The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-04-02
I47 RATTLERs INATANGLE.
Henry Moseley's Rare Experience with
Snakes at Thomaston, Conn.

-
Wolcott, captured more than bunshel
and half of ssm-torpid rattlesnakes at
ths foot of Rattlesnake Hill, below
Thomaston, a few days ago. The snakes
were being thawed out by the rays of the
warm spring sin. The haul was an un-
snake country.
Moseley is an elderly man and.an odd
genius who divides his time between
wood ohopping, snake hunting, banjo
picking, story telling, and lodging the
tax gatherer. He lives in little shan ty
can be moved easily.
''When they come after me for money
I move my house." said Mos eley the
other day. cts cheaper to . move than
pay taxes
Moseley is native of Massachusetts.
He and his musical instrument are In
separable, and both are in great demand
at the countryside dances. His banjo
goes with him everywhere, and he u.s.
ually punctuates his stories with ocoas-
ional plunxs on the strings. Along the
caves of his shanty are hanging rows Of
the snakes taken in his recent haul,
strung by the head on sticks, so placed
that the sun may have an opportunity to
loosen their SKINS
~ am not much ola hand at spinning
snake yarn said Moseley modsstly,
but there were some things about this
last catch Of mine on Rattlesnake Hill
that were unusually interesting to me and
prove to my mind that the rattler has a
memory as good as yours or mine. am
satisfied that the RATHER never gets SO far
way back, and that's more than any
other snake or four-footed animal can
do. From the quantity of snakes got
judge that they came to thesHill from
distance of from five to fifty miles, for I
know We don't. have any su1h number of
rattlers around here In the summer.
They come back to the Hill because 1t ia
their birthplace, and to spend the winter
in secure refuge" Plunkety-plinkety
PUNK; pink; plunkety -plinkety-
PUNK.
Ever since first came into these
parts so many rattlers have been taken
about RattlesnaKe Hill that I have
known there must be a alternating and
ancestral den OH II Somewhere for the
reptile. Besides, was told that there
was, and I've been trying to find the
deD, off and on, for e long time. There
was an old snake hunter named Holabud
who informed me that great many
years ago he'd seen hundreds and thous-
ands OF rattlers coming back to the Hill
from the surrounding country to spend
the winter, and that they went into a
den where they rolled themselves into a
big ball to remain in torpid state until
the warm spring weather ssand the peep
Of the frogs WOULD bring them out
again." Plunk-plinkety-
-plunk-plink-plun
Mr.. Holabud was too feeble to show
me where the den was, but he told me
that he ', as sure it was{the birthplace of
the rattlers, that they spread in all
directions from there, and that their re-
turn to It's protection from the life kill
ing frosts. after q season of shifting of
themselves, was as much a habit and
religious duty with them as the flying of
birds to a warmer climate in winter.
But how they could remember to locate
Rattlesnake Hill so certainly and return
to it every time, Holabud said he could
not see. I will tell you of one Of the ex-
periments Holabud said he made to con-
vince himself of the correctness OF the
rattler's memory in finding its way to
its wintershome. One time, while shoot
ing woodcock up in Goshen woods, proba-
bly, twenty-five miles from Rattlesneke
Fl ill, Holabud said he encountered
young RATHER and he held the serpent's
head down on the ground with a forked
stick while ring OF wire to work the
reptile was twisted on it's tail. The
int Hn1 ht.d 1nid h. Is
same snake, still wearing the ring. in
the den Oh Rnttlesnake Hill. This5show
that the serpent knew to q Certainty the
way to get back to it old home when the
cold came. Holabud died Fsoon after
telling me this story" PIunk-plunkesy
k-plunk-plunk, PUNK.
''Now, l didn't want to disbelieve Mr..
Holabud. because I'm snake hunter
myself, and l should feel bad If thought
any one. would not believe what say
about snakes, but still was anxious to
see one of Rattlesnake Hills halla of
snakes for myself. Seeing ia believing,
they say. A rattlesnake is heat loving
creature you know, and as I had never
been able to get any track of that den,
just made it my business this spring to
watch for the reptiles when they came
out OF their long sleep. So I hunted the
rocks overland under, and prowled here
and there until last Wednesday, when
came across a monstrous big ball of the
snakes in the sun on top of a. fat ledge
near the highest part of the hill. where
the air was as warm as toast.
eft was by oil odds the greatest sight 1
ever saw or ever expect to see There
they were, ali interviewer, 'heads and
POINTS, Just about half alive and half
lead. like so many strips of thick leath-
er. ] suppose their being masssd to-
gether in this way helps to preserve them
by keeping them warm. The ball was
sort Of relaxed aud was 1attened out in
shape like great big chair cushion.
Not far away was narrow assure in the
ledge which / saw at once was the en-
trance to the long looked for den. This
cavern was clean and well carpeted with
leaves which had been beaten down by
the movements nf the snakes in the
place. There was every evidence that it
had been occupied as snake den for
years, for there wore the backbones of
snakes all about, and any quantitysof old
skins that had been sloughed off, [ poksd
up the soil with stick aud found that
it was full of the remains of former
rattlers. There was not snake in the
place, all having joined in the forms