Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1899-03-04
JADE COOKS TWO RATTl-ERS
He Caught One Asleep, but Never Couii
~ f,,t In.

He Caught One Asleep, but Never Cou'd
Tell How He Got tho Other.
"No, young man, can't tell you
nothin, not but there 5 things enough
happened along the Delaware, an,
for that matter, right here in CALI
coon, to ill n hundred little books
chock full, but | amt no composer.
But | wish to land you'd come
round before Jabe Cook died. He
could Il 'commodated you with as
many yarns as you could shake a
stick at. True onesi Of course.
Jabe want no great hand on lynn
not ginerally. He ferriod here for
oh, | don't know how long. Begun
when was boy. Run small
boat an when there was teams or
many people took them over in Il big
scOW.
"Thero amt scasly any hcft of
work bout runnin u scow. Jabe
wouldn't a-took to it If there had
been, for he was sort of lazy coot-
didn t banker after work. When you
pole out an git plntcd right, the
scow'll run itself, an then there's
time for swappin horses an talkin.
That's where Jabe's talent come in
on talkin He could talk a blue
streak--beat the hull shootin match
at it. 1t beat all how much he
knowed about everybody for miles
round. An when he begun on one o
his stories no was bound to go
through with it. Never knowed him
to leave story half way but oncet
Zone day II passed. of Us young
chaps had been up HOLSTER brook
tishin. When we got back to the fer
ry, Jabe want to he seen an we set
down Oh the beach to wait for him
to como an take Us acrost the river.
We'd been settin quite Il spell, when
all of suddint we heard him shout.
in an calm to us. He was comm
from an old stone quarry, an | swan
if the Teller didn't have Il live rattle
snake in each hand. We were fast
enough bout runnin to meet him,
but a little skittish bout gittin very
clost TO the snakes, until we were
sure he had each one gripped clost
enough to the head SOS it couldn't
turn to bite. It's safe enough carry
in rattlers that way-if you hold Oh
tight The day was hot an Jake
was that excited he fairly suffered
a.tryin TO tell us how he ketched the
snakes an the way we slung Ques
tons at him didn't help to cool him
down none. A city chap, he said.
had promised him S. an good jack
knife for a live RATHER. He d kinder
calkerated on tindin enc that day
because all the signs We're bout
right for their bein out.
Say interrupted ST Brown.
'ain't you gittin to know most too
much bout rattlersl'
"'You'll know more about IMAM
ners when you're growed up, was
Jabe's answer. This was sock
dologer on ST, for, though he wa.
nigh on to 40, he was little cuss
well, Jabc's story was awful
long, for he'd had ruthor rough
an tumble sort of hunt, but the
upshot of it all was he found the
first RATHER asleep behind holler
log, an, said he, I crept up as stills
Cat after mouse, an reached over
my forked stick an nabbed him. An
suitin his actions to his words, Jabe
brought his right hand over
brought it over too near the left.
Quicker'n you could say Jack Rob
inson, the left hand snake stuck his
fangs into Jabe's right hand, an the
right hand snake did the same for
his left hand.
"Jabb's yells, which was enough
to wake tho dead, an the genera!
thrashin round of arms an snakes,
scarf us boys till every one of Us
went lickety split up the river bank,
We went back when the snakes We're
gone an helped Jabe home. 81 Ian
for the doctor, an was soon Il leg.
gin it up the road after whisky.
mo, Jabe didn't die, though he
come within an ace of it. He felt
awfully cut up bout the hull bust
ness an to this day we don't know
how he ketched that other snake"
New York Sun.