Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1848-05-25
THE KING-SNAKE.

THE KING-SNAKE.
There is a species of snake commonly
called, in the Southern States, the king snake,
perhaps because he is the most formidable
enemy of the rattle snake. 1t seems to be
the chief ject of his existence to seek, to
pursue, and destroy the latter, whose retreat
and presence is discoverable by the ennis
sion of peculiar smell, resembling that Of
cucumber vine. The king snake, to al
most all other reptiles, is the most gentle
and harmless of creatures you may strike
! him, he shows no resentment, he Kisses not,
he turns not, nor does he exhibit any terror
or sluggishness. Drawn by the smell Of
The cucumber, he frequently enters gardens;
but his appearance exctes no alarm in any
human being that knows he is the king
snake; on the contrary, women and chill
dren will approach him, turn him about with
a stick, and playfulIy annoy him with i'm
punity !; he is only a relentless enemy of the
rattle snake, whose strength and venom will
avail nothing against the activity and mode
of attack of the king snake, who is always
victor in every combat.
| Yet the rattle snake is a terrible reptile.
There is peculiarly truly appalling in the
sound of his ratles, being unlike the noise
of any other creature; and when you hear
it the first time, the true instinct Of nature
impresses on your quailing heart that dam
ger and death are near. Never shall for
get one horrid event of my life.
was fishing in southern lake one sum-
mer day. when an unusual disposition TO
sleep affected me. | stuck one end of my
fishing rod into the bank of lake, and
sought beautiful place of shade TO enjoy
repose. laid myself on the grass between
two trees scarcely six feet apart from each
other, my head resting against one, and my
feet against the other. slept. When a.
" oke, ! turned TO one side, and perceived at
some distance from me, two brilliant orbs-
and instantly a .remulous, mingled sensa-
ton of all indefinable nature came upon my
faculties. Something Of an instructive die
ate or impulse counselled me to aver, my
looks; but then there was such an absorb
ing, wshful delight in gazing into eyes that
intently and mellingly gazed into mine, that
even the ,remuous pulsation Of fear fixed
my frame, and remained so fascinated tina,
lancied that ] could see nothing but the
most beautiful colors. In short, was lost,
so completely bewiIdered with commlngled
emotions, that could not withdraw nv
gaze, nor even move.
The melting eyeballs gared with sparks
OF fre-there was movement; | was "a
reused from dreamy Stale; ! saw huge
rattle snake; lis gaze was disturbed, and
when heard the hateful rattle sound, the
full danger of my situation aroused me, and
through all my frame felt the extremity Of
terror, and just as | was on the point Of
obeying phrenzed impulse to rise and fly,
God of heaven! felt the deadly reptile, as
| thought, coiling around my neck; | saw
part of his body, felt the Shiny skin upon
my neck, and the shiver Of horror went
through every joint and member of my
frame. Such feeling of agony my eye
balls were filled with scorching fire first
red, and next yellowish green. Oh, there
are moments of existence which involve the
sensation Of years, and when the whole de-
tail of thousand feelings scarcely occupy
the brief space of a leisure thought. Nature
could endure no more, and lost all sense.
At length had the painful tingling SEN
saton of returning life through my veins,
and when in full consciousness arose from
the earth, saw near me, TRANQUILITY and
quietly lying, king snake, and farther off
the lifeless length of tremendous rattle
snake. | sat upon log and reflected, and
] am now satisfied that the king snake had
crept over my neck to my rescue there be-
ing large log on one side, and the lake on
the other, so that his nearest approach to
the enemy was over my body. But although
my life was providentially preserved, yet
the effects of that scene are the exhaustion
of great portion Of my excilabilily, and the
introduction of grey hairs and premature
debility in all my powers of mind and body.
anecdotes Of the South.
COOP ADvICE.-"There is no harm,o says
the Rev. MIR. Montgomery, Sin smoking to-
bacco, except that it leads TO drinking
drinking to Observation-Disclosures to
bile-ble to Observation-Disclosures to
ACCOMPLISHMENTS to death-that
is ALP