Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-05-15
TARsoN's SNAKE KILLING SOW.
Its Fat Cheeks Turned to Receive a Rat
tiers venomoas Fangs.

IIA Eht Nhsthr uftcu v ttft'f'S H't
tiers venomoos Fangs.
Moodna is a low lying, unattractive
settl sment, rather thickly inhabited,
on the Middletown branch Of the
West Shore railroad. a little above
Cornwall and not more than a quar-
ter Of a mile below the secluded glen
called Paradise. The river that waters
Paradise flows darkly through Mood
ma, but il is a limpid. sparkling stream
at the upper point and little better
than a cesspool at the lower one.
Paradise both on account of its re-
markable beauty and the difficulty Of
getting TO il is well named. Moodna
nay be said TO be the very antithesis
of Paradise. There is no trail Of the
serpent in Paradise. but Moodna is
rich in snakes, and would have a still
greater wealth of them were il not for
the untiring efforts of Mr.. Sam Tar
sons SOW. She kills the reptiles and,
though her appetite at the swill tub is
unimpaired, she eats snakes with
great gusto, and leaves nothing but
the bones behind. For reasons known
only TO herself, she picks off the flesh
of her prey, and eschews the osscous
portions. Moodna is proud Of Tarsouls
sow, and the surrounding hamlets
would like to borrow her when snakes
multiply too rapidly; but she has all
the work she can attend TO At home.
OF course, most of the snakes that
infest Moodna are comparati ;ely
harmless, and the sturdy SOW fearlessly
casts her 400 pounds Of adipoSe matter
upon them, and regardless of their
bites, stamps and gnaws their lives
out. The adjacent mountain Of Storm
King, however. has many recesses
that are the homes Of rattlesnakes.
With the first breath of spring they
emerge hungry, venomous and very
wicked, and larson, aided by old Zach
Archer, the professional snake catcher,
secured a large one, and determined 10
test the power Of his pet as it had
never before been tried.
He led the SOW into the barn, where
a soap box containing the snake had
been placed upon the floor. Then he
climbed upon a rafter, SO as TO be out OF
harms way, and, by pulling a string,
raised adoor which he had made in the
box. Instantly the snake glided out,
and at once saw the SOW. II threw
itself into a coil, its eyes glittered, IT
Missed viciousiy, and il was ready and
eager for battle. The SOW also saw the
snake, as her subsequent actions indi-
Gated; but il is doubtful if the reptile
saw that she saw it," for no pig un-
dergoing the process of fattening in
the hog pen ever seemed more guile
less than did she as she trotted around
the barn, apparently in search of a
bad potato or a rotten apple. She was
narrowing the circle, however, and
each revolution brought her nearer
to her hereditary enemy.
AT last she stopped moving, and
looked straight at the snake. Quick
as q lightning fash the reptile struck
at her, but the SOW knew her business.
With equal celebrity she turned her
head half Csound, and the poisonous
fangs sss.S into her left check. For O
moment the snake writhed around the
sow's snout, and she tried to seize il,
but it dropped to the ground un'
harmed, and, with amazing rapidity,
resumed its coil. The SOW seemed TO be
chagrined. She advar,ed a step, and
as the snake struck iekcely at her fol
the second time she obeyed the Script.
ural mandate, and, having been smit'
ten on one cheek, she turned the other
TO her assailant. She changed her tao
tics on this occasion, and did not at.
tempt TO bite the snake while IL main.
tanned its hold; but the instant il
dropped she pounced upon il, and
grasping it by the neck she pinned its
ugly head to the ground and played O
tattoo upon its body with her feet,
She was not materially injured by the
bites she had received, for the venom
wasted itself in the thick layers Of fai
that underlined her cheeks, and i
could not reach any vital part Of hel
anatomy. The snake was soon dead
and Mr.. larson clambered down from
the rafter, hoping 10 secure the body
as a trophy Of his pets victory; bu'
the SOW was in no mood to brood inter
ference. She felt that TO the victor be
longed the spoils, and her blood being
up, and q little Of il running from eacl
cheek, she drove her owner from IN,
barn. When he returned fifteen min
utes later she was in a more amicabl'
frame of mind, and she had made s
skeleton Of the snake as skillfully Al
if the job had been done by taxider
j st.-New York Sun.