Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-05-29


tertioh eotnf1es now otter 0oit1e7
of 80 cents each. Last week about BOD
were presented for bounty at Prairie
du Chen and the seasons catch VIII
be 2.OOG. Rattiesnakes live In dens-
that good. old, blood-curdling WORD Is
still used III its old sense in the val
ley. Rocky points of the mountains
that look ont over the valley as SEN
tinels are tie fayoritp spots of the rat
tiers To g't them the hunters go art
ter them, though later in the season,
wien 1t Is hot and dry, the snakes
work down into the lowlands. My
Gays Mills friend takes along fish
pole with a hook at the end and feels
for the rattlers In their deDs. When
he drags them to sight he hits them
with a club. There have been some
fatalities most every year-usually
of women and CHI EN- In the woods
hunting berries. ne snakes also kill
cattle. But the RATHER is slOw-moy-
Ing snake. IT is said he always gives
warning with Ills bony tail-a clear,
distinct noise tHat can be heard for
300 feet-and an easy blow will break
his back. II is popularity believed
that whisky Is an antldote for the bite,
and it is certainly true that virus can
be drawn from the wound by prompt
ly plunging it into pail of mud. One
effective enemy of the RATHER is the
hog. These animals were formerly "a
lowed TO range the hillsides and so
kept the pests limited in number. Of
late years. however, hogs are fenced
and snakes have multiplied How
ever, the county has driven not few
persons 20 snake killing as an industry
and II the Involvement by county
boards is continued year after year.
nothing Will remain of the once dread
ed rattle-snake but stories and tradi-
ton. There will be no better one than
that told by my ancient friend of
Gays Mills. 1t was fifty years ago
and he was one of the first settlers.
He was climbing up one of the rocky
points with his bride when they came
upon a den" He said the snakes
We're in masses-great, wriggling. oily
punches as big as bushel baskets. He
cut himself stick and began the
work of destruction. As they moved
toward their place of seclusion under
shelving rock. he gave each of them
hit with the stick. He says he killed
400
Interesting Things in the Woods.
Such tramp as mine is increased
in interest as one is familiar with
animal life, with rocks and with not
any. The people who grow up in such
region acquire much knowledge. The
woods are alive with interesting and
curious things. The collecting OF
ginseng root is prohtabie-more so
than of sarsaparilla, mandrakes. In
dian turnips etc, on which treside
medical concoctors lay much stress.
The stretches of wild flowers would
greatly delight the ladies. Infinite
variety, perfection of form and color
and sown with prodigal profusion. For
half mile on each side the green
hillsides were decked with a three
fold white fiower-tall and graceful.
AS l plodded along in the afternoon
quiet, the gently flowing river by my
side I thought of each white flower as
a tombstone of a doll, and the whole
pleasantly-weird reaches as dolls
fairgrounds No doubt a poet could
see a little girl weeping at each tiny
flower stone-here q dainty city miss
mourning a real Paris doll whose eyes
opened; and there some humber child
of a"ridge farm" sobbing over a sorry
sawdust affair, nor the less holding it's
affections and once the confidante of
many a secret communicated in the
solitude of the pines.
Schools and Churches at Work.
The Kiekapoo valley Is making prog
ress. The towns are growing. More
land is being cleared. Prices of farms
are advancing. Banks are being estab-
| lished, schools and churches are multi
plying. The old days when 1t was
necessary to bury the dead without
some word of cheer and consolation
from a man of God are gone. The
old settlers, too, are passing off the
scene. There are still men and women
Of middle life who remember their
child life In a log cabin, whose near
est neighbor was many miles away
and whose nearest market was Prairie
du Chien--a three days journey by
raft down the river-Or a long hard
ride with OK team over the mills to
Boscobel on the east or to Lynxville
on the Mississippi. There are many
log cabins yet to be seen. But the rail-
road has quickened the life of the val
ley two-thirds of its way. And On
tario is but eight miles south of the
Northwestern. By fostering education
and suppressing the saloons-which
as yet have made but little impress
sion on the people. the Kickapoo val
ley viii more and more prosper. And
for those who seek rest, diversion,
summer quiet close to nature in her
most winning forms, no part of Wis
consin eurpasses this region. 1t has
future as a summer resort
ORLANDO BURNETT.