Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1861-10-19

! lect what / wanted, when heard tremen.
deus Hop behind me, aud then scJiile. Turn.
ing round, saw d cobra and q rat having u
regular pitched battle. The cobra had been
after the rats young ones, aud the iutu raled
mother was thirsting for revenge. Though
much alarmed for u,y MI safsty / had
10 means Of escups without pussipg the cobra
Il soon became intensely interested iu the
combat. Al first, the rat fought with the
greatest canton, hopping from side to side
with remarkable agllity, and avoiding the
| poisoned faDgs OF the cobra at last, however.
| the SNAKE which IN the interval had received
many severe btes-stuDg his adversary, and
then the rat, apparently aware that It's case
was now hopeless, grew reckless, aud closed
| 10 with its opponent. In less than two min.
utes, it succeeded iu killing the snake, uud
then crawling aside upon some straw, the
victor died. apparently 10 the greatest ago.
| MES.
! had another illustration of tho enmity
| existing between rats and snakes, many years
ufterWards, in Syria. had sat up late read
! ing file Of the Times newspaper the ser.
wants had oil been in bed !or hours, anj when
| withdrew to my own, it wanted only q few
hours to daylight. AS closed my bedroom
door, was startled by trusting under the
rat dartcd out, followed 10y huge black
! snake, aud these two set to work fighting
right against the door. In my alarm,
upset the chair on which had placed the
candle, and found myself at once n utter
darkness, locked in with snake and lrro.
cious rat. To jump upon my bed was the
work OF an instant aud loudly did | below
for assistance ont of the window. / might
as well have called to the winds to uid me.
had neither match nor u weapon uf defence.
save bolster, and the room was so dark that
could not distinguish my owS hand though
held close before my nose. When the scuflle
ceased, expected every instant to feel the
horrld clamy snake twisting itself round my
legs aud in that unenviable anticipation
remained three long hours, till broad day light
relieved my fears, aud found both comba
tants dead beio,e the door.
l have never, in all my experience, found
snakes to be the pggressors, unless you get
them into cul de sac, or during their period
OF breeding Then the cobra is indeed terri.
BILE, aid was chased by one at Telicherry
for nearly half an hour, escaping the brute
only by doubling quickly round until | stun.
bled over stout bamboo, armed with which
weapon soon despatched it. At the best
OF times, it is nervous work coming TO close
quarters with cobra-oue false aiu,, and you
are dead man. People have a notion that
the green suake Of lDdia-which is certainly
a pretty specimen, it anything in the shape
OF snake can be pretty-is harmless l Gun
prove to the contrary. One DAY ! saw a
beautiful mango bird dangling from a bough
of bamboo bush the glare was intense, aud
| wore blue spectucles, for which reason.
perhaps, could not well distinguish the
cause of the phenomenon, and supposing it to
have been trapped by some vile, seized the
bird as great prize, for was making col
lection TO bring home with NE. In second
afterwards, The glass OF my right eye sp~ eta
Gle was shattered to pieces, ana l hardly
recovered from my amazement, when the
snake disappointed Of his aim, Wrggled oH
into the thickest OF the bush. The glasses
saved my eye aud life, for the poor mango
bird was r;ddled through tue head, from one
eye to the other, and every atom OF brain had
been extrac ed. They are dainty gentlemen
some of these snakes, and was well acquant-
ed with one that preferred turkeys eggs for
his breakfast to any other. used to watch
my turkeys as they strsyed about the grounds,
and marked their Dests, leaving them und!s.
tutb bed until they began 10 sit. Que hen had
fixed upon myrtle bush, round which she
used 10 Hutter aud scream every day, poking
her stupid looking head out in SO strange a
fashion, that was once induced TO watch
her. No sooner had she deposited her egg,
than cobra made his appearance, and with
the creates, deXtrity sucked the egg. With
greater wisdom than the fabled destroyer
of the goose and golden eggs, the cobra
spared the turkey to supply bis daiLty
| breakfast.
But il the reader wishes to study the natu.
| lr,I hiet Of. |
mend him to live month or two ut Bang
kok, in Siam. lie will have the satisfaction,
when he wakes in the morning, TO see u snake
peepng out OF u hole in each corner OF the
rooui, aud two or three little ones amusing
themselves at hide and seek on the aoor. ii
he Looks up at the ceiling, he will perceive a
specimen uf the lizard tribe, called the
I0guGy-from its peculiar cry--a lizard that
looks as if it was afflicted with leprosy-and
which has the astonishing faculty OF throwing
itself ten yards across from one upright wall
to another. il he carry his inclination for
study still farther, he can investigate the
mystery Ct Slamese stew, and find alligator
the chief ingredient. He will find ample
opportunity of collecting out Of his soup plate
teacup, wine glass, or the hair OF his head, or
from of the back of his hand, specimens OF
mosquito fly, ant, green bug, grashopper bug,
vulgus, earwig, flea. in oil the diversified
branches of each genus. Nor when the
fatigues of day are over, aud he dous his
slippers for ease aud comfort need he be sur
prised to find a scorpion in one, and u cent?
pede in the other, whls colony Of white
ants are investigating the merits Of literature
10 bis bookcase.
ln this connection, the following additional
infor nation will be interesting -
If boa six inches thick can swallow q
goat, il is hot difficult to believe that Que
twice that size can do the same TO man
In the PHILIPPINE Islands, criminal escaped
the officers OF justice, aud hid in cave. Ills
father alone knew his hiding place, aud
brought him food. Going to the cave one
day ss usual, he discovered not his sou, but Q
huge serpent ir his place. Procuring aid. he
killed the monster and found the body OF the
young man within it. A serpent, thirty feet
10 length, attacked and killed Malay left in
charge Of boat on the coast Of Colsbes
The arrival of his comrades preveuted III
making meal Of him. y Lascar, also left
in charge of boat fell asleep. lie was
awakened by finding himself within the COLI
of serpent, said to have been sixly-two fes
long. His comrades arrived, and, attacking
the reptile at what is the weakest point 10 al