The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-07-13
" Greatest Scare ]
Ever Got.
nc. r. O'Reilly.


mac .,,n,h I have hunted for and
es me most venomous OF snakes
med med ,,ays kept collection OF them
j ca| !, nv house, yet under certain
elc] instances fear them as much as
rese] one else ,o .h.t
yer al the Sndheo "
d ! !. most claimed my attention when
) an L..d there was the great diamond
olda .sDake (Crotalus adamanteus),
~ most dangerous of all the living
-,,c -. that ever inhabited the wild
ediq = Of the South.
t , Irunately these great vlpers are
ors ,lentiful. One may live two or
edic Years in the widest part OF the
''u rtr and never see one; yet they
nov he encountered anywhere.
lcls hroughout most of my sojourn in
lda have lived or camped in the
as that the subjects Of my study
y, HI be around me.
~ 1X,s morning. as was getting ready
Do vt ont from my woodland retreat
> nmble along the waterside, saw
: bows come running toward the
ma One Of them had shotgun,
e. dog galloped along before them.
- fifty yards of they halted, and
7. anting leader called, DO you
big rattlesnake? We've found
ics md you can catch him easily. He's
r1n up in hollow tree"
- Where is he?"
o., half mile off, up there in the
vi ""
Did be rattle?"
No. be didn't rattle. He's asleep"
III No." thought l Its some harm
ae plne-snake or large king-snake";
rople often mistake these big mot
= reptiles for rattlesnakes. The
~ hes are that this one, if he was a
= lanake, would have ratified as
~ y be was discovered by three fid-
!, boys and frisky dog.
-. lieving, therefore, that it would
- eto be some large, harmless snake
might possibly want to add 10
Collection, I seized my siX-fOOt
An 81 stick and set out at once with the
u | made no other preparation
he aver. did not even put On leg
bo few minutes we were close to a
pet Of palmetto and sweet myrtle.
there he is" said the boys, point
% the thicket; and just as they
- Fa ! saw, marked across a mole
y w the path. the broad, smooth
q rattlesnake. 1t was nearly
- fhches in width.
laving the foot-path and going over
n the thicket. | saw the same
NA two other mole-heaps. From
judged that most probably the
Y we're right, and that they had
v zen q rattlesnake and a large
'sOe entering among the bushes,
m!s called up the dog. and held
leash lest he should run up on
saake and be killed, as are many
IA Florida every year.
lou go in first" said one of the
Wen follow and show you
IRE he Is"
wy me that gun, then" said I, for
IS dangerous enough to have one
-ae rattlesnakes before me, with
~ y having behind me a gun in the
!. y q nervous boy. OF the two
1. esnake was the lesser risk.
1me to an open space where
y aad fallen. 1t was an oak laid
@orm. Its branches were now
ana rotten. and the trunk Law
pine stump, which held it up
ee feet above the ground.
was the old oak stump from
aad broken off, with a good
us rotted into its side. This
Nas down at the ground and
~ser part not large; but at the
u that stump" said the lead
II you 60 over and look
usn the hole in the top you
me boys to stay where they
~ watching every step l took,
nt accidentally put my foot
M observation-disclosures there
TWO where only one is seen,
!. over to the oak stump and
own into its interior.
! tnere's no rattlesnake here."