My grandfather, Jay Sellers, farm was on the Grand River. Part of which was on the bottom land below Slip Bluff. He had a old fruit jar of rattle snake rattlers that he cut off each rattler that he killed. The old jar with the rattlers laid under a large cottonwood tree in their back yard along with some old Indian articles that he had found in the area. I was always fascinated in looking at them.This would have been in the 1930's & 1940's. Where the old home and barn set is now the Welcome Center (rest stop) on I35, and a lot of the land around there is still owned by his grandson. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ronald M McClure" <rmcclure@hot.rr.com> To: <iadecatu@rootsweb.com>; <iowa@rootsweb.com>; <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com>; <iaringgo@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 9:01 AM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Can You Imagine??? > there were certainly timber rattlers in springer timber (springer woods) > and > slip bluff 'tween the '40s and 60s. we were makin' cane sorghum down > there > and one of the woodard or young boys said the heat was drawin' 'em to the > cookin' site. had an ole boy show me one that he said he killed in nine > eagles too......but he was kind of windy.......always thought he found it > on > the road run over.....that's what it looked like to me.......mac > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Sharon Becker" <srbecker@iowatelecom.net> > To: <iowa@rootsweb.com>; <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com>; > <iaringgo@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 6:14 AM > Subject: [IADECATU] Can You Imagine??? > > >> Can you imagine??? >> >> Excerpt below from "Pioneer Life of George W. Lesan" >> who settled in Ringgold County, 1855. >> >> Article in it's entirety at: >> http://iagenweb.org/ringgold/biographical/hist-gwlesanpioneer.html >> >> FWIW, I had heard all my lifetime (and I'm not a kid anymore :~) >> that there were rattlesnakes in Iowa. There were supposed to be >> some in Decatur County in the 1970's, or so I was told at the time. >> The only snakes I've ever come across were garter snakes, king >> snakes, and a few rat snakes (don't know what they are officially >> called.) I hated garter snakes until I got my riding mower - always >> got one in the push mower and wrapped around my bare legs at >> least once every summer. Then my barn cat Mindy used to catch 'em >> and bring the dead snake up & lay it by the back door for me. Supposed >> to be a cat's way of paying honor to her human, but I didn't see it >> quite that way. >> >> Sharon R. Becker >> Ringgold County IAGenWeb Coordinator >> srbecker@iowatelecom.net. >> >> >> >> Rattlesnakes were numerous. After G. W. got his puncheon floor put in, >> they were sitting in the twilight when they heard a hissing sound. Andrew >> IMUS said it was a locust; G. W. said it was a rattler. They stepped to >> the door to listen when a large rattlesnake crawled from under the >> rocking >> chair where Mrs. LESAN was holding the baby. She says, "Here is your >> snake," when G. W. grabbed the chair with his wife and baby and carried >> them out of doors. They killed the snake. >> >> A few days later, after she had hung out her washing and brought the >> basket with the remaining pins in it, and sat it down, and took the >> crying >> baby up and sat her down by the clothes basket. The child played by >> pulling and pushing the basket and making the pins rattle. Then she >> became >> tired and her mother took her up, fed her, and she went to sleep. She >> laid >> her on the bed and proceeded to straighten up the room. She picked up the >> basket to put it in its place when "horrors," there laid a big rattler, >> all curled up under the basket. Its back was skinned up where the child >> had pulled the basket back and forth over his back. She called to her >> husband and he came and killed it. He tore up the floor, but found no >> more >> snakes, and they were not bothered any more, but several children were >> bitten later, some died and some did not. >> >> Excerpt from: >> >> LESAN, Mrs. B. M. Early History of Ringgold County: 1844 - 1937 Pp. 22, >> 156-162. Blair Pub. House. Lamoni IA. 1937. >> >> Transcription and notes by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2010 >> >>

