The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-10-02
from what I have heard, and especial.

from what have heard, ana eSpeclal-
ly from what [ have seen, it would
seem to me that they not only have
that power, but have it in a most re-
markable degree. One summer in
northern Pennsylvania l killed fine
specimen of rattler, and carried it on
stick for two miles to the place where
I was stopping. A native of that To-
cality on seeing the snake, said:
".'That's she rattler and you folks
around here want to watch out. Her
mate will be along looking for her to-
morrow or next day, sure !
ri skinned the snake and took the
carcass to the hog pen and gave it to
the hogs and thought no more about
it. Next morning I heard loud
scream from one Of the women Of the
family, and she came running into the
house declaring that she had seen
big rattlesnake on the front stoop.
"'First time, she said that live
rattlesnake has been around the house
in twenty-five years.
II hurried on but could see nothing
of the snake. 1t occurred to me then
what the native had said about the
mate of the dead snake following her.
I walked toward the hog pen and there
I discovered rattlesnake moving to
and fro on the ground in front of the
sty, and acting as if it were looking
for place to get in. | watched the
manoeuvres of the snake for few
minutes and then killed it, and the
native at once declared that it was the
mate of the one I had killed the day
before. The front stoop where this
snake had just made its appearance at
the house was the first place [ had
stopped with the dead snake and gone
from there to the hog pen.
"I perhaps, in spite Of the circum-
stantial evidence against it, would
never have believed that this snake
was anything else but one that had
come casually to the premises, if
similar incident hadn't occurred a
couple of days later. A man, who was
working in haying on the place lived
four miles distant and went home Sat
urday night to spend Sunday. On his
way back Sunday afternoon he killed
a rattlesnake in the road and brought
it in. 1t happened to be a female, and
warning was given that lookout bet
ter be kept for her mate. AS a matter
of curiosity I took the dead snake
from where it had been laid in the
road near the house and took it to an
old vacant house in the field half a
mile down the road from the place
where I was stopping. I left the
snake there, and next day went back
to the old house. to see if any snake
would follow it there, keeping watch
along the road. Along in the middle
Of the forenoon l saw big snake
coming down the road and | got into a
clump of bushes. The snake came
into the field. 1t was rattler, and it
made straight for the house. ! fol-
lowed it. It went in at the open door.
The dead snake lay on the floor. The
live one went up to it and around it
several times, and then lay still, as II
thinking the matter over. watched
the snake for ten minutes and he never
moved. Then I stepped inside the
door. Like fash the snake threw
himself into a coil and faced me,
glaring fercely, and making his rattles
sing. | didn't like his looks and shot
him with my revolver. no longer
had any doubt that the snake OF the
week before was the mate to the one l
had killed, and was satisfied that this
one was the mate of the hired man s
victim. But how had they followed
the trails of their dead wives That's
what has always puzzled me. "-Ne,o
York Sun.