The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-11-14


Couldn't tell" he replied. when
was young and proud | used to keep &C
count Of every snake. But gave that w
long ago. tell you it's fun OF a nice, dewy
morning to get back in the woods among
them. AS soon as | see one | crack the
forked end of Il stick over the back of his
head and pin him down, and in minute !
have his oil in bottle and his skin over
my shoulder ready TO be made into a lady's
belt. Sometimes | get them at night by
! hanging around the lake with a lantern
and batting them on the heads when I ay
| come down for n drink. You see, the Ian
! tern attracts their attention long enough
to give me a chance to take aim and fetch
! them"
do you ever miSs?" | asked.
"Never," be RESPONDED, with an air of
wounded professional pride. "Once when ]
was young and inexperienced used to hit
them sitting. But when got the hang of
the thing | would wait for them to spring
and give it to them on the fly. Sometimes
| catch them in my hand when they spring
at me, and by sudden jerk break them in
three Or four places. Once when | was
younger and spryer than l am now got
surrounded by rattlesnakes. ! was in the
ulIO1ic VI d t!ICfe.Ol LU6ln, anu GaCD DaQ
raised his head off the ground to spring Mt
me. Then by great, supreme effort let
go with sweep OF my pole and turned
with it. When the pole get around to the
point from which it started found all the
snakes lying around me like the spokes
around hub, with their heads off"
what do you do with the snakes?"
''The big ones | kill, and sell the oil and
skins. The little cues | raise to kill when
grown. | have fine rattlesnake farm not
far from here where | cultivate and breed
them. They are perfectly harmless when
small, but t"at takes all the excitement
out of the business. See herer'
He suddenly took handful of small
snakes out of his coattal pocket and
counted them to see that none had escaped.
When he put them back he continued:
Sometimes It is hard to kill them when
they grow up, because you become so at
tached to 'hem. After you have been with
them for time and they come up and eat
grasshoppers out of your hand, and follow
you around, aud get lonely when you 20
to bed at night, and curl up with Joy when
they see you in the morning, it is hard to
kill them. | never can do il myself, but
get neighhOr TO do it for me. | used to
have an old snake that we called Uncle
Pete. He would 90 over to the store to be
put in the oven to get warm or would hang
over the elbow of the stovepipe He
would often atfectionately coil about me-
and thrust his head over my shoulder, lay
his face against my cheek aud purr like
kitten. He often played with the baby on
the foor and would amuse him by rat
ting his rattle We had him about five
years and regarded him as one of the fam
lily. One night the fire went out and he
was frozen so stiff that during the winter
we used him for a clothes pole. In the
spring inserted him in an old tin pipe
and tenderiy buiitG az. il ;Le garden"
Here the snake farmer got down off the
fence, heavinG a deep sigh of regret, and
babe me good day, adding: Come down
and see me t the snake farm any time
| must go over 30 give the little rattlers |
their dinner" r X. MUNKITTRICK-