Barre evening enterprise. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-1898, 1898-05-07
THE KING SNAKE.
.o-o uARM TO NO ONE, CUT N'NI0
POISON REPTILES

,d Coppcrhends are VIC
aros 70 rackle--re Eats a ''''''
Toad After Each Eat''e W
,,,,,, For the Next Encounter
r,o a;stant murmur of the WATERFALL
.,,a hmm Of the bees among the towers
.no ma feel lazy, and, laying as'oo
1 n,w fishing rod, stretched n'yscli Oh
the soft spring grass under a az w'e e1an5
'n .,, S ond watched the blue ciouu
Mi'1I .oa civ had almost fallen asleep
,rben was aroused by voice ,h4"'i
iny "Kotched emmy fish, mister
'Df looking up, saw a typical noun
.o;noor and assured him rhad not
''l 81 sav mister, this here is power
e., tod kentry fur snakes. One BIT jim
sloan's bay marc last MINT an WEN
oforo last another bit sally Miiiisan I
some on 'em air powerful prem tl,+
o;o1lv the rattlers an coppers, an ''aO
,,m;nds me, Of l wuz yersl!f' l q move
a littlo further from that ere copper:
He amt zactly perty to look a' an L. 60
ve wuz to rile i'm with yer oo0' liz
nout git vicious 1oa 7
Long before that speech bad endeo l.
had turned a somesault Backward "Hiois
cansed the mountaineer a CREST o'al VI
corn;ne Measure to behold. l was abouI
to exterminate the big. sluggish rop''io
with stick that had seized "hcil NY
communion asked me to wait re" mo
ments, as king might come along
Mot exactly understanding whether
he expected person OF thaF ha'ilo anu
failing to see what that event LAD 10 oo
with nv laudable desire to SMASH tho
hir. ucly thing that had presumed TO
take nv leg for pillow. | asked MN
for an explanation.
"Air it possible yer town folks Dunno
vhat King air? Why, Elns air tne
bo.s make Nv the woods. He don't do
no harm to nuthin, 'ccrtin snakes, an
he don't poster them as balnt llzen'
But ho do love copper an RATHER
which is the yurst snakes Nv these Gig
gins, an hos death Oh en- >,
"T'other day | WIZ gwino long Old
road, an all nv sudden heerda singin
MS though a camp meetln had just tuck
in. knowed it WIZ RATHER, al looEln
round | saw him on knoll, an pow
crful big un he WIZ Ecwuz quilted VI
like q corkscrcw, an his rattles wu2
a.makin the air jingle But at first
couldn' t 'scover the cause, an L En0Wed
a RATHER never get ready fur business
fur nothin. Presently seed the grass
a.swayin an o-bcndin, an then the rat
tier, he gets nervius an skeered, an IN
cuillin hisself he made break to run
but it WIZ too late, fur on came the
king like hurricane, an putin hlssel1
Just ahead the RATHER showed him his
iig wuz M. Seem be couldn't 'scape,
the ratt,or quilted az in an showed
fight. The king, he commenced to rul
round his iuimy in wide circle, the
RATHER vatchin liokin out bis tongue
an maxim his rattle sing like banjer
Closer an closer the king drawed hi
| circle as he dashed round until be
wuZn't more'n three feet from the mi
my.
"Then the RATHER, thinkin he cav
the last show to save his bacon, made
powerful spiteful lunge at the king
an thar is whar he slipped up, fur thu
king he lodged, an quicker gunpow
der wuz on to kHe RATHER. Thar wuzn
nothin but EaIl Nv snakes in sight fu
few minutes as they fought an tus
sled over the grass, but arter little
could see the rcd an black striped kin!
wound round the big RATHER just Xix
grapevine On q tree.
"Then | seed tho king hold i'm b,
the back Nv tho neck, an could hea
him crushin the RATHER as he tightene
Oh him. 1t wuz all over in half an hour
an the king, unwindin hisself from hi
victim, got behind an waited fur te
minutes. Then he crept up an put hi
nose Oh tho rattler's to see if he WI
breathiu. Yo see, other snakes kno,
the king an sometimes poasum Oh hil
by pretentiin to be dead.
"But the rattltr wuz shore huff gont
an when the king WIZ satisfied NV tn
he crawled il Il old stump hole a
presently came out with mouses ia
stickin ont his mouf. But he 500
swallowed the mouse, an, wipin his nos
Oh the grass, went off sarchin for MOI
trouble. A king alters eats a rat or
toad after fight to make him stron
fur the next un.
can now, mister, l could tell We
powerful lot moro'n that, fur | know
snakes, do, but III help yo kill tn
copper, which mout not meet a kin
until he bites some un Of we didn't t, a
then must hurry Oh after my oxel
what | wuz huntin when l seed tbs
] Naruliilt n-trxin n to slun,,