The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-02-17
FOUND A SNAKE TREE.
risIds Him $50 ~ $3.50 Apiece
for R~attIesnake Skim.

~
A negro boy named Isaac Munro
recently struck a bonanza near Har
lem Switc h, Texas, in a fallen tree
from which he drove and killed over
300 rattlesnakes. Munroe was out
hunting rabbits with his dog, and
was in full chase of a mule ear"
when the little creature ran into the
hollow end of the tree. 1t almost
Immediately ran out again, and even
before the dog could seize it rolled
over and over on the ground in great
pain, the boy observing that blood
was issuing from what appeared To
be numberless pin pricks all over its
body. Before he could notice any
thing else Of its symptoms the dog
had torn the rabbit to pieces.
Then, curious to know what had
happened to the rabbit in the tree,
Munroe tried to drive the dog into the
trunk, but the cur evinced a decided
objection to entering it, and had to be
beaten before it would venture to do
as his master desired. 1t had barely
gotten its body inside when, with a
shrill yelp, it backed out whining and
bleeding, in the same unusual man
ner as the rabbit. The boy now
stopped down and looked into the
tree, but though he fancied that he
could see several small points of light,
he could find nothing to account for
the singular appearance Of the dog
and the rabbit.
Not c~ontented with this the negro
was foolish enough to thrust in his
arm TO see il he could not feel that
which he was unable to see. He felt
something strike him, and drawing
his arm out hastily, he saw hanging
to his sleeve "A tremendous rattle
snake. The creature was caught in
his woollen garment by its fangs and
was unable to release itself. Munroe
was afraid to shake the snake off lest
he could not manage to kill it quick
enough, and it should attack his bare
feet. Calling a companion who was
at work near by, he waited, with the
snake trying to entwine itself about
his arm. The boy who came to Num-
roe's assistance, seeing what the
trouble was, caught up a stick, and
as Munroe shook the RATHER, killed
the reptile with IA blow.
The dog was dead by this
time, and looking at him the
boys decided that the snake
must have bitten him several times.
They then got down to search the
tree for the eggs that the reptile
might have left, and from which a
fresh brood might come, but as they
did so "a second monster RATHER ran
out of the tree, giving the boys only
time enough to leap to one side. Con-
WINGED now that there was even more
in the tree the young negroes secured
a sack, and ho&ding it open at one end
they built at the other end a fire and
soon the snakes, with which the tree
was fairly alive, broke out of it by
the dozen and running into the sack
were dispatched by the boys.
Pains had to be taken in killing
them SO as to bruise only the heads,
as the skin when whole has a CONNER
cial value, but the negroes were ex-
perts at the thing, and succeeded in
crushing the skull only. Once the
writhing of the trapped serpents was
so great rs to cause the stone with
which they had confined the open end
of the sack to roll to n side, and
the whole lot would have escaped had
not the other boy placed his naked
foot on it. He was promptly bitten,
and it was only by the most heroic
measures that his life was saved. In
Il couple of hours his body was swol-
len to nearly twice its normal size,
and his teeth were so locked that it
was necessary to administer chloro-
form to wrench them apart.
Munroe sold his skins in Texas for
$l.j0 apiece, many buying them for
belts, while others invested in them
as a charm to prevent rheumatism
philadelphia Times.