The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-06-26
SNAKES IN NEW JERSEY.
The Drought Makes the Reptiles
Vicious and Brings Them Out.

The Drought Makes the Reptiles
Vicious and Brings Them Out.
Port Jervis, June 25.-The drought has
caused the snakes to migrate from their
usual haunts in the mountains and stone
quarries to the valleys for water. The re-
suit has been that hundreds of snakes have
been killed near the small. villages here
about The snakes have become unusually
vicious also Fishermen along the Della
ware and Neversink Rivers and other larg
er streams have been attacked by them.
Howard Storms, of Mongsup, was chased
by big blacksnake on Thursday after
noon for quarter of mile to his home,
where his brother John, attracted by the
cries, rushed to his assistance and killed
the reptile with a hoe.
Mrs. Adams. also a resident OF Mon
gaup. went to her chicken coop on Thurs
day evening to collect eggs. She reached
into the nest to get the eggs, and caught
hold of blacksnake instead. Instead of
fainting, she grasped the serpent by the
head, and running to the chopping block,
cut its head off with an axe. Another SINH
lar case was that of Farmer William
Smith, residing in the town of Waikiki.
For some time past Smith had not been
getting many eggs A day or two ago the
farmer ran across a large blacksnake sun
ming itself near his hennery. He noticed
lump In the middle of the snake s-body.
and when he had despatched 1t and cut the
reptile open he discovered that the lump
was large china egg which he had missed
from a nest in the hen coop. AS he has
not missed any more eggs from the nests,
it is presumed that the dead blacksnake
was the thief.
On Wednesday last Charles, the four
! III -saf. nail. s.f
| Chestnut Street East Stroudsburg. was
He fought the reptiles off with a long pole
until assistance came and the snakes were
killed. They were all more than. four feet
| in length Judson Case, OF Beech Lake
ran across a den of - snakes near his
quarry recently and smoked them out. He
/ killed sixteen of them, five of which were
rattlesnakes ever three feet in length. a
| few days ago Miss Adelaide Porzelt, re-
siding near Sparrowbush, killed black
snake four feet three inches long which
showed fight, in her dooryard.
Sidney Birkett, a bicyelist, was taking a
! spin on his wheel to Crystal Lake on
! Thursday. He had almost reached his. dcs-
tination, the Lake House. when he saw
blacksnake across the road ahead of
t him. Not wishing to run over the reptile
| he turned to one side and kept on. Hap
/
| to see that the snake was giving him
chase. He spurted ahead until he reached
| a rail fence where he procured a rail,
and. returning, killed the snake. He took
! it TO Lake House, where it was measured,
and found it to be four feet four inches
! long and as large. as a mans arm.
Miss Emma Shock, residing near Tama-
| qua, Monroe county, Pa, had a lively ex-
perience with two snakes on Saturday last.
! She had been working near her house,
| when two copperhead snakes made their
| appearance out of the brush and attacked
| her. Securing a pole, she killed them. On
! examining the body of one of the snakes
she discovered that it was a female and
| that no fewer than twenty-four little cop
| perhead snakes had run out from their
mothers throat These were also killed
! by Miss Shock.
B. ]. Halt, farmer of Sussex county.
| finished planting corn last week. On a
! ridge half a mile from his farmhouse a
| family of crows had built a nest. Farmer
Halt correctly judged that these crows
were there TO thrive on the planted corn
In the evening he took his gun and stroll
ed over toward the big pine tree on the
ridge TO shoot them. When he arrived at
| the tree he found five large blacksnakes
coiled about the lower limbs. They at
| tackled Halt, and he had lively time be-
fore he despatched the last one. Mr.. Halt
says that if the crows were there to feast
on his corn, the snakes were evidently
there to feast on young crows or the eggs
On Monday morning as Mr.. and Mrs
Clark Matthews were driving from Leban-
on Lake to their home in Sullivan county
they noticed two blacksnakes in the road
which they supposed were dead. A closer
examination showed that the snakes hat
their fangs fastened in each others jaws
Mrs Matthews held the team while hel
husband cut a sapling and killed the
snakes. 1t is supposed that they had beer
fighting.
Mr.. E. E suffern. of New York, recent
ly purchased lot of d. Shearon, OF Mon
roe. on the shore of Mombasha Lake, neal
that village. He is erecting summer cot
tage on the lot, and one day last weel
while experimenting work about the place
heard a peculiar noise near him. HI
glanced around and was horrifed to set
rattlesnake coiled several feet away
ready to spring. Mr.. Suffern leaped to {
higher point on a ledge of rock, and wheel
ing quickly, took revolver from his poe
ket and shot the snake through the head
FIRE MAY HAVE HIDDEN CRIME