The Snakes of Fresno. John Muir Says They Will Kill Hogs and Eat Rabbits. A Rattler Like a Post. Some Queer Experiences of a Geologist in the Hights [sic] of the Sierras.
DID MUIR SAY THIS? We reprint below, in its entirety, the notorious "snake interview" which first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner July 4, 1889. Muir repudiated this "villainous article" as soon as it appeared, claiming he had been bamboozled and misquoted by an "innoc...
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| Language: | English |
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Scholarly Commons
1982
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| Online Access: | https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/643 https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/context/jmb/article/1642/viewcontent/A33.pdf |
| Summary: | DID MUIR SAY THIS? We reprint below, in its entirety, the notorious "snake interview" which first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner July 4, 1889. Muir repudiated this "villainous article" as soon as it appeared, claiming he had been bamboozled and misquoted by an "innocent-looking Examiner reporter". THE SNAKES OF FRESNO John Muir Says They Will Kill Hogs and Eat Rabbits. A RATTLER LIKE A POST Some Queer Experiences of a Geologist in the Rights of the Sierras. John Muir, the noted geologist and. naturalist who discovered the great Muir glacier in Alaska, and traveled for ten years in the Sierras, while pursuing his chosen pursuit, arrived here last night. A reporter found him his room at the Grand, note paper and pencils before him. He said he had just come down from his ranch at Martinez to get a little quiet, while completing his work on the sixteen volumes of 'Picturesque California. ' THE DEADLY FRESNO RATTLER. 'The greatest place I know for snakes is in Fresno county, ' said he. 'It's hot there, and that's just what snakes like. They are out in the foothills mainly, and very thick. It is often said that a rattlesnake can't hurt a hog, but this is a mistake. They kill a great many hogs, and sheep and dogs too, in the Fresno hills, and the mountaineers there are very careful how they go about. 'It makes a good deal of difference how thick a hog's skin is. Probably a little rattlesnake, if it tackled a big swine, wouldn't have much effect on it, but take an averaged sized hog and a medium-sized snake, and the former has no show at all. The hog dies, just the same as a man would. 'While the rattlesnakes there are probably not as thick as they used to be, they are thick enough yet to make things lively. SMALL GAME BY HUNDREDS. 'They kill cotton-tail rabbits, squirrels, birds, and such things by the score, and live on them, but the sheep and hogs they simply kill. They don't eat them. They are too big. Some of the rattlesnakes are said to be six and seven feet long, though I never saw any quite so big. 'An ... |
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