The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-06-09

the serpent's head down on the ground with forked stick while ring of wire to mark the reptile was twisted on its tail. The next winter, Holabud said, he killed that same snake, still wearing the ring, In the den on Rattlesnake Hill. This shows that the serpent knew to a certainty the way to get back to it's old home when the cold came. Holabud died soon after telling me this story.
 Now I didn't want to disbelieve MT, Holabuds story, because I'm snake hunter myself, and I should feel bad if l thought any one would not believe what say about snakes, but still l was anxious to see one of Rattlesnake Hilps ball of snakes for myself. Seeing is be- lieving, they say. A rattlesnake is heat-loving creature, you know and as 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 over and under, and prowled here and there until at last Wednesday,, when came across mon strous big ball of the snakes in the sun | on top of a flat ledge near the highest part, where the air was as warm as | toast.
 l Tt was by all odds the greatest sight ever saw or ever expect to see. There | they were, all interwoVen, 'peads and | points, just about half alive and half | dead, like so many strips of thick leath- CT. l suppose their being massed to- gether in this way helps to preserve them by keeping them warm. The ball | was sort of relaxed and was flattened out in shape like great big chair cush- 1 ion. Not far away was a narrow fis- sure In the ledge, which I saw at once was the entrance to the long -lookedfor | den. This cavern was clean and well Carpeted with leaves, which had been | beaten down by the movements of the snakes in the place. There was every evidence that it had been occupied as a snake den for years, for there were the | backbones of snakes all about and any quantity of old skins that had been sloughed off. l poked up the soil with a stick and found that 1t was full of the remains of former rattlers. There was not a snake In the place, all having l joined in the formation of the ball that I started to tell about.
 | q will go back to the ball As soon as the snakes saw me they seemed to give signal, for the ball frightened up all at once and started to roll right for | the Assure in the ledge. .. "As for me, I didn't know what to do, I, was so excited There was fifty or seventy-fve dollars worth of snakes there, all balled up for me, and I didnt have thing with me to kill them. I never felt so disappointed in all my life. | You see, never expected to have so l much to do in the way of snake hunting so early in the season. and all I could lay my hands on was a piece of wide board, which was lying there. All the time those snakes were a-getting up | more headway and a-rolling faster and l faster right for the entrance to the den In another moment down they would fall into the cavern, and like as not should lose three-quarters of them.
 T acted on the impulse of the mo- ment. Said I to myself, I'll try my best, and we'll see what can do with
 this board At that I ran as fast as could ahead of the snake ball and man. aged to throw my board down and GOV CT up the entrance 10 the cave Just De- fore the ball reached the spot. The big ball struck the board with such an inn pCtus that it bounded clear over the ifs. sure and the next instant was on its way down the hill and across the top ot the ledge Before the snakes could un. tangle themselves the ball was boun- cling down the footpath on the east side of Rattlesnake Hill. It soon whizzed SC fast that the snakes had to tighten theil grip for safety.
 q stood watching the ball as it went down the path. It was a big whrhns brown mass. All went we'll with it un. til 1t reached a sharp turn in the path where it flew off the track and shot over the brow of the cliff, which is about fifty feet high. The ball fell into mud bank below, and the thut seemed to stun the snakes, for when finally got to them they had not moved so I had no reason to feel afraid ot them. I had a good deal of trouble 1T untying them and straightening then out so that I could cut the throats o1 the lot"
 MT. MoseIey secured one hundred ant forty-seven snakes in all.-Philadelphit Times.