Year: 1879

In Northwest Missouri, where ex-Gov>
and after his political career, up TO the
time of his death, many old citizens love
to tell Of his brilliant conversational pow
ers and inexhaustible fund of anecdotes.
The Governor often told of the difficulties
which he had to surmount, and IN one of
his happiest moods he related snake
story which | have never seen in print.
"In those days" said the Governor,
"snakes werenot only uncommonly num-
erous, but infested certain portions of the
State TO such an extent that farmers
would often pack up their household
wares and removs elsewhere. During
the building OF the Hannibal & st ] Joseph
Railroad / have seen them SO Troublesome
and numerous that the hands would
sometimes stop work and inaugurate n
short campaign against them with show
els, axes and crowbars. The scrpents
were not vicious, the men being hardly
ever bitten, but the great vexatien con-
sisted in their sociability and perfect in
difference to danger. They apparently
we're utterly devoid of the instinct of self
endowed every other creature. At night
they would sometimes make sleep impos
sible by Kissing and squirming in and
about the tents, and during the day they
would vex the men almost beyond endur>
nnce by running between their legs and
otherwise annoying them. They were not
considered dar gerous, being of that species
known aspraire hissers. twas only now
and then that rattlcr was discovered
among them, and death was sure to 70 lsw,
for the men would always stop rand find
time to chase one until he was overtaken
and his head chopped off. The men al
ways dreaded shower, for then the snakes
were the worst. They would literally
swarm out on the prairies and travel in
schools. On one occasion of this kind,
when the road was in course Of constrac-
ton in Livingston county, the construc





last camping place, about ten miles in the
rear of the track builders. | was there
awaiting the landing of some tools and
| spikes, which it was intended to convey to
the end of the road. 1t had been raining
all morning, but cleared up about noon,
and when we pulled out after Inner the
weather was pleasant but little hazy
We bad travelled about half the distance
when the engineer-I was riding on the
engine called my attentio to hundreds
of snakes crossing several hundreds of
yards in front of us, the track for short
distance being black with them and en-
tirely lost to sight. The engineer opened
the throttle and in few, moments we
were crushing through them. The driv~
ers had not made more than two or three
revolutions when they began to fly about
at lightning rapiddy, and the speed OF
the train was sackened. The wheels OF
the engine were almost clogged with
crushed snakes and still the track was
actually buried beneath them for one hun
drcd yards in front Of us. We did not
succeed in getting much more headway,
when the train came to a standstill. We
were unable to make our way through
them and amused ourselves By knocking
them off the engine. We were detained
nearly an hour before the grand march of
the serpents had crossed and we were en-
abed to proceed. They seemed to be
moving that day, and the earth seemed
to be alive with them indeed they SEEM
cd to cover the earth ."-,St. Louis Globe
Democrat.