San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-10-02
A Snake Killed in a Court House
CupOia.

CupOia.
Lancaster (Ky.) Letter in Cincinnati
Enquirer
A lofty tower is q singular hiding
place for snakes, yet the largest rep
tile ever seen in this country was
killed In the cupola of the court house
hero about o'clock yesterday after
noon.
Bob Hughes and John Farra were
sitting under the awning at Tillett's
restaurant when they noticed great
commotion among the sparrows that
haunt the hooks of the cupola, and,
looking close, an enormous snake,
with It's head thrust through a bro
ken pane in q window just above the
clock, was seen, seemingly surveying
the tow.
Its movements were eagerly watch.
ed tor minute or so, aud then bold
plan was decided upon and quickly
put into execution. Securing each q
pitchfork, and calling to a number OF
bystauders to follow, the two men
hurried over to the big building and
were soon climbing the steep stair
way.
When it was learned what they
were after, an excited throng of peo'
pie gathered on the street, while some
of the holder ones armed themselves
with sticks and stones, entered the
building and crowded up the narrow
steps of the cupola. Hughes and
Farra soon reached the platform at
the head of the main staircase. For
several minutes the reptile, which had
perhaps, become little suspi-
cious, had been looking down on tn
crowd with sinister gaze, but when
it heard the noise OF approaching foot
steps it quickly withdrew its head
from the outside and crawled beneath
a large beam. Its movements, how
ever, were not quick enough to escape
the sharp eyes of these two watchtul
men, who crept forward and began to
thrust about under the beam with
their pitchtorks. Their position,
owing 10 the narrow limits of the
place, was rather ticklish.
The needle-like points Of the i'm
plements they held found the flesh of
the monster pretty quickly, for it sud
denly darted out with blazing eyes
and began to make angry leaps at it's
tOrmentors, who jumped frantically
back toward the staircase, striking
turiously with their weapons. These
swift and savage movements, having
been seen by some of the foremost Of
the crowd coming up the stairs, were
accepted by them as certain evidence
that the snake had started down, and
a panic ensued, several men and
boys being thrown down and
trampled upon in the wild rush
for the street. Having recovered
from their momentary trepidation,
the would-be captors renewed the at
tack, and Hughes, by dexterous
ing the serpent's body and pinioning
dealt blow after blow upon the with
ing form until life was extinct. With
it thus impaled on the spikes of his
fork he carried it to the top of the Gu
pOla and, waving it once or twice
a5out his head, hurled 1t bodily in
the public square, distance Ct
100 feet. The monster was nearly
S feet long, and when Its body was
laid open with dirk sixteen spar
rows rolled out. Just when / t got into
the tower is a mystery, but 1t is be
lieved that it crawled up the steps
under cover of darkness aud that il
has been in hiding there for at least
d month.
This cupola, from the top of which
one may see for thirty miles in every
direction, has hitherto been much
visited by the idle and curious, but
the fact of its having been discovered
to be reptilian rendezvous will no
doubt diminish the frequency OF
visits there.