The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-02
our-oF-sEAsoN SNAKE STORY.
But Good Enough for Practical
Hand at Any Time.
From the San Francisco CAL.

Hand at ANY IiHhe'
From the San Francisco Call.
The following is related by a well-Hnown
citizen of San Francisco. 1t is presented
unaccompanied by anldavits, and may ne
accented as truth by anybody who chooses
to believe it:
II was nv fortune to be one Of the earliest
settlers on the west shore of Lake Ia
boe-from June, 1861, to 1869. ! located a
meadow and was engaged in cutting wiia
bav for the market on the PlacerViHe
road
In the fall Of 1865 in The month Of No
vemper, l took my gun and, accompanied
bv a very intelligent setter dog, started
out for a hunt for grouse along the shore
and in the creek bottoms emptying INTO
the lake. ,,,rio,,s
s+ato of things happening around me
1r,rst a flock of quail and other BIRDS
oa,oe Avine Out of the canon, utterlnS
cries of alarm: next came some raDpNS
ora covotes. and soon three deer came
running at full speed last OF an an olu
hear with one cub came along
All mis- did not occupy much time ana
7 began 60 wonder what was up. MY dos
1,ent Looking UP the canon and was cyl
dentlv alarmed. and l began to feel shaNy
myself. ho,,I ana
started for home. eight miles away run
ming as fast as a dog could run, ana soiHs
m,der the cabin stayed there two days
9 ,iebte and no amount OF coaxine
,,,,Id eret him TO come out sooner ana
1ovar after would the dog go in the direc-
ton of the lake
began TO feel that some unknown dam
oer Was near. and looking about me saw
q enruce tree with very thick limbs stand
ing near a very large pine. cllInpeu up
about sixty feet from the grouhd anu pS-
gan TO look up the canon.
mad not long to wait. heard souhd,
81 70 me dead limbs of trees, willows ana
elders that grew in the canon were Delhs
hrolxen and crushed Soon monster ap
reared. slowly making his way IN the ~
loa+to,, where I was hidden In the tree
top and passed ON to me iaAe ,''i,ogiI,
feet Of where ] was, and as MS ShaAe9HlP
won't bv. and ! had partly recovered from
nv fright, ! began to look MN over anu
10 estimate his immense size
After his head had passed my Tree dpout
seventy feet he halted and reared IN thf
air hftv feet or more, ana was tlldiihtui
tbat The large pine MD me from ms siShI
"a dared 20 breathe again as he low
go his head to the ground aud moved on
t1is roonstrous head was about u rect
wide, and The large eyes seemed to be
about inches IN diameter, and SHINING Jet
black and seemed to project more than
baIf their size from the head. The neck
was about ten feet thick and the body IN
the largest poruoh must nav ~
in diameter. ,-.t. o..
had a chance 10 measure his length, for
when he halted mis- tail reached a fallen
tree and ! afterward measured the dis
lance from the tree where l was hidden TO
Inc fallen tree and Il measured 80 feet,and
as 70 or 80 feet had passed me, II made ms
length about 600 feet.
The skin was black on the back, turn-
,ne TO a reddish yellow OF the side and
boilv. and must have been very hard and
toueh. as small trees two and three inches
IN diaemter were crushed and broken with
ont any effect on his tough side. His
snakeship slowly made his way to the lake
glided In and swan toward the foot.
This serpant has been seen by several Of
the old settlers at the lake since that time,
but il was generally agreed that IL would
be useless to tell the world the story,
knowing that 1t would not be believed.