Clapp Bags Big Moccasin, 1941

“George Clapp Goes After Snakes With a Keen Enthusiasm” in the May 27, 1941, issue of the Burlington Daily Times-News

Bags Big Moccasin Believed the Same That Gave Two Local Anglers Fright of Life

It isn’t exactly a hobby, but George T. Clapp, automobile dealer, admits readily that his aim is almost as good as his enthusiasm at snake killing.

Mr. Clapp knows what a number of snakes, particularly the cotton mouth moccasin, can do to the fish and frogs about a favorite pond or lake. He enjoys stalking them early morning or late evening when they glide nearby the bank or cruise offshore.

Hairbreadth escapes from the fangs of a big cotton mouth have been reported from the private bond of W.P. Ireland, near Ossipee, within recent weeks. Not many fishermen are permitted to angle there, so the snake colony is large and rarely molested.

Only a few days ago at dusk an angler came up from the pond, pale, his hair upright and graying momentarily, after stumbling upon a “log” in the narrow path. He saw the “cotton” throat as the fangs thrust and missed his leg by a fraction of an inch.

And the next day, the same angler, with a companion, witnessed a blood freezing scene when his companion, moving out from the bulrushes in waist-high waders yelled out: “Here is that snake!” It was coiled around one of his legs, being ferried to shore.

Today Mr. Clapp called the boys to come see “their snake.” It was a heavy-bodied, diamond-headed true cotton mouth moccasin. A well placed shot half severed the head “just behind the ears!” and for good measure, Mr. Clapp displayed a smaller one.

“This year has been the best snake year I’ve ever known,” Mr. Clapp said with some enthusiasm. “I’ve killed more of them than ever before in my life.”