New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1898-05-04
THE, KING SNA K.E.
DOES HARM. TO NO ONE, BUT KILLS
POISON REPTILES.

DOES HARM TO NO ONE, BUT KILLS
POISON REPTILES.
Rattlers and Copperheads Are the Prey |
!, He Loves to Tackle-He Eats Mouse |
or Toad After Each Battle to Prepare
Him For the Next Encounter.
The distant murmur Of the waterfall,
the hum of the bees among the flowers,
made me feel lazy, and, laying aside
my fishing rod, stretched myself on
the soft spring grass under weeping
willow and watched the blue, cloud
specked sky. I had almost fallen asleep
when was aroused by a voice inquir-
ing, "Kotched emmy fish, mister?''
Looking up, / saw a typical noun
taineer and assured him I had not.
81 say, mister, this here is a power
full bad kentry fur snakes. One bit Jim
Sloan's bay mare last night, an week
afore last another bit Sally Milligan.
Some on 'em air powerful pizen, spd-
cially the rattlers an coppers, an that
minds me, eff wuz yerself, / d move
a little further from that 'ere copper.
He amt zactly perty to look at, an eff
ye wuz to rifle i'm with yer boot he
mout git vicious. I"
Long before that speech had ended i
had turned somesault backward, which
caused the mountaineer great deal Of
genuine pleasure to behold. was about
to exterminate the big. sluggish reptile
with stick that had seized when my
companion asked me to wait a few mo-
ments, as king might come along.
Not exactly understanding whether
he expected person of that name and.
failing to see what that event had to do
with my laudable desire to smash the
big, ugly thing that had presumed to
take my leg for pillow, ! asked him
for an explanation.
"Air it possible yer town folks dunno
what king air? Why, a king air the
boss snake Nv the woods. He don't do
no harm to nuthin, 'ceptin snakes, an
he don't poster them as hain't pizen.
But he do love copper an RATHER,
which is the wurst sna kes Nv these dig.
gins, an he's death on 'em.
"T other day wuz gwine long old
road, an all Nv sudden heerd a singin
as though a camp meetin had just tuck
in. knowed it wuz RATHER, an lookin
| round saw him on a knoll, an pow
erful big un he wuz. He wuz quilted up
| like a corkscrew, an his rattles wuz
a-makin the air jingle. But at first I
couldn't 'scover the cause, an knowed
RATHER never got ready fur business
fur nothin. Presently seed the grass
a-swayin <an a-bendin, an then the rat
tier, he gets nervius an skeered, an I'M
quillin hisself he made break to run.
| "But it wuz too late, fur on came the
king like a hurricane, an putin hisself
just ahead the RATHER showed him his
Jig wuz up. Seem he couldn't Escape,
the RATHER quilted ag'in an showed
fight. The king, he commenced to run
round his inimy in a wide circle, the
RATHER watchin, lickin out his tongue
an maxim his rattle sing like a banjet.
Closer an closer the king drawed his
circle as he dashed round until be
wuzn't more'n three feet from the mi
my. - e. ri. Gf.
'Then the RATHER, thinkin he saw
the last show to save his bacon, made q
powerful spiteful lunge at the king,
an thar is whar he slipped up, fur the
king he lodged, an quicker'n gunpow
der wuz on to the RATHER. Thar wuzn't
nothin but ball nv snakes in sight full
few minutes as they fought an tus
sled over the grass, but arter a little ]
could see the red an black striped king
wound round the big RATHER just like
a grapevine on tree.
"Then seed the king hold i'm b5
the back nv the neck, an could heal
him crushin the rattler as he tightenet
on him. Itwuz all over in half an hour
an the king, unwindin hisself from hil
victim, got behind an waited fur tel
minutes. Then he crept up an put hi
nose on the rattler's to see if he wu.
breathin. Ye see, other snakes know
the king an sometimes possum on hin
. by pretendin to be dead. 5.. u
But the RATHER wuz shore huff gone
: an when the king wuz satisfied nv thi
: he crawled in a old stump hole al
3 presently came out with mouse g tai
stickin out his mouf. But he 500
swallowed the mouse, an, wipin his nos
on the grass, went off sarchin for NOR
trouble. A king alters eats rat or
. toad after q fight to make him stron
fur the next nm.
2 :. An now, mister, could tell ye
powerful lot more'n that, fur I know
snakes, I do, but I'll help ye kill th
J, copper, which mOtlt not meet 8 kin
9 until he bites some I'm ef we didn't, a
2 then must hurry on after my oxen
I what I wuz hnntin when seed tha
varmint a-tryin to go to sleep wit
yerseH Philadelphia Times.
Cleanliness.
! One Of the most important factors