The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1893-06-22
A SNAKE BITE CURE.
The Old Settler Tells of It's Won.
derful Effects.

''Great spooks" exclaimed the squire,
looking up from the paper he was read
ing and keeping his finger on the
place. Twenty thousand! Wat do
ye think O. that, major? Twenty thou
san folks dyin' from snakes in one
year,
''W'at do think on it?" said the Old
Settler. ''Wull, think them folks must
"a took their apple jack pooty durn new,
b'gosh, an leetle too often!"
"Applejack!.' said the squire, glar-
ing at the Old Settler. "Applejack hain't
got nuthin' to do with it. These folks
was bit
''Bit, was they?" responded the Old
Settler. "Wull, tha hain't nuthin' that
kin bite wuss thin new applejack,
squire. I've know'd it to be sharper'n
asarpent's tooth. But who were tellin
We bout all them folks dyin' from snake
bites? That's good many folks,
squire. Ye orter be leetle keerful of
yer figgers when ye set out to peddle
facts"
"Why, consarn it.' exclaimed the
squire, ''here it is, right here in the pa
per! The paper says that last year tha
was twenty thousan' folks died in Injy
from snake bites.'
'1n Injy, hay?" said the Old Settler.
"Why, didn't hev no kind an idee that
the sarpent had got ez much of foot
holdon Injy's coral strand ez all that,
Humph! | must tell Mriar bout that,
an tha'l be a special meetin' of the
Clothers O. Them that's Naked an Feed
ers O. Them that Hungers called to
look inter it. This here won't never
do! M'riar must call a meetin' of the
Clothers an Feeders, and the sistern
must line the mex cargo o. red flannel
shirts an secon'-han' pants with leather.
L been spectin' they was little too
thin to perfect them heathens on Iniy's
coral strand. An wat is the news
from Greenlan's icy mountains, squire?
How many folks is missin', long O.
snakes, up there? An does Afric's sun
ny fountains send in any returns?
Gosht'lmighty! This'll make trouble
fer my yaller-leg chickens ag'in, ven
this news gifts around, fer the Clothers
and Feeders alluz stays to supper.
w ats the returns from Africs sunny
fountains, squire?"
The squire folded up his paper, put it
in his pocket and gave the Old Settler
whitening look, but said nothing.
This was plainly disappointing to the
Old Settler, but after awhile he resumed
the subject.
Twenty thousand, hay?" said he ''I
wisht | know'd the directions O. some
leadin' heather aver there an I'd send
him letter tellin' him bout the never
faliin' Sugar Swamp cure for snake
plson, an tina wouldn't be no use O.
snakes bitin' anybody in that pleasin
kentry any more, fer they'd only waste
their p'ison. If anything ever were a
cortion to snakes that Sugar Swamp
p'lson cure were! Gosht'lmighty. how
1t could draw! An that were jist the
trouble with it. 1t had so much heft
to its drawin' powers that the danger
were that if it got its hooks onter a
teller that had snake p'ison in him it
Were liable to kill him while it were
curln' him. Pervidin', O. course, that
We want keerful in usin' on it. The in
grejints o that Sugar Swamp snake
plson cure is a secret ez nobody kin
ever hev outside o. our family. The
prescription were thunk up by an an
elstor O mine who kim inter Sugar
swamp wen things was skeerce.
Evrything but bar an snakes Tha
want but two bar'l O. apple juice in
the hull settlement wen this ANCESTOR
O mine sot down there, an folks was
comm in ev'ry day all bit up by snakes,
and eonsekently havin' to be filed up
with that juice in way that were
alarmin', that bein' the only snake
pison cure ez We're reeo'nized 'mongst