The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-08

skins right out Of its hide like one would
ike to skin an eel leaving the cuticle
sticking on the bush. Then their eye
sight is as good as ever.
A snake never winks or closes its eyes,
and all yenOmOus snakes have a peculiar
eye The pupil is oblong, something like
a cats in certain lines. Those of COM
mon snakes are always round The head
OF a venomOus snake is a very different
shape from q harmless one. 1t IS some
thing the shape of the heart on the play
ing card, while that of harmless one is
more Oblong.
Rattlesnake hunting has its sport the
same as any other hunting. On one hunt
a few years ago we had a tenderfoOt with
US who imagined every tWig and bush
was 4 RATHER. We caught a nice large
RATHER and put fishing line around its
neck. IA the meantime some of the
other boys who were with the party
called from the other part of the den 10
come quick, that there was.one there SIX
feet long. Not having the game box with
US we handed the fishing line TO the ten
derfOOt and told him to hold il until we
caught the other.
He declared right there that he would
kill the snake if left with him, and said:
what would l do II the snake would
take at me; all I could do would be to run
and ] would look nice running through
these woods with a fve-foot rattlesnaKe
chasing me. / did not come along TO act
as q hitching post for rattlesnakes, so
! take it along with you if you want the
snake to live'
On another occasion we got rattler
| under rock, and could not get at him.
| We could hear him rafting, but could not
see him. A man who lives near the den,
and who had followed us to see the sport,
suggested that we smoke him out. So he
lit match and set some dry leaves on
fire. In ten minutes we had to all run for
our lives, for il was fire every way you
looked. We tried to beat it out with
| brush, but the more we pounded il the
more it scattered. We came away, leav-
ing the hills looking like foggy day in
| Pittsburg. In about three days after
this down comes an inhabitant of that
part of the country and wanted $500, for,
he said, we had set the woods on fire, and
it had run over to his place and burned up
$50 railroad ties and 40 rods of fence. be-
sides almost burning his barn. 1t is need
less to say that he got paid for all his
loss.
This spring, up Calaboose run, Pete
and Q. Brown went up to see Just how
the snakes lay. They spied a nice RATHER
| lying on rock summing itself. 1t took
warning and crawled under the rock. They
got a rail and turned over the rock, and
| there lay ten nice, fat rattlers all coiled
together. They had nothing but -four
| Sack with them, but they got every snake
in that sack. Going little further they
caught Two more. Having round dozen
of rattlers in one sack, they concluded
they had enough for one half hours hunt,
so they started for home, walking along
the road, carrying the sack in one hand,
thinking about the nice haul they
had made made. Peter was very
much surprised to see the
whole bottom fail out Of the sack and the
snakes drop to the ground with a sicken-
ing thud. There he stood corralling
twelve rattlers, while Brown
ran a half mile mile for a
new sack. Getting them all in the
new sack they started for town, carrying
the bag over his shoulder this time. Sud
denly Pete felt a RATHER crawl around
his neck. He grabbed it by the neck and
replaced it in the bag. He had left the
| top open so that he would not smother
them, and this one had crawled out think
ing TO make its escape.
After getting home the man who owns
the oil lease, upon which land the den is
located, came TO Peter and asked him how
much royalty he was going TO give him
for catching the ratters upon his place.
Pete thought he would allow him one
eighth royalty, which would give him
one and half rattles for his share. He
said: Put your hand right in the bag
Taking camera with US to the dens is
entirely a new feature, but we tried it
this year and find it, with the aid of h.
| @. Beverdge, wac pressed the button, a
very decided success. ''BobN was lit
| tie imaginary in seeing snakes, but got
back home with a whole skin, and glad to
| find that he yet held liquids.
/ Rattlesnake fangs lie in the roof of the
mouth, and when they strike they throw
them forward, resembling two very
! prominent canine teeth. On several occa-
! sions we have seen a rattler throw fine
! spray OF poison from It's fangs when be-
/ ing caught back of the neck. We always
/ carry bottle Of ammonia with us, and
! wash our hands in il before going into the
/ den, for in cases like the above, any
! poison getting on a fresh cut or scratch
| would be as dangerous as being bitten.
! We always wear rubber coats and keep a
stout cord tied in slip moose about our
| wrists. In case of getting bitten on the
! hand, we would at once tighten up the
cord to stop the circulation, then rip the
wound open with knife and suck out all
the poison that we could then battle it
freely in ammonia and take large quanti-
ties of whisky. If this remedy is acted
on promptly there will only be a slight
| swelling, the same as was on Pete's hand
| when bitten. He took this same remedy,
and said the effect of the whisky was the
NOIaJ lbdLuTt dEOub IL. IL u ptFSOu SHOulQ
get bitten on the body, it would not be
safe to bet that he would get over it,
a few years ago man up near Pithole
creek was going through the woods, and,
it being a hot day, he came to spring
ana thought to take drink. Having no
cup, he got down on his hands and knees,
when a rattlesnake that was lying above
the spring struck him on the back Of the
neck The man was found a few days
later lying dead, almost in the position he
was when struck, so quick was the eject
Of thededdly poison.
a rattlesnake will give you warning
mostly before he bites, but if you were
to step on one before it saw YOU it
would bite and then rattle. They
do not have 10 be coiod before
biting. They viii bite anyway rather
than miss the opportunity. A rattlesnake
colied can spring almost its length, or
rathGR Straighten itself out that length.
When they strike, it is by a side move
ment, striking 10 the same side they are
coilcd toward. a very singular thing
about rattlcsnake den is the number OF
grounding skeletons lying about. They
hibernate together in the same rocks and
both being OF u quarreisome disposition,
get TO fighting, and Mr.. Groundhog comes
OF second best, goes to some quiet nook,
lies down and dies. There you find his
skeleton lying bleaching in the sun. We
have found as many as dozen skeletons