The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-09-16


''IiuJ it IS dead now" said the other.
The professor chucklcd. Dead.
dead" he replied. Not at all; he Will
live many years with the care 1 viii
bestow upon him. lie i playing pos
sum. II he had only had time ne would
have diSjointed himself like a lizard
ard lost the three-fourthS of himself
until we were out of sight and hear
ing"
They returned to the rendezvous and
found their two companions there. OF
course they laughed Z, the professor for
the tender care he took of his treasure,
and against his vigorous protests laugh
ingly hung the specl<led beauty on the
branch with the other victims Of the
hunt. 1t was impossible to convince
the professor that his little pet was
dead, but at last he consented To leave
il long enough to join us in one more
hunt.
Il viii go" he sighed, but half Of
my snake Will be gone when | return,
and am too old ever 10 hope TO capture
another specimen alive" Reluctantly
the old man followed them. frequently
casting glance behind until they
We're ont of sight OF the moSS-covered
liye-oak. They did not go far before
casins summing their ugly brown bodies
lay the side of the road. xiii them"
shouted two voices in unison. They
Were killed.
Why not save one alive?'' l asked
the stranger.
because If you did" was the reply,
the chances are that you would get
bitten in the back of the leg when you
least expected il. | would not trust a
dead moccasin. 1 have seen one with
its back broken creep up 10 man and
try To bite him.'
They succeeded in catching several
small snakes OF the garter variety and
any quantity of grass snakes, which
were very common.
One little reptile, some three feet in
length and about as large round as
mans little finger, was mainly bright
vermillOn;. its velvet back was striped
with a brilliant yellow and dotted with
black. Little white spots covered its
head and gave the appearance OF q
Thousand eyes. The professor gave it
a long name and declared II was poison
Gus. 1t was turned over To him for safe
keeping, and he was soon on amicable
terms with the Misunderstanding crea-
turc. which he declared bit only upon
severe provocation.
For nearly half an hour no snake
turned up. This was unusual, and the
hunters We're about to turn back and
try another road, when Il negro boy Of
about eighteen came in sight and said
he had seen snakes
just then large king snake was OBJ
served moving in the grass at the boys
feet, and several men sprang forward.
Don't hit um. Inassa,'' exclaimed the
boy. Use brung him out ter catch
rattlesnake. De ole man got de rune
tism. an snake lie is De bess ting in dc
world fer um-"
Suddenly behind an azalea bush some
wards ahead there was heard Il sharp,
rattling sound. Like a flash the swift,
black body of the king snake darted
forward. There was sound of com
motion in the bush, and an instant
later the dull brown length of an enor-
nous rattlesnake slowly came into the
open roadway.
Like streak of black lightning the
king snake dashed by and as quickly
turned and brushed across the rattler'-
diamondmarzed back. His venomous
antagonist sprang at his foe, only to
bury his fangs in the earth. Again the
tail shook and a rafting broke the
stiffness. The .attlesnal1e cOiled his
tail. moving nervously TO and fro. The
rattling was now continuous. Twice
the king snake moved rapidly in a cir
] Gle about his enemy, who followed its
every movement by merely turning Its
head. but at the second round the rat
| tier stopped as if To straighten his
| neck, and At that instant the king
snake dashed across the folded coil.
| Like flash the rattlesnake struck at
| its enemy, but sank its fangs deep into
its own flesh. The angry reptile seemed
| To realize that it had inflicted death
wound upon itself, for ii no longer
| acted on the defensive, but took the of
/ fensive. But the king snake was too
quick for its heavy antagonist and,
! gliding out OF the way, waited as
| it sprang and waiting then until
| the rattler lay full length on
| its belly after striking. Finally
/ the king snake sprang upon its enemy,
| and twining itself about its massive
| body slowly frightened its folds until
| the rattlesnake was powerless in its
muscular hold. Then slowly eXerting
| the full force of its powerful muscles it
/ SLOWLY cOnSlTlClcl lllc blicI- 4iiSlc Z
was a crunching sound as the body of
| the rattlesnake was torn in dozen
| places.
| Slowly slackening its folds the king
snake prepared to swallow its late en-
emy head first, but the colored boy was
too quick for it and seized the prize for
| the sake of its oil.
1t was amusing to see his delight ut
! finding his glass snake whole and un-
molested, but his Scy was brief-lived,
for CufTee, the colored youth, stretched
out his hand to stroke its CLASSY coat,
when two-thirds of the snake fell to the
| ground. II had parted evenly. -Four
! diaphragms seemed to divide the body.
| At these places the vertcbrB were so
! loosely Joined that in moments of terror
the flesh parts. 1t is an extraordinary
provision of nature, and all We're de-
sirous of seeing the parts join together
again, and for that purpose laid them
| carefully on the ground, but alas, the
chicken snake swallowed the rear por-
ton, and before they could cut him
open that part of the glass snake was
too mutilated to expect any reconcilia-
ton with the other. This concluded
the days sport-N. y. World.
| a Terrible RIhe.
The very latest invention in the way
of magazine small arms, and one not
yet submitted 10 the United States army
board. is the gun that has just been put
in test by the Italian authorities. The
| n. : 4 4