LOL!!! This is one of my all time Brown County Democrat favorites. I located this piece
several years ago while researching the earliest surviving issues of the Democrat. I have
used it in several historical society programs for its humor. They certainly don’t write
stories like this anymore!
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Randi Richardson via
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2016 5:01 PM
To: IN-South-Central(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: [IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL] Brown County: Mrs. W. L. Coffey, Mrs. R. M.Coffey, Jennie
Williams and Children Frightened by a Snake
Brown County (IN) Democrat, June 18, 1914, p. 5.
A few days ago Mrs. W. L. Coffey and two little children, Mrs. R. M. Coffey
and children and Miss Jennie Williams were crossing the vacant lot in the
rear of John Mobley's home at the northwest edge of town. As they were
picking their way through the tall grass, Mrs. Will Coffey suddenly threw up
her hands and screamed, "Snake!" Instantly there was a scramble for safety,
and the three ladies kept the air ringing with their cries of "Snake!
Snake! Help! Help!"
Their cries attracted the attention of Mr. Mobley, that fearless and
death-defying painter who rushed to the scene where he found the women
huddled together at the edge of the grass screaming with fear. In their
excitement, they had left the children in the tall grass at the mercy of the
snake. This part of the incident was exceedingly pathetic. The children
were huddled together in the grass unable to understand and afraid to move;
Miss Williams was standing with both arms stretched heavenward, almost
exhausted, faintly calling at each breath, "Help! Save me!" Mobley took in
the situation at a glance and realized that something must be done quickly.
He cautiously tiptoed to the children and brought them to safety, and then
listened to the women's description of the snake which all three had seen at
the same time, and which was at least five feet long. Mrs. Will Coffey had
stepped on it and they saw it wiggle.
Mobley, the hero of many battles with snakes, armed himself with a spade
and, as the appealing cries of "Help" grew fainter, he marched in to battle
with his snakeship. He had no trouble locating the enemy and with one quick
jab of the spade he killed it-a bicycle tire.
The IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL Rootsweb list is for genealogists and historians who have an interest
in the south central district of Indiana, as defined by the Indiana Genealogial Society,
including the counties of: Bartholomew, Brown, Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harris, Jackson,
Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, Scott and Washington.
-------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to
IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL-request(a)rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the
quotes in the subject and the body of the message