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Show HUNTS REPTILES . FOR THE MARKET KANSAS CITY MAN MAKES GOOD LIVING CATCHING POISONOUS SNAKES IN SOUTHWEST. HE HAS LITTLE COMPETITION Wife Aids Him In Dangerous Vocation Demand for Deadly Venom Greater Great-er Than Supply Finds 227 Rat-tlert Rat-tlert In One Den. Kansas City. Mo. A black box In tho iloorynrd at- 124C Lawndalo avo-nuo avo-nuo has this sign In white: " "' i : i nwrii.KB von sai.h. : : : "For 15 years Vnltor F. Byan, au thor ot the sign, hns made n business of catching reptiles snnkes, lizards and other creeping things for tho market. Somo of the snakes ho sells to Hide show proprietors; others ho kills for the venom, oil, hldo nnd other by-products. Hyatt's snnke-huntlng territory Includes In-cludes Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Mexico. lit nnd his family canto to Kaunas City rc- contly from Fort Smith, Ark. During tho winter months, while the reptiles are hibernating, Ityan turns his attention atten-tion to tho Junk business. When a .visitor called recently tho. black box contained only one reptile a "spread-headed" "spread-headed" viper that Byan captured near Klmwovd cemetery one evening when ho was returning home with a wagon load of rags. He had sold the viper nllve for ono dollar, nnd 'It was to be delivered tho next dny. When llynn nrrlved In Knttsas City from Arkansas Ar-kansas ho had a small assortment of snakes that he disposed of at a local "bird" storo. When reptile hunting In tho summer ttmo, Byan and his family drive across tho country In a covered wagon, and Inqulro for snako lairs, all the time keoplng u close watch along tho roadside. road-side. When Byan sees a snako cross tho road he stops tho team, gets out a long pole with a wlro loop In tho end, and goes In pursuit. If tho snako Is especially large and difficult to handle, Byan calls for tho assistance Vn CHrJ Ryan on a Snake Capturing Expedition, Expe-dition, of his wife, who Is nn expert In handling hand-ling reptiles. Having caught, tho snako with thn polo nnd wlro loop, Byan lets tho rep-tllo rep-tllo wiggle until it Is .tired out; then he places It In a box and drives on, In traveling through tho country districts dis-tricts this queor hunter makes Inquiry or the farm houses and ot persons ho passes In the road: "Do you know of any snakes around here any 'rattlesnake dens' or caves whero big snakes hldo? I'm a roptllo catcher." It Byan learns of a "rattlesnake den" ho proceeds to tho Immediate vicinity vi-cinity and camps and makes preparations prepara-tions for an Invasion. "I have to make careful preparations 'beforo I go Into n snnko den," Byan said- "I draw on thick leather boots that come above my knees nnd long glovos that reach above my elbows. If I expect to enter n dark cave whero reptiles are likely to bo lying on ledges ot rock along the sldo or hanging from crevices In the cellflg nbovo, I protoct my wholo body, Including tlio head and fnco. When I nm dressed ready to enter a snake cavo I havo much tho appearance of a deep sea diver. "But no ono can mako a business ot catching snakes without being bltton occasionally that's Impossible, no matter how cautious you are. So I always al-ways go prepared to treat a snnko bite. When I'm hunting reptiles I always al-ways enrry salt and coal oil. I carry tho salt dry. In a small sack, and tho coal oil In u bottle. If I am bitten by a venomous snako I at ouco apply salt to the wound and pour on coal oil. Tho mixture extracts the poison. "Tho largest rattlesnake I ever caught was In tho mountains of Mox-Ico; Mox-Ico; It was 1G feet long, as big around ns n small log, and It haU 42 ruttles buu a button. I caught It with a polo and ft wire loop. It wlgglnd for more than un hour bofnro It gave up and I could place It In a box. I told It allvo in San Antonio for $30. I caught 227 rattlesnakes In ono don In southern Oklahoma two years ngo." |