The Detroit times., 1913-06-28
WOMAN CATCHES RATHER
8 FEET 6H INCHES LONG
rassoes Monster and Tethers it
NJ to Tree-Then Dropped
1t Into Sack

<,{t a not unusual for RATHER TO bring
n {kh fifty to sixty in one litter. Not
. pkr ago one brought forth 1873 in one
\ U1fler. An infant snake is worth TWEEN
!. ms6ve cents, end ii rapidly grows In
Vnlue up to s. to $40, depending upon
~ weight. Snakes are usually sold
~ the pound. King feeds his snakes
I'D mice and rats brought In by Mex
Inn boys.
king says he has handled more than
I - O0) snakes since he started In the
ines. about twenty years ago. He
- nov shipping annually about 10000
|G1okes from his farm. The chaparral
lRAerness of South Texas and all or
0S1hern Mexico is thenatural habitat
n rNktlers and many other kinds or
I&oloouous reptiles.
Mn King L. an expert snake hunter.
~ 8 G3rl she learned to handle them
- : minimum OF danger. She found
800 therU was q market for them, and
- several wears before meeting King
t1(k raado q business OF hunting the
H. IN the brush around Browns
4 1Sn. She still delights in snake-hunt-
I ~. and n usually accompanied by a
I, S<fae. Who II an assistant at the farm.
= hnntingto Tattlesnakes gives en-
vment to more than one thousand
k31cane IN the spring of the year.
9unn1Ees from the King farm are ship
- n over the world. They are In
nnnd by museums. side shows. ZOO
4 Ideal gardens and for other exhibit
N purposes. Many OF these snakes
6ro also used Tor scientific purposes
~ study and dissecting..
Ihe Kings do quite q business In
2GIliug snake poison. It Is used large
4 ~ BY chemists for experimental pur'
3oees and brings good price. 1t is
: I'D to be valuable Tor medicinal pur'
Ices also. There u also much de-
\ land for rattleenalpeso oil. many beaiev'
] H that II IL good for rheumatism
I I'D some other Ills.
King and his wife have been bitten
4 nony times by rattlesnakes.
kTho nrot time was bitten by q
" o&tlesnalse was in 1897" he says. Il
&N no sick at the stomach for some
1lmSe. but I cut the wound and let the
Who'd how, using permanganate OF
!; potAsh, with a'hypodermic infection of
{ &EamOnia. Sometimes II Is necessary
(. ~ apply q tourniquet. As soon as the
i uo1aon hits the flesh 1t seeps of, so
4 ~ safest way Il to cut little CROSS
\ 06out half an inch--at the place bit.
(: tn. Let the blood dow freely. n the
solution II mixed properly and admin
lered properly It 10 q sure cure, in
f10f opinion
Yes, I have heard OF eating snake
r&ot; old aettlers have told me they
1870 hadfto eat Il. The meat f. white
ID 1ne, tasting like veal
lk4 o00ke n hit. by q stick and
kNDqnaed e viii try to poison ITSELF
o<t1eonAkeo scoil in fash, but they
! ~ not have to be coiled in order to
h1to. They have to coil in order to
InD and they are very lively when
10y do move. If Hattler Is moving
a can swing around like fash and
C4xlke, but II Il has q chance to get
kAWay II will not trouble you. From a
kcojl they can throw themselves two
1hlrds the length of their body. but
Sby repeated jumps they can tire them
kpolveo out.
n trying to capture a snake do
4 not make q false move: It would be
nkAl. Circle II quietly. Here Is where
what they ca1l snake charming comes
fm. I don't believe there is such a
thing, although they say that certain
G9en con- move and make snake fol.
k2oR them. OF course, when a man
}oves around the snake It's head does
&1QuoW. When you have the snake
Quiet, reach under the body and pick
Z $ up Il remains In its coil. You must
know the exact portion OF the body IN
joydoR 10 Mt q mp; otherwise there is
Ylanger. I put my left hand down. caus-
I 1nG him 70 raise his head. The body
than 10 In tho correct position for
4 6ondIing. n It 10 q mean snake you
4 okould work long enough to get the
Il strike out Of It by firing it. IF YOU
9 oonao on It suddenly It might 60 TO
S1uttllng. but the popular belief that
u1utoko. have approached hundreds
31n1t)o. The big fellows haul on and
" ~ no foundation to the story that the
EXDttIognake gets new rattle every
1oofs When Il sheds its skin new
n Ii GlGd three and four times year in
1mp yeArs,"
III b. Armstrong was the pioneer
&1ko farmer In the Brownsville sec.
~. He made business of extract
- poison from rattlesnakes and max
nv oNom harmless by cutting out their
1GD md poison sack.
Extracting the Venom.
n specially constructed box Is used
I'M hold the snake while the work OF re.
oting Il Of its liquid poison and max
~ Il harmless II performed. On TOP
X ne box IL q sliding lid. and In one
W Of the I'D 10 q Small aperture, Just