The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-08-08

ST. Louis Globe Democrat.
Dr. S. and his brother were riding on
horseback along country road in South
Carolina when their steeds sullenly man
ifested alarm. The riders looked about
them to ascertain the cause of the fright,
when they discovered two snakes in the
road, just ahead of them, preparing for
battle. a copper-bellied moccasin which
is as venemous as the rattlesuake or cot
tonmouth, was coiled up in the middle
of the road, while a king snake, which
is not poisonous. was circling around the
moccasin, seeking the chance to attack
its foe. The snakes seemed to under
stand each other thoroughly. The king
snake glided around the moccasin first
one way and then the other, but the lat
ter, with keen eye and uplifted head,
untiripgly watched the movement of the
attacking snake. This manoeuvering for
advantage was kept up so long and so
monotOnously that the hOrsemen grew
weary of their position of observation,
and, dismounting, sat upon fence 4
| few feet from the combatants and await
ed the battle. At last the king snake
had tired its enemy in its method of de
! fence, as the head of the mOccasin did
not turn as rapidly nor was it held as
erect as at the opening of hostilities. The
king snake seized its opportunity, and,
with the spring Of tiger caught his
antagonist Immediately back Of its
mouth.
Then began the life and death struggle
The king snake threw several coils
around the moccasin. from which the
latter would by great excrtion, disengage
itself. This was repeated for half an
! hour or moro, until finally the king
snake had completely coilel himself
around the moCcasin. lie would lie still
for few moments and then tighten his
folds around his foe. This was contin-
NJ -7rr'i' n" victor thought the van
+ aui~hed lead, AMI - :. he began to SLOW
~ ucL- Z his sr'~. tftcr releasing three
or four of his folds he paused to feel if
the moccasir gave any Indications of
life. Then he unfolded two more coils,
when the moccasin slightly moved.
Quick as thought the king snake threw
his coils around the moccasin again, and
remained in that position for some time,
when he again began slowly unwindipg
himself from his victim. The moccasin
was dead, and was lying at full length
across the road. The victor moved up
and down the body of his late antagon-
list, making Il close examination, to as
certain if life was completely extinct.
Being satisfied of this fact, the king
snake prepared for the swallowing pro-
cess, and apparently covered the dead
moccasin with Shiny substance from
its mouth. Then. Selling the moccasin
by the head, the king snake, which is ca
pable of great enlargement of the body,
slowly swallowed his vanquished foe,
notwithstanding the latter was several
inches greater in length than the victor,
and quickly glided into the bushes.
Lady Lakes first house was erected,
on the present site of the town, last No
vember one year ago; now there are six
general merchandise stores, including one
for drugs, a public school and a high
school-soon to be. There are now two
hotels and sixty families in the place and
its immediate vicinity, exclusive of the
orange growers on the shores of the lake
itself, or on the borders OF Lake Griffin.
The Agricultural College at Lake City
is not devoted to agriculture alone,
though called the Estate Agricultural
College," but has chairs respectively OF
ancient languages, English language and
liturature, modern languages, mathe-
MATES, psychology and logic, physics
and chemistry, military science, in adj
dition to the chair of agriculture, horti-
culture and botany.