News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-08-08
CURIOUS COMBATS.
A GULF COAST SPORT AND HOW
1T IS MANAGED.
Snake Fights on Exhibition-A King
Snake Can Whip Two Gopher
Snakes.

Many people who visit the cities OF
New Orleans and Mobile are not aware
of the many different kinds of sport that
the Inhabitants of the Gulf coast ENJOY.
Sailing and other aquatic sports are
| common, while races on the Shell roads
are everyday occurrences, but the best
and finest sports the writer ever VIII
messed was q snake fight. The owner OF
the show was native of Biloxi, large,
powerful built man, with an extraordlh-
ary wide mouth and stentoran voice.
He had fitted up beneath commodlous
shed regular pit, similar to those used
in chicken fighting. This was ring
about seven feet in diameter, and the
owner used it for fighting snakes. de
also had long line of cages covered
with wire screens, in which several large
reptiles were housed, and were always
ready when n crowd came to see
| battle.
The favorite snake i'll the lot was
monster spotted fellow, whose tangs
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 Alabama, 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 specimen OF the snake
kingdom in the extreme Southern
States is the gopher snake. These rep
tiles always live in pairs in holes with
the gophers. 1t is common thing
down there in the pine woods. to SEQ
children go to a gopher-hole, and upon
inserting pole or rail, compel the pair
of snakes to crawl out and be killed.
The gopher snake is very much like the
ordinary blacksnake, yet he is much
larger and stouter.
Also along and adjacent to the Gun
Coast may be found the cottonmouth
and "ground'' rattlesnakes. Each OF
these specimens 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 fee of twenty-five cents,
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 proceeds to
get an enemy for it to fight. The con-
test the writer witnessed was king
against male and female gopher snake,
and it was very exciting as well as anus
ing. Their attitude for war was not IN
coil, as it is with most Northern and
Western snakes, but lying lengthWlse
and very crooked, with their heads up
about eighteen inches. After watching
each other moment, they dart forward
with spirit of energy and determlna-
ton that makes ones blood stop IN the
veins.
The king snake keeps this mode OF
battle up for long time, and worries
his enemy down until he becomes weak
and faint; then he slowly advances
upon him, coils himself around his VIC
tim until the two are in heap and look
like pile of tangled rope then, alter
he has made ready, the king stretches
himself out, and in doing so literally
tears his foe into small fragments. I'M
mediately the last act III q contest be-
gins; the popping of the victims bones
can be heard distinctly, sounding simI-
lar to-. but much louder than, the pop
ping of persons finger when stretched
or wrenched. 1t is wonderful to see
the agility of the king snake when
venomous reptile is in the ring for
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-mouthed snake is tho kings
greatest terror, for when pitted with one
of these he shows greater caution and il
ever on the alert lest he gets bit, in case
of which death would be certain to
ensue
Betting on the result of snake fights
on the Point, at Biloxi, is rs common
as betting on chicken contests in the
North, East and West. As a rule, how
ever, the king snake will win about
seven fights out of ten against all other
species of snakes it meets with.-l Pitts
burg Commercial Gazette.