The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1885-10-02
FISHING FOR SNAKES.

10, not even a rock bass arising at the
tempting lure. Another cast; splash as
if the father of all bass had struck, and the
slender rod bent like whip. e..
Look out for him, cried tho expert, as
long, slender object seemed to shoot into
the air, and cutwined around the line, then
suddenly disappeared to rush off with the
line.
Eels, we suggested, working carefully at
the reel and wishing for don nkey-eugne
attachment
No cells about that, replied my friend, as
his line rushed ou: in a miar manner,
but saekcs;Nsad great snakes, too. Doo't
| land hiul in the boat, he shouted, as the
capture came wriggling overland in his
direction head up.
Now, then. The boatmau seized a land
ing-net aud soon landed lively black water
snake, three feet long, whose torked tongue
daried out viciously, and whose eyes
snapped with rage.
You see, said the original snake. fisher
man, have tricn who is making collec-
tion of snakes, and he wanted me to collect
all could. | didn't know how to do it
without hurting them, until one day was
here aud pulling along, trolling for any
thing | could get, when suddenly l felt
jerk, and reeled in snake larger than any
L have seen here, and since then | have
caught several. | tell you, they're game,
he added, aud there's regular convention
OF them in here, as the rod bent again under
the pressure.
It's new thing to take a fly on snake,
said the excited fisherman, working away;
| foI ,hp
than whole family of bass. But, to tell
the truth the first one | took about broke
up our party. As said, we were pulling
along, and my housekeepcr sat in the stern
holding the rod, when all at once she had
bite that almost took the rod out of her
hands. saw the long tail fly out of the
water and cried out that it was AN eel So
she rceled in, and in a minute the biggest
old watcr-snakc that you ever saw came
rolling alongside. That settled it. Down
went the rod and she took a flying leap for
the bow of the boat, but the line got around
her dress, and she somehow jerked the rep
tile into the boat, and tell you she yelled
when she saw it twisting after her. |
gave the boat shove, and by luck we hit
the shore, and the way we all fell out was
one of the flies in my leg; but my fisher.
.uUsr WY ;sua,sz, sI1r ssg..-r- 80,
air. She struck land, however, and made
for the woods, screaming fire and murder
in three languages, and that was the last |
saw of her.
No. she isn't running get. She broke
away from the line in going through the
woods, and walked home, and all the women
folks have combined in calling ME brute
ever since for soaring her half to death. l
got good ducking, and, between you and
NE, ! was about rs frightened as she was.
That's the way | discovered this snake
fishing, and when you get the hang Of it it
rather brcakes up the monotony Of ordinary
fishing
There is always something exciting alb out
it. and when you come down to variety 1t
takes the cake. Now, when YOU land
bass ne jumps into the air, wriggles, fights,
and dies; but good big snake don't die
until his head is chopped off, and then hell
mold up his tail aud wave it at you. The
other day | brought a man up here who
had been all over the world, had shot ele.
plants in Africa, chased the musk OK in
the far North, hunted on every continent
| under the sun, yct-what was it he said,
| William? asked the Judge, appealing to the
boatman.
He said, replied the man, with a grin,
that he'd never had So much excitement in
IA chunk in his life and he told me after
wards that he had the JIM jams without
tastin liquor. How? Why, him and the
Judge both struck water-snakes to once.
He had one of these reels that multiplies
four times, aud somehow both snakes got
jerkcd into tn boat ut the same time, and
aiore l.c knowcd it one Of EN- made a rush
up his pants lex. Wall, continued tho
oarsman, leaning back, with Il loud haw-haw
at the reco lection, I've seen ground and
lofty tumbin, as they call it, at the circus,
but nothn' to beat bis leap. Ho gev yell
and grabbed the critter through his pants,
made slip and over he went. nigh tipping
over the boat, and shoutin' for me to pull
him out, out Of one side Of his mouth, aud
swearin' at the Judge out of the other. 1t
was up and down aud roly-poly, l kin tell
you.
At last see the critters tail stickin
out alongside his stockn, and workin' up
and down Jest like cat does when she's
mad made a grab for it and
tried to jerk it out, all the time
the Coloncls eyes stickin' out sot you
could have hung your rod on 'em but the
first yank | gave, the fly stuck on the
inside of his pants, and the thing wouldn't
come either way. Then he went to sittin'
off his clothes; vest, suspeuders, and pants
was afyin' through the air for awhile.
After he got his pants off, I'm blest if the
hook wasn't stuck in his drawers, and the
snake wound around his leg, and the way
he got of them things was caution. But
they was tied around apk les in hard knot
and when | jerkcd 'em off, there he was
L 4. l. 4 !. LII i