The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1891-07-04
THE LATEST SNAKE STORY.
Remarkable Eyper.cncs of Party of
MeI,- nr:iirrs IL, snu.,. I'm crica

Remarkable Exper.cnes of Party of
WeEnr.iier> ia sou:i. America.
Snake stories are always in order,
and il matters little how long q bow
The story teller draws everybody be
lieve5 him. 1t is a rule long establish
ed that it shall be so. Now he,e is
enc that comes from an lndianan:
About the middle OF June 1890.
says he q g2s-weu contractor, con-
ir0ctcd for a we'll to be drilled in
South America, on the Uruguay river.
Il few miles below the city of A5sump-
ton. Mr.. Freeman's contract called
for 500 600 a. the completion of the
well. so he Immediately shipped his
tools and rig to San Francisco. They
were then loaded on a steamer and
sart t. Then de.tinat.on. We com
r.eocel work IS soon as the tools and
rig v-as on tho ground. Ate" every
thing was in running o-Ger for drill
ing, # was great sight to sec the
derrick. 500 fee. high. aid covering
three-quaytar OF an acre OF ground.
We got along ell right for a while,
when at the depth OF 1900 feet the
cable broke and LEFT all the tools in the
bottom OF the well We worked for
several days and nights bat without
any success. The cable was all broken
10 pieces. with the exception Of about
800 feet Of good cable. that was lett on
the shaft We had pulled some forty
or fifty feet OF that over the derrick
and piled It or the floor. | DO not
know why we did this, but it was done.
We dill not have cable enough to d.
anything with. 50 we finally AL sat
down to talk the matter over and come
to some conclJt-ion as to what to do
when. to our establishment we saw
monstrous snake crawling into the DER
rick. Mr. Steward, the drillcr that
worked on the opposite towe- from me
throw tho anvil at 1t. No sooner was
this done than the huge monster
started down the well. 1t succeeded
in getting III, all but about 800 feet of
rs tail We immediltcly took q rope,
hitchcl it onto its tail. turned on the
steam ana then wound the loose cable
that was laying Oh the floor around the
theft. Presently il began to raise the
snakes tai. On, on went tie engine,
pulling Mr. SNAKE higher and higher
in the derrick. til. finally. the end OF
the tail went over the crown. within
100 feet Of tie s,,aft, when. all at once
everything stopped, for the belt was
slipping. We doubled the cable from
the snalso's tail TO the shaft. then put
plenty Of resin on the belt, Stacked
back q littie, took run and shoot
turned Oh III the steam, and presently
something gave WAY.
We kept on pulling and winding the
snake on the shaft, when at last the
head OF the snake made It's appearance
at the top Of The Wen. b3t to oar as
tonishmcnt It had hold OF the end Of
the tools We tried over way posi-
BE to get it loose. We hammered it
with sieigc hammers. burnt ii with
reG-hot iroas. hui did not succeed in get
ting it loose. We finally gave it up
and went ahead and finished the wei.
using TIC snake for u cable. It had
such Il death hold on the tools that we
had to burn its head OF after getting
the tools out OF the derrick, yet il
should bc said that we aid not g"t &
supcrabunlancc Of natural gas. The
snake was shipped to America. The
skeleton is now on exhibition at No
blcsvi!lc, Ind, and the hide is used
To-. & gas main in Hartford City.