The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-16
From he Phtlnaelphin P,es,.

! from the Pls ca-Farmer Citizens Ter
rib'e Fright - Lambertville, N, j.,
startled
From the Philadelphia Press.
Lambertyille, n. j., and It's environs
swarm with snakes. OF TO the east of the
town, where the country grows wild and
rocky, there are dark holes at every turn
that seem q likely habitat for the crawling
things, and make one shudder. But the
uncanny experience of Farmer Joseph
Citizens, who lives about a mile and a half
from the postoffice. gave a rude shock to the
townsmen last week, accustomed though
they are to the ''pesky varmints," and
women and children start nervously to-day
at the very mention of the beasts The
word sets their flesh crawling.
Citizens stopped at the old Lambertyille
hotel last Saturday to water his horses, and
rs he told his story the listeners eyed him
mouth agape.
DILAPIDATED HOME.
The house he calls his home is a rude log
! affair, with two rooms on the ground floor
and garret. 1t stands back from the coun-
Try road in rocky field 1t Is a rough
shanty, full of cracks aud crevices rank
grass fiourishes under the stone steps In front
and reaches up toward the dilapidated win
dow stills. There is seedy looking acre of
land about the hut that bears no sign of cul-
tivation now or at any time
The farmer and his wife have seen snakes
in plenty here and there in the neiyhbor-
! hood, but so have all the country folk for
miles around, and thought nothing Of it. 1t
is land OF reptiles. and little toddling boys
and girls learn to tramp on and Kill garrers
and slim blacksnakes as they would toads.
| 10 M Araa % fho.x.
MYSTERIOUS THIEvINGs.
1t was about two months ago that Mrs.
| Githeus began to tell her husband Of vari.
Gus articles being stolen from their open
larder in the back yard. Milk would be
dipped out of the pans, eggs and butter
taken bodily away; many chickens disap-
| peared, and almost every conceivable kind
of victuals took It's departure in strange
way.
The things were generally missed in the
morning, but not always. Thieves were
suspected. Tramps are continually moving
| back and forth through the country, and
Mr.. Citizens laid the sundry robberies at
their door. lie kept his rusty old gun in a
! handy place, and gave his wife a lesson or
! two in handling it. He laid in wait nights
when he could. He finally got a black-and-
tan dog, but this animal disappeared and
the farmer gave it up as u bad job. The
things that disappeared were not valuable
enough TO give the couple much worry, but
the thieving went on as the weeks passed.
1 A CAvE-IN OF THE KITCHEN FLOOR.
The crisis came on Friday last. AS Mr..
and Mrs. Citizens moved around to get their
breakfast that morning, they noticed the
earthen floor about the big stove in the
kitchen somewhat cracked But they gave
1t little attention and went on with the
meal Soon after o'clock the farmer left
the house and walked 100 yards Off to the
barn, where he was getting in some hay
His attention was called from the job not
long afterward by wild shrek from mis-
wife, who rushed out Of the rear door of the
hut and beckoned excltedly for her spouse
He hurried toward her.
While Mrs. Citizens was up stairs in the
garnet she had heard a jumbling sound be-
low, and looking down the rickety stairway
to the kitchen saw a strange sight. The
stove was gone, and In its place was gap
ing hole three or four feet across. Without
waiting to investigate she su nmoned her
| husband.
Amazsd at the collapse of his kitchen
floor Citizens got lima bean-pole from the
yard, sevea or eight feet long, ard showed
it down into the gaping chasm to test its
depth. Standing back from the edge lest
the earth should further crumble he reached
| the rod down six feet, wnen 1t seemed sud-
! u0nAy 10 % kFtppeQ ny ulusCulhr mann
| down below, moved and twisted about, and
was finally wrenched from his grasp.
A SETTING NEST OF SNAKES.
! Involuntary he started back and his
wife screamed. Things were serious
enough to make call upon the neighbors
desiI able. A number of Citizens friends
we're told Of the crisis, and hurried with
| him back to the kitchen.
| The hole II eentlme had become bigger
| A piece OF newspaper was touched with
match and tossed into the aperture. AS it
blazed up in its descent it revealed some
| sort OF life in the big cavern. A lantern
was finally got ard it's rays thrown down
the black hole.
And then the three men saw a sight that
made them SICK with fright. The whole
bottom OF tie chasm was one bristlng bed
| of akcs-smooth, shining blacksnakes
The reptiles were of every sizo. A big
head, with zen jaws and dartlng forked
tongue, was raised no above the squirm-
ing heap that must have belonged 10 a huge
twelve foot crawler. Wound in and cut
through his folds were scores of baby snakes
from six inches to three feet long. The
whole earth seemed to be wrigginR. and at
the disgusting sight tie party threw them
selves backward from the loathsome place.
! They took but one look more, end that WAS
| enough. The whole house. it was evident,
| WCuAu oDNu Db DVeTIuu Will Lno CToGDluk
horde, and Farmer Citizens and his wife
moved away to a neighbours.
HOME DESERTED.
SiEce Friday noon they have not set foot
rear the worse than haunted spot. No one
will approach the place. Even the men
folk are afraid.
But Mr.. Citizens now knows that the den
| OF Shiny snakes is the den Of thieves for
which ne watched for many weeks. The
| reptiles had cleaned out the big hole under
| the house, made a nest Of it. and then
| preyed for food on the Citizens provender.
| 1t was these stealthy robbers that made Off
with the butter and eggs, the chickens and
| bread, and that had Tapped the fresh milk
| from Mrs Citizens pans.
IL was probably the snakes, too, that
| seized and carried off the dog set to watch
| fer robbers, and carried him down into the
| crawling hole beneath the door.
And now the neighborho I'd does not talk
| lightly Of its snake population, and the
"varmin" and their nests are given wide
berth by every farmer and housewife. Mr..
Citizens swears he will never return to bis
rickety house, even should it be purged of
the teemin2 snake life down below,
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