The morning call., 1891-07-13
DYING FROM THE SHOCK.
4 Mother Sees Her Baby in the Coils of
a Snake.

4 Mother Sees Her Baby in the Coils of
Snake.
Mrs. Jacob Conroth, a farmers wife, who
lives ten miles from this town, is lying at
the point Of death from nervous shock re-
ceiyed recently, says a Lawrenceburg
Qnd.) special to the New Orleans Delta.
Her husband and several neighbors who
were assisting him had gone to the harvest
field. Mrs. COnroth went into the orchard
near the house to pick berries.
She laid her four-mOnth-old baby in the
carriage near the berry patch, and left her
daughter, a little girl years old, to watch
over the infant. The child sat close to The
baby's side for some little time, but as her
mother disappeared among tho berry bushes
the child relaxed her vigilance and finally
wandered out of sight of the baby's car
riage. The baby lay kicking and cooling
beneath the shade of clump of bushes,
sucking at a uninterrupted nursing bottle.
Suddenly Mrs Conroth heard frightened
wall from the infant which was followed
a moment later by Mortified scream from
the little girl.
whats the matter with the baby?"
screamed the frightened mother as she made
her way with all speed through the entan-
CLING briers OF the berry bushes. "a snakel
a snake" came the reply. Its biting her."
With scratched face and hands and torn
garments Mrs. Conroth emerged from the
bushes to see something which froze her
blood with horror. Her baby was buried in
the hideOus folds of huge snake, and the
reptiles horrid jaws were pressed against
the baby's lips to catch the milk which
trickled from the mouth of the gorged and
choking infant. The shock was so terripl @
that the mother fell screaming, half-fainting
to the ground. Her cries reached the ears
of her husband, and, followed by the har-
vest hands, he came running to where his
wife lay. He saw her apparently dying,
and noticing nothing else picked her up and
| started to carry her TO the house She barely
| managed to make him understand that she
was not in danger herself.
The babyi the baby!' she said. "Saye
| the babyl'
| BY this time the little girl had called the
| harvest hands TO where the snake was
| slowly choking the baby 10 death in its coils.
| No one knew how to save the helpless in
| FAINT. TO strike the snake would be equally
dangerous to the child, and not a man
among them could bring himself to touch
| the reptile. They called ConToth and he
carried the half-fainting woman toward the
baby's buggy. She saw her child still un-
| released from the reptiles horrible EN-
brace. With a scream like that of an ami
| NAL in agony, the hysterical woman rushed
| forward and seized the snake by the neck,
close to the head. With all her strength
she choked the reptile. and its fields about
the baby relaxed. Through its whole
length it squrmed and struggled in an effort
! TO throw its folds about the woman. With a
scream of repulsion and horror she threw
the horrible thing from her. and, seizing her
baby to her breast, ran toward the house.
| The snake was quickly dispatched by the
men. and was found 10 be nearly ten feet in
| length.
When Mrs. Conroth reached the house she
| tainted completely away, and after reyiviug
was violently hysterical. The baby's face
was blue from suifocation, and the marks
where the pressure of the snakes coils hac
| been exerted could plainly be seen. A ply.
| stefan was hurriedly summoned and bott
| patients were made as comfortable as pos.
| sibe. The baby soon was better, but Mrs
Conroth IS still completely unnerved, and
| the visitors cannot be permitted to see her
| Serious mental arrangement is feared