The Turnbo Manuscripts
by Silas Claiborne Turnbo
1844-1925
Turnbo Home | Table of Contents | Keyword Search| Bibliography | Biography
DEER KILLING SNAKES
By S. C. Turnbo
I will relate a few stories of hunters viewing deer killing serpents.
Jerry Hunt, a resident on Big Creek in Taney County, Mo., informed me
that one day while he was hunting in the John Morris hollow that flows into
Big Creek from the east side he saw a spike buck running back and forth
with its feet closed together and jumping stiff legged. At a certain spot
the deer would leap high and after alighting would leap as far as it could
then stop and wheel around and repeat. I stood still and watched the deer’s
movements a few minutes and I pronounced it a crazy buck, and I shot it
down. On going to where it lay I discovered a black snake lying in the grass
badly disabled. The mystery of the deer’s foolish actions were now
explained for it was killing the snake. I finished what life was left in
the snake with a stick.
Old Uncle Jim Barnette said that on one occasion while he was hunting
on the west side of Little North Fork he saw 4 deer kill a rattlesnake on
a ridge 1 ½ miles above the mouth of Pond Fork. The deer just before
leaping on the snake would close their legs together and after alighting
they would instantly spring away. Only one deer at a time would hit the
snake. The reptile was cut nearly to pieces with the deer’s feet.
"Just up on the point of the hill between the main hollow of Cedar
Creek and the hollow that the main road passes up from Dugginsville to Pontiac
in Ozark County, Mo., and in eight of the former named hamlet," says
Henry Grace, "I seen a deer kill a rattlesnake. I did not understand
what the deer was doing until I heard the serpent singing. The deer would
stomp its forefeet against the ground, then leap on the snake and jump away
as far as it could, then turn and repeat. Finally the deer quit and walked
off a few yards and stopped and I shot it down, and when I walked up to
where it did the work with the snake which was entirely dead. The deer had
cut the middle part of the serpent’s body into mincemeat with its hoofs."
"In the year 1856," said William C. Patton (who afterwards
went blind and is dead now), "I was hunting horses in the hills of
Hampton Creek, a tributary of Crooked Creek in Marion County, Ark., I was
horseback and as I rode along I saw three deer acting queer. They would
run one at a time stiff legged with hair turned up and leap on something
in the grass and then spring off. Then they would return and repeat. I was
much interested to know what the deer were up to and stopped and sat on
my horse until the three deer had become quiet and started off. I then rode
to the spot and was astonished to find a big rattlesnake beat to pieces
almost by the deers’ hoofs. Though there was a little life about the
snake but it was too nigh gone to ever bother any more deer," said
this old timer.
Just over the line in Ozark County, Mo., between Big Creek and the Panther
Bottom was once a small pinery where in the latter fifties Martin Johnson
and others camped and sawed a lot of pine lumber with a whip saw. About
25 years after the close of the Civil War some parties erected a saw mill
at a spring in Pine Hollow and used up all the available pine timber here.
There seems to be a fine prospect of mineral on the land where the stately
pine trees once stood as well as the adjacent vicinity. From indications
there are great quantities of iron ore here and some lead ore has been dug
out here. I well remember the first time I was in this pinery. It was on
a Sunday in 1854. I and Martin Johnson spent the entire day here. Johnson
was prospecting for mineral. The man said there was plenty of mineral here
but it would take lots of money to go down after it. Pew C. Anderson said
that one day in 1852 while he was hunting in this same pinery, he noticed
a deer acting in a singular way. The animal would run and jump high with
its hair standing straight out. When it alighted it would stamp its forefeet
hard against the ground, jump forward a few yards, stop and look back.,
then it would wheel around and repeat which was done several times. At last
the deer left and Mr. Anderson said to satisfy his curiosity he went to
the spot to investigate as to the cause of the deer’s strange actions
"and there lay the largest rattlesnake dead I ever saw," said
he.
July 16, 1902
Turnbo Home | Table of Contents | Keyword Search| Bibliography | Biography
