Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-15

A No, el Scheme to Get Rid of Both at
the Same Time.

From the Pittsburg Times.
Lem Mowry of Lower Turkeyfoot town
ship, Somerset county, was in town this
week buying new gun and seeing the
sights and incidentally testing the differ
ence between bonded Monongahela and
moonshine brands. In conversation with a
Times man he said that things were pretty
dry and quiet down in his neck of the
woods, except for a lawsuit that is stirring
up the neighborhoed.
According to Lem it came about thus:
You see" said he, I'VE had a big crop of
rattlesnakes this year. They got so bad
that they were suckin' all the eggs, eatin'
up young chickens and achully milkin the
COWS. We had several rattlesnake hunts,
but they didn't come TO much, as every fell
low carried along so much whisky to cure
himself from bites, and they all took SO
many before, for sort of vaccination agin
the pizen, that mighty few of them was
able to ketch snake when he seen it
Well, Hen kinlin, who lives up back OF
Russville, give out that he'd show us a
thing two about gettin' rid of snakes.
and sed as how he'd do that and make the
snakes hist the stumps out of a clearin
where he was goin to sow buckwheat-
Hen was always contrivin' some way to
get out of work and have things easy, and
everybody wondered hat he was up to.
We'll, he went ahead and got lot Of
dynamite nodded up in the shape OF mice,
and he got some drug store stuff and put
on these dynamite mice that would make 1t
go off about half an hour after il got wet.
Now says he. I'll put these mice round
the clearin', the snakes II swaller EN-. then
they'll begin to feel sick and crawl into
their holes, and after little the stun ii go
off and kill the snakes and blow up the
stumps. Well, he give US all notice of!
when he was goin' to do this job of stump
extractin' and there was pretty good
crowd on hand.
Hen had counted the stumps, and he
had a mouse for every one and some left
a Ia
help him, and in a few minutes the mice
were scattered over the clearin'. Then
all of US got away about 200 yards TO
wait and see whatd turn up. In about
twenty minutes, when We was all lookin'
towards the clearin, We heard somethin'
rustlin' in the grass. and, when we looked,
there was a big RATHER lashin' along as il
1t wasn't goin' to stop till 1t got to the
Susquehanna river. Quick as wink every
body knowed it had ore of Hens pills in
side of it. and We all lit out as If we was
runnin' for gunner. But the RATHER was
trSin' to run away from pain in its in
sides and 1t didn't show any signs of
THROWN the race, and KEEP close up to the
first division the proceshun.
Pretty soon biff! bang! Il went OF like
a cannon and throwed dirt and gravel and
chunks of sod all over us. We stopped then,
thinkin' We were all right, but In a minute
along comes two more breakin' the record.
and we knowed by their motions they was
loaded Jake Becker was so scared that
he dropped a quart flask, and such pullin'
these two went off most together. right at
out heels but we KEEP on runnin', cussin'
Hens fool notion and wishing we was
railroad ;ngines with 9o-pound rails under
us and plenty of steam. We didn't stop 10
look but we could hear that there was
regular Fourth of July celebration goin' j
on behind us. and that the snakes were
havin' n hot time. Things was bangin', like
the battle of Gettysburg. After a while ii
quieted down a little and as our wind was
clean gone we let up. and soon when the
n
mighty keerful.
when we got up near the clearing again
we saw that nearly half the stumps was
out and we saw, too, that Hens barn was
afire, one of the snakes havin' busted under
it, and before We could git there some
body come runnin' down the road saytn' 4
that Nose, Turner was lynn down by the
crick with his leg broke. One OF the snakes
had went off IN the road, scared his horse
into fits. and 1t had run off, smashed the
wagon, throwed, Nose out and broke his
leg. There was no trying TO save !
Hens barn, but made out to keep the
pig pen and wagon house from burnin'. Be
fore we got through over comes 'Eph
Bycrs a-wantin' to kill somebody because 4
he said we had blowed up a tree in his or
chard and killed two heifers standin' under
ut raised a mighty big ruction In the
neighborhood. Hen had killed lot OF
snakes. be had blowed up about half his
stumps, but he out barn and all
what was in 1t. and in a few days Nose
Turner and 'Eph' Byers brings suit, and
as Hen wasn't worth much they sued
the whole gang that helped to put the mice
in the clearin', sayin' 1t was a conspirln'-
They brought the case before Squire Baer.
He lowed there wasn't any law for snakes
but he brought ii under cruelty to animals
and give 'em both damages. Now, it's
goin' to be took to court up in Somerset
nigh half the township has been summoned
as witnesses. and nearly everybody is talk,
in SO much about 1t and taken sides either
With Hen or with Nose and 'Eph' that
you dent hear much else"