The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1855-05-12
From the Greenville Mouniainecr.

4
Under this head the March number OF
Harper has n very readable article, but, as
was to he expected from the subject, there
are several erroneous statements. When
the serpant beguiled our poor mother Eve,
the Lord God said unto the serpant, be-
cause thou hast done this, thou art cursed
above all CATTLE" and sooth to say, he has
had more lies told on him too than any
beast Of the field" Indeed it would seem
TO be q moral impossibili,y to speak Of
snakes without fibbing, and, therefore, even
good men, and otherwise truthful men, are
not apt to give any other than fancy sketch.
~, while discoursing Of serpents There
are two untrue statements in the article of
Harper, which I will particularly refer to.
The first need only to be stated 10 be laughed
at in this latitude. The writer asserts that
Southern negroes are not afraid OF snakes,
but rather intimates that they have fancy
for such pets
The second partially untrue statement,
which propose to correct, is the description
OF the manner Of the battle between the
4 black Apa rattle snakes. As the writer in
Harper gives bis account Of this fight very
pleasantly, you will oblige me, and, 1t may
be, some Of your readers who have not pre-.
viously perused it, by inserting the follow.
ing extract:
"Combats between the rattle and black
snakes are certain If they meet, and tn /.
black snake is, with rare exceptions, the
conqueror. Upon seeing each other, th, sc
ANIMALS instantly assume their respective at.
titudc Of defiance and display the great diff.
ference in their organization. The rattle
J snake spiIa gev .I,, r.. 4
fence the black snake, being constructor,
moves about from side to side, and is in con.
slant actiyity-mutually exciting each 9th.
! -r's passions. The rattlesnakc finally set.
/ ties dow into glowing exhibition Of ami.
mostly. is head brown back, its fangs ex-
posed, its rattles -. consta"' agitation. The
black snake, seemingly coDsclCrs ."at the
moment OF strife has come, now comli.n noes
circling round il, enemy, absolutely moving
so swiftly that It seems but CLEAN Of dull
light the rattlesnaae attempts to follow the
movement, but soon becomes confused, and
drops It's head in despair then il IS that the
black snake darts upon the back Of the neck
Of its deadly foe, sciZcs it between its teeth,
and sprngIng upward, eiivelops the rattle
smoke IN its folds. The struggle, though not
long, Is painful the combatants roll over
in the dust, get cntanglcd in the bushes !,
but every moment the black snake is tight
enlng its no d, until the rattlcsnakc gasps
tor breath, becomes helpless, and dies. For
a while the black snake still retains its mus.
cleS working with constant energy; but
finally, II cautiously uncoils itself, and quiet.
ly betakcs to the water, where recovering
its energy, it dashcs abou, a moment, as If in
cxultation, and disappears from the scene. "
1 Now, sir, happen TO know that the above
account Of a snake fight, coming too from q
Yankee, has a marvellous amo ant Of truth in
/ it, but to show you exactly how they do
| fight, and give you and your readers "the
truth the whole truth, and i.othing but the
I truth concerning this matter, | transcribc
| from a Journal which kept when travelling,
some yeats since, in flords, the following
f,c's as communicated to me by an old pine
woods pion er hunter, and shooter Of Sem
inoles, of the highes, respectability
his way.
!. saw to-day, Mr. IIarre'l, number Of
large black snakes as rode up from Tam
tpa TO your house, some Of them more than
zen or more feet long and as big as my arm
This is January, and suppose about as cold
a. you ever experience in this part Of Flor
idal
H. Oh yes, Lord bless your heart, we
have them snakes, and all sorts Of snakes
in these parts from year ecnd to year eend
I. Indeed l have been told that the
black snakes can whip the rattle snake in a
fair fight. DO you know anything about
their battlcs'
II. l never seed bu. one fight a,wecn
EN-.
]. Let us have It.
II. Well, you Sec was out hunting one
drizzly day an riding along slow, sorter,
thinking about nothing for hadn't seed no
game, cept wolves, and ] wouldn't shoot
them, for was arter deer, and | comes to
uncommon big rattle snake laying full length.
lie was sich monstrous big fellow thought
I'd kill hin So gifts down and bitches
my crtter. and walks to large fallen pine
tree intending to break of a limb to kill the
snake, YOU see
!. Yes.
II. Well then, jist as gets to the log
spied a-the all.iiredest, whoppngcst blue
snake laying along side log, | ever had seed,
you understand.
|. Exactly. Go ahead.
II. Well, I'd hcarn SO much about these
~ j
how they did it. So breaks my stick and
begins a shooing, like, the blue snake around
tother side the log, where rattle snake was.
Well, the blue snake crawled along up to the
ecnd Of the log, and si1led around you see,
and druv him short around, when he and
the rattle snake sees one another the same
time.
]. Well, what did they then?
II. Why, they jist looks at one another
bit, with all their might Then the blue
snake raises his head two or three feet, and
the rattle snake he jumps right into guile,
and begins ratting his tail so yo'd thought
all the yaller pinestraw about him had tails
and rattles in 'em. Well, seed it was
gwinc to be q fight sure enough, and so
sot astraddlc the log to see it out.
]. CA little impatient) Well, well, my
friend, how did it terminate?
II. Arter awhile, when they was done
looking at one another, till they were salts
fed, reckon, the blue snake he begins cir.
cling round and round the rattle snake, Ia
king swarth at first, but gradely comes
higher and higher TO the rattle-snake, till he
gifts mighty nigh, but not quite in striking
distance Of the rattle. snake There he stops
6Nu TAlSeS MS ncau ScNeTul Iect, Scu hHoN
l. Certainly. What next?
II. Very much cxcited) Why, by ga
fcrs, he drawed the rattcsnakc's fire
/ l. Drew his fire? What do you mean!
I don't exactly understand you.
II. Why you see the blue snake jist
made prctence that he was gwinc to strike
the rattle.snakc, and then the blue snake,
sooner than no time, and before the rattle.
snake could guile himself again, seized the
rattle snake by the throat, and beginned to
guile heself around and around the rattle.
snake until he almost kvcred him with his
guile but tell you stranger, atore they did
It they had the orfulcst sashing and tum-
bling about that YOU ever seed. But he did,
and artcr he done it, he jst begins to stretch
himself. when the rattlesnakc seemed mighty
Uneasy But the blue snake kept on at it
till seed the rattlesnakc had a 'nuff of the
blue snake, and told him to quit and ris up
to hit him a tap, to make him let 50, but |
didn't, cause thought what rascal the
rattlesnakc was, and wanted to see how
tLo lt,,o .. II, ,,,o,,ll m IN ppt Limsrlf