Along with the good blackberries, however, could come some bad things.
A tale is told by local people about a crazy man who had escaped from an insane asylum and was believed to live in a cave somewhere deep in the woods. Nobody really believed it, but it was a good story to scare little kids to keep them from wandering into the woods to play. Of course, there were real things to scare them, too. There were thorns that would scratch painfully if the berry pickers were not careful. Chiggers and snakes liked to live in blackberry patches, so pickers had to watch out for them, too. Berry pickers usually wore long sleeves and long pants to protect themselves from bites. Some put kerosene (like they used in their lamps) around their wrists and ankles so the odor would repel chiggers and even snakes. The wise ones wore shoes and did not venture into the blackberry patches with bare feet. Parents who allowed children to pick berries alone always warned them to watch out for snakes and not get bit.
Common snakes in Kentucky were black snakes, cow snakes, rattlesnakes, and copperheads. Snakes like to hide among the berries and wait for birds to swoop down to get berries to eat. Then the snakes would strike. Berry pickers needed a keen eye to spot the snakes and not become a snake-bite victim. Still, people took a chance and picked the berries.
Maggie Gammon awoke one summer morning and asked her mother if she could go berry picking that day. Maggie had seen a dress in the Sears and Roebuck catalog that she wanted to order. She had been saving up for it and almost had enough.
“Honey, I've got to wash today, so I can't go with you. I think you'd better wait. I don't like for you to go alone,” her mother told her.
“But, Momma!” Maggie protested. “Mrs. Pennington is expecting company. She always makes pies when she has company. I know she'll buy some berries from me! It will be enough for me to buy that dress. Please, Momma!” she begged.
Mrs. Gammon hesitated. She didn't like to send her daughter out alone, but Maggie was always careful. And she was so eager to get that dress.
“Please, Momma!” Maggie said again. “I promise I'll be careful!”
“Oh, all right,” said Mrs. Gammon, giving in to her daughter's pleas. “Don't go into the woods, though. The dogs keep barking at something in there. I looked, but I couldn't see anything. I am going to have your father check it out.”
“Do you think they see the crazy man?” joked Maggie.
“Very funny!” laughed Mrs. Gammon. “Just get on your way before I change my mind!”
Maggie gave her mother a big hug.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she said. “I won't be gone long.”
She grabbed her bucket and ran out the door, never to return home again.
Mrs. Gammon washed the family's clothes as she had planned. Then she carried them outside and hung them on the clothesline to dry.
“I wonder what's keeping that child so long,” thought Mrs. Gammon. “I could use some help hanging these clothes.”
The sun climbed higher in the sky, and the temperature rose toward the upper nineties. The forecast was for a hot day. Mrs. Gammon finished hanging the clothes by herself, wiped the sweat from her brow, and began to cook the noon meal. Mr. Gammon, who had been working in the fields, came in to eat.
“Where's Maggie?” he asked.
“She went blackberry picking,” said Mrs. Gammon. “I'm getting a little worried. She should have been back a long time ago.”
“Do you think she might have gone to sell them to someone?” asked Mr. Gammon.
“She's never done that without coming home to tell me,” said Mrs. Gammon.
“I'll walk down to the blackberry patch and take a look around,” said Mr. Gammon.
“No,” said Mrs. Gammon. “You eat your dinner so you can get back to work. I'll go. I know where she usually picks. Lord, I hope she's not snake bit!”
Mrs. Gammon hurried to the patch by the woods where her daughter always loved to go.
“Maggie!” she called. “Where are you? Come on in! It's time to eat.”
There was no answer. The woods were silent, too. Mrs. Gammon saw no sign of a snake, but she noticed that the grass was smashed down as if something had been dragged into the woods. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Maggie's empty bucket on the ground. Right beside it was one of Maggie's shoes.
Mrs. Gammon ran to the house, screaming for her husband. He ran out to see what was wrong. She collapsed into his arms, crying.
“Maggie's gone!” she sobbed. “Something dragged her into the woods! I found her shoe and empty bucket!”
“Now calm down,” he told her. “Go inside and call the sheriff. Wait for him here. I'm going to look for her.”