Washington sentinel., 1855-03-16
Wonderful Freak OF a snake-ExtraOrdi.
nary Cirsums stance.


The Albany Erening Transcript OF Monday
says, most all Of our readers have heard of the
celebrated "Killkenny Cats" who fought with
such desperation that both were eaten up by
the other Granting that they have, and
granting the story to be true, we have to chron-
icle a story equally as wonderful, and which,
in consideration of our granting the cats story
to be q fact, we wish believed as implicitly
true:
Mr. John Gebhard, Curator of the Geolog-
ical Rooms, well known for his penchant in the
study of Natural History, recently made an
experiment with a snake and mouse with the
most wonderful and extraordinary results.
His snakeship was some eight feet long and
proportionately large; like all of his race he
did not masticate, but swallowed his food
whole, be the article of provender large or
small Mr.. Gebhard being of an inquisitive
turn Of mind, determined to test the fact
whether in the process of deglution the snake
managed, by some unknown process, to masti-
cate its food, or whether it was bolted whole.
Accordingly, mouse was procured and
placed in the cage with the snake, which at
first did not appear to notice it, allowing the
animal to run about, leap over its body, and
cut up other antics in its haste to get away. In
few hours, however, the snake apparently
"smelled rat" and felicitatiag itself upon
its good fortune in thus being furnished with
delectable morsel for its supper, began to
move about with evident qualification, eyeing
the n6nitesimal lump of life with inward de-
light. Soon, by the use of most. potent charm.
ing powers, the mouse sat upright, gazing at
"lord and master" with irresistible and evident
delight. This, however, was dangerous past
time, for suddenly the snake, making dart at
the mouse, took it in its extended jaws, and
merely winking its glaring eyes, swallowed the
animal as easily as would cild sugar plum,
and then curled itself up into its listless, indo.
lent way, Mr.. g. believing that the mouse was
forever "gone from his gaze," paid no more
attention to the snake until the next morning,
when going to look at it he was surprised to
find mouse running about the cage, having
the appearance of being saturated with blood !
Upon looking at the snake, hole was found
in its body, near its TAIL sufficiently large to
allow Of the egress Of the mouse, and from the
freshness Of the wound il was evident that the
mouse swallowed alive, had eaten its way out |
This being the only hypothesis upon which to
base conclusion, and not being certain, Mr..
G.. determined to watch, and see if the snake
would again attack its diminutive though life.
loving prisoner. With patience did Mr.. G..
keep vigil over the box, until his suppositions
were verified, the snake again swallowed the
mouse, which eat its way out of the body few
inches from the place where it had before re
gained daylight Sixteen times was the ex-
pertinent repeated, but the seventeenth time
the snake was so completely perforated that in
the attempt to again swallow the mouse, and
giving a sudden twitch Of the body, il was
snapped in twain, The mouse died the next
day, but the snake lived week after.