The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-05-29
SNAKES OF TIE veRpIeRIs.


tnom IN hansae, DecauSS the INSIDE
of his mouth iswhite like cotton"
said ]. F. Hildreth, once of Law
renee, Kan. Hes meaner than the
rattlesnake, for he strikes without
warning, and il he is not 30 deadly
il is because he is smaIler-can't
load his poison gland up with 80
much venom. He is bad enough,
lying round as he does in paths in
the swamps, and in southern rivers
wherever a log lies partly in the
water you are likely to find q pair
of moccasins summing themselves
upon IL.
81 got an idea Of the number Of
these reptiles that can inhabit a
stretch Of riverside by what saw
once down In the verdigris valley,
in southeastern Kansas. II was 80
years ago. before the country there
about was much settled by white
people II was in the early spring.
and was there with q wagon tax
ing up young trees for transplant
ing. i had q negro boy with me for
helper, and one day, as I logged my
horses along the river bank, looking
out as drove for likely saplings, 1
sent the boy to dig up q young tree
that stood by ledge jutting into
the valley about so yards from the
water. He started, but stopped
when he got near the ledge
"'Golly. boss, ! dasn't 60 darr
he called to me- De place is plumb
squirmin wifi snakes.
"A negro breads q snake as much
az q monkey does and Is apt to take
fright at q false alarm But
thought would 60 up and zee what
the boy had found. ] left the team
and went TO where he was, and
we'll, there were snakes, as he said,
and to spare. Such a sight had
never seen or imagined In the face
of the ledge was a deep crevice. and,
the day being warm, the cotton
mouths that had denned up there
through the winter were crawling
out into the warmth of the sun
Most of them, on coming out from
the ledge, orawled to join their fel-
lows in a great ball of snakes that
had formed on the ground q few
PAGES from the crevice. 1t was as
large as a half bushel basket 9th
ers Of the snakes were lying about
on the ground and were hardly 10
be distinguished among the dead
leaves The boy and / picked ur
sticks and stones and for full hall
hour pelted the ball of snakes. They
did not try TO get away, but as OF.
ten as one Of our missiles struck
among them every head would dart
out and the mouths open white,
less like q cotton field az pickir
time the boy said, and he ex.
pressed it precisely.
THE young negro got q scare
that spoiled his fun for bit. he
picked up what he thought was 9
dead stick and dropped it with q
yell as il bent up toward his hand
opening up white at the end as i
did so. Luckily he had taken IL BY
the right end, and the snake. beine
half torpid, did not strike at once
with its fangs, so the boy was abl'
, to let ii go in time to save himself
| We killed a considerable number o.
the snakes, as we could tell by theii
> being cast out of the ball by th'
4 others as fast as they were disabled
I AT last we left OF our snake kill
. ing and went on A half mile NJ
the creek a score or more Of razor
, back hogs were roofing among tn
trees for last years mast Seeinl
!. them, the idea occurred to me o
a starting them down the river banl
to the ledge, for there is nothinl
b that a southern hog likes better {
4 eat than a snake AS for its venom
= be pays no attention whatever to II
9 being apparently poison proof Tn
o boy and / left the wagon and wit
a some trouble drove the hogs dow
L to the ledge After the foremos
!. came 10 where the snakes were the
9 did not need any driving. To max
K the story short, in q very few mir
n utes they cleared the ground of a
v the snakes in sight and were nosin
d about the ledge for more. j recko
n that the crop of cottonmouths mui
q have been thin the next summe
II along the VerdigriA New Yor
4 Sun.