The record-union., 1896-10-04

official report above alluded to says,
"the gophers have been steadily at work
plowing the ground, covering deeper
and deeper the vegetable matter, loosen
ing the soil. draining the land, and SLOW
ly but surely cultiyating and enriching
it,"
1t is in great measure the gopher
of one species or another-which has
made the Western prairies a mellow
garden, ready for the farmers plow.
But now his work is done. The far
mer tills his own soil, and the earth no
longer needs the little animated culti-
| waiting machine-which, for that mat
ter is operated at too high q cost in the
produce of the earth.
The present concern of scientific ag-
riculture with the pocket gopher is TO
get rid of him as speedily and effect
ually as possible Youths Companion.
BETWEEN FIRE AND SNAKES.
The boss snake story of the season
came in from the Panther Run region
the other day. The hero Of the yarn
is old George Welshaus, who has killed
q regiment O. rattlers" in his day, but
on this occasion the old fellow encoun-
tered too many reptiles for him to
slaughter ALL Welshaus was out trout
ing when he ran against his exciting
experience, but a fierce forest fire made
it too hot for comfortable fishing, and
it was while he was escaping from the
| advancing line of flame that he ran
onto the snake part of his days outing.
Now, / had noticed an all-tired lot OF
| water snakes as | hOOfed up over the
rocks and crawled over logs that laid
in the stream, but it never struck me
thet the fire in the woods he'd anythin
to do with this fac. Every durn snake,
too. was a-layin' in the crick, sometimes
a-curled up on fat rock, then, again,
a-stretched out on a log or a-Stlckln
to the body of a saplin' tibet hung over
the water. You see. as I've kalkerlated
since, these durn snakes take to the
water when they found thet thar wus
fire in the neighborhood, an the cum
min fellers wus agettin' as near safety
as it wus possible fer them to do.
WAL, Tn not pertickerler afeerd o.
water snakes, an l jest fished long
without payin' much attention to the
! binZesS. an' failed to notice thet the
fire was a-hummin' down the holler on
| both sides O. the crick P'raps L
wouldn't noticed it soon as | did eff 1t
hadn't been fur suthin' as happened
| bout this time. I Wuz pokin' my way
roun' a clump o. alder bushes to git
into a durn nice pool l spied up stream
a-ways, when my 'tention all O. a sud
dint wuz 'tracted to the groun' by
| hearin' the warnin' song of rattle
snake. Now, I kin rustic along an
kick a regiment o. water snakes out of
I my way, but when a rattler sounds his
gong jest gives him as respectful ten
1 ton as / does one o. these trolley cars
in town. When I heerd the rattle 1t
! 'peared to cum fin the groun' jist at
my feet. an I gev a leap. Twas we'll
| did. fer the sight thet I saw minnit
later sent my blood a-freezin' down my
/ backbone Right on the groun' whar |
he'd stood was three O. the durndest,
biggest maddest rattlers thet man
ever sot eyes An they wuz maxim
music fer sartin'. Madder'n a nest o
hornets when you send load Of buck
shot through their nest wuz these three
rattlers. They wuZ all coiled up IN
punches, an their heads KEEP a-swayin'
FIN side to side an up an down till l
sort O. got queer feelin' in my ole head
a-watchin' Of EN-.
"Waal. I wuzn't long O. putin the
hull three to sleep, an arter pock-
etin' the rattles l started fer the pool
again But I'll be gol burned ef before
I TUX four steps / didn't cum ker-
plunk onter another rattler. He was
a-shinin' long to'ard the criek at
purity good rate, but when | cum close
| to him he stopped an set UP q tune with
| his rattles. He was slick yaller feller,
with a skin as glossy as an eel.
sort o. shied off to one side to git
pineknot thet I laid at the foot Of
alder sapling'. I kalkerlated on holdin'
onto this saplin' with one hand an
| kind O. reachin over an givin' Mr..
| Snake a smack with the other Waal,
got the pine knot an he'd grabbed
the saplin', when II of a suddint, I
| felt suthin soft strike my hat then
it slipt off my head onto my shoulder
an the next minnit the durn thing
was a-squirmin an a-danglin' in front
of my face. Holy goshes Of midnight
spooksl Twas an all-fired big black
snake Of the racer kind, an the thing
wuz wrigglin down over my shoulder
onto the groun'.
You see, the varmint he'd bin upon
| thet alder saplin' an when I katched
hold O. of the tree an bent it over, the
durn snake came tumblin' off ilerplunk
onto my head. Waal ye know, black
snakes don't bite, an this feller peared
| to be in a mighty hurry to get away.
| He scooted right smack into the creek,
| an the next minnit he he'd hid under
lot O. roots as hung over the bank
| O. the creek. It's q durn good thing
| fer me thet he wuz willin' to go with
| out givin' me a fight, fer | jist stood
| thar an trimbled. / wuz as weak as
seven cats, an it TUX me nigh onto
| ten minutes to git my senses kerlected
| When ! did cum to | sees as how the
| fire wuz all aroun me on both sides
| of the run. 4 stiff breeze was a-scur-
| ryin the flames down the creek. an
the air was gittin' ALFRED hot an
smoky. I kalkerlated as how I'd best
adjourn. What with the snakes an
| the fire. concluded that Panther Rur,
| wuz a good place to git away from
Then it jist struck me why the snakes
was so durn plenty roun' those dig
| gins. The fire wuz a-chasin' EN- ahead
O. it into the creek.
| When | KEN to conclude this
know'd as how I'd a gauntlet to run
a-goin down stream, fer I knows the
bank an the rocks in the crick'd be
lined with the pesky critters But
down the crick l must go. | couldn't
break through the walls of fire thet
wuz a-linin' along the stream, SO the
only thing left fer me to do wus to
make tracks right square down the
middle o the crick. ! got hold OF a
| stout birch stick bout as thicl, as NV
| wrist an started An / tell We, men,
thet trip down thet Panther Run jist
I