The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-08-21
A REMARKABLE YET
true SNAKE STORY.
SiXty-Eight Big RattlerS Killed in
An Old Boiler BY
Two Men.

The best properly ,henticatde
ra,,lesnake story of the season 10 date
come from Tarkill III !, county where
Henry Hess and Edward Kennemuth,
of Fern City, on Monday killed 6S rat
rattlers. The men had recently pur-
chased the Densmore lease and on Mon
day commenced 10 move an old boiler
that had stood gu. all winter. As
soon as THEY had 1t in mo,ion snakes
commenced TO appear from the fire
box from the flues and from under
meath. The men were taken by surpris
but were USED 20 snakes and lost little
time in securing clubs and attacking
III Replies. Some go away, but
they Killed five dozen and eigh.. If
any one has any ambition 10 pose as
a snake ca, cher or killer ne is assured
that there are sill some left in the
neighborhood.
Tarkill and Cogley Run dis riot.
which are no. far apar, have for time
Of mind been no. ed for the large num-
Der OF rattlesnakes Ghat infest hem
More tIhan 80 yearsago one John Nc
Ceool, whose home was on East Sandy
Creek, that district made consider
able revenue in killing these snakes
and frying OUT their oil. which he sold
for fancy prize 10 L.ts mt .ghLois as 4
panacea for spralns and aches. His
me, hods were simple, bu. decidedly eff
fective. He was a famous hand with
a rifle and would station himself neal
,he den at he mouth of COgley Run
and shoot the heads off ne reptiles
On one occasion in The early days oil
he settlement of that section of he
country, when burning charcoal for The
smelling furnaces was an industry
The snakes were so many that the
woodsmenand charcoal burners took
a day and INDUCED in a snake
hunt. There were mere IN 100 me.
engaged and,hey blasted rocks ant
killed snakes the day through.
hTe number of vicuns were never
counted but hey We're so many thai
most of the men became SIX from
he nausea caused by he odor given
off by the poison dues ard lhe man
gled bodies which were thrown in,o a
pile as they were slaughtered. There
were hundreds of The reptiles killed
buJ enough were left alive 20 keep vi
me race and rhoir denGants are sG.N 9
cause of wholesome fear and consider
able alarm o those who pick berries
in that section.
To mos, people he form "sr'k'
den" means some sort of ii canvern
in which the snakes congrcgate In
great colonist. Eu,L the term as used
in the oil country snake belt means a
ledge or rocsk covering avres OF
ground. The snakes come from these
retreats to sun themselves on top OF
the rocks or to lie in nelghborins
paths or roadways or TO hurc food IL
underbrush and berry thicke.s s.. The lar
ger the hooks the more sakes nhey
generally harbor. Although many at
Temps have been made by enItir'
neighborhoo0s 20 wipe out such den;
by blasting the rocks and destroying
tIheir hab9rions the efforo S have
never been brilliantly successful. The
Wolf den on the estate of the late f
e. Clapp in President and Pinegrove
Townships and the rocky section Of
country adjacent 10 old P.lhole. al
well as the country along Porkey and
Cogley Runs, have been infested with
snakes so long back as the memory OF
the oldest inhabitant runs and all sec
tons have been aotrsc.ed by organized
posses of snake hunters gathered from
their neighborhoods but time and az
tracks have resulted in very listle de
crease in the number of the dangerou
dsenizens.-Oil City Penn. Derrick.