Connecticut western news., 1909-06-03


 100, held its annual hunt at South Kent last Sunday. The club is just twenty years old, but has only held annual hunts for five or six years
 The morning train brought special car from Bridgeport, and the meeting was unusually well attended. Twenty four rattlesnakes were captured, the largest, about four feet in length, being caught by James Keegan of New Haven. No one was bitten.
 Twenty years ago, ill May, 1889, the first hunt was held, five Kent residents starting from George Coggswell's home for the "den." Twenty three reptiles were captured, and while they stopped at the Coggswell residence, the club or ganized with the election of the follow ing officers:
 President, George CoggSwell.
 Vice president, Edward Gregory.
 Secretary and treasurer, Charles Lee.
 Corresponding secretary, Jerome Judd.
 Physician, John Monroe
 The following account of the hunt was published in the New Milford Gazette the following week:
 ''I see by your Bulls Bridge cores pondent that 1t Is an off year for the snake industry. 1 will give you little experience that I had short time ago in the snake business. 1 started from home with my better half to make Charles Lee of Bulls Bridge a friendly visit When I arrived at Mir. Lees I found him sitting on the veranda with Edward Gregory and George Coggswell, talking about rattlesnakes and the large number that had been killed this year. Forty-two snakes have already been kill ed this spring at the rGttlesnake den, so they informed me, and, as l had never seen live rattlesnake, 1t did not take them long to get me started for the hunt. We went down to the Housatonic river about 20 rods from the house where we found two boats drawn up on the east shore. MT. Gregory and George Coggs- we'll took one boat and Charles Lee and myself took the other. We were soon landed on the west shore of the river. and started towards the Schaghticoke mountains. George Coggswell told us that if we would go mp to his house he would show Us a live rattlesnake that his son, Archie. had caught few days before. He also informed us that he had some medicine ill the cellar that he had made the fall befcre, and said he thought it would be we'll for us to take little before starting up the mountain, as it was good for snake bites, etc. We took little and started for the hunt.
 Taking the road north for about a quarter-mile we turned up the side of the mountain and following trail for lbout half a mile mp the hill, we at last came to the rattlesn1ke den ! and, Great Scott Talk about snakes l had never seen anything to compare with what 1 saw then (although 1 had heard folks talk about seeing snakes), but had never seen anything to com pare with a genuine rattlesnake den, and to cut the story short, we killed in less than two hours IS rattlesnakes, three chunkheads. and one black snake about six feet long. We also caught one large rattlesnake which we took down to Mir Coggswell's alive and put it in box. making 23 snakes. We then started for home, thinking, as your cor respondent says, that it is an off year for snakes" I'M.
  gently visited the Sshaghticol1e Indian reservation and the famous rattlesnake den. Leaving Kent station, a pleasant drive with the popular local liveryman, David Templeton, along the picturesque HousatoRic valley for about two miles brought us to South Kent. On the way we overlook two young SchaghticokeE, Ed. Harris and his little brother, How ard, each with big black snake around his neck.
 Our first stop was at the Harris homestead, and an exhibition of black snakes was the first number on the program. There were all sizes, but the big fellows were the favorites and re- ceived more than their share of atten- ton, and little Howard Harris with his Indian war costume, playing with his snake pets, presented picture quite different from the aristocrntic young sters of high life with their expensive playthings, through none the less happy and contented.
 All snakes look alike to these people, although they are somewhat more par ticular in their methods of handling rattlesnakes and copperheads than the non venomous kinds. When catching bad actor" crotched stick is used to hold the victims head down until he can be gasped just back of the head, the only safe place to hold him.
 The climb up the mountain to the "den" was uphill work, although 8