Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1889-08-30
A Snake Catcher's Mistake

Nese Hooae of Spring Brook, Pa, is used
+, handling rattlesnakes, but he made q
mistake one day this mouth, and he came
near losing his life on account OF 1t. Rat.
tlesnakes are thick in rocky dell halfa mile
from Hoose's house at the foot of Shiny
mountsin, and Hoose often goes up to the
dell at this time in the summer and catches
few for their oil. Two weeks ago last
Saturday Hooee saw an uncommonly large
rattler supning itself on the ground near the
den, and he stole up TO the sleeping reptile
and pinned its head to the earth with his
crotchet stick. The snake was remark.
ably fine specimen, and, as it squirmed and
buZzsd and hiesed in it's efforts to get away,
Hoose concluded to extract Its poisonous
faugs and take it home alive. He had done
that to many rattler before, and he took out
pair of nppers that he always carries when
he gees snake hunting, and quickly deprived
the blinking angry reptile of it's natural
weapons-et Least Hoose, thought he had
com pleted the joo, but in his haste he had
ouly half done it. With the crotchet piece
of sapling over the snakes neck, Hoose held
the writhing body 10 the ground with his
left foot and counted the rattles. There
were thirteen of them. Hoose then grabbed
the big rattler by the neck with his right
hand and by the tail with his left, and start
for home. The ugly snake hissed and wrig
gled all the way home. but Hoose kept 8
strong hold on both extremities until he
was within few rods of bis house, when
seeing his wife in the yard, he called out to
her to see what ne had got. Mrs. Hoose
looked that way, and just then Hoose let
loose of the snakes head and held the squirm-
ing reptile up by the tall with his left
hard The snake struck at Hoose, and Mrs.
Hoose screamed and begged him to drop it.
To show her that the rattler was harmless,
Hoose reached for the snakes head with his
right hand, and wac about to grab the snake
around the neck, when it struck as quick as
a fash, and hit him about midway between
the centre of hs palm and the veins In his
wrist HOSE knew at once that he had
been stung by poisonous fang, and be
flung the snake TO the ground and crushed
its head with his heel. Then he ran into
- ouse, but before he could get to the
buttery his wrist began to swell, and he
thought his time had come There WAS no
whisky in the house, but there was half
plot of alcohol in q bottle, and he drank 1t
at once. Mrs Hoose ran crying down to
Thaddeus Coles house after some whiskey,
and while she was gone Hoose nearly stran
eled himself by drinking gill of strong
camphor. Cos happened to have gallon
jug half full of cheap whiskey, and he grab.
bed it and ran to Hoose's the moment Mrs.
Hoose told him what the trouble was. When
he got there Hoose's arm was terribly swol.
len TO the shoulder, and Cole lost no time In
making Hoose swallow a quart of the liquor.
By that time Hoose was very sleepy. but
Cole labored with him until he got pint
more of the whisky down him. The bitten
mau was nsensible for thirty hours, when
be came 10 and began to complain ofdreadful
pains in b head. These continued for
more than a day, when the swelling gradu.
ally disappeared and week from the time
be hal been poisoned Hoose was able to get
around agaio. Before Hoose became IN.
conscious he told Cole how he had pulled
the snakes fsngs out. Cole examined the
dead rattler's mouth and found that one of
he fangs had not been removed.