The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-10-09
A SNAKE STORY
70 READ ABOUT.
Negro DescendS into a Well
With Live Snakes.
This Story Comes From Dresden +,
Tenn. and May De Taken with
A Pinch of Snuff.

Dresden, Tenn, Sept. 25.-The lead
ing snake story ri this section and OF
the season comes from civil district
No. 20. wnicn Is an exceedingly dry
section Of me county a. this Zine IA
every sense Of me WORD. IL appears
that Jake Rucker has farm near a
large swamp of several hundred acres
This swamp is covered with water sew
eral feet deep in winter1 but in sum
mer gels low. Owing 10 the very dry
weatne- lately this swamp has dried
out and not a single pool OF water re-
mains on territory of mile square.
Now iris jungle is the rome of snakes
of various kinds, aud as the under
growth is Llick, timber small, they
are hardly ever molcsied. On the back
of the Rucker farm and near the
swamp tLere is an old well OF good
diameter. Ire house near by mas -ong
since been torn away ard the well
partly II led witt refuse. AS stock wa
ter became an item Rucker concluded
TO clean out tre old we'll and use IL
through ne balance Of ire dry season. !
Yesterday. armed with buckets and
picks and w.ndlesses and several
hands ne went down 10 begin work on
il. The windlass YVES arranged and a
colored man let down 10 look over the
situation. He mad hardly been lower
ed twenty feet wuen a war whoop such
as mad not been heard in that vicinity
in hundred years was let out by him
with cries 20 naul aim up, which was
done When he reacred the top re
jumped 10 terra firma and appeared
TO be almost frightened TO death. At
ter ne was somewhat cooled off he
said ne wouldn't help clean out that
we'll for a farm. On being questioned
he said there was d snake down there
as big as mis- arm, not only one. but
esveral-in fact a whole neighborhoOd
full of them. Several others were
given opportunities TO go down and
investigate, but none dared to do so.
Finally RuCker Was let down himself
seconds notice. After while this
was given and he came up putting
and said the bottom of the well was
littrally lined with snakes of all
kinds and sizes. His hands wanted to
leave it alone or fill it up, but Ruck-
er did not want to be outdone by a
few snakes, aud besides he needed
the water for re gad 10 either fix
this one dig aew one or maui wa
ter for miles.
After much rarleying IA four-prong-
ed graphing hook WAS arranged, a
long handled w!ndlass prepared with
negro az ice end. and the crowd
which mad been reinforced by several
neighbOrs, each with stick IL hand
made ready. Tie hooks were let
down a grab made and maui pulled
up. When T. appeared aLovo e
ground a signt sucn as never seen in
this country before was witnessed
There was Il living, struggling writn-
ing mass, several bushels of snakes
of every kind and. character almost.
Tire killers got busy and soon dispatcH
ed and sorted trem Ou'. and another
haul was made with tne same result
After working for several rours over
four hundred snakes We're killed, some
nearly as big around as mans leg
at the ankle. THe crass around the
well being damp aud as the water al
given our In t"e swamp, = Is ~
sumed tnat the reptiles were IN scare
of more water, and in crawling arOur
in the damp spot, wnicn was the on
ly one IN mile. trey fell in the
well. Even airer ne well was freed
from snakes Rucker could get no one
TO go down in il and Cl.'a T. III, I'D
ne mad 10 abandon IT after all. He
said 10 save ehe lives of the snakes
that might be crawling That way in
the future, ne was going 20 nave the
vel filled UP. For the present, how
ever, Re covered il with some rails
and left It. II WAS ire biggest snake
killing ever heard OF in this section at
one time.