The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-09-10
TALK ABOUT SNAKES.
HELL'HERE ~ BOSTON DRUhAhH
uHORYOUs SOMETHING.
He spent 4 Whole Night In Tree '"~'
Was swarming With the kepniS'
and Tells His Experience.

! night once surrounded by not dozens OI
them. but hundreds. Real snakes TOO
none Of those produced by good SPIRITS
| either. II was just seven years ago TINS
fall that business for my nrIA leu ny
wanderings down TO Sabine Pass, niue
town in Texas, on the Gulf coast. ""S
| tired out BY the journey down the ilE nv
on an old, slow steamer, strus-hu5 W.,
a patched-up paddle and an ah'.q u@'eu
| engine 50 that 1 turned in early. ~ H'u9I
have been somewhere in the nelslDol-
| hood Of midnight that / was awakened
| By a dull. booming sound, afar OIL anu
trembling OF the earth.
Il sprang from the bed and rushed 70
| the window, and by the light Of the moon
"a weak-eyed. sickly Diana as ever
fought the clOuls-I could make out
what seemed n solid wall Of water au-
vancing from the sea. Ii was on the town
before The helpless people could run loi
their lives. and house after house shIaNh
into nOthingness as a lump OF SubHi
might. in an instant more / was out III
the water battling the murky waves,
and ducking from the timDers huIi'u
high i'm the air as the angry tide selzeo
them IN its cruel play. ] had always sup
posed myself 10 be o fair swimmer Dut
the odds were too fearfully against me
FOR me TO be able TO long sustain my selA
I'm the seething, eddying flood. iet NY
strength going from me, my head was
giddy with the force Of the vortex, ana
/ flung out my hand In an attempt 10
| steady myself, aud as I did 80 q chicken
coop hoated past with a dripping rooster
standing on top shrieking dismally. 1
CAUGHT the structure and held 20 it Ike
grim death. and by dint Of struggling
with It succeeded in getting mp beside the
disconsolate lord OF the poultry yard.
My weight sank the coop 10 "ilhlh
an inch or two OF the wafer but even
this precarious perch was better IMAM
nothing. We then Joined i'm The MAI race
I'm which dead cattle, branches Of trees ana
trees themselves, with every now ana
then a human body with set "ll-e
face starting up at the pitlless Sky, went
dancing or as II % e. devils ,une. nv ht
low and then some one Of these }plecls
would collide with the ROSTERS ana my
frail craft and we would 20 under Dul
the next moment we would emerge again
and / would reach ONT and seize my less
fortunate companion ou this strange Yoy-
age and fetch him zap again SO his perch
by my side. once ass 4 mounted my coop
after a plunge Of this sort. long. black
muzZle shot up from the water close by
and u vicious snap told ne that boo ad-
ditiOn 10 the CHASTITY objects on top IT
the water, there were even more dread
ful creatures below In the shape of al-
ligatOrs. and ! shuddere 10 think OF what
would become of the bodies that t."
hours before were living. joyous human
beings. Again I saw the corpse or a
baby Of about a year old float by. one
chubby hand still clutching rag doll
whose gay dress Of red calico formed
a cruel contrast to the WaX-White fin
gers that held it.
IAN at once The coop came In violent
contact with a large water-oal tree that
stood still upright before the flood, with
It's branches thrown mp against the Sky
as 10 ia mute protest OF the sight 10 looked
upon. As the coop struck this body I
was thrown off, and when / would have
seized the craft again. 10 was whirled out
of my reach by the mad rush Of the
tide, and ] was again thrown against the
tree. but this time I caught at the end
Of one Of the lower branches depending
about a foot fr0m the water, and Selling
this / drew myself ont of the current,
and reaching up found another SIN
larger Dough near me. and so from one
10 another l climbed as well as my soak
lng garments would allow, though fortu-
nately these Were Of the iightest posi-
BILE character.
1.-THE moon now went out behind the
gathering clouds and left the scene I'm
profound darkness, and ! c0uud only ina
CINE the horrors about me. and SO when
presently my hand touched something
clammy and cold / could not at first
identify its nature, but when II moved
along the branch in a slow, sinuous move
ment l guessed at once the fearful cha
racter of the creature occupying that tree
with me. But / had 10 time 10 do more
than recOil from this horror in the dark
when / felt another drop from some
where over my head and land on my bare
neck. ! reached up and caught the long
shape by the tail and with jerk flung IL
out into the water, and as ! I'D $50 / was
sensible OF a third crawling on the other
arm, by which l still held on TO the tree.
I shuddered with real terror for / knew
this low country was infested with the
most YenOmous varieties of the rattle
snake and the big green water moccasin,
but there were only the two courses open
% mc-tO keep perfectly passive upder
the reptiles passage over my body
and not 70 provoke them 20 an attack,
when my fate would be sealed, or % face
death at once by dropping off the tree
into the black food swirling beneath.
Il resolved to take the first chance
and sieeled myself TO endure the touch of
the hideOus creatures, that. attracted by
the warmth Of my body. gathered about
me. one sought a refuge In the open shirt
at my throat and c0iled himself about my
neck tightly. scarcely giving me power 10
breathe, while another climbed into my
breast Itself. and lay there a horrid shape,
no doubt watching with its evil eyes
nv every movement. There we're snakes
all about me, above, beneath me, hanging
from the tOdghs, swinging lighly %
and fro. crfwling up and down the por-
ton Of the oak that still remained above
the surface OF the water. ] grew sleepy
finally. but l knew that 10 give up 20 my
drowsiness would be death. for II / fell
into the water the aiiigdtors would not
leave even my bare bones to tell the story
OF my fate. while If I held on instinc-
lively even in my sleep. the least unguard-
ed movement would be 70 excite the
snakes into attacking my defenceless
body
SO, shuddering and sick at heart, l
waited for the dawning OF day. for the
hours In that tree seemed each 20 be a
week. My seat Itself was precarous for
the water had dashed over it several
times, leaving every branch covered with
green slime. very offensive 10 the smell.
ana rendering them something OF the
nature Of a slippery pole But a man can
DO much In the face OF death OF which
ne thinks himself incapable at other times.
and so l wrapped my bare legs about
that snake-festooned tree as lovingly ~
II there had been prize offered for il
AT last day broke sullenly over
as extraordinary a scene as ever
human eyes looked upon. The ell
tire town was gone swept from
~.