The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1921-10-06
RATTLE-SNAKES IN THE
CUMBERLANDS OF
TENNESSEE

Some years ago l was IN the
Cumberland mountains looking
after cattle with a friend of mine
who will call Jim. as he was fam
iliary called by all who knew him.
Finding a small bunch of cattle
we dismounted, poured salt on
stumps. rocks and logs, which
the cattle licked up lavishly. Just
as / was mounting my horse to
leave. | saw the horse shy from
something lying in the hole of
burnt chestnut log, and close ex-
animation, | found it to be a very
large rattle-snake of the Shearon
variety, spots or stripes on his
body like the stripes on a. u. S.
officers sleeve.
i said, Jim get pole and kill
that DANCED rattle-snake, he is as
large in his coil as a. bakers lid"
Jim said, "hold on buddie and |
will show him a trick, and perhaps
| it will be something me-, to you.
So Jim proceeded to cut two sticks
about Ia inches long and sharpen
ed one end of each stick very sharp
then he proceeded to walk around
the snake, Whistling, all at once he
gave quick punch at the snakes
head, going through the skin and
one side of his jaw twisting the
stick securely in the ground, then
putting the second stick into the
snakes head on the side opposite
the first stick, then Jim began to
cut the skin on the back of the
reptiles head; so our snake began
to flop and Jim kept pulling and
cutting, SO the first thing the
snake knew, he was skinned good
and proper. 1t looked like he had
almost done the work himself,
yet being alive and his hide gone.
So another time / was riding
along a trail in the Cumberland's
with a friend of mine whose mick
name was Fiddler" so all at once
my horse gave a jump from the
trail, and l looked just ahead and
saw very long and large "rattler'.
of the Shearon variety stretched
across the trail; so | said get down
Fiddler" and kill that dad-blamed
lsnake, | can beat any man in the
United States finding rattlers. So
Fiddler" dismounted, and while
he was cutting small pole, some
thing like a fishing pol he said,
lT will not kill him, | will make
! him commit suicide, [ will make
\ him hang himself" So he tied a
cord on the end of the pole some
thing like 20 inches long. with q
draw loop next to the ground, and
then got in. front of the snake and
presented the loop to Mr. Rather,
who raised his head and pOked 1t
| in the moose: then Fiddler" pro-
| ceeded to fasten the pole in the
ground and left Mr.. Shearon dang
| ling and rafting in the air. Now
do Won know the worst thing
| hate about a rattle-snake, is that
w MT take a Joke" His mind is
plumb sullen all the time. There
is not a speck more variety IN
them than there is in the mind OF
one of those pale bony ladies THAI
90 around passing you little books
about how nice the world Is.
The snake misses whole lot
: of finn bv being so terrible melon
choly: and that kind of ladies
i miss a whole lot of goodly news
thinking about nothing but th'
, wickedness, especially in August
when they are shedding theil
5 skins. don't mean the ladies.
4 lmean the snakes; they'er sluggish
| and cross. and they'll lay stiff al
day long punched up in a cluml
; of sage-grass, rafting their rat
tiers at you before you get close
than two rods and striking. on
horrible visions at every littl
noise they hear.
When rattle-snake gets il
that fix you couldn't caox him t.
! smile-not even to please his gran
: lnie. One afternoon in the mlddl
Y of August, when | was riding
ell down a very strong hot trail tina
flall of a sudden. heard a rattle
whiIring his dried up tail, of
!. there in the grass: the sound o
t my horses feet on the stone ha
. let him gain: it seemed funny t
!, listen to him. wasen't in any rus.
: ESQ / dropped down out of my sad
+ die to let my horse Craze a little
e land went to locate the RATHER. III
, was diamond back and thick q
, my wrist and about A feet long
he was wrapped up in bunch o
e grass and wagging his tail at me
i You could tell by the look of hir
! that he'd been leading a wicke
life. When / got close. he Qui
moving and kept very still, nov
E and then liftiQ up his head to list