Year: 1873

ne pdIllulity VI Iu1tiVSii1hOS AVi SiS
company of children has been frequently
noticed among the mountaineers, one in
stance of which is familiar to some of our
Bedford readers. A few years ago a
farmer, whose cabin stood in one of the
widest localities about the mountains,
on coming into the house one day, dis
covered his little daughter, two years old,
sitting up in bed, where she had been
placed when asleep by her mother. The
child was laughing immoderately and
showing by its every action and express
sion of countenance that it was greatly
pleased. The father approached, when
to his horror he discovered that an enor-
nous yellow rattlesnake, the largest nc
had everseen, was in bed with the child
and actually coied around her body.
His presence instantly wrought q change
in the conduct of the snake, which dex-
trously uncoiled itself from around the
child and assumed an attitude of battle.
The mountaineer's rifle hung upon a
rack over the door ; he grasped it in his
hand with feelings which cannot be de-
scribed, and awaited an opportunity to
shoot. He had no sooner done so than
the snake commenced caressing the child
by rubbing his head against her cheek
and darting his forked tongue almost in
her eyes. Then he would raise his tail
and rattle so rapidly as to make one con-
tinuous sound, at which the child was
greatly delighted. But upon the least
movement on the part of the almost dis
tracted parent the snake would entirely
change the tone OF his rattling and swell
to almost twice his natural size. During
all this time the child tightly grasped
the snake with its chubby little hands,
and jerked and twisted him about in a
very rude and unceremonious manner,
laughing and talking to her horrid play
thing in II perfect ecstacy OF delight. This
state of things was finally ended by II
movement of the parent, which so en-
ragged the snake that he drew himself up
into tight coil, leaped cut of bed, and
would have buried his fangs in the farm
er's face had he not quickly lodged to
one side. AS 1t was, the serpent went
over his shoulder and out at the door,
where he renewed the signal for battle,
but was quickly stretched out stiff i'll
death by shot from the rifle.


A party of young men in the same
neighborhood, only u few years ago, had
a very interesting adventure with rattle
snakes, which may be briefly stated I:
Early in the Fall of tho year, and before
the snakes had "housed up" for the
Winter, this party went out one night on
raccoon hunt. About midnight the
dogs "treed u family Of coons in one
OF the largest trees in the neighborhood.
1t was decided to wait until daylight to
capture them, with the hope that the cut
ting down of the tree could be dispensed
with. The young men laid upon the
ground and were amusing themselves
with telling stories, when one of the par
ty, who was thoroughly acquainted with
the habits and peculiarities of the rattle
snake, suddenly cried out, "Lie still,
boys don't move for anything. There's
rattlesnakes here. heard ones rattle hit
a rock" He had scarcely spoken when
an enormous rattlesnake came crawling
over his foot, and following his leg to
the body, crossed over his breast, strik-
ing his neighbor's face, and crawling
over his mouth. The third party was
not touched by the snake, except that
his rattles tapped lightly against his cap
brim as he passed. The fourth hunts
man heard the rattle, sprang to his feet
and ascended tree with remarkable
agility. This snake was Immediately
followed by another not quito 50 large,
and then by four very small ones, all Of
which Travelled the same path. When
daylight came the raccoons were shot,
and then the search tor the snakes com
menced. They were found in hollow
stump, Il few steps of, and though they
were dragged out with crooked sticks,
und tormented in every way, the female
alone condescended to rattle for them, or
show any signs of anger. They were all
killed, and the young man who had got
ten up the hunt has never since been
known to go out after coons unless there
was very deep snow on the ground.-
Lyneh6urg (Va.) Republican.