Springfield Missouri's Snake Scare of 1953

In 1953, Springfield, MO experienced a reptilian invasion. That year, sixty-five thousand residents lived in the city limits, and between August and October, the citizens of the Queen City of the Ozarks, shared downtown with at least eleven Indian Cobras.

In the Summer and Early Fall of 1953, Springfield found itself battling a surprising invader, Indian Cobras. Those living in Southwest Missouri regularly witnessed Garden Snakes, Rat Snakes, an occasional Copperhead, but to encounter Cobras indigenous to another part of the world was a different story. Residents of the city blamed a local pet shop owner for the invasion, and though he admitted to keeping cobras, he denied any involvement. Not knowing the origin or the number of snakes slithering around the city, the residents armed themselves with crude weapons, forced their children to stay indoors, and kept a wary eye out.

An unsuspecting resident spotted the first cobra in a yard on August 15. The homeowner killed it with a garden hoe. A week later, his neighbor across the street encountered a cobra in his yard, and the snake suffered the same fate. After killing the snake, the man called the police. The local law enforcement enlisted the help of a local science teacher. He confirmed the identity of the species, an Indian Cobra, native to a region thousands of miles away.

For the next few weeks, cobras made occasional appearances, most dying at the hands of citizens wielding various garden tools. On one occasion, a homeowner witnessed a cobra slither under his house. He called the police and an officer tossed a tear gas grenade under the dwelling, forcing the snake to surface. He fired five slugs into the snake, but eventually resorted to a garden tool to finish it off. As the Cobras continued to pose a threat to the community, scrutinizing eyes resumed their focus on the pet store owner. He continued to deny any responsibility. One day, the city’s health director drove a truck around, blaring so-called “snake-charming” music. The tenth snake was killed that same afternoon. In all, residents killed or captured eleven Indian Cobras in a three month period.

In the 1970's the pet shop owner passed away, and those with knowledge of the cobra infestation believed the secret of what really happened died with him. However, in 1988, the truth was finally told. Longtime Springfieldian, Carl Barnett, told the Springfield News-Leader, "I'm the one that done it."

Revenge precipitated the Cobra release in Springfield, MO. When Mr. Barnett was fourteen years old, he made a partial trade for an exotic fish from the Mowrer Animal Company, this being the pet store accused of releasing the snakes. The fish died the next morning and Carl returned to the store asking for a refund or another fish. The pet store owner told the kid to "get lost." The teenager angrily left the store, plotting his revenge. He walked around to the back of the store and noticed a crate marked snakes. Believing them to be harmless, he released the reptiles, never once considering this was potentially a harmful species. When the cobras began appearing, Barnett recalled, “I realized what I’d done, and I was scared to death. Every time someone mentioned the cobras, I just wilted.” And why did Carl finally tell the truth? A friend convinced Barnett to finally come clean and clear his conscience.

The eleventh snake was captured in October of 1953 and transported to the local zoo where it died two months later. I wonder if there truly were eleven snakes released or if more survived and wandered into the city's sewer system. I also wonder, if that happened, if a male and female escaped into the recesses of the city's underground system, and if so, have generations of Indian Cobras survived? In 1953, authorities assured the residents of Springfield that the snake scare was history.

Could history repeat itself?