Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1919-08-21
SOME SNAK ES.

whatever became of that 2O-feet
coach whip snake?" someone asked
the other night when a group or
Mansfield citizens got to telling
snake stories. Snakes come n
snakes go--some years they are APP
~parently much more numerous tina
others-but it is agreed that snakes
in this section Of the Ozarks are
not so large as they We're some years
AGO. when the 2O-foot snake was the
king OF the snake tribe in this VEIN
ity. In fact, while there are snakes
thew seem to be mostly of the smaller
varieties. But this giant. The man
who tells the ~story--and he is a rep
utable business man--says that when
he was a boy his brother came to the
house one day and reported hat he
had seen a snake 20 feet long. His
father told him he must be mistaken
that he thought there was no such
animal around here-but the boy
stuck to his story, and later others
reported seeing the mammoth snake,
but it always got away. 1t generally
lay stretched out full length n
measurements of the spot where ithad
been verified its size. Later on the
boys father himself saw the o.
ster in his corn field, but it escaped
into a nearby thicket and a careful
search failed to reveal it-and it was
never seen since as far as our in
formant learned. Coach whips are
seen now but very much smaller
and apparently harmless. although
n dog wants him in the open before
he will fight him.
And then the joint snake was here
years ago. Strike him, and he went
all to pieces and stayed that way as
long as YOU watched him, but If you
went away for a short time you
would find upon returning that Mr..
Snake had hooked himself up and
gone. One man is reported to have
driven a stick through an unjointed
snakes head. into the ground, and
gone away. Returning, he found
the snake had gathered up his pieces
and departed. Ever try taking aw-
ay one of the pieces?" someone in
CURED. "Never thought of that, y
was the reply. well, II I'd seen a
!. snake uncouplc himself like that I'd
taken ore of his joints away and XII
bet he'd had a hard time finding the
roper connections to put himself
together again
when ] attended school at Ava
years ago, there was near my board
ing place a sandy place in the road
where | went every evening, and &C
ross this road could be seen in the
road what appeared to me to be 8
path made by a snake crossing the
Troad,' the snake-story-teller went on
"Determined to kill the snake
went earlier one afternoon to watcl
for him-and across the road came
terapin."
/ did you ever step b%arefooted OIL
| rattle-snake?" he resumed. "On'
, time my sister did that very thin'
but as 1t happened she stepped nea
the snakes head and he could no
bite her as long as she stood here
She had sufficient presence to stan'
I on the snake until others came an
killed the snake"
"Will a water moccasin chas
i your" another one asked. "Wel
they will, for they have chased IN
II and | took unusual precautions I
d to win the race
Ever see a hoop snake, with
e spur on the end?" he asked. "FV
Z seen them roll up and strike a tire
It with the spur. and the tree was Kill
n ed. A mar who obtained n {
9 these spurs carried 1t in his pock'
20 years. One day In climbing
fence the spur, which had retaine