Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1898-09-01
SHAKES SPARE CHILDREN.
Rural Belief That They VIII Not Rite
the Young Apparently
Confirmed.


Sussex county, N. j., lately" said a
Lancaster county (Pa.) man, "and read |
in one of the local papers up there an
account of an incident which seemed |
to go a good way toward confirming |
the truth of a startling belief that has
prevailed from time out of mind among !
the natives of the mountains in Lam
easter York and adjacent counties of |
Pennsylvania, where the copperhead !
snake dwells in unpleasant abundance,
that this venomous snake will not bite
children. There are many wonderful
stories told over there, especially in
the famous Welsh mountain country,
about this strange lenity of the cop
peThead toward children, l never
heard of this belief being INDUCED
anywhere else than in that part of
Pennsylvania; but this New Jersey in
cident rather inclines me to think that,
unaccountable as it may seem, there
must be more than fancy or supersti-
ton in it.
"One day recently, according TO the
New Jersey newspaper, Florence, the
siX-year-old daughter of George VIII
son, of Woodburn, found much enjoy
ment in stamping her foot on an OBJ
ject She saw protruding from the
foundation of the house. The sport
went on until it attracted the atten-
tion of her elder sister, who, when she
saw the game, was scared, and ran TO
call her mother. The object the child
had stamped proved TO be a big pilot
Such reptiles, added the newspaper,
although amusing, are dangerous
playmates for children.
81 can't see wherein these reptiles
are amusing, but in the light of this
incident and of others of which have
heard begin to have my doubts that
they are dangerous playmates for
children. ] recall now one instance in
particular that occurred a season or
two ago on the York county side of
the Susquehanna river, where copper
heuSls--or pilots, as they are called in
| New Jersey-are uncomfortably com
mon. On the farm bf which l am go
ing to speak the haying hands have
killed as many as ten in one day this
season, moving over one field.
'The farm is the Loan farm. At the
time / refer to one of Loans children,
a little girl of three, was playing in
the front yard, and her mother noticed
her sitting in the grass near the gate
Every now aud then the child was
heard to laugh gleefully, and Mrs.
Loan at last walked out to see what
it was that amused the child so much.
When the child saw her mother com
ing, she shouted:
Hurry, mamma, and see the live
carpet rags!
at the same time she held up TO her
mothers gaze a snake she had grasped
in her hand, which twisted and
squirmed in the air. Mrs. Loan saw
at once that the snake was a copper
head. Although she almost swooned
with terror, she acted with rare pres
ence of mind 1t occurred to her that
if she showed her alarm by crying
out suddenly to her, the child would
undoubtedly become frightened, and
the change that would naturally fol-
low in her handling of the deadly rep
tile might anger the snake and cause
it to sink its venomous fangs into her
hand or face. With great effort Mrs
Loan controlled herself sufficiently to
say, coaxingly:
"'Fetch it to mamma, dear. Don't
hurt it,
"'But there's two Of 'em, mamma
replied the little girl. I'll fetch EN-
both
"She reached down and picked uT
another copperhead that lay in the
grass which Mrs. Loan had not seen
and came toddling along the path to
/ ward her mother with a wriggling
J snake in each hand. Mrs. Loan, al
though almost paralyzed with terror
over the plight her little one was in
for one stroke of a copperhead's fang
( would have been her swift and sur,
b death, retained her composure, anC
! when the child was within a couple o
yards of her spoke TO her gently ant
said:
"Put them on the ground, darling
! and let me see them walk
This seemed to please the child
! and she placed the 2opperheads in tn
path. They then saw Mrs. Loan for tn,
first time, and their manner change,
instantly. The copperhead, unlike III
! rattlesnake, is aggressive, and thes
! two showing all the ferceness of thei
nature, at once moved toward tn
child's mother, plainly with hostile in
tent The child clapped her hands ant
started to catch the snakes again
Her mother rushed around the snake
and, snatching the child up in he
arms, few to the house, closed the doc
q behind her and fell fainting to tn
y aoor. The copperhCads were kille
n later, and the little girl mourned 10
t her deadly playthings for days.
j. "That is only one Of scores Of inc
4 dents one may hear over In that par
e Of Pennsylvania about the immunit
t from danger the copperhead snak
d grants the children, and the New Jel
b. sey case is also one in point. Still, a
though &C looks to me as II the star
ling Welsh mountoin belief had goo
, grounds. don't believe would take
= copperhead home for a plaything le
my children, just the same.'--N, }
spn.