The Savannah morning news., 1903-09-06
By GUY T. VISKNISKKL.
Copyright. 1908, by Guy t. VislSniskxt

my feet the same way. the stickum
holding like the grip O. death all the
time
Before L knew it was up to the
ceiling and walking across it, with my
PACK to the floor as nice as you please
just as l reached the wall which neid
the lamp. the old woman sang out:
Where-where are you, Nanny
on, ! know I'm going to be widderr
No, Mary Ann says 1, I'm not
going to give you a chance to marry
Jim Brown just yet And with that
l started down the wall head first, and
next second ran kerplunck into the
lamp and Knocked off the chimney.
Oh means the old woman when
the crash comes, the rattler's bit HIM
land I'm poor lone wilder woman
--ah-oh, Obj
Then, l finds the match box on the
OIL side of the lamp, and l strike one
and lights the lamp.
Hey old woman I says, clinging
to the side of the wall like a fly, and
with my head raised up and looking at
her. I'm not
oh, Lord!' she means, taking one
look. I'm a poor lone wilder woman
there's his spirit going up to be an
angel And with that she dives under
the bedclothes and weeps all to her
self.
Il looked around for the bull pup
and the RATHER, and there they was,
right in the center of the floor, fight
, ing like all possessed. The reptiles
tail was going as fast as lightning, his
head shooting out at the dog twice
as fast, and The dog lodging just as
fast and all the time troying for the
reptiles back at the neck. 1t was the
nrhffinCf sasal sn ROla 7 i T
was about tempted to see it to a fin
lsh when the bull pup gave a whine.
With that l started to jump to the
floor, but by gosh, I'd been clinging
in one place so long that l stuck fast,
and when I got loose 1 left a lot of
skin behind and fell to the floor in a
heap.
While I was scrambling to my feet
and reaching for a chair the old
woman pops her head out from under
the covers and looks over at the lamp.
His spirits gone clean up she
says, and I'm a lone wilder woman.
Then she starts numbering again.
well, that's about all, except to saw
that l misjudged that pups whine.
He wasn't weakening at all-had Just
stuck a splinter in his hind off foot.
Fact is, he was Just getting warmed ND.
Tor before l could raise the chair to
hit the reptile he grabbed the RATHER
by the back and it was all over before
you could say Jack Robinson. All
over, that is, except the measuring and
making the old woman believe l was
Nanny Howell instead of his spirit.
And both was tough jobs, 1 tell YOU.
Tor the snake measured five feet
eleVen and nine-seventeenths inches
and the old woman was powerful sci
on being poor lone wilder woman
But, say, that stickum's a great
thing, and no man in this snake coun.
try ought to be without it handy"
The Story of the Grateful Black
snake.
Like this story of the wonderful
stlckum,- Manny's' yarn of the grateful
blacksnake is famous among the farm
ers of the Ligonier Valley
one late spring day l was driving
down the mountain side with a load
of tanbark," Nanny begins, when all
at once dead ahead 1 saw a good sized
log laying across the road These
here mountain roads, as you fellows
know, amt much for driving, and l
didn't want to give my gizzard any
extra shaking up by running over a
saw log, so l pulled up the team and
got out to lift the log away
We'll, sir, l swan, when 1 got up
to that log and bent down to lift il, |
nearly fell dead from wonder to find
it wasn't log at ALL but a Whopping
big blacksnake stretched straight and
stiff across the road from one side to
the other. And that there reptile,
when he saw my wonder just looked
over his shoulder little and winked
his near eye at me.
He didn't make a move to get out
of the way-not a bit-and after that
wink he just left himself stretched as
cool as you please across the road.
hate like tarnation to kill blacksnake,
knowing how they kill rattlers and
coppers, so when l saw he wasn't
going to get out of the way and let
me pass, 1 took him by the tail, carried
him to one side and got on the wagon
and drove on.
about a week later 1 was up on
the same road again. This time 1 was
looking around trying to locate
huckleberry patches, so as to be in the
first picking when they got ripe, when
first thing | knew l landed in the CEN
ter of the biggest den of rattlers l ever
hope to see. Yes, sir, there might
have been a hundred or more snakes,
ana certainly not less than seventy
five Anyway, they were thick, and |
knew / was up against it when they all
began buzzing and coiling at once.
81 had a hickory stick I'd cut when
l started out. and l laid around right
and left with it, knocking out rattler
everytime 1 struck. But the rattlers
were everywhere and 1 couldn't land
the stick fifty different places at once,
so | was getting pretty nervous and
wondering if I'd ever see the old wom-
an again.
"WeII, about this time the snakes
being a sagacious lot says to them
selves. Wen surround him, so as he
can't run. and then We'll have him.
Rattlcrs are among the smartest snakes
alive. l heard of one once who was a
pet of a telegrapher and who would
take his masters place at the key when
he wanted to take a nap. All he'd 90
was to rattle his tail on the key and
the electricity did the rest.
"WelI, as l was saying, l was soon
the center spot in circle of coiliH%,
rafting reptiles, and l was just start
ing to offer up a prayer for the good
o. nv soul when a whopping big olaek-
snake came bounding into the circle
and UP to my side. Then he stood on
his tail, and when his face came 10