The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-14
AN EXPENSIVE LESSON.

From the New York sun.
''If it hadn't been that there was a
bounty of two dollars head on wild.
cats then" said Uncle Joe Vondersmith,
of York county, Pennsylvania, '.it
wouldn't have cost me a cent to learn
that blacksnakes We're fond of wildcats.
AS it was, it cost me twenty dollars.
But l s'pose the knowledge L got was
worth the price.
II used to peddle through the lower
counties and down through Maryland.
Those are great districts for snakes, es-
pecially blacksnales and copperheads.
It's fun to see folks doing their having
down through there, especially when
they're loading it after it is cut and
cured. A man will take upa forkful of
dried grass, but he won't pitch it on the
wagon right away. He gives it three
or four peculiar shakes to rattle the
snakes out of it. If four or five copper
heads don't tumble out the man ant
satisfied and gives the hay another
shake. Ellsworth going a long journey
TO see 'em load hay down there.
They never speak about big black
snakes in that country. There's no use
Of it, because there ant any little
blacksnakes. At least you never see
one, unless you call one nine feet long a
little one. They don't run much finer
than that. If one is killed aller thar
that it is toted around as a curiosity.
1t was in that stretch of territory that
! learned to talk intelligently about the
Partially of blackSnakes for wildcats.
] was driving along one day through a
scrubby piece Of woods near the York
county border, and hearing a peculiar
noise at the side Of the road l got out
OF my wagon to investigate. In a hol-
low stump found nine wildcat kittens
almost as big as full-grown house cats.
"'Ha! har l says Here's eighteen
dollars for me, sure enough"
while 1 was busy appropriating the
scrambling and scratching young cats,
out OF the woods came the mother of the
litter. and made right for me. l put
two or three pistol balls into her, and
that was all there was OF the fight"
Have TO call il twenty dollars now
] says, and tumbled the old cats car
cass into the wagon, and put the nine
kittens in by her. They snuggled
down as meek as mice, and started
on. feeling good.
81 had gone mile or so when hap
pened 10 look back along the road and
saw q big black streak coming toward
zle like a hurricane I knew what i
was IN a second. 1t was one of the IA
nous blacksnakes Of that district
put whip 10 nv horse, thinking l might
get away from M pursuer, but didn't
know the qualities Of those snakes
This one closed up the space between
Us so fast that he was almost a. the
hind wheels Of my wagon before nv
horse had run Eve rods thought, OF
course, that the snake wanted me. and
l quickly turned over in ny mind what
was best 70 be done TO save myself
Having often read Of travellers pursued
by wolves tossing dogs and other things
from their sleds IS sop 20 the wolves,
thus gaining time and distance. hap
Pr thought struck me, aud grabbed .
wildcat kitten and tossed IL out 10 this
snake to see how il would work II
worked first rate The snake stopped
l whipped up nv horse Looking bacl,
saw the snake getting ready 20 e.
velop the kitten and / thought / was
saved But just then out Of the woods
at one side Of the road whizzed another
blaeEsnake as big as the first snd wen;
- climbing right up into the .azen-