The Portland daily press., 1890-03-29
RATTLESNAKE MOUNTAIN IN RAYMOND.
A Famous Place for ship Timber,
Also for RattIesnakes.
Career of Ben Smith, an Old Time
Snake charmer.
The Man who Discovered the Virtues
Of. Rattlesnake oil.
Hon. William Goold.

u
In sight from Portland, a little west Of
NORTH and about 25 miles distant, lies Rat
tlesnake Mountain, the nearest mountain to
Casco Bay. Here "hllls" leave off, and
mountains" begin. This long, low noun
| tain was all in Raymond until 1871; at the
| division Casco claimed piece Of the noun
tain. To keep in the family the division line
was so run that the parent town lost half Of
| its only mountain.
Near by is Rattlesnake Pond, three miles
long, whose outlet leads to Panther Pond, or,
as the old settlers called 1t, painters" pond;
but the name was given for the then most
fearful animal Of the northern woods, the
| panther. These waters are part Of the
''Sebago" system. A few years since ca
nal boat was hauled in winter from the lake
| at Raymond village to the navigable waters
Of the lower pond which served to bring the
heavy logs that wouldn't float to the village
| mill to be sawed. Raymond was emphati-
cally township Of ship timber-white oak
was the prevailing growth, and growing as
1t did on rocky, hard soil, 1t was the most
valuable kind for strength and tenaclty.
at helved the tools that made 1t reel"
After the embargo and war Of 1872, ships
were scarce in Portland. Nearly all had
rotted for the want Of employment. New
ones must be built as commerce was the life
Of the town. My father was a contractor
and furnished frames for these ships. He
would come home from town at night with
his carriage full Of crooked patterns cut from
thin boards, which gave the necessary curve
or angle for the timbers Of vessel-"foor-
timbers, buttucks, naval timbers, and the
like. L hese m0ulds were prepared by the
shipwright. The next morning he started
with these crooked moulds for the vicinity Of
Rattlesnake Mountain, where he found
ready hands to cut 'the frame" by these
moulds and others to haul it to Portland,
Presumpscot falls, or Stroudwater, where
the vessels were built.
1.-THE royal oak, it was the tree
That saved his gracious majesty"
This was Charles ii. after the battle Of
Worcester in 1858. Nearly 200 years later
the oaks of Rattlesnake Mountain saved
many a Raymond settler from poverty.
They are now taking off the second growth,
having built run OF planks and posts,
quarter of mile long, down. the steep side
Of the mountain, in which the logs go down
at fearful speed. Many years ago In the
north of Europe, a larger run was built OF
logs, two miles long, down the steep side Of
a mountain. 1t was found that these whole
trees went at such speed that they set the
run on fire. Finally mountain stream was
led into the sluice which prevented the fire.
and insured success.
Besides the men of Raymond who cut the
giant oaks to patterns, there was an old man
of the mountain who was there for other OBJ
jects than timber. He was known as "Ben
Dover, N. II. When he was 10 his father
logged him, as he thought without sufficient
cause, and he ran away and took up a lot OF
wild land at Raymond Hills, five miles from
Rattlesnake Mountain. This was In about
1877 ubQn Tiara WI m QQtflQmQnf In the
township except at "Dingley's," now South
Casco. He soon made clearing and raised
corn. ION a burn" but the bears broke 1t
down in the night which kept him awake.
He got up and shot one which was so large
that he was compelled to dress him and cut
him up in the corn patch, to enable him TO
get the meat to his camp. There was no
mill, and Smith pounded his corn and made
''samp" for substitute for bread. One
morning Smith In his loneliness. resolved to
make journey to the mountain which was
| in sight. When he arrived there and at
tempted to ascent the steep southern side he
/ was soon alarmed by the rattle OF a snake
| lying on ledge Of rock in the sun. On fur
| Their investigation he found that the noun
| tain was inhabited by many rattlesnakes.
Oaks made aeorns-,aeorns made squirrels
squirrels made snakes. Consequently Smith
| gave the mountain its appropriate name.
Smith had heard at Dover Of the curative
properties attributed to the rattlesnakeS' oil
and their skins. Smith had also heard Of
tuclI pOlSOu lduko. 16 COulu seq Willie Nc
had reptile confined with a crotched stick,
that he threw his upper jaw back and two
long faDgs were raised prominently, and
different from the teeth In the jaw. He
rightly concluded that these fangs conveyed
the poison. The next step was to remove
the long fangs with the iron pincers which
he used in mending his shoes, while the
snakes mouth was open, and bis body pinned
to the ground. He made tests with living
fang before and after the extraction OF the
fangs, to his satisfaction. The poison acts
instantane0usly ON small prey, but on man
and larger animals it acts slowly.
Ben Smith, the runaway boy, now found
himself a naturallst-the first graduate from
Rattlesnake mountain. In due time he be-
came family man and farmer, but paying
special attention to the snake business. He
kept supply Of snakes alive In boxes, which
he fed on birds and frogs. He went 10 mar
which he recommended for rheumatic and
neuralgia pains; but his best customers
were the country people whom he became
acquainted with on the road; they never
tire of medicines said to possess miraculous
properties. knew a man who was sick of
consumption, who had heard Smith set forth
the curative virtues Of a rattlesnake's heart
taken from living snake and eaten warm;
he could not be pacifed until a snake was
obtained from the mountain, 20 miles off,
and he had the satisfaction of swallowing
the quivering heart Of the loathsome reptile.
1t did not have the desired effect. To prove
or three live snakes in box with strap
around 1t, which, when he called at store
or house he took from the box and put inside
OF his open shirt next the skin, where they
town he charged small fee for his exhibit
tion. My father made Smiths acquaintance
at the mountain, which insured call from
him both going and coming.
In 1879 found man who told me that
Ben Smith had grand daughter living In
GOrham and went with ma tc her h0ugP-
near White Rock. L wanted to ascertain If
my recollections Of the man were correct and
| to learn what could further.
/ found very intelligent lady OF 20, wife
| of Isaac Plummer. Her father John Smith
| lived on the old home farm at Raymond Hill
| when she was girl, and her grandfather
| the snake man, lived and died with them.
| She said her grandfather got slightly bitten
| by rattlesnake. He remained several days
| with the bitten part buried in mud OF
pool. He was sick from the bite long time.
| The granddaughter said he had the ways Of
| a snake, running out his tongue and the
| like. After he recovered apparently, the
| snake actions came back on him whenever
| he took cold. had heard this, years ago,
| and wanted to verify 1t from some one who
| was with him.
Like Professor Crouch, smith had his
| favorite snakes. He had one large one
] which he kept in his sleeping room In a
4 haskes Mrs Plummer said that on coming
out one morning me- ne s sud Margaret have
/ lost my great snake" When she went TO
| make the bed she found the lost snake coiled
/ up in the bed-he had slept with him all
/ night.
Smith took one snake which had swallowed
| partridge, and another with a woodchuek
| in him. Besides snakes. Smith caught coons
and musk-rats, and usually had a bundle Of
| furs when he went to market. He had
camp near the mountain, and frequently
staid all night. Like little Nell in the "Old
Curiosity Shop" little Maggie Smith and
her grand FATHER had collection Of curiosi-
ties, but not of the same kinds. Maggie's
were snake skins and rattles. coon and
musk-rat skins, and skins Of rare water
birds stripped. When the grandfather got
old he would insist upon going to the noun
tain occasionally. Then Maggie must 60
with him like little Nell. Some nelghbor
who was going to the mountain Tor timber.