Snakes
Yesterday evening, as Bill and I were embarking on our after dinner stroll, we encountered a snake (!!!) in our driveway. It was only a small snake, but I wasn't sure which kind of snake it was.
Our reptilian visitor had left by the time we returned. I was disappointed, because I wanted to take a photo and identify it. I found a nice site (http://frogsandsnakes.homestead.com/snakes.html) that has images and information about the snakes of Tennessee. I believe it was a small brownsnake hanging out in our driveway, but I have to rely on my memory, which isn't perfect.
Anyway...
A Google search of +Memphis +snakes also revealed this little gem, which is news to me:
Perhaps almost as strange was the rain of living snakes that fell over the southern part of Memphis, Tennessee in 1877. These creatures reportedly ranged from about a foot to 18 inches in length and were presumed by the people of Memphis to have been swept into the air by a hurricane. Although even Scientific American asked where so many snakes would exist “in such abundance” (they fell by the thousands) “is yet a mystery.”
-from http://www.prairieghosts.com/falls_sky.html
-from http://www.prairieghosts.com/falls_sky.html
FREAKY! How could I, a relatively faithful Fortean Times reader, be unaware of this bizarre phenomenon, which ostensibly took place in my very own hometown??? I'll try to find out more about it.
1 comment:
OK. Here's another snippet that mentions the rain of snakes. This one points out that no one actually saw the snakes fall from above:
In Memphis, Tennessee, on January 15, 1877, there was a violent storm with torrential rain. A two-block area of the city was found to be alive with snakes after the storm had stopped. "They were crawling on sidewalks, in yards, and in streets, and in masses but ---'none were found on roofs or any other elevation above ground' and 'none were seen to fall'. ...It is not said whether the snakes were of a known species or not, but that 'when first seen, they were of a dark brown, almost black.' Blacksnakes, I suppose."
This information comes from Tales from the Fort: The Charles Fort Files web site (http://www.dragonrest.net/fortfiles/falls.html)
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