The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-06-15
DANrY uULL,S ma sNAKEDAY,

He KlIIs Seventeen HanIeFs mt Ono Shot,
and ThCu Gathers In Forty More.
Car1oa,tGle. Pa, DhpaIch
Old Mr.. John Hull, who Is familiarity
known in this region as "Banty" Hull on
account Of his short stature, and who
proudly boasts OF having been school
mate Of President Clevelands father
"down in Jarsey" many years ago, is one
OF the most ancient and honorable rattle
snake catchGrs in this part Of Pennsyl.
vania. He has aIso won the local title Of
Doctor" in consequence OF the large
number OF Eager patients which he pre-
tends to have cured and as q healer OF
what he terms 'spine in the back" he
claims to possess remedies about which
the regular practitioners know absolutely
nothing. The eccentric "Banty" has o
fund OF capital personal experiences as
hunter and trapper, but his best anecdotes
are confined to hunting deers, bears and
foxes, and to Strengthening rattlesnakcs.
In conversation with the SIMS correspond
ent he said:
"One time was walkin' along ledge
over on the PaupaCk, when seen bunch
O. suthin' that looked to me like lot O.
rattIesnakes ell quirled up together sun
in themselves. The hummlC& was jest
bout as big as small stump, an it was
right in front OF lot O. rocks p'raps sixty
loot from where stood when | fust seen
it, wasn't sartain whuther II was rat
tlesnakes or not, but was bound TO find
out lore left there. Ihad a muskit with
me that Id used nigh on to forty year, an
chucked seventeen buCkshots into the
muzxIe N rammcd 'em home. Then l
fired at the heap 10 make sure what 1t was
made OF. Wall, found out mighty soon,
you'd better b'IieVe. Sech scamperin'
OF squirmy cusses as tried to git inter abe
cracks in the rocks never SEQ atore nor
sencc. 1t was nip an twizzle with the
hull mess rs to which would get out the
way Just. didn't s'poSe that I'd hit
any OIL 'em, judgfn' from their antics:
lest thought tile noise OF the shotd
kinder wakened EN- out oil sort
O. afternoon nap an scarf 'em 80
sudden like that they didn't hardly know
where they was for second or so. The
noise OF their ratsles told me that they was
s'prised at somethin' er other, an l
thought wouldn't sit at any nearer 10 'em
till they stopped rattlin' and squirInin'
around. knOwed they wouldn't roam
away very fur to see,what'd.run again EN-,
cause they was 'iraid that il they did't get
out o the way it'd thunder I'M tighten
ag'n. Whenit was all quiet creeped up
Lo'ard the rocks very careful. seen lot
O. snakes layin' near the ledge. They
wasn't maxim any noise, an p0ked EN-
apart, an got 'en 0nQuirled. Every one
on 'em was dead, an when l Strengthened
'em out an laid 'em in row found
there was Jest US many dead snakes as
they was buckshots in the musket-seven-
teen in all. A good many Of the reptiles
had got away. knOwed that an ! know
ed furthermore that probably some O. the
shots hadn't hit q snake, an others had
killed more'n one.
"But that wasn't all the fun l had. l
was purity sartin that many OF the var
mind CraWled inter the rocks when the
shots struck the heap, an mistrusted
they'd come out bimeby to see I the
shower was over. went down in the lot
an got a new fence post with a sawed end
and took it up on the rock jest 'bove some
holes where l 'speCted the live snakes
was hidin'. lrested the post on the rock
an waited for the snakes to stick their
heads out. In little while l see head
noke out an peek around right under
where stood with the post. Then the
head was still, an l dropped the square
end Of the post down on it. 1t smashed
the head as flat as a pancake agin'
the rock, an they was 'nuther dead rather.
l raised the post up an watched fur more
game. Purity eoou 'nuther head popped
out, an down went the post endways. 1t
was more fun than shoOtin', and | got SO
carried away with the sport that l didn't
realize how late it was when it begun to
Git dusk. Then | laid the post down an
pulled the snakes out with acrotched stick.
| counted forty-three, an it got so dark
that couldn't see any more, an left
'em. How many more besides the forty
three never found out, but there must OF
hean dozen ANYHOW"