The St. Johns herald., 1889-12-05

lLlfSetc aE&NH 70 us {s s-'cslteSt b5I5lol, and tbe lltt.c Dn.Glai gazing steadily ahead, is eyes fixed and staring. walked on. The chipnunk did rot move. ! followed it's staring gaze. and saw a raatlesnake, coileJ as they always coil. and is eyes glittering like little coals of fire. l had my gun. and quickly put an end to the ser pent's further mesmeric exercise. The strange part Of the incident was that the chipmunk fell from the stump dead al the report of the gun ! thought that some stray shot might have struck it, although such a thing was highly improbable. l examined the little animal thoroughly. There was not 8 mark upon it. So strongly
 was the chipmunk under the influence Of the snake. as 1 positively believe, that it's very existence had become merged with that of the rattlesnake's When the snake was killed the chip hunks life was simultaneously ended
 'tA person can not be a close ob- server of rattlesnakes long before he will discover Q good many curious things about them. l have found out that there arc at least three living things that 6 ratticsnake is in mortal fear Of, and they are bats. hogs and deer. 1 discovered the fear Q rattle snake has of bats by putung one iE the cage Of d very fierce rattler once had l thought he would go crazy when the bat dropped down by his side. He got in the furthest corner Of the cage and coled himself up and actually hId his head. The bat fitted about in the cage, which was g very rocmy one, now and then skimmlng the folds Of tho snake, who would only sound his rattles the louder and draw himself closer down in tho corner. When l ished the bat out the snake slowly unwound himself and came out Of hiding. tried tho experiment several times, not only on that snake but on others, and always with the same result.
 livery body knows how hogs that run i1 the woods in localities where rattlesnakes are found will soon drive the reptiles out Of the neighborhood. They will go into den of rattlesnakes if they can get in. and attack the snakes furiOasiy, tramping them be- meath their feet and tearing them apart with their teeth The bite of @ rattlesnake has 10 effect whatever on a hog. Deer hunt out rattlesnakes in the same way, cutting them to pieces by blows from their sharp hoofs. Many W0odsmen calm that an apparent in- crease in ratiesnakes in some parts Of Pennsylvania is due to the killing off of the deer or the driving of them out of those regions. There is another thing that the rattlesnako fears that forgot to mention, and that is the black snake. The black snake will squeeze the life out of Q rattler n very short time, and no rattlesnake will stay long where there i5 black one, if he can get away. There is an exception, however. When it comes time for snakes to gather into their winterin9 places, the black snake and the rattler and all other kinds Of serpents take up their qua tcrs with one another as peaceful as lambs.
 q have seen only two persons in my life who were bitten by rattlesnakes, and only ono Of them died, although the same treatment was used in doc toring both. Poultices made Of me- iasses and table salt, the latter stirred in tho molasses until it was as thick as butter, kept on the wounds made by the snakes fangs, and the usual generous doses Of whisky, YVES the treatment in both cases. One man, young one, with healthy constitution, was well in five days. The other man, a middle aged man, and not physically strong, died in two days.
 "A human being seems 10 be the only creature that suffers pain from rattlcsn3ke bite Every thing cise that ! ever saw that had been bitten by one of the reptiles acted as if it had been chioroformed You can hardly sec where a snakes fangs enter the flesh, and not drop Of blood flows from the wound. Inflammation sets in at once. The breath comes hard and short. h dumb anlmais paralysis soon occurs in the hind parts. The blood leaves the extromitios and be- comes thin. The heart of any animal that dies from ratuesnake poison will always bo found to be filled with blood in Q thin. fluid stGto, instead of being coagulated, as it will be in 9 human being. My experience has been that the number Of rattles on a rattlesnake are TO indication of it's age, the popu- lar belief iu that respect to the con trary notwithstanding. Harrisburg (Pa) Cor. \. !. Sun.
 On inc Road to Prosperity.