Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-05-11

seemed to tire the bird. After awhile he came
down. but alighted in a rather inacces Sibie
place, took wing again, alighted once more,
and finally blundercd into the water pot,
hCpped out with dTenched wings, and devoted
a lew seconds to the rearrangement of his tot
let, unconscious or needless OF his dangerou
proximity TO the female partner OF the hostile
al lance. She watched all his movements nd
her tail quivered in curious way when she
saw him poke his head under his right wing.
The one turned toward the center of the cage.
She seemed to know that he would repeat the
same maneuver on the left wing side. He did
so, and she had him directly. Drawing her
self up, she poised her neck like dart bra .ed
herself by contracting the rear coils and let
drive. A loud Screech a few e lthGrS flying,
and terrified bird rushing through the cage
ike blind chicken-cause and effect coincid-
ing with shot like suddenness.
Instead OF following him she returned to her
fayOrite corner, where she was soon after
Joined by her mate. The difficult part of the
job was done.
Three or four times the bird managed t.,
take wing. staggered around in circle
once or twice and then sat still. The chemi
Gals began to operate. First his legs aud then
his wings commenced to tremble till he
dropped on his breast, and only at that mo
ment did the snakes glide up to take posses
sion of their prey The same experiment WAS
and always with an analogous result. No
animal likely to offer serious resistance was
captured outright by the rattlesuakes. They
managed to fetch it bite and let it GO rely
ing on The virus to do the rest.
TWO causes conspire to make this the only
practicable course for moderate sized rep
tile not gifted with the wild cat like agiIi of
the black snake. In the first place, the fangs
OF the serpent are not rigid like those of a fox,
but movable and rather slender, and utterly
UNIT for seiZing and holding struggling ami
mails, excepting those OF The very smallest
species. With such teeth they can only ad-
minister snap-bite. On the other hand, the
effect OF the poison is never instantaneous a
man can walk two or three miles before his
bitten leg begins TO swem; q snake bitten dog
can run for couple of minutes without eX-
hibiting any uneaSiness. A large bird may
possibly fly away and out of sight, while even
the smallest birds are able TO take wing for a
moment, and rats to make dash towards
their holes. The snakes know this, and bide
their time with all the cOmplacency of vet
eran angler, who holds fish by a long line
and permits it to exhaust It's strength before
he pulls home.
In the course Of the countless ages during
which men and SerpentS have been cOinhabit-
ants OF this green earth, 1t IS not only possible
but certain that millions of human beings
happened to witness the last act of an oft
repeated tragedy, the strange movements and
subsequent commissions of a bird or little ro-
dent hopping, perhaps, in helpless way
around or even toward a snake that had
watched it with glittering eyes.
So they jumped at the conclusion that the
eyes OF the reptile had bewitched the poog
creature, and found believers who would be
very sorry to demolish such delightfully."-
mystic theory by prOSaic investigation: as for
cOgnate reasons our SpiltualStic contempt
raries prefer to believe that the writing on the
slate was produced by the dear friend in the
spirit land rather than by the evaporation
of hydrOchlOrate of ammonia; not because
they are ignorant of the fact that minutes and
hours may intervene between a cause and it's
risible effect, but because they yearn to sub.
stitute mystery for simple and ineligible
truth.
Eenomous serpents would disappear with
out the aid of st. Patrick if they had to rely
on the charm of their eyes for dinner, for a
rattleSnake deprived Of its chemicals would
Starve as surely as an "Independent Slate
writing Medium in a like nredicament.