The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-16
SNAKES SCARED CHOIR GIRLS,
AND A WHOLE NEIGHBORH0OD
HAS HAD FTDGETS FOR A WEEK.
Talked OF Rattiers and Adders. and Had
Snake-Huntine Expeditions Boys
Made All the Trouble with Few Harm
less and Tame Ones 0S the Garter Tribe.

! Made All the Trouble with Few Harm
less and Tame Ones oS the Garter Tribe.
Brooklyn's great snake mystery has
! been solved to the satisfaction OF the per-
sons living in the neighborhood OF Throop.
Greene and Sumner avenues and Van Buren,
street. Since the hot weather set in the
residents of the block bounded by those
streets have been wondering where ALL
the snakes came from. Timid Brooklyn
ties have walked through the streets with
alarm and the neighborhood has been
upset by several snake-hunting expedi-
tions.
None Of the snakes was big or fat, but
everybody was sure that they were poison
GUS and very dangerous. learned resi-
dent Of the block who once studied Greek
discovered that the snakes were OF the
genus Eutenid, but he had forgotten all
the Greek Of his college days in studying
the text book, How to Avoid Being Killed
by Trolley Cars, with Supplementary
Guide to the Cemeteries and Churches of
Our Borough" and came to the conclusion
that the snakes must be really dangerous.
AS the snakes were brown, with yellow
they must be adders or maybe rattlers,
and therefore deadly. The children were
much disappointed, because they wanted
to hear the snakes rattle and never did.
II somebody had taken the trouble to look
at them closely he would have found out
that the snakes were garters and HARM
less
Everybody seemed to be taken Up with
trying to destroy the sns kes. Whenever
there WI S q feminine scres IN on the block
the people rushed to the windows nd there
was n chorus Of "Sni kes!" The sna kes
were found in the choir loft Of St. Stephens
Church and the sexton wondered who III d
been CT reless enough TO leu We the doors open
and let them squirm in, IL W; merely
coincidence thu the sn kes ppe red when
the choir WI h. wing a rehe; rsi l nd thtt
one boy--the g. me boy e. ch time-wt
always brave enough TO pick up he sn kes
and CRY them out in his pocket, after
which the rehe rsl would lie resumed.
Visitors to cert& in houses in tie block
he'd seen skins which proud fathers e1-
pIa ned q me off snG kes that would HI We
bitten their children. A few sni Ike hunting
expeditions were mi de up in the block nd
q ne, rby de- Ter who stlls sp: DIES ind
shovels discovered thGt his business WI
booming. VI rious theories were dva need
to account for the presence Of the sn; hes.
One woma n who once lived in New Jersey
said she WI sure that there we're lots OF
sn: kes in the neighborhood nd thtt they
CT me out in the warm WEI Their. Other
persons thought that the "a weeds { nd
yrf SIS behind the b. ptist Home in Van
Buren, street WIS fine breeding place for
sn; kes.
If anybody ha sled young Benj9 min
Cook. who lives at $40 Greene avenue.
where the snr kes CT me from. he would h: We
found out the truth. Young Cook knew
I'll about it. But If il hi dn't Leen for
Sherlock Holmes oh one Of the Brooklyn
~ pers who w ndered into the block yester-
clav the myst cry would prol ably be S crest
as ever 80 far as most OF the inhabitan ts are
concerned.
He discovered that young Cook and his
chum, the son of Or. Bennett, who lives
across the bay, had been down 10 the Coney
Island Boulevard in the spring and had
picked up some garter snakes. BENJAMIN
kept them in his home in box which he
made for the purpose. The snakes were
comfortable enough in the box during the
cold weather, but when the warm weather
came they sneaked out and roamed around
the neighborhood. The Brooklyn reporter
who made this discovery Is not in favor
with Mrs Cook, the mother Of Benjamin.
Just to think of it," she said yesterday
afternoon. Il gave him all that informa-
ton and he had to go and put our name 8 In
the paper. lie could have made Just as
good a story without using Benjamin.
name so that he could be identified
Benjamin has been crying all the after
noon because he thinks he will lose his job
in the choir You see. he had those snakes.
and when my daughter had some of her
nigh school girl friends here he used to
bring them into the parlor and scare tho
girls. But after while the girls got used
to them and weren't frightened bit.
"Then. you know, one night Benjamin
brought two the snake sup TO st, Stephens
Church, where he sings in the choir. But
the snakes were small things and harmless,
and they shouldn't have frightened anybody.
snow, I'mnot going to tell you any more
concluded Mrs Cook. AYou go across the
street and ask Mrs. Bennett what she's got
to say about it. But don't you tell her l