The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-08-09
AN EXPENSIVE LESSON.
No Paid to Find Out tlaa. BlacRsnakes Are
Tnnd OF lTIldca.a.

Afv EHFG tS0tv < EESSos*s
He Paid to Find Out that BlacRsnakes Are
Tond Of Wildca.a.
"If it hadn't been that there was q
bounty OF two dollars head on wild
cats then, said Uncle Joe yon.ie vs.n;tt1,
of York county, Pennsylvania, "it
wouldn't have cost me a cent TO learn
that blaclSsnakes were fond of wildcats.
AS it was, it cost Inc twenty dollars.
But s'pose The knowledge ! got was
worth the price.
81 used to peddle through the lower
counties and down through Maryland.
Those ore great districts for snakes, es-
pecially blacksnalscs md copp,rheaas.
It's fun to see folks doing their haying
down through there, especially when
they're loading it after it is cut and
cured. a man will take upa fori<fnl OF
dried grass, but he won't pitchit on the
wagon right away. FIe 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 It's worth going a long journey
to see 'em load hay down there.
siThey never speak a5ont big black
snakes in that country. There's no use
OF it, because there ant any little
blacksnakcs. At least you never see
one, unless you call one ninc feet long a
little one. They don't run much finer
than that If one is killed smaller than
that it is toted around as curiosity.
II was in that stretch of territory that
I learned to talk intelligently about the
partiality Of blacksnakes for wildcats.
was driving along one day through a
scrubby piece of woods near the York
county border, and hearing peculiar
noise at the side of the road I got ont
of my wagon to investigate. In hol-
low stump found nine wildcat kittens
almost as big as full-grown house cats.
"Ha hal I says. Here's eighteen
dollars for me, sure enough"
"While l was busy appropriating the
scralablipg and scratching young cats
out of the woods game the mother of the
litter, and made right for me. put
two or three pistol balls iste hea. and
that was all there was Of the fight
octave to call it twenty dollars no'Y,
I saws. and tumbled the old cats car
cass into the wagons and put the nine
kittens in by her, They snuggled
down as meek as mice, and !; st0rted
on, feeling good.
81 had gone mile or SO when hep
pened to look back along the road and
saw big black streak coming toward
me like a hurricane. knew what it
was in second 1t was one of the IA
nous blacksnalses of that district.
put whip to my horse. thinking might
get away from my pursuer, but | didn't
know the qualities of those snakes.
This one closed up th- space between
us SO fast that he was almost at the
hind wheels OF lay wagon before my
horse had run five rods. thought, OF
course, that the snake wanted nae, and
/ quickly turned over in my mind what
was best to be done to. save myself.
Having often read Of travellers pursued
by wolves tossing dogs and other things
from their sleds as sop to the wolves,
thus gaining time and distance, a hap
by thought struck me, and | grabbed a
wildcat kitten and tossed IL ont 10 this
snake to see how it would work. 1t
worked first rate. The snake stopped.
whipped up my horse. Looking back
saw the snake getting ready to en-
velop the kitten and thought | was
saved But just then out Of the woods
at one side Of the road whizzed another
blacksnakc as big as the first and went
to climbing right up into the wagon.
I grabbed another kitten and chucked
it out, and had to groan a little, for 1t
was another two-dollar contribution to
snakes.
''Then away went again, hoping to
sage the rest of the prize money. BY
and by / looked back to see how the
land lay. 1t wasn't laying at all. 1t
was all torn up by four more immense
blacksnakes, which were putting in
their best licl1s to catch NE, not more
than a hundred yards in the rear !
threw another kitten out, supposing
the four snakes would stop and have a
squabble for it. But they didn't. One
got it, and the other three came right
op. And more snakes came out of the
woods and jsined in the chase. saw
it was no use, and SO l stood up, my
horse going at full jump, and fed them
snakes wildcat kittens until the whole
nine were gone, and | was eighteen
dollars out.
81 was pretty near out of the woods
by this time. could see the clearings
right ahead.
"Ill save the old dead cat, by gumr
says, and clean up two dollars out of
this, anyhow
'.But was oyerhauled by a tremen-
dous big blacksnake before got to the
end of the woods and knew by the
hump on him that he had at least two
of the kittens inside of himself already.
/ had to give up the old cat, and went
out of those woods into the clearing a.
humming. I looked back and saw the
whole caboodle of snakes having
grand old rongh-and-tumble over the
body of the mother wildcat, but didn't
stay to see how it came out. So l
found out by personal observation that
are fond of wild cats, but
it cost me twenty dollars. IN. Y. Sun.
Delicate Burden.
The cxpressman mad just picked UP
an deliberately packed article. Excel
sior futtercd between the Stats, and
the admonition, Handle with care"
was painted in big letters.
ST wonder what's in here?" lac ex-
claimed. Something they're mighty
particular about. !"
yes replied fellow-w orklnan.