The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-07-24

: When the dogs trail snake to a
den it is necessary to dig the rep
tile out, and not infrQuenCly several
other snakes are found in the same
hole
Last April King said, Il had
dug out snake when l discovered
another right behind me, male.
The female was in the den. Mr.. Snake
j reared up and l jumped into prick
ly pear patch-and none too quick.
! In the end I got both snakes. Some
times you find seventy-flve or hun
dred in one little patch.
King of the Rattlers.
Mrs. King and her sister, when
/ they caught the biggest rattlesnake
: | ever saw had small boxes. The
/ two went out by themselves and were
carrying a gunny-sack with one or
two snakes they had caught
earlier in the day. Mrs. King lasso-
ed the big snake and tethered him to
a tree and then set the box over him.
! This snake was feet 6 1-2 inches
| long and had nineteen rattles. He
was captured On the other side of
the river below Matamoras.
1T is all nonsense to say snakes
hypnotic people. 1 never heard of
an authentic case.
when a snake is located the next
process is to pick it up. But you
must not make a false move; it would
be fatal. Circle it quietly. Here is
where what they call snake charm
Ing comes in. | don't believe there
is such a thing, although they say
that certain men can move and make
snake follow them. Of course,
! when a man moves around the snake
it's head does follow. When you
have the snake quiet, reach under the
body and pick it up. 1t remains in
! it's coil. You must know the exact
portion of the body in order to lift it
up; otherwise there is danger. l put
my left hand down, causing him to
raise his head. The body then is in
the correct position for handling.
! II it is mean snake you
should work long enough to get
the strike out of it by -tiring it. If
you come on it suddenly it might go
to rafting, but the popular belief
that before a snake bites it rattles is
q mistake. | have approached hun
dreds and hundreds of snakes that
did not rattle. The big fellows haul
I OF and bite and rattle afterwards.
Also there is no foundation to the
story that the rattlesnake gets new
rattle every year. When it sheds its
skin a new rattle comes. But l have
known snakes to shed three and four
times a year in damp years"
F. B. Armstrong was the pioneer
snake farmer in the Brownsville
section. He made a business of eX-
tracing poison from rattlesnakes
and making them harmless by cut
ting out their fangs and poison sack.
Extracting the Venom.
Specially constructed box is used
to hold the snake while the work of
relieving it of it's liquid poison and
making it harmless is performed On
top of the box is sliding lid, and in.
one end of the lid is small aperture,
just large enough to fit over the neck
Of the snake. The head is drawn
out through the hole by means of
lasso and the lid tightened against
the neck, rendering the snake power
less from harm. A glass is placed in
the open mounth of the reptile and it
instantly brings down its jaws, throw
ing out in it's anger all the poison
that the sack contains-usually from
one to two tablespoonfuls. The poi
son having been elected, the operator
cuts out the fangs, which lie down
close to the jaws in the back part of
the mouth resembling hypodermic
needles. Having removed the fangs,
/ a slit is made in the poison sack, and
thereafter the snake can do no harm.
The poison is of a greenish yellow
tinge. While the process is going
| on the snake rattles continuously.
The business of capturing and mar
! keting snakes is carried on extern
sively in some parts of Mexico also.
Returns Conscience Money.