small world, darrell. i knew your g'pa! think maybe we might've even picked up his eggs and sold him some nutrena or gooches feed............but that might've been the greens.....did you ever wonder if those old indian relics might still be layin' there or did that welcome center wipe 'em out?.......mac ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darrell Eckardt" <dreckardt@cox.net> To: <iadecatu@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 11:12 AM Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Can You Imagine??? > My grandfather, Jay Sellers, farm was on the Grand River. Part of which > was > on the bottom land below Slip Bluff. He had a old fruit jar of rattle > snake > rattlers that he cut off each rattler that he killed. The old jar with > the > rattlers laid under a large cottonwood tree in their back yard along with > some old Indian articles that he had found in the area. I was always > fascinated in looking at them.This would have been in the 1930's & 1940's. > > Where the old home and barn set is now the Welcome Center (rest stop) on > I35, and a lot of the land around there is still owned by his grandson. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ronald M McClure" <rmcclure@hot.rr.com> > To: <iadecatu@rootsweb.com>; <iowa@rootsweb.com>; > <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com>; > <iaringgo@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 9:01 AM > Subject: Re: [IADECATU] Can You Imagine??? > > >> there were certainly timber rattlers in springer timber (springer woods) >> and >> slip bluff 'tween the '40s and 60s. we were makin' cane sorghum down >> there >> and one of the woodard or young boys said the heat was drawin' 'em to the >> cookin' site. had an ole boy show me one that he said he killed in nine >> eagles too......but he was kind of windy.......always thought he found it >> on >> the road run over.....that's what it looked like to me.......mac >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Sharon Becker" <srbecker@iowatelecom.net> >> To: <iowa@rootsweb.com>; <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com>; >> <iaringgo@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Friday, June 04, 2010 6:14 AM >> Subject: [IADECATU] Can You Imagine??? >> >> >>> Can you imagine??? >>> >>> Excerpt below from "Pioneer Life of George W. Lesan" >>> who settled in Ringgold County, 1855. >>> >>> Article in it's entirety at: >>> http://iagenweb.org/ringgold/biographical/hist-gwlesanpioneer.html >>> >>> FWIW, I had heard all my lifetime (and I'm not a kid anymore :~) >>> that there were rattlesnakes in Iowa. There were supposed to be >>> some in Decatur County in the 1970's, or so I was told at the time. >>> The only snakes I've ever come across were garter snakes, king >>> snakes, and a few rat snakes (don't know what they are officially >>> called.) I hated garter snakes until I got my riding mower - always >>> got one in the push mower and wrapped around my bare legs at >>> least once every summer. Then my barn cat Mindy used to catch 'em >>> and bring the dead snake up & lay it by the back door for me. Supposed >>> to be a cat's way of paying honor to her human, but I didn't see it >>> quite that way. >>> >>> Sharon R. Becker >>> Ringgold County IAGenWeb Coordinator >>> srbecker@iowatelecom.net. >>> >>> >>> >>> Rattlesnakes were numerous. After G. W. got his puncheon floor put in, >>> they were sitting in the twilight when they heard a hissing sound. >>> Andrew >>> IMUS said it was a locust; G. W. said it was a rattler. They stepped to >>> the door to listen when a large rattlesnake crawled from under the >>> rocking >>> chair where Mrs. LESAN was holding the baby. She says, "Here is your >>> snake," when G. W. grabbed the chair with his wife and baby and carried >>> them out of doors. They killed the snake. >>> >>> A few days later, after she had hung out her washing and brought the >>> basket with the remaining pins in it, and sat it down, and took the >>> crying >>> baby up and sat her down by the clothes basket. The child played by >>> pulling and pushing the basket and making the pins rattle. Then she >>> became >>> tired and her mother took her up, fed her, and she went to sleep. She >>> laid >>> her on the bed and proceeded to straighten up the room. She picked up >>> the >>> basket to put it in its place when "horrors," there laid a big rattler, >>> all curled up under the basket. Its back was skinned up where the child >>> had pulled the basket back and forth over his back. She called to her >>> husband and he came and killed it. He tore up the floor, but found no >>> more >>> snakes, and they were not bothered any more, but several children were >>> bitten later, some died and some did not. >>> >>> Excerpt from: >>> >>> LESAN, Mrs. B. M. Early History of Ringgold County: 1844 - 1937 Pp. 22, >>> 156-162. Blair Pub. House. Lamoni IA. 1937. >>> >>> Transcription and notes by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2010 >>> >>> > > > www.iagenweb.org/decatur > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IADECATU-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >