Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-09-30
Il KENTUCKY SNAKE FARM.
A Run Around Josh Abs'lom's Place
The Money Value of Snake Leather and
Snake OiI-Eight Cents a Pound for
Swapping Turtles.


Swapping Turtles.
Correspondence New York SUM-
"Snakes is my best friend, sonny,
and that's So" remarked Old Josh
Abs'lom, the snake-farmer-so they
call him through the counties or
Campbell, Kenton and Boone
'snakes and turtles. If it wasn't for
them, old Josh'd have to hustle hisself
q blame sight harder'n he does before
he could raise enough terbacker and
hog meat to keep his soul and his
buddy IN the same gait"
He fixed the second fingers of his
right and left hands into the side
straps of his heavy cow-hide boots
and pulled.
'These yer is my snakin' boots," he
explained. 81 only put them on when
I'm goin' in hustlin' through the erik
after snakes. They're good and thick
and water tight"
The force Of his exertions made him
short-winded, red-faced and pop-eyed,
but the boot failed to embrace his
foot. He stamped with all his force
upon the floor, braced himself against
the door-frame and pulled again
81 wonder now if they amt some
thing in it." he said at last, kicking the
boot of and vigorously shaking it. A
three-fOOt garter snake, crushed so that
the skin was. broken In several places,
fell out on the floor of the cabin, where
it writhed vigorously.
81 thought So" said Josh, as he
proceeded to climb into the boat once
more. "You see, the weather is get
ting so cold that these critters is look
ing around for winter quarters, and
you'd be g'lar surprised if you knew
how many of 'em make for the house
and crawl in under the floor. That
minds me, I'vegot something to show
you before we start out"
He led the way to a heap ofcompost
in the rear of the cabin, where he used q
two-pronged fork vigorously for a few
minutes, finally uncovering heap of
yellowish-white eggs, each about the
size OF the egg of a bluebird. There
were eighteen of them, lying together
in a space about as large as the palm
of child's hand, their tough and fexi-
bic covering permitting them to live in
a less compass than if the shells had
been hard.
What do you say?" asked Josh.
Turtles eggs ?"
''Nary turtle. Snake, and laid
mighty late in the year too. I'm
afeared they won't hatch; but if any
thing will bring them out the heat in
that there manure pile is going to do
it. After she's once got rid of 'em the
old lady snake never troubles ner
head any more about the eggs; but I
must say she always picks out the
warmest place she kin find fur to
drop EN-. The water snake-like my
turtles--hunts up some good hot place
IN the sand, so as when the little ones
come out they kin tumble out'n the
shell into the water; but with the
blacks, the racers, the n1iIks and the
carriers, a good warm manure pile is
got the call"
He covered the eggs carefully, and
then proceeded to take up his morn
ing's work in earnest. With canvas
bag II inches square hanging under
his LETT arm from a, strap about his
neck, and carrying a stout walking
stick, forked at the lower end, he set
off from the cabin toward the lower
end OF the raVine which was literally
chOked with a heavy growth of black
berry and elderberry bushes. Before
walking forty yards, he stopped short
and pointed with his stick to the grass
at his feet. A blacksnake as thick as
broom-handle was coiled ready for
a spring, its undulating head rising 6
inches above the glittering mass of its
body, and its forked tongue playing
III and out Of its mouth
Josh made a feint with his left hand,
and, as the reptile sprang to meet
him, caught it just back of the Jaws in
the fork OF the stick, and pinned his
head to the grass. With his pocket
knife he cut off the head close to the
stick, and then tossed the squirming
body into the canvas bag. A smaller
snake which glided through the grass
a moment later was unmolested.
That's a young black, and never
touch black under three feet; four
feet is about the average. You see, il
we kill off the young ones, we're going
to run mighty blame short on old
ones, and old ones is the only kind
whose skins is worth a picayune.
Sometimes they amt much call for
skins, but just now Pm selling fail
skinsfOr a bit apiece. Where do [ sell
them? IL Cincinnati at the tannery
The skins that l capture to-day will
bein pickle before night, and it will be
mighty short time, sonny, before some
gilt-edged dude will be using it for to-
bacco pouches, book bindings, OF
maybe giving them to his girl In the
shape of slippers or-or-what do
they call these little boxes that they
keep their yearrings and gimcracks
I'M"
"JeweI cases ?"
That's it. Besides the steady cal
for them kind % things jest now, the
tanner tells me that he's got an or
der from a New York man who is bind
ing q whole library in snakeskin mo