The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-23
A GIRL NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
She Lives in California, and Makes
Money by Dressing Snake skins
for Belts.

Money by Dressing snake skins
for Belts.
From the Kansas City Star.
The girl who makes business OF
hunting rattlesnakes and engages in
daily battles with the venomous rep
tiles certainly occupies unique niche
in woman's sphere. Miss Grace Som
ers of California is the young woman
who for the last year has followed this
pursuit and made a pecuniary sue
cess of it. Miss Somer's main hunt
ing ground Is her uncles cattle ranch,
! just above Sonora, where rattlers and
snakes of all kinds abound. Down the
grade lies Table mountain and the To-
cality made famous by Bret Harte
MY rattlesnake farm" Miss Somers
| jokingly calls the Thompson ranch
At first glance no one would take Miss
Grace Somers for the nervy little piece
of femininity she is. Yet in her trim
built 125 pounds there is high
| strung, nervous organization ana
| level-headed coolnes and grit.
What gave me the idea Of killing
rattlesnakes for a living?" repeated
Miss Somers II wanted to do some
thing to earn money, and there's not
much a girl can do whose lot is cast
comment on the fashion of wearing
snakeskin belts, and l thought what a
fine one this beautiful skin would make
so l sent it to the city and ordered
belt made of it. That gave me my
idea. If there is a demand for snake
skin belts l thought. why shouldn't
/ supply skins to the market?"
80 l wrote to a firm in San Fran
cisco and asked them if they would
buy any fine rattlesnake skins. They
! snapped al the offer and that was nv
start. Later on I discovered 1 could
mount the skins into bets myself.
Now / send belts all over the United
States. l do not make the snakeskin
purses myself. For the snakeskins
mounted into belts 1 receive from 81
to $40, according to the size and beauty
of the skins. The skins suitablue for
purses net me about 81 apiece.
when I first told Uncle Thompson
what / proposed to do, he protested
vigorously and declared l could make
a fool of myself in a good many safer
ways. However, | set about trying to
invent some sort of device to snare the
snakes. l cut stout pole about ten
feet long, and fastened rough fork
to end end. The work was done so
clumsily that Jim took pity on me and
said he couldn't stand by and see me
snake fork. So he rugged a good, stout
one for me, and volunteered to pilot
me on the first hunt and show me a
trick or two.
80, Jim taught me how to fork and
kill my first RATHER. 1 couldn't have
had a better teacher, for he handled
the snakes as easily as if it were
calf he was herding to pasture. l was
all excitement, of course, and kept in
the background, fearing the snake
might spring al me and fasten its dead
ly fangs in my flesh.
Jim laughed at my nervousness.
Then he took my snake fork and coolly
drove out MIR. Snake from under a
bush into an open space, and put the
amazed, angry, kissing reptile through
his PAGES for my edif1cation. He slowed
me how adroit, crafty Mr.. Snake wig
gled and crawled to get out of the way;
how he had to coil himself up just so
before he could spring and how he
coud only spring the distance of his
own length. He made Mr.. Snake coil
up, spring and strike at the pole
number of time just to illustrate how
he did the. trick. Then he made him
coil with his rattle ended tail poised
in the air and make the peculiar whir-
ring sound that gives the reptile its
name, and warns interlopers that his
snakeship is around and ready for bat
tie.
Jim ended the lesson by giving Mr..
Snake a sharp crack across the back
with his stick. After he had explained
snake habits and snake habitats, he
hayed the reptile and showed me how
to handle the skin so as to preserve
its beautiful markings and render it
soft and pliable for wear. I have since
experimental with the skins, and have
my own special way of preserving
them. which, of course, 1 keep a Sc
cret."
Miss Somers laughed at the idea of
carrying along whisky as an antidote
for snake bites. 81 always carry a
reticule containing bottle of ammonia,
a stick of nitrate of silver and a cloth
bandage to bind tightly around the
wound in order to cut off circulation till
the poison's strength is conquered. But
don't place too much reliance in
them. believe in the ounce of pre-
vention. When 1 am out on a hunt
and 1 discover a snake, 1 keep saying
to myself, It's Mr.. Snake or me- and
never think of anything else until
the snake is duly laid out"