Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-10-22
FEW SNAKE STORIES.
70 Hold Reptile While Aiive--Few Peo-
pie Have the Nerve to Indulge.

pie Have the Nerve to Indulge.
This talk of rattlesnakes going
blind in August is all bosh, q" said Bill
Twiggs. L have studied rattlesnakes
little. and know whereof l do speak.
On the 10Th OF August some years
Pgo, ! was camping over there on the
Blue Ridge. | was expecting friends
that day and strolled down the noun
tain side to meet them. The road
wound through little ravine, and the
sound of approaching vehicles could
be heard at some distance. Near the
road was a big oak tree, with one of
Ats roots half protruding from the
ground. The grass was velvety here
and sat down to read my paper, my
back against the tree, and my right
leg stretched along the root. l filed
my pipe aud placed the rather gaudy
tobacco pouch by my side. Soon I
was busy with my paper Suddenly
my attention was attracted by the
sound OF what | thought creaking
wagon in the distance I raised nv
head to listen, and as I lowered nv
eyes to the paper again. l caught
sight of q beautiful specimen
OF RATHER little more than two feet
long, slowly making his way toward
the tobacco pouch. The cleaning
mass of black and orange scales were
hardly an inch from my right leg. and
/ wondered how it had not touched
me. A very slight motion on my part
diverted the snakes attention from
the highly colored pouch, and to my
horror | saw the venomous creature
suddenly coil itself and prepare to
strike. OF course. | jumped, and
from my sitting posture [ must have
cleared fourteen feet. Then the in
sane desire took possession of me to
capture the snake alive for the amuse-
ment OF some girls who were at our
camp. He had relaxed his coil as
Jumped and lay perfectly still along
the trees root. Creeping UP behind
him, | dropped a big fiat rock easily
upon his back. Instantly he set up a
horrible rafting, and so upset my
nerves that L had to kill him. His
rafting, by the way. is supposed to
act us a warning. but | am inclined to
think that it Is one of the means en-
ployed by the snake to terrify his in
tended victim. The snake was not
blind, for he undoubtedly saw that to-
bacco pouch and was attracted by it,
and the malicious look he gave after
] had imprisoned him beneath the
stone could not have come from sight
less eyes. The Washington Post is
responsible for this.
That reminds me, " said Joe BRYAN.
''of an experience [ had with a rattler
while camping. There were lot us,
men and women, occupying rough
cabins on the mountain side. One day
some girls, who had one of the cabins.
shouted that a rattlesnake had crawl
ed under thor cabin. Getting my lit
tie 22-calibre revolver | peered under
the cabin, and there about twenty feet
away with about four inches of his
body only showing between two big
stones was the snake. fired and the
snake curled itself in apparent agony,
and then Strengthened out He was
apparently SO dead that / had no hest
tation after had dragged it from be-
meath the cabin by means of a long
pole in grasping it by the tail and
raising it from the ground for the hor-
rified inspection of the girls. But of a
sudden he bent his head back and
tried to strike my hand. 1t Is impos-
sible for a snake to do this as
long as you have hold of its tail, but
She head can come within an inch or
sWo of your hand. and instinctively
you let him drop. So did, and he
set up his rattle as if nothing had hap
pened. Then | killed him. My pistol
ball had grdzed the top of his back,
Tipping Off scale and as | suppose,
temporarily paralyzing tho spinal
cord.
Don't you remember that summer"
Interrupted Tom johnson, when q
party of us spent the day climbing the
highest peak in the neighborhood. l
had nothing on my feet but pair OF
shoe uppers, preferring to be as near
barefooted AS decency would permit.
While you all were clearing up the
debris of dinner | was dancing @
double shuttle in the meantime. swing
ing my staff around my head. Glanc-
ing down at the ground | saw beauti-
ful specimen of a cOpperhead carefully
coiled at my feet, and at any instant I
might have trod upon him with my
bare sole. 1t would never have done
for me to show alarm, so without in
terrur cling my dance, | merely let my
stat fall with ali the power [ could
command at the back of the snakes
head. and he died. That is he died
for all practical purposes a [ have
never had any reason to doubt that
some signs OF life remain in a snake
until the going down of the sun. l
really believe, though, that these
signs are merely the results of reAux
action similar to those observed in the
case Of victims of electrocution. !
noticed these signs particularly in this
copperhead several times as l carried
him down the mountain. | would hold
him in my hand and by gentle pres
sure cause his body to straighten out,
writhe, and curl about my arm as if it
were alive.
Christopher Columbus.
Christopher Columbus was twice
married. His first wife was Felipa