The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-03-24
BYFIELD's COMING SNAKE HUNT.
A Picturesque story from Eastern
Massach usetts.

NsSUUTypOrt DsIatch in the Boston Post
over in the village of old ByfeId where
the residents are mostly direct descend
ants Of the first settlers. where there are
no saloons, and where town-meeting day
is the one big noise Of the year, an edict
has been passed that all snakes in the
Byfield woods must die
1t is revival of a custom of twenty
years ago. when snake-killing day was
an annual feature. and the proposed re-
vival Of that annual fete has created 50
much interest that town-meeting day is
put a little in the shade at the nightly
conferences Of the village cut-ups.
when one sees the glimmer of the heat
above ground, then We will go down to
the 'Turnip pen fields and make war on
the loathsome blacksnake." they say, and
as their ancestors carried out this annual
event, so they intend TO some warm day
this spring.
As far as the present plans go, the
snake hunt will happen early in April, for
II Is then, say the hunters, that the rep
tiles lazily pull themselves out of holes
and crevices to bask in the warm sun and
awaken from their long winter sleep.
Byfield is a small village surrounded
with woods, which are filled with large
snakes, mostly of the black variety In
tAt shililil'l Aiillfs NlltH tncN are
bOthersome. sliding through back yards
across the highway. frightening the timid
stealing chickens, and making themselves
generally obnoxious. While they are said
to be harmless, there are cases where
some of them, measuring from six 10
eight feet. have chased persons total alb
stainerst, and caused great CONSERVATION
in the ncighbOrhOod. Down near the
Turnip pen" pastures the snake killing
is scheduled to start, for IL is there that
the reptiles mostly abound. The plan
calls for the assembling of the hunters
carly in the morning of the first warm
spring day.
II is a peculiar method that folks in
that section employ in killing snakes. for
they use nothing but their bare hands
Most city folks who feel a SILVER run up
their backbone at the mere mention of a
snake can hardly realize a human being
laying hands on one OF the wrigglers. yet
there are small boys there who enjoy
nothing better than chasing a big adder
or blacksnake, catching him by the end
Of his tail. and swapping his head off.
and that Is the method that will be en-
ployed in the Byfield hunt. Some of the
hunters will go armed with shovels to
dig out any prospective nests, while the
will scOur the fields, pastures,
and swamps.
An old settler says that he remembers
n snake hunt twenty years ago, when a
party of Byfeld residents went on the
warpath for the blacksnakes. and after a
days work had killed enough of them 90
measure eighty yards when placed along
the highway. He says that II was then
customary to dig them out or catch them
as they basked in the sun and kill them
by swapping off their heads.
In the early spring IL is nothing I'M
usual to see scores of snakes during a
ride from town to town crawling across
the road.
Down in the village grocery the farmers
congrCgate and talk of the coming snake
hunt with perhaps more zest than the
coming town meeting. and that is going
some" for some folks in that district
On to the Turnip PEN is their slogan.
Mel Wolfgang, who pitched for Lowell,
n the New England League. last sea-
ION, and who was with the Boston Ma
ionals for part of a season, is touted by
Bob Hedges, of the ST. Louis Browns, as
me OF the most valuable youngsters.
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