The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-12
BATTLE WITH A BIG ADDER.
The Price Of a Connecticut Snake
Hunter-Fought for an Hour.

The Price Of Connecticut Snake
Hunter-Fought for an Hour.
New York Sun.
The largest adder ever caught in Con-
necticut has been taken alive by Otto
Lehman and C. f. Potter of East Glas-
tonbury. It is ten feet and more in
length and weighs twelve pounds. The
captors are to exhibit the snake along
with half a dozen rattlers at the county
fairs about the State.
The East Glastonbury country Is very
wild. Cat House mountain, where the
adder was caught, has deep ravines in
which the sun never shines AS years
sometimes go by without a man entering
The mountain gets its name from a little
log house where trappers lived years
ago when hunting wildcats; No man had
entered the particular ravine where the
big snake was caught in ten years.
Lehman found on Thursday a skin
which measured eight feet in length. 1t
had evidently been discarded recently.
Knowing that snakes with new skins
time had come for capturing the reptile.
So on Tuesday he organized a party.
which included Tax Collector Douglas;
a farm hand named Kinnery Potter, and
spotted the snake in the scrub timber.
1t was just fifteen feet in front of him.
About the time that Lehman discov-
cred the snake the adder became ac-
started to run toward the rocks ahead.
II thought he was going a mile a min
ute" said. Lehman. He made wild
dive and grabbed the adder about six
stop. though Lehman. who weighs 10
pounds, held on. 1t pulled him right
along to a stone wall and went through
crevice.
got a new grip" said Lehman. and
hollered for help. Potter is a bit deaf
but he came to my rescue"
Potter got hold on the snake just
got good hold. too. The adder sqnirm-
ed and many times nearly got away.
The four men were knocked over, but
they held on. Potter kept a tight hold
tuckered. The fight had lasted for an
hour when the snake was put in box.
HE Kissed and screeched like sky
rocket going off," said Lehman.
at sounded like escaping steam to me"
said Tax Collector Douglas.
I'VE would never have got him alive
in the world" says Potter, but for the
fact that his skin was tender and he
couldn't stand being hurt like he could
II his skin had been on a moath's time" .
THE snake is a fine buff color marked
with black. He is remarkably strong and
continually shows his resentment of con-
finement by kissing and splitting. All
the scales of his nose are worn off by
his attempts to push his head through a
steel wire netting over his cage.
TO make the days sport complete the
party brought in three rattlesnakes One
had nine rattles, another eleven and the
largest twelve. These snakes were four
and five feet long. Lehman is an old
snake hunter. He has captured 200 rat
tiers in the last four or five years. and
all of them were taken on Cat House
Mountain. Notwithstanding the great
number he has captured, Lehman be-
lieves the country is overrun with them
yet. They multiply very fast" he
says. II captured RATHER recently
that had twenty-five young ones
1T is common belief that snakes shed
their skins once a year" added Leh-
mann, hut they shed them oftener than
that. This discarding of the old skin
always follows hearty meal; Let a
snake eat a rabbit. as they will, or
chicken, and they take them into their
system with one bite, and Immediately
afterward they shed a skin. I've killed
rattlers and opened them up and found
whole squirrel. I've tried to fathom
it out how they could take so large
food morsef at once. but they can"
Several geological societies have made
offers for the big adder. as it is believed
to be the finest specimen in captivity.