The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1888-12-29
TWENTY-FIVE PoRkERs DESTROY
500 sERPENTs IN ONE HOUR.

Tho Terror of Black nIountain-Old Abe
Lockhart Puts His Wits to Work-A
Battle Moro Desperate Was Never De-
fore Iscl,clt.
a desperate and almost indescribable bat
tie between ahorde Of rattlesnakcs and a
bunch of hogs occurred few DAYS since OH
Abo l1ockhart's place, at tho foot of Black
mountain. This branch of tho Allegheny
has been long noted rs the homo and rcndez
vous of thousands of black and rattlcsnakes
OF the duSky brown species, which have been
looked upon with dread by tho hunters from
the fact that they have always been ex-
cecdingly aggressive and dangerous. For
years this mountain has been tho terror and
dread OF tho people of tho vicinity, and it is
seldom that any traveller or hunter has had
the temcrity heretofore to cross tho ridge at
or near certain point, SO numerous and
deadly have been tho poisonous reptiles.
But that has all been changed, owing to
the fact that old Uncle Abc Lockhart has
imported from North Carolina a bunch of
tho long nosed, lank, long legged species of
hogs, which from their elongated personnel
have been identified under the title of slug
diggers. Uncle Abe Ind been so pcstercd and
annoyed by the army of snakes which i'll.
tested his farm that lio 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 invetcrate enc
mics of tho snake family. He hauled over
tho mountains twenty-five big, bony hogs of
tho species above described, and placed them
in pens, where ho kept them well fed and
treated
THE CORN TRAIL.
When tho old man had concluded that his
muscular pets had become sufficiently uccli-
mated and ut home ho released them from
their pens, and carly i'll tho morning, while
it was yet cool and tho snakes were still half
benumbcd or asleep, he wentup the mountain
to Il spot where he knew tho reptiles dwclt
by tho thousand. All along tho pathway he
dropped grains of corn until he reached tho
Side of the snake pit, Il sunkcn spot in tho
sidc of tho mountain, containing about half
an acre. Here he threw down q bushel of
loose corn, and, together with the boys,
Jim and George, took shelter i'll low trees.
Within a few minutes tho satisfied grunts
of tho porkers were heard as they followed
tho trail of corn, until tho whole drove
of hogs broke into view from the ui.dcr-
brush. They came on until they arrived
at tho pit, where they stood for II mill
uto or two until tho old boar, an I'M
mense fellow, camo up, when he took tho
lead and went grunting down tho bank into
tho pit. All tho other members of tho family
followed, until tho twenty-five hogs were all
within tho small amphithcatrc of {; half acre
Tho hogs quickly picked up tho corn, but by
tho time they had thoroughly cleaned it tho
snakes, aroused by the heat of tho morning
sun and tho noiso of the porkcrs, began to
appear from tho crevces. a dozen, then
twenty, and directly several hundred Ameri-
can rattlcrs writlled their litlio bodies from
their holes and looked at tho porkcrs with
brilliant, shining eyes and darting tongues
Two or three hundred snakes in a mass of
Shiny, surging bodies began to draw them
selves toward tho hogs, but they had not
crawled moro than thirty or forty feet away
from tho crcvccs in tho rocks before the old
boar gavo II shrill, infuriated squcal. when
tho whole drove of hogs was among its enc
mics
AN 1NDEsCRIBABLE SCENE.
fhe sceno which followed is n,lcscribuble
Tho hogs charged their enemies, picking
them up in their jaws and tramping them
under foot, whio the snakes shook their
rattlcs and struck their enemies with their
fangs. Tho fight ragcd for half an hour, u
hog retreating for n moments rest and then
recharging into the midst Of the writhing
mass, ripping and tr;lmping tho snakes until
tho ground was literally covered with their
writhng bodies. AT ono time the old boar
was almost literally covered with snakes, but
hc didn't appear to care for their bites or
their poison.
He would reach around. catch one in his
jaws, throw it to tho ground, and then hold
it there with his feet while he tore its body
to pieces. This lie kept up for half un hour,
retrcating but onco for II breath Of mir or Il
brief rest, when back he went at it again.
In less than an hour the hogs had COLI
qucred, not snake being left alive, except
n few which had succeeded in rcgnining tho
crevices before the hogs had ilankcd them.
Old Uncle Abe aud his boys became so sick
from the ovcrpowering smell of tho nusky
odor that they were forced TO lie down under
tho trees, but they were perfectly safe so long
us the hogs were about.
After vanquishing tho army of snakes the
poriers lay down among the dead bodies of
the enemies until they had sufficiently
rested, when they again aroused them
selves, and, led hy the old boar, they began
to root up and turn over the rocks, every now
Ilitl cAI''slHS Iuitifl WHICH Hll lllGtlen
his body away from his porcino enemies
When snake was thus exposed there was Il
rush, and in n jiffy that rattcr was torn into
little bits too small to recognize
In an hour and half not a living snake
could be found, and the hogs were, to all up
pearances, as sound and hearty as ever.
Cnclo Abe then picked up his corn sack and
4ado u trail of corn back to the Loll.c, but
the hogs did not follow, seeming to prefer the
flesh Of the snakes to the corn. Ever since
then the drove of hogs lave remained in the
mountain, coming home only to get n change
of food, and where once no man dared to
tread there is now not II rattlcsla!c to be
found. The pigs had cleaned them out
Uncle Abe says there were not less than five
hundred rattlesnakes killed in that Single
fight, and not one hog was hurt Cincinnati
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