The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-08-29
Snakes as Fighters.

The best sport the writer ever witnessed,
says an article in the Pittsburg Post, was a
snake fight which took place two weeks ago
just across the bay from Biloxi, Miss. The
owner of the show was native Of Biloxi, a
large, powerfully built man, with an extra
ordinary wide mouth and stentorian voice.
lie had fitted up beneath commodious
shed regular pit, similar to those used in
chicken lighting. This was ring about
feet in diameter, and the owner used it for
fighting snakes. He also had long line of
cages covered with wire screens, in which
several large reptiles were housed, and were
always ready when crowd came to see
battle.
The favorite snake in the lot was mons
ter spotted fellow whose fangs came out of
his mouth and reached around under his
chin. This was what is called the king
snake, native of the southern parts of Ala
bama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The name
is given 1t because it is known that when
travelling it will catch and kill any other kind
of snake that it meets. 1t is very large and
muscular, besides it is game and aggressive,
as its name indicates. The next largest spec.
linen OF the snake kingdom in the extreme
Southern States is the gopher snake. These
reptiles always live In pairs in holes with
the gophers. 1t is a common thing down
there In the pine woods to see children go to
gopher hole and, inserting pole or rail-
compel o pair of snakes to crawl out d be
Killed. The gopher snake is very much like
the black snake, yet he is much larger and
stouter.
Also, along and adjacent to the Gulf coast
may be found the cotton-mouth and
ground" rattlesnakes Each of these speci-
mems of snakes the Biloxi man had in his
cages, and the fights he gets up are always
between the king snake and either species of
the above that visitors may select. He
charges an admission of 25c, and after all
visitors are comfortably seated he proceeds
to the cage of the king snake, carries it to
the pit, where he dumps it in, and then pro-
ceeds to get an enemy for it to fight The
contest the writer witnessed was a king
against male and female gopher snake, and
and 1t was very exciting, as well as amusing.
Their attitude for war was not in coil, as it
is with most Northern and Western snakes,
but lying lengthwise and very crooked, with
their heads up about IS inches. After watch
ing each other for moment, they dart for
ward with spirit of energy and determine
ton that makes ones blood stop in the
veins.
The king snake keeps this mode of battle
up Tor long time, and worries his enemy
down until he becomes weak and faint; then
he slowly advances upon him, coils himself
around his victim until the two are in heap,
and look like pile of tangled rope; then,
after he has made ready, the king stretches
himself out and in doing so literally tears
ms foe into small fragments. Immediately
the last act In the contest begins; the pop
ping OF the victims bones can be heard dis
tinctly, sounding similar to out much louder
than the popping of PERSONS finger when
stretched or wrenched. 1t is wonderful to
see the agility of the king snake when a
yen0mous reptile is in the ring for a fight.
He darts his head ON either side, ducks and
raises to suit occasions in the twinkling of
an eye, and in this way worries the enemy
down. frequently compelling it to swallow
its own poison. The cotton-mouth snake is
the kings greatest terror, for when pitted
with one of these he shows greater caution
and is ever on the alert lest he gets bitten,in
case of which death would be certain to en-
sue.
Betting on the result of snake fights on the
Point" at Biloxi is as common as betting on
chicken contests in the North, East and
West. AS rule, however, the king snake
will win about seven fights out of ten
against any other species of snakes it meets
with.