Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-06-25
oLD-TIME SNAKE STORY.
HOW Spiders Captured and Sucked
the Liie-Biood of snake.

from ths Chicaoo Netos.
IL IS amusing to read the Indian snake
stories which appear from time to time in
your columns. However, 81 venture to
express the opinion" that they are not al
ways true.
AS TINS may be, l take pleasure in Civ
ing you the following, which probably
ma! interest some OF your many readers.
take the story from 'rhe Chicago
American" dated May s, 1888. and pub
iished by Thomas o. DAVIS. The proper
GATE should read June 8. 1885.
IL the story appears over the sigma
lure "A Wltness"-Judge $. Cummings-
aug IS partially corroborated by ID. Ly-
man Beecher. The story originally APP
Peared In the esprit of the Times" pub
ilshed in Batavia, n. Y, Aug. rs, 1884, and
is written thus:
On the evening of the 13 inst, a gentle
man OF this village found in his wine cell
lar ilVe striped snake, nine inches long,
suspended between two shelves BY the
tall, Dy SPIDERS web. The snake hung so
tnat MS head could not reach the shelfbe-
low him by about an inch, and several
large spiders were then upon him, suck
ing bis Juices. The shelves were about
TWO feet apart; and the lower one was
just below the bottom Of the cellar win
DOW, through which the snake probably
passed into 1t. From the she'll above it
there was web In the shape of an in
Verted cone, eight or ten inches In dia-
meter at the top, and concentrated to a
locus, about six or eight inches from the
undeFslde OF this shelf. From this focus
there was 6trOng cord made of the multi
pied threads OF the spiders web, APP
parently as large as common sewing
silk, and by this cord the snake was sus.
pended.
Upon critical examination through. a
'magnitying glass the following curious
facts appeared: The mouth OF the snake
was fast tied up by a great number of
threads, wound around it so tight that it
could not run out his tongue. His tail
was tied in knot so as to leave a small
loop or ring through which the cord was
fastened; and the end OF the tail above this
hoop to the length OF something over half
an inch was dashed fast to the cord to keep
it from slipping.
AS thesnake hung the length of the cord
from his tail to the focus to which It was
fastened was about six inches, and lit
tie above the tail there was observed a
round ball about the size OF apea. Upon
inspection this appeared to be a green fly,
around wnich-the cord had been wound
as the windlass with which the snake had
been hauled up, and great number of
threads were fastened to the cord above.
and to the rolling side Of this ball to kee p
1t from unwindng ana letting the snake
down. The cord, therefore, must have
been extended from the focus of the web
to the shelf below, where the snake was
lying when first captured, and being made
fast 30 the lOep inhis tail, the fly was car
ried and fastened about midway to the
side OF the cord. And then by rolling this
hy over and over, it wound the cord
around it both from above and below until
the snake was raised to the proper height,
and then was fastened as above men,
toned. In this situation the suffering
snake hung, alive, and furnished a con-
tinued feast fer several large spiders I'M
til Saturday forenoon, the 18th, when
some persons by playing with him broke
the web above the focus so as TO let part
OF his body rest upon the shelf below. In
this situation be fingered, the spiders TAX
ing no,nOtice of him until Thursday last,
eight days after he was discovered, when
some large ants were found devouring his
'dead body pa Witness" How is this
for snake story?