Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-18
New York

oval, running to a sharp point. The
inner is fiat. with an edge like a razor.
The javelin is slender. with a large
head and lean shanks, and resembles
the razorback hog Of the south Atlantic
states. He has long snout and slop-
ing back, and, as 1 heard one Texan
express it, is built for venison rather
than pork. The animal is naturally
Unless attacked they will modestly
roam through the chaparral in droves of
usually from six to ten. but often as
many as twenty. The boars weigh from
scventy-five to hundred pounds, the
sews from fifty to seventy-five pounds,
and both are a grayish-black color with
long bristles on the spine which rise
like the fur of cat when they are
as fast as the ordinary dog. they whirl
with remarkable suddenness and are
almost Irresistible in an attack.
When frightened the entire bunch
the point Of danger. when they will
snort and rush to attack. The only
refuge for All unprotected man is to
climb t;.e nearest tree and cry for res
cue, because they will wait for him to
come down. They divide into pairs or
trioss and relieve each other on guard.
They have means of signaling, which
will bring reinfercements from every
direction.
When they attack they swing their head:
from side, and each swing means ar
upper-cut of great depth, whatever they
strike, even the bark OF a tree. Horses
have been cut to pieces by them They
first attack the legs until the horses fal
and then their bodies. A human be!ns
has no chance with them whatever, I'm.
less he kills the javelin at his first shot
When q bunch Of these animals surround
q man his chances Of escape are small
Their hide is thin, a charge of shot usu
ally kills If fired into the body. "a shor
oo, -yselo d "A
properly handled will soon eXterminafs
the beasts, but it requires great nerve
and GOODNESS and. accuracy in shooting
Horses are desperately afraid of javelin'
and run in terror whenever they seen
them.
Hunting parties are made up at various
places along the gulf coast line between
Corpus Christi and Brownsville. Auto
mobiles. guns and guides can be pro
cured at almost every town for a cam
paign against the javelin. 1t is custo
mary to run out twelve or fifteen mile.
into the, chaparral, take stations b.
couples with several guns and a good sup
ply of ammunition, and let experienced
Mexican boys beat the bush. as is done
in tiger hunting in India. 1t is danger
Gus sport, but very exciting.
Dealer in Rattle Snakes.
Beside the gulf coast railway station
at Brownsville is a permanent snake rancl
kept by man who for seven years ha:
made business Of handling reptiles ant
savage beasts of all varieties on commits
sion, just as men farther up town trade
in thoroughbred cattle and chickens. HI
told me that he sold S7,OS
raftlesnakes and black snakes dur
ing the year 1910, for % cents each
and upwards, the highest prices paid fol
the biggest rattlers being $50. Hi.
customers are geological gardens, mu.
seums, side shows Of circuses, medica
colleges and hospitals, although he can
not explain what they do with the snakes
He has patent boxes to ship his goods in
strongly bound with iron bands, perfo
rated with gtm,et holes, furnished with
handles by which they can be easily
lifted. and fastened with a lock. The
key is sent by mail to the consignee sc
that there Is no danger. of any mischief
maker or curior= person opening the box
by them en- route.
On the lid Of each box. with a hot stem
sill. has been branded a warning not to
monkey with the contents. and it would
be difficult for anybody to do SO unless
they have a key that would fit the pad
lock. Each box is marked with instruc-
tons to keep 1t in a warm place, and il
the snake needs feeding a little supply
Of food is placed in little box attached
to the side OF the cage at the time of
shipment. When the package arrives at
its destination the consisnee will have
received the key and a printed circular of
instructions as to the treatment of the
snake.
This enterprising dealer in live stock
has hundreds OF agents scattered through
northern Mexico catching snakes for him
They ship them in daily by railroad, or
bring them by wagon in boxes similar
to those used for sending the snakes
north. There are comparatively few
snakes on the northern side Of the Rio
Grande. but in Mexico they ere abundant.