The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-05-07
A QUEER PROFESSION.
Man With Contract For Five Tons NJ
Rattlesnakes.

Rattlesnake Bill, with orders in his
pocket for five tons of diamond hack
rattlesnakes, has gone to South Da-
kota as the one best place on oo,.r,
Where 10000 pounds Of live rattIers
can be secured, and as soon as tho
warm spring sun brings the snakes
from their winter homes Bill will be-
gin the harvest. Rattlesnake Bill is
professional snake hunter. It,s
not matter of sentiment, nor nride
nor revenge that causes him to risk
mis- life 1000 times every day. II is
simply business matter. Bill finds
IL easier to make money by facing a
terrible death every minute of his
life than by working. Therefore. he
turned snake-hunter, and now has
the distinction Of handling more live
rattlers than any other man In the
world. Five tons Of rattlesnakes-
not dead ones, but every one alive
and virile, ready, anxious and SPOIL
Ing for trouble. These are the kind
that Rattlesnake Bill goes after.
Bill has his eye on the famous Rat
tlesnake canyon of the Grand River.
some twenty-five miles west of
Pierre, and here it is that he expects
to pass the entire summer catching
rattlesnakes for dealers in different
parts Of the country. Rattlesnake
canyon is so full Of snakes that no
man ever goes near it. The canyon
Is a deep slash in the limestone hills.
through which the Grand River
makes it way. When the hot sun
shines into the gorge the snakes
crawl from their holes and coil them
selves together in great balls on the
floor of the canyon. Hardy hunters
who have made their way to the
brink Of the chasm say there are
tens of thousands of rattlesnakes
there-say that the ground is liter
ally alive with snakes.
What does a fellow want with
five tons of live rattlers?" was asked
the unique character. IT want them
to sell to the side shows and other at
fractions of that nature" was the re-
ply. They are in great demand-the
rattlesnake market is never glutted.
They are very delicate and usually
live only a few weeks after they are
captured, if their fangs are removed,
as they usually are. How do we re-
moove the fangs? Well, we force
about six inches of broom handle
down a snakes throat. That opens
its mouth, and of course, prevents it
closing it. Then, with a pair of pliers
We simply pull out the fangs. There
are never enough rattlesnakes to sup
ply the demand, and they can always
be sold at good price. Almost any
big snake dealer will contract for all
the snakes one can CATCH"
When Bill goes into a den Of rat
tlesnakes he is dressed in a suit of
heavy leather over a suit of corduroy.
On his feet he wears felt boots drawn
over pair of ordinary heavy boots.
Two pairs of thick gloves, a fur cap
and with a cape which covers his
shoulders and breast and protects his
entire face, and a pair of goggles for
the eyes complete his armor. Dress
ed in this manner, he may with i'm
punity step right into a bunch of rat
tlesnakes confident that not a single
fang can reach him. At such times
he carries a five-foot forked stick
with wire moose attachment With
this fork he pins a snake to the floor
and the moose, which slips over the
reptiles head, chokes it into submis-
sion. The snake is then transferred
to basket and later to a specially
constructed wagon, which he keeps
near. When the days catch is finish
ed and the wagon driven to a safer
place the snakes are defanged.-Chi-
cago-Record-H Herald.