The morning call., 1893-07-02

N o p ~ adpatN ogode cnng gh

/ snake kept the road and travelled so fast that is
was out Of sight before Zepp and Meyers had
| recovered from their establishment. Then they
| saw that IL was not bicycle That had made
| the mysterious and spooky track in the road.
The wide trail was made by the enormous
| bla ckSnake.
II was some time before the two bark peelers
| could make up their minds whether TO go on or
| return to MelrOse. They finally armed them
selves with heavy clubs and went on. The
great trail followed the road for nearly mile,
when 1t turned toward the woods again and
| disappeared. Zepp and Meyers were now
within two miles of Their camp where they had
OF their camp he big snake came into the road
again like flash. This time it had rabbit in
its mouth.
Lord" exclaimed Zepp. "He's gulped that
big pheasant, and hain't had enough yit!'
This time the snake did not follow along the
road. but crossed ii, and 1t made the eyes of
the two bark-peelerS bulge when they saw the
head OF the snake disappear in the woods on
one side of the road sCme time before its tall
came out OF the woods on the other side.
They gave the snake time to get a long dis
lance into the woods and then they broke for
I he can't, on the double quick. hey found
Andy Elite of Cumberland there. Andy is
fox, coon and 'pOssum hunter, and when he
heard about the big snakeehe called his dog
and started out to see If he couldn't make hit
as snake.hun too. -Zepp and Meyers took
their gun and went along.
They took the trail where the snake crossed
the road and Andy's dog followed 1t as If it
had been fox scent. He led the men mile
into the woods and came to IA noisy stand. He
barked and growled and yelped so vociferously
that Andy exclaimed:
That's the OncOmmonest snake reckon,
that was ever freed around hyer. or you
wouldn't find old Dan cuttin' up like thati
He's boled up dozen big rattiers 10 Wunst,
| fore now, an never made no setch FUSS"
The hunters drew near TO the dog and tmme-
diately saw that he had good cause TO make a
fuss. Two snakes lay stretcDed: out on the
rocks. They were black as coal, or they could
| easily have been mistaken for chestnut sap
lugs living on the ground, so Zepp and Meyers
declare. Each snake seemed swollen to an
enormous size just below the neck. Andy
| they thrashed around so in the bushes that the
| dog and The two bark peeers ran away.
| The snakes finally gave up and Andy cut
| them open. In one was a cock pheasant and in
the other rabbit. The snake that had swal-
lowed the rabbit also had mules shoe In its
| stomach. This led to the report, when the
news Of the killing Of the two snakes was car
ried to MelrOse. that one Of the snakes had
swallowed mule. This was found out later to
be untrue.
George Sampson identified the shoe as one he
had tied around the neck of cat he had thrown
into the milpond courle OF weeks ago TO
drown. The cat had evidently been TOO much
for the weight Of the shoe, had escaped from
the pond and run up against the snake, which
at once took il 10. shoe and AL.
The smaller Of the TWO snakes measured
fourteen feet, the other fourteen feet nine and
half inches. They were larger by TOUR OF nve
feet than blacksnakes usually run IN that
neiphbOrhOOd.