How'd he work it?" demanded the
Michigan man.
II never knew the rights of it." re-
piled 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 drink of water. He'd
ruther 90 dry. But this chum of mine
fixed things so that he had no trouble ia
keepin' wet all the time. That snake
would go 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 did not
squirt any venom through his fangs,
only pure water, and as soon as he I'M
loaded, off he went for more. He got
so affectionate he almost drowned my
friend one day, and chummy had to put
him to deathn'
Il had one," said the Illinois man,
''who was the best and wust snake | ever
seen. One end of him was all off, and
the other was the moral business in that
neck o. 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!''
Chow did the mouth stand it?" said
the Iowa man.
THE mouth used to get mad. replied
the Illinois man; but it couldn't bite un.
less it stood upon the tail, and the tail
wouldn't have itr'
Got him yet?" asked the Michigan
man.
mo, he back-capped us, and we had
to kill him. One day he got caught, as
usual, and turned around and bit his
tail short of. That settled it, and we
rammed him into a rife and shot .
Sheriff 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 20 crawl
into the chickens and eat the giblets, so
there weren't nothing left to make
gravy when we had a roast As soon
as 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 hen
would lay well enough, but we had NJ
choice parts when it came to cooking?"
You never can tell what they're GO
| ing to do" smiled the Nevada man
my brother brought one up from Ari-
IONA, wanted him for the children 10
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 be bigger than he was, and
then again he wouldn't have but one OF
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 no getting
close to him."
'.How did you account for the change
in the rattles?" asked the Texan.
ut was q long time before we gol
onto It" returned the Nevada man
"But one night we followed him
Where dye think we found that snake!
he was out in the woods, playing sever
up, with three other snakes for rattles
and when we captured him he was 9
bushel of rattles ahead, had caught ths
jack, aud held the ace and low in hi
handr'
..Who pays for these drinks, gentle
men" inquired the barkeeper. sol
EMMY.
And then they got mp and wandered
out, and were sean of men no more
| Brooklyn Edole.