The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-20
A CROP OF SNAKES.
an Iowa Man Who Eo;sod Rnt-
tioro FOR Thor Vo~o.n.
description OF tho Farm by u Travolcr
VINO Visited It-Iiow tho Farmer
Obtained tho Virus aud Sent
1t to Market.

several years ago, while travelling in
Iowa. a Chicago man happened upon q
settlement i'll lama county. and. while
stopping there, heard of a rattlesnalse
ledge about four miles northeast of the
Town that had been prompted by O.
man from Ohio. Old Burnison's ledge
turned out to be all it was painted, saws
an exchange, and something more. 1t
was mile and q half of rotton lime
stone stratum turned on edge and stick
ing out OF the prairie sixty feet high,
like big quarry that had got snagged
IN the middle of lake. Right on ton
OF 1t, in grove of wild tern and dwarf
sycamore, lived old Burnison, in n LOO
cabin he had built for himself about
three years before, when no had pre-
cmpted the quarter section.
This whole bed of rock. lvinr In
sianting ana crunbling layers, much
OF 1T as crumbled as old cheese, was
literally alive with rattlesnalecs. When
reached the place old Burnison had
settled down to snake killing us a bust
ness. lie had gradually given up all
attempts to work his farm and devoted
himself to the ceascless war of extcr-
mination. He said he had killed as
many us fifty rattlcrs in a day, but they
were "gettin' scarcy of him now" and
knew his step. Besides, said he: II
amt as anxious to kill rs l was, scein'
rs how snakes is Il better PAWN crop
than corn"
lie and his boy must have been at
this about year, it appeared, when
some one wrote to him from Dos
Moincs and offered to pay him for all
inc rattlcsnalc poison he could collect
Inns set him to work pulling tho fangs
out OF the dead snakes. 1t was difficult
and tedious work, but he succeeded in
getting together u vial of the venom
ana sent 1T to his correspondent, with Il
complaint that it didn't pay TO 'gcthcr'
it.
What was his surprise to receive in
answer lengthy letter from n Chica-
go firm, for which the Dcs Moincs cor
respondent was only an agent, thank
ing him for the virus and remittinp ten
dollars, with specific instructions how
to 'gcthcr' the poison without so much
trouble He was TO pull tho fang be-
fore the snake was killed and while his
mouth was open. OF course said the
letter, you can't very well do it after
the snake is dead, because the fang is
folded back and hidden in the folds of
the maXillary gland. We send you by
express to our Des Moincs agent pair
of forccps specially constructed for
this work, which we furnish to our
agents.
Here the old man got up and
brought long-handlcd steel instru-
ncnt of the most delicate workman
ship, and l accompanied him and his
boy TO see how it worked. We had not
gone hundred feet through the plum
grove before we heard the rattle of a
snake, and the boy, turning aside into
the bush, found his victim coiled, with
his head up, and in half q minute he
had his forllcd stick over the neck of
the ANIMAL and the old man had the
instrument fast on the little white
fang that hung down visibly in his open
mouth
with dcXterous jerk the fang and
the venom bag together came out I'M
broken, and, after crushing the head of
the serpent with his boot, he laid the
trophy in the palm of his hand for me
to look at.
afterwards he showed mo q little
box with glass stoppered walls laid in
cotton, which the Chicago firm had
also sent him. He told me that he was
making n good deal more money by
the snakes than he could get 'outcn'
his crops
81 bought vial of the viscid fluid
from old Burnison and kept it for q
long time for experiments, ultimately
passing it over to DR.. Doremus"