Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-08-27
4 Dog and a Rattlesnake in Mortal
Combat.


OK the 22d ult, within two and one
half miles Of this place, on the farm OF
John Davis Terrell, a most remarkable
scene occurred. 1t was a terrible en-
counter between a dog and a rattleSnake,
which ended in the death of both. About
dusk that evening, as Mr.. Terrell and his
plow-boy and a white woman he had
hired to hoe were vending their way
slowly homeward, after the days labor
was over, leading their horses along a
pathway near the margin Of the corn
field, the woman, who was barefoOted
and walking in the path before them,
suddenly sprang back, eXclaiming that
there was the biggest snake she ever
saw. Mr.. Terrell then advanced with a
short pine-knOt in his hand, with the in
tention of striking it, when the boy eau
toned him, reminding him OF the immi-
nent danger he would incur by attempt
inc to kill such snake with such a frail
weapon He made no further effort to
strike it, but the motion with the pine
knot no doubt alarmed his snakeship, for
he instantly turned and glided into the
bushes and briers, and as he moved the
rattles made the Well-knOWn sound,
which was also familiar to the dog, who,
hearing it, at once sprang upon the
snake, and, it is supposed, caught it by
the tail and tore away it's rattles, as their
sound was not afterwards heard. The
snake would strike at the dog, and he
would seize it in his mouth and shake it.
But, before he got hold of it, it struck
him several times with its fangs. The
dog had previously killed several rattle
snakes, and understood how to fight
them upon a fair, open field; but in this
case he fought at a very great disadvan-
tage, being impeded in his movements by
the thick jungle of vines, briers
and bushes among which the snake
had taken refuge. The fatal wound
must have been given by the snake very
soon after the contest commenced, as the
dog was observed to become weak and
| to stagger-then he seemed to renew his
attack on the snake with terrible energy
and ferocity, taking it by the body and
| shaking it most vigorously from side to
side, and tearing great slugs of flesh from
| its body. AS soon as he had subdued
the reptile he carried it out to open
ground, where his master was, and laid
it down. Then, reeling like drunken
man, under the workings of the deadly
poison, the brave fellow placed his feet
on its body, and, with the energy of des-
| peratiOn and death already graphing
with him, he literally tore out its vitals
and strewed them on the ground. In a
moment, and at the very climax of his
victory, the faithful dog reeled and fell
to the ground, and in a few minutes was
stiff in death, notwithstanding every
possible effort was made to save him.
The snake was an enormous one, and
from Mr.. Terrell's account must have
been at least five feet long. He
bit the dog many times-twice under the
neck in the soft part of the breast, and
twice on the shoulder, besides several
times on the mouth The wound in the
breast being near the jugular vein did
the work, no doubt 1t is asserted on
the word of a gentleman of undoubted
veracity that the punctures made by the
fangs were one and one-fourth inches
apart, and they had the appearance of
having been made by an anvil The dog
was mongrel, of medium size, consid-
cradle mixed with bull, and had been
bitten once before by the same kind of
snake.-AlJendaEs (Ga) Cor. atlanta Her.
MID