The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-08-09
KITTEN BY A RATTLESNAKE.
~r,,1w ELLIOTT's SUCCESSFUL sTRU9-
GLE WITH THE POISON.

49, side OF nv Do"S " SSsShes
80 Raeked by AeoniSing Pain for Days
nj. skin black In spots-Hs CsulA
60, the Venom Running II Mis Veins.
90. D.c,ared-ro the surprise II Doe.
a.. ,rd Friends lIe IL Recoverine. sna
,.,,,,ack Has Had No Part In Mis Care.
s.... bi,es arc no uncommon thing In the
,.sd of hpplei ack, Democrats. aud Rattle
'..t.s. In that interesting country. which
,..,rdss the stony hillsides cf Pike county In
n.s,,vlyauia and tho adjacent mountain re-
.'an n sussex county in New Jersey. one or
sars eases are reported every summer.
por several reasons the hardy mountain peo-
i. make little OF an ordinary snake bite In
~. 0r.t place. although apolejack does not
h,hble Ioyously fIom the roadside springs.
.,,,, I, is pre,ty near as plenty Us water. whilo
IN frui,y flavor and mellow cussedness 1t chal-
,.,... tho Installations OF the universe. And
"""io;.ct. as everybody knows. IL taken at
go and in sufficient quantity. will neutralize
S.n.ts pil'n" with neatness and despatch.
=, ,hs second place, whilo pilots and copper
Nd. ara common enough in those parts.
ao,h,np counts for very much with the noun
,.in nsopls except the sting OF rattler. and
~. ia not considered necessarily dangerous
nnl.ss the RATHER has lain some weeks without
srlklnr thus giving his venom time to grow
rank and purple in his poison sacs.
IA Il Is a matter OF business with rattle.
.,.te N 90 sbou, in the world seeking whom
.rd chat he may DESTROY. his poison is seldom
concentrated and deadly when native meets
.,r ia does TOO big . business to let his
s.ni,.l liza idle. Thus fatalities from this
.onsa ara very rare among tho mountaineers.
vho Arc much oftener given to yielding up tho
1ho., 10 the seductive appleiack. That is why.
rh.n ,hs news that William Elliott had been
h,,,sn by rattlesnake went abroad. that no.
hodv thought much OF it at first It also ex-
r,.ins vby. when It was reported later that his
arm had svslled up like n balloon and his
vhols body turned black. people suddenly be-
came alarmed and shook their heads. 1t was
nm old RATHER. then. with purple PIN In his
ianss that did the business!
This was indeed serious. Horses were hitch
al mn. and people drove from all over Sussex
county TO the Elicit place. They had two OBJ
;ects, They wanted to learn the particulars.
and they wanted to see William once moro be-
fore he died. For the farmers son was popu-
lar in tho county. and that he was doomed to
death was agreed upon BY all. At least seven
ty.lye persons drove to the rocky little farm
In the heart OF the mountains last Sunday.
That William lived and 10 now in q fair way
TO recover has astonished the county. Tho
local papers have all had him dead. for the en-.
urprising country editors. being familiar with
the common effects Of purple pizn. were sure
hs would die suy way. and wanted to serve up
the news in good season. His recovery was
the NOR. surprising whom It was known that
for seven days he had suffered horrible tor
lures and that spots like those OF rattle
snake had appeared upon his feet. It was .
positive shock to the community, however. to
learn that this remarkable recovery was being
accomplished without the aid OF appleIack.
Thisva unsettling It was against all es.sb-
llshsd precedent.
A SNAKES PARADISE.
The country between Branchville. the west-
err terminus OF the Sussex Railroad. and the
Delaware River 10 interesting to timid man.
Nsbounds In mountains and snakes. The Blue
Rdss chain traverses 1t north and south. and
d broken at sandiston by deep pass known
Is Culver's Gap. Lakes prolific OF bass aud
piekerel dot the wild country. and mountain
brooks lively with speckled trout fret In ra-
vines Yet tho region IL seldom visited By
sportsmen. As you drive over the mountain
70 ads in the early dawn before travel has set
fresh ruts In The dust. you see many burrows
TIouehed deep IN the dust across thS roadEay.
marks tic path Of pilot. copDsrhss or
ra!tlesnake which came down from the noun
% IN hs for plunge The
Ss un'u Sss d a1t q%
many been sss H and Killed in Sussex county.
fertile valley near !he Delaware. but reverses
In The, mountains. He bought 500 acres Of
rocky land in mountain pass; surrounded on
s y spd
woods. Brsnchyille was seven miles away.
The nearest settlement was a hotel church.
vile 1t Was distant four miles For fifteen years
killed rattIesnskes in bis rocky valley. He WAS
o gig Of speech and could talk politics like q
senator and plead cases like = lawyer. For
SsSdfs ne mountain people when they got at
them before The Justice OF .the Peace at
poca IL .h sssSess 81 asops snd
S:.a e earn ssr sias Hs' s,o x .Ss
william 10 shirt ironer In q Paterson mill
durin- tho winter. bu. spends his summer ct
home helping with the ,hsrvests. He is rs
sturdy: He Is also an expert snake killer.
nIssinG spent his life so to speak. among rat
Which runs through sandy, rock covered
Mast known as the sand fold. The farmer
an, lnd his sons have Killed seven big ratters
mere 30 ier this sunni or. They make nothing
o. ttlesnake. Tho common method II
hhandling him Is to seize him by the tall. lift
a auIn nearly clear Of the ground. and then
anlssh hls head with stick. This, OF course,
"aen the rattlsr 10 caught Mapping. When
W ZOOS his enemy In time the RATHER
raises the end OF hi. tail and buzzes
niLs ra,tle. pointed upward, until &c
s,uss IKE seventeen year locust, Then
tno makes ior cover and coils for fight Then
~ ouG MS stroke is rs sure as n bullet. and
~. sxlItnsss that deiles tho sight. The ELI.
"n ~ 1ero So used to tho ways OF rattlers, how
s'et' mat they attacked them boldly.
HOW YOUNG ELLIOTT WAS BITTEN
D., week ago last Wednesday Rob .Csrls OF
~" et,sSon. relative OF Farmer Elliott's, ran
mo me house about 2 o'clock in the after
nvoa ADD said "Hullo. Will: there's q couple
Iill w., in he sand Held. Let's 20 down and
AN right" said the young man, jumping up.
w.nef Elliott had n pitrhfork in his hand and
.nLong buf returned as 1t began 10 rain.
nos.. 10 inc sand flsld two warning. humminR
v Svisss greeted William and Rob- aud q black,
lie v,nnGE streak appeared for a moment upon
"Ri yS;rs b vent" shouted tho boy. exoitedly.
"nfnt under that stone"
stick say him" said William. pieking up .
sS him heard h hs other one: too but didn't
Hillina :, nut wei d. this fellow up flrst."
r.vh hS KY =, stopped down. and with his naked
h Ii. l tas snake lay He held the stick ready