Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-12-26
SNAKE-KILLING HOGS.
TWENTY-FIVE PORKERS DESTROY
800 SERPENTs IN ONE HOUR.

The Terror OF Black Mountain-Old Abe
Lockhart Puts His Wits to Work-A
Battle More Desperate Was Never Be-
fore Eeheld.
A desperate and almost Undesirable bat
tie between horde Of rattlesnakes and q
bunch Of hogs occurred few days since on
Abe Lockhart's place, at the foot Of Black
mountain. This branch of the Allegheny
has been long noted as the home and rendez-
vous Of thousands Of black and rattlesnakes
Of the dnsly brown species, which have been
looked upon with dread by the hunters from
the fact that they have always been ex-
ceedingly aggressive and dangerous. For
years this mountain has been the terror and
dread OF the people Of the vicinity, and it is
seldom that any traveller or hunter has had
the temerity heretofore to cross the ridge at
or near a certain point, so numerous and
deadly have been the poisonous reptiles.
But that has all been changed, owing to
the fact that old Uncle Abe Lockhart has
imported from North Carolina bunch of
the long nosed, lapk, long legged species Of
hogs, which from their elongated personnel
have been identified under the title Of slug
diggers. Uncle Abe had been SO pestered and
annoyed by the army of snakes which in
Tested his farm that he put his wits to work
and finally hit upon the happy plan Of i'm
porting his lank and bony swine, which have
had the reputation of being inveterate enc
mics of the snake family. He hauled over
the mountains twenty-five big, bony hogs of
the species above described, and placed them
in pens, where he kept them well fed and
treated
TIE CORN TRAIL.
When the old man had concluded that his
muscular pets had become sufficiently acch-
mated and at home he released them from
their pens, and early in the morning, while
it was yet cool and the snakes were still half
benumbed OF asleep, he went up the mountain
to spot where he knew the reptiles dwelt
by the thousand. All along the pathway he
dropped grains of corn until be reached the
side Of the snake pit, a sunken spot in the
side of the mountain, containing about half
an acre. Hero he threw down O bushel Of
loose corn, and, together with the boys,
Jim and George, took shelter in low trees.
Within a few minutes the satisfied grunts
of the porkers were heard as they followed
the trail of corn, until tho whole drove
brush. They came on until they arrived
at the pit, where they stood for min
ute CT two until the old boar, On i'm
mense fellow, came up, when be took the
lead and went grunting down the bank into
the pit. All the other members Of the family
followed, until the twenty-five hogs were all
within the small amphitheatre Of a half acre.
The hogs quickly picked up the corn, but by
the time they had thoroughly cleaned it the
snakes. aroused by the heat Of the morning
sun and the noise of the porkers, began to
appear from the crevices. A dozen, then
twenty, and directly several hundred Ameri-
can rattlers writhed their 1.-the bodies from
their holes and looked at the porkers with
brilliant, shining eyes and darling tongues.
Two or three hundred snakes In mass Of
Shiny, surging bodies began to draw them
selves toward the hogs, but they had not
crawled more than thirty or forty feet away
from the crevices in the rocks before the old
boar gave a shrill, Infatuated squeal. when
tho whole drove Of hogs was among its enc
mics.
AN INDESCRIBABLE SCENE.
The scene which followed is indescribable.
The hogs charged their enemies, picking
them up in their jaws and tramping them
under foot, while the snakes shook their
rattles and struck their enemies with their
fangs. The fight ragged for half an hour.
hog retreating for moments rest and then
recharging intoa the midst Of the writhing
mass, ripping and tramping the snakes until
the ground was literally covered with their
writhing bodies. AT one time the old boar
was almost literally covered with snakes, but
he didn't appear to care for their bites or
their poison.
He would reach around, catch one in his
jaws, throw it to the ground, and then hold
it there with his feet while he tore its body
to pieces. This he kept up for half an hour,
retreating but once for breath Of air OF q
brief rest, when back be went at it again.
In less than an hour the hogs had con-
quered, not one snake being left alive, except
a few which had succeeded in regaining the
crevices before the hogs had thanked them.
Old Uncle Abe and his boys became SO sick
from the overpoweTing smell Of the musky
odor that they were forced to lie down under
the trees, but they were perfectly safe so long
as the hogs were about.
After vanquishing the army of snakes the
porkers lay down among the dead bodies of
the enemies until they had sufficiently
rested, when they again aroused them
selves, and, led by the old boar, they began
to root up and turn over the rocks, every now
and then exposing RATHER which had hidden
his body away from his porcine enemies.
When snake was thus exposed there was
rush, and in jiffy that RATHER was torn into
little bits too small to recognize
In an hour and half not living snake
could be found, and the hogs were. to all ap-
pearanccs, as sound and hearty as ever
Uncle Abe then picked up his corn sack and
made a trail of corn back to the house, but
the hogs did not follow, seeming to prefer the
flesh of the snakes to the corn. Ever since
then the drove of hogs have remained in the
mountain, coming home only to get change
of food, and where once no man dared to
tread there is now not rattlesnake to be
found. The pigs had cleaned them out |
Uncle Abe says there were not less than Ave
hundred rattlesnakes killed in that single |
fight, and not one hog was hurt.-Cincinnati |
Enquirer.
Wouldn't Be Outdone.
Another story which Gen. Sheridan was /