The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-06-03

The rural inteiIect OF TWO eouiiaies in
New York is bravely but vainly trying
to penetrate h mystery that en-
shrouds a local question 1t Is a ques-
ton of snakes. and this simple fact
is sufficient in itself to account for the
seriousness with which il is consider
ed and the difficulties encountered in
its reatment. For the history OF the
human race may almost be said TO
have begun with a snake trouble the
serpent beguiled me and / did eat,
and from that eating came all our
woes. with loss Of Eden" And with
the departure of the primal pair from
Paradise the AGRICULTURAL industry be-
gan. In this initial chapter Of history
we have an explanation of the special
and peculiar destesta.ion in which
snakes are held by all the descendants
of Eve. No matter how beautiful or
harmless a snake may be, he is a hor-
ror to the average man or IN To-
ward the beasts OF the field and woods
and the winged denizens of the air We
discriminate, degrading some as use
full or pleasant friends and others as
dangerous. but feeling toward none the
repulsion and dread that we indiscrim-
inately feel toward snakes.
But it is n of the really vicious
families of the serpent tribe thai is
now troubling b agriculturists in
Washington and Warren counties, N.
Y, and the matter is complicated by
a question of finance. The latter may
be less complex than the n now en-
gaging the attention of the United
States senate; but, as the senate is
not called upon to simultaneously
wrestle with 81 snake problem indis-
solubly connection with and
finance, it's course is palmer and it's
duty clearer than that of those per-
picked farmers.
1t appears from the lucid statement
prepared by the able and accomplished
snake editor of The New York Mail
and Express n published in that pa
per on the 30th ultimo that Warren
county pays a bounty of a dollar a tail
for dead rattlesnakes. We are not ad-
viSed as to any practical use that may
be made of those tails. Owing to the
deep and universal prejudice to which
we have referred they could not be
p~rOfitably sold for babies rattles, and
they do not seem adapted to any other
purpose in the utilitarian line. The in
ference, therefore, is hat the dollar
per tail is paid to get rid of hated OBJ
jects. But this result is not attained.
The more dollars paid the greater the
influx of tails, the more snakes killed,
the greater the number of live snakes.
washington county, just across Lake
George from Warren county also
hates snakes, not SO much by half as
Warren county, but enough to pay so
cents a tail for their taking off. But
it so happens hat Washington coun-
tvs lesser bounty is seldom called for:
that her formerly immense surplus of
rattlesnakes has disappeared, while
Warren county's surplus is growing
and the funds in her township treas
ures are being exhausted.
The Warren farmers appear to be-
HeVe that the snakes come from Wash
1ngton, either swimming across Lake
George or crawling around one end of
1T; but they do not attempt to account
Tor such migration by Offering a
reasonable motive. We know that
snakes are cunning, for "the serpent
was more subtle than all the beasts of
the field" but it would not be reason
able to suppose the Washington coun-
~ snakes were moving into Warren
county, by either the land or water
route, just for the honor of having
their detached tails bring twice as
much as they would if they STAYED in
the locality of their nativity.-Wash-
lngton Post.