Year: 1875

1t is very seldom that the newspapers
of the Dohinion are called upon to
chronicle genuine snake story. Rattle
snakes and copperheads are SO few and
far between that they are very seldom
met with, and their depredaions never
heard of. However, genuine snake
victim being young girl named Lucy
Smith, residing in the village of Ancas-
ter, and the reptile one of those hideous,
yellow spotted monsters known as milk
snakes. The girl Lucy had gone out in
the morning with her pail for the purpose
of picking huckleberries. Her feet and
ankles were quite bare, but Lucy, like
most young country girls, was hardy and
strong, and picked her way through the
brambles with as much grace and cour-
age as an Indian.


All that she remembers of her misfor-
tune is, that as she was walking through
some burdocks she stepped upon some
thing soft, Shiny and crawling, and on
feeling a stinging sensation In her ankle,
like the touch of thistle, looked down,
and to her inexpressible horror, beheld
huge milk snake of extraordinary pro-
POl tDOlb 11Cl 1CS1 diiNi
strike at it with distended hood and jaws.
She remembered nothing more than that
she screamed, until she found herself in
her own bed at home. Fortunately, at
the time of her adventure, several men
were working in an oat-ield near by,
and having seen the girl go into the
berry patch, and hearing shortly after
ward a piercing scream. which told OF
fear, repugnance, and agony as plainly
as words could have done, they fastened
into the patch, and after search of half
an hour, gave it up as bad job, argu-
ing that probably the girl had been
stung by wasp or some other yenomous
insect and left the berry patch by some
other obscure way.


After the men had gone back to their
work, three little girls entered the patch
for the purpose of picking berries.
They, too, shortly afterward commenced
to scream, one after another, and ran in
to the field where the men were working,
when one of the girls fell down in fit.
The others told the men, as well as they
could through their fear and excitement,
that Lucy Smith was lying in the berry
patch, and that big worm had killed
her and was eating her up. They i'm
mediately hastened to the patch, where
they beheld sight which was enough to
make the blood OF the strongest man run
cold. There lay the unfortunate girl in
dead swoon, and in her lap lay large
milk snake, which was very jealous of its
prey. The conduct of the hideous rep
tile as the men approached was peculiar
in the extreme. With its hood and head
distended, its red jaws wide open, its
long, supple tongue striking maliciously
right and left, it ran around its victim
almost erect on its tail, kissing sayagely,
and making that strange grinding noise
which is possessed by only one reptile
of the snake family, the milk snake.
Rage, jealousy and excitement had made
the creature as supple as cat, SO that
it was almost impossible to strike it with
stone beside, the men were afraid to
throw with any force from fear of strik-
ing the helpless and PROSTATE child.
Sometimes the reptile charged with such
rapidity and fury that the men were
forced to retreat, when the creature
would return to its victim and coil itself
in her lap. A neighbor seeing the dis
turbance, arrived with a pitchfork and
succeeded in transfixing the snake, which
measured three feet two inches in length,
and seven inches in circumference at the
largest part of its body.


The unfortunate girl was carried
home, when it was found that her leg
was terribly swollen, and of spotted
green color like the snake itself. The
mother of the child, without the slight
est hesitation, commenced to suck the
wound, and soon reduced the swelling
and drove away the color, after which
drawing poultice of red cabbage was ap-
piled, and ere morning all signs of swell
ling had disappeared. The girl has now
thoroughly recovered, and has sustained
no serious injuries save shock of the
nervous system from which her young
frame will soon recover.-HanaiLton
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