The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-09-20

toNNu - lsoiNAtN etonH. hc hcat WA
long and narrow and tho eyes closed
The body bent sideways. bit othcrwis.
was rs rigid as stick 81 wot,d III,
professor cnrcf.Aly turned itNover Is a
anime the bright yellow belly.
Its q glass snake, he whispered. Ii
an ecstasy Of delight "The iirst live
one have ever handled !"
But Il Is dead now. said the ether.
Tho professor chuekled Dead
dead. he replied. mot nj all; he will
livc many years with the caro- | will
bestow upon him lie Is playing pos,
sum. II he had only had time he would
have disjointed himself like lizard
and lost the three .fourths 81 himself
until we were ont 81 sight aud hear.
ing. =
They returned 70 the rendezvous and
found their two companions there. of
course they laughed at the professor for
the tender care he took o. his treasure,
and against his vigorous protests laugh
ingly hung tho spcckled beauty on tho
branch with the other victims Of tho
hunt II was impossible 10 convince
the professor that his little pet was
dead, but ut last he consented 10 leave
II long enough 70 join us.in one more
hunt
II will gosr he sighed, "bnt half OF
my snake will be gone when | return,
and am too old ever to hope To capture
another specimen alive" Reluctantly
the old man followed them, frequently
casting a glance behind until they
were out Of sight Of the moss.covercd
livc-oak They did not 70 far before
enconntering two or three lazy moe
cnsins summing their ugly brown bodies
by the side Of the road ssKill themia
shouted two voices In unison They
were killed.
why not save one aliye9r j asked
the stranger
because II you did,. was the reply.
t'the chances are that you would ret
bitten in tho back Of the leg when you
least expected II. would not trust
dead moccasin. have seen one with
Its back broken creep mp TO man ard
try to bite him.
They succeeded In catching several
small snakes Of the garter variety and
any quantity Of grass snaites, which
were very common.
One little reptile, some three feet Ia
length and about as large round as
mans little finger, was mainly bright
vermilion; It's velvet back was striped,
with a brilliant yellow and dotted = It's
black. Little white spots etnee Of i
head and gave the Acfcssor gave II
thousand eyes. Ths IN /. ,,as noison. |
= Iss.ss .....s As1ihKtu - 1870 |
ons. 1t was turned over 70 him ior sa,e
and he was soon lon. ss.ss sss-
lure, which he declared bit only upon
severe provocation.
For nearly half an hour no snake
turned up This was unusual, and the
hunters were about to turn back and
try another road, when a.ncgro boy Of
about eighteen came In sight and said
he had seen snakes.
just then a large king snake was OBJ
served moving in the grass at the boys
feet, and several men sprang forward.
Don't hit um, NASSAU, exclaimed the
boy. Use brung him ont ter catch
De ole man gotde rune
tism. an snake lie Is do bess ting In de
world fer nm.
Suddenly behind an azalea bush some
yards ahead there was heard sharp,
rafting sound. Like n fash the swift,
black body OF the king snake darted
There was a sound Of com
motion in the bush, and an instant
later the dull brown length Of an enor-
nous rattlesnnke slowly came into the
open roadway.
Like a streak Of black lightning the
king snake dashed by and rs quickly
turned and brushed across the rattler's
back. His venomous
sprang at his foe, only TO
bury his fangs in the earth. Again the
tail shook and rafting broke the
stiffness. The Tattlesnakc coiled his
tail, moving nervously to and fro. The
was now continuous. Twice
the king snake moved rapidly In q cir
clio about his enemy, who followed its
every movement by merely turning Its
head, but at the second round the rat
tier stopped as II to straighten his
neck, and at that instant the king
snake dashed across the folded coil.
Like q fash the rattlesnalxe struck at
Its enemy, but sank It's fangs deep into
its own flesh. The angry reptile seemed
to realize that II had inflicted death
wound upon itself, for it 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 powarless in its
muscular hold. Then slowly exerting
the full force Of its powerful muscles il
slowly CONSTRUCTED the other. There
was crunching sound as the body Of
the rattlesnake was torn in dozen
places
Slowly slaekening its folds the king
snake prepared to swallow its late en-
envy head first, but the colored boy was
too quick for it and seized the prize for
the sake of its oil.
It was amusing to see his delight at
finding his glass snake whole and un-
molested, but his joy was brief-lived,
for Cuffee, the colored youth, stretched
out his hand to stroke its CLASSY coat,
when two-thirdsof the snake fell to the
ground. II had parted evenly. Four
diaphragms seemed to divide the body.
At these places the vertebrm were So
loosely joined that in moments Of terror
the flesh parts. II Is an extraordinary
provision Of nature, and all were de-
ef,g{,e ~ sae;,,ar {l,eb ~ - i0ff tnopfhar