Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-05-27
REVENGE ON SNAKES
A New st. Patrick Who Takes CIR, at
Pleasure in Destroying Venom
Gus Snakes.
The Cause OF Action Was the Death of
His Pretty Young
Wife.
lnnumerable Rattlesnakes, Pilot
Snak es and Others Have Been
Demolished by Him.

There is new St. Patrick in the noun
talns OF Sussex county, n. j. he is
farmer, Richard Cook by name, and raises
garden truck on bis sixty -acre farm, about
three miles from Vernon, which be sends
to the New York market.
Ever since 1881 be has been snake
killer aid now the people Of Sussex have
come to know him as man who devotes
BIS life to the determination Of reptiles.
lie is not only man with d reputation,
but he IS man with history as well.
Almost everyone knows Dick Cook. The
farmers IN the district look very XIX dy on
HIM for the good reason that they appre
clafe his good work. Sussex is snake
rldder' county ard the mountains and val
leys abound In fine specimens.
There is good cause for Farmer Dick
COOK hatred Of snakes. If ever man
was justified in spending his life in re-
Venglng himself or the snake family, this
man is.
Ii pretty little house built On the side
OF Pochuck Mountain, so that it looks as
II 1t would slide down into the valley at
any moment, lives Dick Cook and his fam
| lily. He had the house built in 1865, when
| he came nome from the war a disabled
soldier. He went to farming because he
| had followed that occupation before Re en-
listed in the Fifteenth New JERSEY. There
was no level ground in the district where
he built and settled; it was either up hill
or down hill, and there wasn't chance
even to plow across the hills. It suited
him, that was enough. He married pretty
Mary Brown, and looked forward TO life
! OF such peace and comfort as his two bull
| let wounds would allow.
There is not much in Farmer Cooks
life to record until 1881. y, In August of
that year his wife was out in the garden
| oy the side of the house picking cucum.
berF. be was away. She reached down
after one OF the vegetables when q pilot
snake about two feet long, which had been
lying under the leaves, bit her in the fin
ger. She IAN fer hoe, killed it and then
sat Gown by the gate waiting for her nus
! band. He came IL about Ten minutes.
Dick, she said, "a snake bit me III
the finger"
Farmer Dick is man Of action. He
caught some Of the young chickens. jabb-
! ed his Jack-knife into their breasts and
made hez stick her finger in he wound.
Ihe flesh Of the chickens turned black i'm
medlately upon the application Then he
went IN the house, brought out a stone
jag of his Jersey apple jack, for the pos
session OF which lhe was justly famed.
He made her drink quart.
cit was good stuff" he saws; ''as fine
as ever went down human neck, but she
never showed the effects of it,
| After that he put her hand in wafer.
and the entire hand turned dark, mot
| tied color. All The while it sweI9d rapid
/ ~
nothing could be done to reduce the in
famation or take out the poison. Just
when they were at their wits ends q
neighbor happened along. He was sent
on Il horse for DR.. Allen, who lives miles
away. The doctor came post-haste on the
best horse be could get, and he worked
over the woman until he thought she was
out OF danger. She was in a delicate con-
dition at Inc time. She gave birth soon
afterwards to child, hoy, who is now
living. On Feb. %, 1882, She died from
the effects of the bite Of the pilot snake.
There was reason enough for Farmer
Cook to go on a crusade against snakes.
From the time his wife was bitten he be-
gan 1t, and he has kept 1t up ever since.
The boy, John, grew up with an inherent
hatred of snakes. As a child in dresses
he sought them out and beat them to
death with garden tools, sticks, or what.
ever he could lay his hands upon. And
when he grew up he was willing enough
to join his father in snake hunting expedi-
tions. Every day for years they have
gone out together On snake hunts. The
father took his shotgun and the boy a
small rife. They never took aI7 chances
among those mountains, the snakes were
too fierce and venomous. There was never
q time when Farmer Cook wouldn't leave
bis piow sticking in the furrow or Law his
scythe down in the grass to 60 and kill a
snake. and when once he begins it is hard
10 tell where he will end. When he first
began his crusaC he kept count of the
snakes he killed, but after a while e'slew
50 many of them that he couldn't keep the
counting up any longer. He is carrying
out what he believes to be a life work,
and as long as he lives the snakes of Sus-
sex viii suffer. When be dies the boy will
go on with the good work.
Years ago, while on one Of his tramps
over the mountain, he found on a section
OF land owned by John Moorehouse rock
about fifteen fee. high. 1t was Jagged
and torn and full Of crevices. 1t was in
the spring when he discovered it, and he
dull spotted heads of at least a score of
pilots peeping out of one of the creyices.
He discharged both barrels Of his gun at
them, and when the smoke had cleared
away, with the aid Of stick, be pulled
out seventeen mangled bodies. That was
the best shot he ever made, he says.
The finding Of that nest gave him an
idea. He at once started out on hunt
over the mountains, and before the week
was out he had placed three different dens,
as ne calls them, OF rattlesnakes. pilots
and blacksnakes. After that he went to
work on a system. Every bright warm
day he would take bis gun and visit the
dens.' He never failed to find at least
from twenty to seventy snakes loafng On
be warm rocks In front of each den.
Since then he has fairly reveled in snake
slaughter, and he says he's glad he
stopped counting the dead ones, for his
arithmetical powers would never have
been equal TO the task.
A year or so ago he went down to Yer
non and bought eight big sticks Of giant
powder. He stuffed them in the crevice
of the rock, set slow match and retreated
behind the biggest tree he could find. The
explosion shook the earth and bits of
stone crashing through trees hundreds of
yards away, but it failed to make any
larger the entrance TO the den. Later he
saw the flames coming out of a assure in
the rock, bnt he failed to find any dead
snakes, so he gave up the blasting pro-
cess.
This spring he conceived a new idea. It
was fhis. He eouldnir oet oIo,c, ,yithout