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Show Rattlesnakes in a Ball. Zeba-lon Zeba-lon Martin aud boo, who live at Henry's Bend, about six miles from Oil Cily, Pennsylvania, while removing remov-ing stonea on their farm the other day, discovered a ball as large as a bushel basket, which appeared to be a coil of black rope, knolted and curiously interlaced. The warm sunshine sun-shine fell upon tbe ball, which soon seemed to move in its many coils, and then the men saw that the ball wag a mis3 of snakes. The warmth revived tbe dormant reptiles, and the surface of the ball waa soon covered with rallies, which Bwayed to and fro with ft sound resembling the blowing of wind through the dead leavea of a tree. What seemed at first a Gordian knot began to unravel. The tails protruded more and more, and as the snakeB unlocked their intricate coils they appeared to be packed with their beads in the centre of this living ball. The snakes soon completely uncoiled themselvea aud showed fight, whereupon where-upon the men set to the work of slaughtering the reptiles. Fifty six snakes were killed. The largest rep tile possessed seventeen rattles. Oil City Derrick. |