The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-31
THE SNAKE FARMER.
Mr. Childs OF Arkansas on His Way
20 the Eastern Markets.

60 the Eastern Markets
From the s.. Louis Globe Democrat.
/ J. E. Childs, who Is probably the only
I bona fide snake farmer IN America, was in
+ St Louis yesterday on business connected
with his enterprise, and left for New York
/ on an evening train, where he hopes 20 find
I q market for his fall crop Of snake products.
/ There is nothing veaomous, shiny or IN
] canny about Mr. Childs-quiSe the con-
/ trary He is of the blonde type; stands six
/ feet 10 MS CATERS, has well-cut frame, a
/ sandy mustache and a hearty laugh. He
/ wears on his head the conventional SON.
[ brero. which has a tanned rattlesnake hide
for band. No lover Of any profession or
art could be moe enthusiastic for its sue
/ cess than Is Childs for his gruesome venture.
/ He has embarked his energies ard time,
/ even if rot any great amount of money in
| it, and is resolved to make it pay.
His farm is situated near the railroad
depot at Harrisburg, Poinsett county, Ar
kansas. The farm proper consists of pen
some twenty-five feet IN diameter. In the
center Of this pen is a raised platform, ac-
cess BILE in safety from the outside, on which
visitors can promenade out Of reach Of the
deadly fangs In the woods and Wild
swamps surrounding Harrisburg myriads
of moccasins, cotton-mouths, rattlesnakes
and copperheads are found. These wilds
are the seed bins from which at times Mr..
| ChIlds draws to repleriSh mis- farm. At one
side of the Enclosure is a rabbit warren in
which lives some fifty or sixty bur mics.
| Their Du.nber, however, is constantly
changing. They never die Of old age. They
| are the food Of the snakes.
Between 500 and 600 reptiles are in the
| farm at present, and most of them are in-
| tended for this falls slaughter. Only the
/ largest ones are used, as they yield greater
amount of oil, skin and rattles than the
! smaller ones. Mr.. Chil1s expects to harvest
! go ounces of oil this season, aud has made
his price 81 per ounce. Aside from the oil
he will have a handsome crop Of rattles and
| tanned skim.
The farmer is confident that snake oil,
especially that of the RATHER, Will soon be-
come a staple medical product. Many
Arkansas physicians even now prescribe tie
/ fat and meat for severe cases of rheu-
matism, govt and neuralgia. lC is well
! known that acrobats and athletes often re-
| qIire penetrating oil to timber stiff joints
and put themselves in proper trim. Though
| Mr.. Childs says he has never heard of any
professional men using rattlesnake oil for
the purpose above named, he is going to
! push it in that direction.
Mr.. Childs has the oil and fat packed in
mailable receptacles; So that he can easily
| reach customers at distance.
Mr.. Chllds goes among his pets entirely
unprotected, fondles them, allows them TO
crawl all over his person, and has never
been bitten. But should stranger ap-
proach-even walk around on the raised
platform above them-the reptiles become
wild with rage. They distinguish at once
between the intruder and their master, and
| resent the intrusion by doing all in their
| power to reach and annihilale the intruder.
When an ounce or SO of fresh oil is de-
| sired Mr.. Childs enters the pen and either
| whistles with his lips or uses flute. The
snake at once glide out of their holes and
| gather around him, making peculiar pur-
| ring sound with their rattles to denote their
pleasure. Selecting the largest and latest,
| Childs picks it up and cody cuts its head
off with his pocketknife. the head imme-
| diately dies, to all appearances, but the
body squirms and the rattles sound for ten
| of fifteen minutes after. When the death
throes are over the body is hung up in the
sun with the neck downwards, ard cup
or dish is placed beneath to catch the OIL
In few hours the heat causes all the liquid
| in the body to drain out.
The snakes are we'll fed because their
dinner of rabbits is ALWAYS at hand. Mr.
Childs says that no cruelty is done to the
animals in placing them there. Indeed, they
do not seem to mind their deadly neighbors
in the least, but go on breeding as content
edly as though in their natural home When
a snake b comes hungry, which happens
once In every five or six weeks he restlessly
squirms about until he catches sight of one
of the rabbits. Then without more ado
he wrigges his way to the doomed
animal The rabbit either does
not realize the danger or is power
less to move. When within a couple of
feet the rattler's head is shot forward like a
dart, and it is very seldom that it misses its
aim The prey is generally struck in the
small of the back, and after running about
for three or four minutes falls dead. The
snake then eats the rabbit at his leisure
Mr.. Childs says that it is an exploded idea
that poisonous snakes do not evenom the
meat they eat. 1t is the habit of rattle
snakes, of moccasins of copperheads, and,
in fact of all of the deadly species, to kill
their food exactly as they attack al enemy
II they miss at their first onslaught The
snakes seldom repeat it, but retire to their
holes much disco nfted.
The snake farmer is also charmer, and
can teach his reptiles almost any trick
At his command some of the old ones that
he has had sufficient time to instruct in
the branches of polite statehood will play
dead, kiss each other any desired mum Der
of times, aud pe.form a score of other
antics.
His first experience with rattlesnakes
was out on the Dakota plains. The sand
rattlers are hardly as large as the Arkansas
family, but fully as dangerous. In these
lonely wastes, with only his herd of cattle
as company, NJ. Chids often solaced
himself with his flute. One afternoon as
he was rendering an unusually plaintive air
, a little snake approached and gave every
} evlde ce of sympa by. 1t writhed as If
} in pain and its two small ratles sounded a
a doleful tattoo 1t was evident to the
cattleman that the mournfui music went
to the reptiles heart. He at once changed
the air to a hvelier one. The snake imme-
dlately changed from grave to gay also.
This occurrence was the beginning of a
| fast frian6Shin hAfwaAn ha
many days Childs drew melodies from his
} pipe for his little friend.
2 Moving to Arkansas, Mr.. Childs found
that his gift of understanding was even
more potent than it was in the west, and
accordingly set about making it of benefit.
For several seasons he had hunted reptiles
Of all kinds among the swamps, and has
made good living. Encouraged by his
success in a small way, Childs founded his
present farm" on May last. His present
i trip north and east is to assure himself of a
certain market for the snakish products
| He is fearful least IL he should go into the