The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-29
SNAKES. AND NOTHING eLse.

me soie Product Of LinkviIIe, Near the
southern Boundary OF Oregon.
"LdnkvflIe," or klamath FaIls." IL
situated In an obscure corner over the
SalIornia border line in Oregon. n
may De reached In "a hours travel from
San francisco. You have only to take
tne northern-bound train for Ager,
enence q stage line OF about 20 miles
conoucts you to your destination.
~ - impossible to associate snakes"
Win beautiful and varying scenery
through which you pass as far as
klamath Hot Springs. Trees and
streams and all the glories of mountain
scsnery greet you on every hand. You
orive through q luxurious growth OF
everereens and shrubbery; you cross
mo recross numerous streams; you
Dreathe the soft air of Shasta and Sis
kiyou. But when you have left Kla-
math hot Springs a few miles behind.
there 10 an appreciable difference in the
ianoscape. Sparsity of vegetation Ii
the nrst observable change. At every
turn OF the road the aspect becomes
more barren. more ~forlorn. and more
desoiate. Finally. you seek In vain for
a tree or a shrub. and at last. dust-cov-
cred n weary. you pull up at a dry.
withered village that produces moth
ing on Its hard. rocky soil but revolt
ing snakes. You have reached Link
vile. the haunting retreat OF serpents.
There Is a bridge in Linkville that
spans klamath river. From this bridge.
which Is a vantage point. as far as
view Is concerned. a most ~extraordin-
airy sight meets the eyes. Along the
river banks. at irregular intervals of
a Few yards, are seen dark balls rang
ing from o foot to three feet in diam
eter. They are stationary n as mas
sive as a boulder. which they resem-
BILE In color. But IL a stone In hurled
at any Of these TRANCE spheres to
your horror snakes will crawl OF in
every direction. and the ball will melt
away as lard melts in a frying pan.
The repulsive creatures that have thus
been coiled up In a perfect sphere glide
away d the rocks. and n min
ute later not a snake is to be seen In
that particular spot. But h other
balls Of snakes in the vicinity are lit
tie disturbed by the stone. A close in
spection will reveal only a moving
head or twitching tail in the mass
that before looked like an immovable
boulder. Those hat were scattered,
however. may later seek the n~eighbor-
ing spheres or in a few minutes stink
out Of their hiding places and reas-
semble themselves in balls.
As has been said. Linkville Is In a
very barren district. Nothing what
ever grows upon the rocky soil. not
even sagebrush. And so the river
banks, which are a mass Of drift wood
and rocks. seem a bentting. place for
snakes But II Is surprising that they
should develop I'm such great numbers.
When not rolled in balls. they may
be seen slipping in n out among the
rubbish. and the ground for yards will
be a squirming, ~wriggling mass.
These snakes are perfectly harmless.
Indeed. IL IL were not for this fact
Linkville would not be habitable, for.
while the immediate peighborhood OF
the river Is their favorite haunt, they
roam for many hundred Of yards away
and may be seen along the roadways
n around the houses, and creeping
over the porches. They possess a mark
ed degree of tameness. mYou may pick
them up with impunity. and children
play with them on the doorsteps.
The Linkville snakes are dark In col
or, with two yellowish stripes on their
backs. The average size Is about an
inch and a half I'm diameter and a
yard long. though many are smaller
and some attain much greater proper
tions.-San Francisco Chronicle.