Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-30
SNAKES TAKE THE GOLD CURE.

Two That Were Good Ratters and
MOusers When They Were Sober.
From the New York Sun.
You know what bullsnake is, of
course; 1t is about that long. and as big
around as this, though they vary in size,
as others do"
1t was Petite Bigelow talking. He is the
best known newspaper man on the Pacific
coast, and the most picturesque in five con-
tinents. 1t was he who went to the den of
the train robbers, Evans and Sontag, in the
mountains back of Fresno, and returned
with a page interview, which he printed,
when all the law officers Of California, aid
ed by Apache trailers. could only get near
enough to the robbers to get shot by them.
Petite is rusticating now in New York. be-
cause the Fresno grand Jury want him as
an accessory after the fact because he re-
fused to tell the sheriff where be found the
robbers. He denies that the robbers al
lowed him to visit them IN condition that
he would tell some OF his famous snake
stories.
However: 1.-The bullsnak.." continued Pc
tie, 80 is an intelligent reptile. and ordinari-
ly a model Of industry AMI sobrnty; but ]
know two, named Napoleon and Patsy,
which fell from grace in a sad manner.
They are famous ratterS and mouScrS. All
bullsnakes are; but these TWO were especial
Il
of mine, an orchardist in the Sonoma val
ley. and had a wide reputation for the ce-
lerity and thoroughnes5 with which they
cleaned out the rats and mice Of any
ranch building they We're put into. Their
owner, my friend. carmel quite an income
loaning them out at so much q day to
neighbors with vermin inf tested barns
Another friend of mine. vineyar,iist in
the Napa valley. had an old wine cellar
where mice and rats We're 50 plentiful it
was really discouraging, especially as his
wines are very good and pleasant to SAM
pie. except that-well, mice and rats are
not the company one would select for a
wine-sampling afternoon.
well l told my Napa county friend of
the bullsnakes owned by my Sonoma coun-
ty friend and he sent for them The first
result distressed me, don't you know; pain
ed me exceedingly. Those two buIlsnakes
with reputation for Integrity and strict
business principles which EXTENDED from
Petaluma to Agnews, forgot thci- carly
training neglected the rats and mice, and
took to wine drinking in Il manner really
shocking.
You know in those cellars wines are
drawn by hose from one cask to another,
which requires many open bunyholes. The
cellarmen became nervous for after a bit
they never knew when they approached a
cask whether the black thing hanging out
of the bung was section of hose Or Patsy
or Napoleon
Petite paused to sip a little absinthe and
water. He has given up wine drinking.
"A curious thing about Il drunken snake
is" he resumed. that instead of moving
forward on its belly in 4 crooked line, it
moves backward on it's back in q straight
line But everything came out all right"
Indeed"
"Oh, yes. I sent the ,nak IS down to Los
Gatos, where they took the keelay cure.
They are back in my friends wine cellar
hard at work and dead sober. They've
cleared out every mouse IN the cellar ex-
cept few red and green ones l noticed the
last time / went there