The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-10-05
BELIEVE 1T OR NOT
But Here Is a Right Interesting
Snake Story.

nave De6n regular lSdo0l "
Woods and Waters for some time and
often see something real interesting,
writes "W. O. B." of Ridgeland, S. c.,
to the editor of Woods and Waters
column in the Charleston News and
Courier. | notice H. A. Rs doubts
about the power of snakes to fasci-
nate or charm their victims, so l will
relate what l saw on Wednesday, the
18th instant:
had been out to one of my corn
fields some distance from the house
and carried my gun along, as the
field is entirely surrounded by swamp
and hummock land, and something
had destroyed a quantity of corn. l
saw nothing to shoot, however, and
started back home, when I walked up
to large rattler lying out straight
but with his head to tree, which L
noticed was hickory.
The snake seemed to be looking up
the tree. I kicked some trash on 1t,
but it paid no attention to it at all.
Then I discovered some particles OF
hickory nut falling and Immediately
remembered the stories I had so
often heard of snake charming a
squirrel, so I stepped back about
twelve or fifteen feet and sat down
with my back to small tree, where
I could look both at the snake and up
the tree he was watching. In a few
moments a nut dropped and 1 saw a
squirrel run out on limb to get
another. He got it and started back
to the tree, but stopped about half
way and looked down. I could not at
first tell but what it may have seen.
me, but, on looking down at the
snake, 1 saw it slowly coiling as II
getting ready for business and it be-
gan to ring it's rattles very slowly and
very low. I looked back at the squlr-
rel and saw it crossways on the limb
looking down. 1t would turn back
and forth as if very restless. Ut
dropped the nut it had just picked
and slowly went back to the tree and
began to come down, but it stopped
at every limb and looked at the
snake.
I soon found it was paying no at
tention to me, as I used my hat to
brush mosquitoes and it appeared not
to see it at all. After it passed the
limbs of the tree in its descent it
would crawl very slowly for a few
inches and halt a moment. / remem-
bered had been told that if one were
to shoot a snake at such time the
squirrel would fall dead, but want
ed to see the finish. So l sat there
and watched. In a few minutes the
squirrel came to within about three
feet of the ground, when suddenly
the snake struck and caught it by
the head.
The squirrel never moved, not
even a foot or its tail. The snake
held it a moment and looked around
as if defying anyone or anything to
interfere. Then it proceeded to lick
the squirrel a little bit, but not near
" so much as one would imagine be-
fore he slowly swallowed it. Then l
shot the snake and hooked a sharp
stick in it's head or neck, as the head
was shot off, and I dragged it back
toward home until I came to some
hands working in the hay field, when
cut the snake open and took out
the squirrel for all to see.
Now here is another strange
thing: Just a few hours later one of
the negroes killed another rattler
near the one I had killed and
dragged there. They say it followed
the trail. Did it really do so? | DO
not know. And did the snake charm
the squirrel? 1t looked so, at least,
vet 7 never believed it before.
lam in my ffty-sixth year. l never
saw such a thing before and never
expect to again.