To prowl about. Dutch, Snoepen. The word appears under various forms.
1834. He was a lone man, and didn’t want any rascally Indians to come snooping for hogs about his place.—C. F. Hoffman, ‘A Winter in the Far West,’ ii. 28 (Lond., 1835).
1834. We’ve got an old trunk up-chamber, full of troubles—old laws, and treaties, and contracts, and state claims—and whenever we want any powder, all we’ve got to do is to open that, and snook among old papers, and get up a row in no time.—C. A. Smith, ‘Letters of Major Jack Downing,’ p. 119.
1854. She walks out arm-in-arm in broad daylight with her cousin that’s been sneaping round there on a visit.—H. H. Riley, ‘Puddleford,’ p. 92 (N.Y.).
1888. She told him the detectives might snoop along if they wanted to.—St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 13 (Farmer).
a. 1899. There was a play actress thar, has been snoopin’ round here twice since that young feller came.—F. Bret Harte, ‘The Convalescence of Jack Hamlin.’
