Below is from Zadock Thompson’s 1842 “History of Vermont.” At the end I will add my two cents.
“THE BANDED RATTLE SNAKE
“History. – This is the only poisonous reptile known to exist in Vermont; and although Rattle Snakes were formerly found here in considerable numbers, they were mostly confined to a very few localities, from which they have now nearly disappeared, but still the remembrance of these localities is, in most cases, preserved in the name of ‘Rattle Snake Hill,’ or ‘Rattle Snake Mountain.’
“The Rattle Snake feeds upon young birds, mice, and reptiles. Its poisonous fangs are situated in the upper jaw, and used only as a weapon of defence; and it always gives warning with its rattles before it strikes, cases of persons being bitten by it in this state have been extremely rare, and in no case, within my own knowledge, fatal.
“The rattles consist of horny portions of the tail loosely attached to one another, and it has generally been supposed that the rattle is added every year, and that the number of rattles indicates the age of the animal. But this is a mistake. In some cases several new rattles are added in a year, and in others none at all.
“The Rattle Snake has also been supposed to possess the power of fascination [author’s note: remember, this is an 1842 belief], by which it charmed birds and squirrels, causing them to leap into its mouth, but the opinion is totally erroneous. The motions of this serpent are moderate, and its body thick and clumsy, in which respect, as well as in the form of the rattles, which were not spiral, our figure is erroneous, being much too slender.”
Rattlesnake hunting
I was very young in the 1950s, when my father took up rattlesnake hunting. I do however have a clear memory of those days.
Dad hunted the Fair Haven area. Here were huge mounds of discarded slate from the slate quarries. I assume they are still there. Dad hunted rattlers in the fall of the year, when it was getting colder.
On sunny days the rattlers came out of their dens in the slate mounds to warm up in the sun. Remember, snakes are cold-blooded. As the sun warmed the slate, the snakes would lie on the slate and warm up. It was risky business hunting them.
For leg protection, Dad wore World War I gaiters. These gaiters came up to just below the knee. Slate is very slippery to walk on, especially if it’s on an incline, as the mounds were. You could take one step forward and five back.
Dad’s weapon of choice was an old 20-gauge single-shot, break-open shotgun. Dad always came home with rattlers. I remember one time he had a small rattler, about 18-inches long. He was at Dad’s feet when Dad noticed him. Dad said he wasn’t worth a shotgun shell, so he killed him with the butt of the shotgun on his head.
Why was Dad hunting rattlers? There was a bounty on rattlers at the time. I may be wrong here with the amount of the bounty, but I remember it being $1 each. Others tell me it was more.
Somewhere I have a photo of me holding a rattler. I was probably 5. I’ve always liked snakes. Bill Burton told me about Dad going to see his father Wendall, to show him rattlers he got that day. Bill remembers Wendall taking a photo of Dad holding a rattler in each hand. Bill doesn’t know what happened to the photo. I think Ken Cook could add to this story.
I wonder. In Thompson’s Vermont 1842 is mention of rattlesnakes being on the decline in Vermont. If this is true, why would the state offer a bounty in the 1950s? Had rattlers recovered in number in just over 100 years?
Today, rattlesnakes are protected.
This week’s old saying is from John Nichols of Cornish, N.H. John was an antiques dealer of great repute. We all did business with John.
I was at John’s when Jimmy drove in. John said, “I saw your brother earlier today.” Jimmy said, “I don’t have a brother, John.” To which John said, “Yes you do. I saw the rattlesnake slithering off earlier today.”