Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-03-22
VOL. 3.---NO 1872.
DAILY VIRGINIAN.
wonderful Freak of a Snalte.-E,eti aordnary
IfIICuD1 at


The Albany Evening Transcript of Monday
says, most all of our renders have heard of the
celebrated "killkenny Cats" who fought with
such desperation that each was eaten up by the
other Granting that they have. and granting
the story To be true, we have To chronicle a story
equally MS wonderful, and which, in consideration
of our granting the eats story to lie a fact, we
wish believed as implicitly true:
Mr. John Gehhard, Curator of the Geological
Rooms, well known for his penohant in the study
"I Natural History, recent made experiment
win snake and "A mouse with the most wonder
tni ana extraordinary results. His snakeship
was olght ieet long and proportionately large;
kc all ot his race he did not masiicate but swal-
lowed his food whole, bc the article of proyender
large or small. Mr.. Gcbhard being of an inonis-
itlVe turn of mnd determined 10 test the fact
whether IN the process of deglntion the snake
managed, by some unknown process, to masti-
cate its food or whether it was bolted whole.
Accordingly mouse procured and placed
in the enge with tho snake, which af first did not
appear To notice il, allowing the animal to run
about, leap over It's body, and cut up other antics
III lts haste ia get away. In few hours, how
over, the snake apparently .'smellod n rat" and
ieheiintinR itself upon its good fortune in thus
being furnished with deeciable morsel for its
supper, began to move about with evident graft
hehli"m es'ing the intnttesimnl lump of life with
inward delight. soon. by the use Of most no.
IL.
gn1lng gat lis LORD and master" with irresistible &
evident delight. This, however, was dangerous
pms time. for suddenly The snake making a dart
Mt the moude, took it in its extended inws md
merely winking its garng eyes, swallowed the
| animal as easily would n child n plum. and
then enrled ltsolf up into its lstless, indolent
wny. Mr. q. believing TINT the mouse was for.
ever gone from his guze," paid no more nttcn-
ton 10 the snake until the next morning, when
going I" look at il he was surprised TO find a
mousse running nbout the cagc, having the ap-
pearnncc "t being saturated with blood
Upon locking ut the snake u hole wns found
in its body, nenr its tail, sufficiently large To allow
ol the egress of tho mouse, and from the fresh
ness of the wound it was evident that the mouse
swallowed alive hnd eaten its way out This
being the only hypothesis upon which 10 base a
conclusion, and not being certain, Mr.. G deter
| mined 10 watch and see if the snake would again
nttnck its dmnutive though life loving prisoner
With patience did Mr.. G keep vigil over
the box, until hls suppositons verified; the
snake again swallowed the mouse, which eat its
way out Of tho body few inches from the place
where II lind before regained daylight Sixteen
tunes was the experiment repeated but tho
seventeenth time the snake was so completely
perforated that III the attempt to again swallow
the mouse, and giving n sudden twitoh of the
body, 1t was snapped in twain. The mouse died
the next day, but the snake lived II week after.