The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-02
4 4 ~

! ENTaaE 49,, ITSELF" said a
| EgM&TT9EFS- naturalist Sat
ca king
| snake won't Neither win a black
! snake; but, as matter Of fact the king
snake is only 4 species of blacksnake
| Nothing in the snake line suits this
family of ophidians better than that
most terrible of reptiles, the rattle
snake. Squirrels, frogs. ia bbits, birds
and other fat, juicy, edible things of the
animal kingdom that human epicures
| delight in, are particularly choice to
the taste of the kingsnake and it's
| cousin, the blacksnake, but either one
! OF these discriminating serpents will
! give the squirrel, the frog, the rabbit
or the bird the go-by if it scents rat
tlesnake in the air. And if there is
rattlesnake anywhere within ten-acre
lot, where one of these creeping epicures
is looking out for something to eat, it
will know it at once and proceed to
gather it in.
Il had once a striking proof of the
pugnacity and wonderful capacity of
kIngsnake in dealing with a RATHER
and also of the remarkable tenacity of
the RATHER under most disadvantageous
circumstances Naturally one would
think that the rattlesnake, armed as it
Is with its deadly poison and apt means
to use 1t effectually, would be the last
thing to be attacked by snake entire
ly harmless in that respect; and that at
tackled by one of that kind it would
make short work of such q preposterouS
assailant. But the fact is that venomous
snakes stand in mortal fear OF non
venomous ones. A RATHER, loaded with
enough poison to kill bear, will turn
and fly in terror if it should meet an
insignificant gartersnake in its path.
NenomOus snakes never fight among
themselves, but non-venomous snakes
are their mortal enemies-none more SO
than the blacksnake family. Usually a
kingspakc will engage a RATHER and
make short work of it, five minutes
being sufficient to enable. the former
to crush its venomous victim to death.
But on the peculiar occasion | refer
to, the fight between a kingsnaIe and
the rattler it had set out to gather in
lasted eleven hours. | was spending a
Texas border, and one day as I was
strolling over the prairie l came upon
two snakes rolling and tumbling about
in the grass, in deadly combat | soon
discovered that the combatants were a
kinCsnake and 4 rattlesnal1e Their
movements were so rapid that it was
some time before | could determine Just
what the prospects were for either one
or the other, but at last the round came
to an end and the combatants rested.
Then l saw that the kingsnake had his
jaws fastened in the rattlesnake's
neck, or rather au inch or two below
the neck, and knew from the nature
and positions of the two reptiles that
the kingsnake had been trying his best
to encircle the RATHER in his construct
ing folds, while the. RATHER had been
struggling just as desperately to pre-
vent it.
The secret of the fcarleSsnesS and
bold aggressiveuess with which black
snake or kingsnalle attacks RATHER,
although one stroke of the rattlers
fangs would be death to it, is its SD
perior agility and strategic genius. The
rattler. like all veuomous snakes, is
sluggish in its movements while IN
coiled, and depends entirely on the
liEhtning-lil>e thrust OF its head and d
portion OF its body and the deadly
plunge of its fangs when il is coiled for
action. The blacksnale and the king
snake draw this fire of the rattler, So TO
speak. by their strategic movements
close to the deadly serpent, but out OF
its reach, and then dart upon IT like a
flash before it can get itself in shape to
defend itself again. They seize the
rattlesnahe by the neck, as close u the
head as they can. and thus prevent it {
from using its fangs on them. The
rattler has no constructive pow erS. +
The blacksnakes are genuine con- /,
strictors. being of the same farl!lv as
the boas and ancccndas. Having spiked
the rattler's guns, they get him within
their powerful folds. and that Is the
end OF him
Now. owing 10 some characterization
in his aim, the kingsnake that had .
tackled the RATHER on the occasion am +
speaking about had seized his victim +
an inch or two further back OF the
head than he should have done, and .
when they resumed their battle, after
the rest they took soon after l came
upon them. saw that the kinCsuake was
aware of the fact. Whether he feared Z
that this miscaiculation was likely To
give the RATHER a chance 70 reach has
head back and use his fanGs or not
don't know, but l could see that the
attention was divided be-
tween watching for that possibility aud
his epdeavors TO get his fatal foias
around the rattlesnake and end the
perilous contest The RATHER seemed
to recognize the fact that he had some
kind of an adva0kage. and ne managed,
with the sense of wrestler. 10 wrlgCle