The Portland daily press., 1898-07-13
CoPPERHEAOs SPARE CHILDREN.
Rural Belief That the Snakes Won't Bit
the Young Apparently Confirmed.
New York SUM-

| New York SUM-
81 was up in the zinc mine region of
Sussex county, N. j., last week." said a
Lancaster county, Pa, man, land read
in one of the local papers up there an &C.
count of an incident which seemed to go
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 Lancaster, York,
and adjacent counties Of Pennsylvania,
where the copperhead snake dwells in I'M
pleasant 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
oopperhead toward children. never
heard of this belief being INDUCED any
where else than in that part Of Pennsyl
vania; but this New Jersey incident
rather inclines me to think that, unao-
countable as it may seem, there must be
more than fancy or superstition in it.
Zone day, week or SO ago. according
to the New Jersey newspaper. Florence,
the six-year- daughter of George Wilson
of Woodburn, found much enjoyment in
stamping her foot on an object she saw
protruding from the foundation of the
house. The sport went on until it attract
ed the attention 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 big pilot
Such reptiles, added the newspaper al
though amusing, are dangerous playmates
for children Il can't see wherein these
reptiles are amusing, but IN the light of
this incident and of others of which I
have heard I begin to have my doubts
that they are dangerous playmates for
children. recall now one instance in
particular that occurred season or two
ago on the York county side of the Sus.
quehanna River, where copperheads-cor
pilots, as they are called in New Jersey
are uncomfortably common. On the
farm of which am going to speak the
hayiug hands have killed as many as ten
in one day this season. moving over one
filed.
g The farm is the Loan farm. At the
time l refer to one of Loans children, a
little girl Of 3, was playing in the front
yard, and her mother noticed her sitting
| III tU6 SrcSS AcdI UilC SdGo- hyGFY NOW
and 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 coming, she shouted:
" Hurry, mamma. and see the live
carpet ragsl'
eat the same time she held up to her
mothers gaze snake she had grasped in
her hand which twisted and squirmed in
the air. Mrs. Loan saw at once that the
snake was copperhead. Although she
almost swooned with terror, she acted
with rare presence of mind. 1t occurred
to her that if she showed her alarm by
crying out suddenly to her, the child
would undoub tedly become frightened.
and the change that would naturally
follow in her handling of the deadly
reptile 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 saw
coaxingly:
" Fetch it to mamma, dear. Don't
hurt it..
I" But there's two of ZEN, mamma.
replied the little girl. '1'll fetch 'em
BOTH
sShe reached down and picked nm
another copperhead that lay in the gras
which Mrs. Loan had not seen, and cam.
toddling along the path toward her
mother with a wriggling snake in each
hand. Mrs. Loan. although almost
paralyzed with terror over the plight =
little one was in, fol one stroke of a "a
perhead's fang would have been her
and sure death, retained her composure
and when the child was within a coun1e
of yards of her spoke to her gently and
said:
" Put them on the ground, DARLING
and let me see them walk
"This seemed to please the child. and
she placed the copperheads in the noth
They then saw Mrs. Loan for the first
time, and their manner changed instant.
ly. The copperhead, unlike the rattle
snake, is aggressive, and these two
showing all the fierceness of their nature
at once moved toward the child's mother
plainly with hostile intent The chi1d
clapped her hands and started to catoh
the snakes again. Her mother ruShad
around the snakes, and snatchino AZ |
child up in her arms fsw to the 6on vao |
closed the door behind her, and fell faInt
ing to the floor. The copperheads wnno
killed later, and the little girl mo ,rnaS
for her deadly playthings for DAYS. e"
"That is only one of scores of inoida,,4a
one may hear over in that part of Pen,
sylvaria about the immunity from 40,
ger the comprehend snake grants N"n ~
children, and the New Jersey case is a,s 10
one in point. Still, although it looks i to
me as if the startling Welsh Mountsirn
belief had good grounds, Idon't beliara
would take copperheau home az %
playtHang for my children, Just the san,e