Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-05-28

He Loves to Tackle-He Eats q Mouse
or e Tcad After Each Rattle to Prepare
Him For tl:c next Encounter.
Tho distant rlu-mur of the waterfall,
| tie hum CT tho bees among the flowers,
made me feel lazy, and, laying aside
my fishing rcd, stretched myself on
the soft spring grass under weeping
willow anG watched the blue. cloud
specked sky. l had almost fallen asleep
when was aroused by a voice inquir-
ing, "Kotched snny fish, mister
Locking up. l saw a typical moun-
taineor and assured him had not.
Il say, mister. this here is power.
fui had kentry fur snakes. One bit Jim
Sloans bay mare last night. an week
af0ro last another bit Sally MilligGn.
Scr:c On 'em air powerful pizen. spe-
cially the rattlers an coppers, an that
| minds me, Ell | WIZ yerself, d move
q little further from that ere copper.
He amt zacsly perty to look at. an eff
80 WIZ to rile i'm with yer boot be
mout git viciors."
Long before that speech had ended
had turned Il somesault backward, which
caused the mountaineer great deal of
genuine pleasure 10 behold. l was about
to exterIIi:.atc t:e Zig. sluggish reptile
with q sti6i- that lad seized when my
companion asked me to wait few mo-
ments, as king might come along.
Net exactly understanding whether
he expected person Of that nare and
failing to see what that event had to do
with my iaudable 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. king air the
boss snake nv the woods. He don't do
no harm to nutEin, 'coptin snakes, an
he don't poster them as hain't pizen.
But ho do love copper an RATHER
which is the wurst snakes Nv these dig
gins, an he's death on 'em.
T'other day wuz gwine long old
road, an all Nv sudden heerd singin
as though camp ,aeotin had just tuck
in. | knowed it WIZ RATHER an lookin
round l saw him on knoll. an a pow
erful big I'm he wuz. He WIZ quilted up
like corkscrew, an his rattles wuZ
a-makin the air jingle. But at first
couldn't 'scover the cause, an / knowed
n 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 un-
Quillin hisself he made break to run.
"But it WIZ too late, fur on came the
king like hurricane, an putin hisself
just ahead the RATHER showed him his
jig WIZ up. Seem he couldn't 'scape,
the RATHER quilted ag'in an showed
fight. The king. be commenced to run
round his inimy in wide circle the
RATHER watchir, lickin out his tongue
an maxim his rattle sing like a banjor
Closer an closer the king drawed his
circle as no dashed round until he
wuZn't more'n three feet from the I'M
my.
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 be slipped up, fur the
king he lodged, an quicker'n gunpow-
der wuz CT to the RATHER. Thar wuzn't
nothin but ball nv snakes in sight fur
a 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 by
the back Nv the neck, an l could hear
him crusbin the RATHER as lie frightened
on him. 1t wuz all over in half IN hour,
an the king, unwindin hisself from his
victim, got behind an waited fur ten
minutes. Then he crept up an put his
nose on the rattler's to see if he wuz
breathin. Ye see, other snakes know
the king an sometimes possum on him
by pretendin to be dead.
But the RATHER wuz shore huff gone,
an when the king wuz satisfied NV this
he crawled in a old stump hole an
presently came out with a mouse's tai,
stickin out his mouf. But he soon
swallowed the mouse, an, wipin his nose
ON the grass, went off sarchin for more
trouble. A king alters eats rat or a
toad after fight to make him strong
fur the next un.
An now, mister, I could tell ye a
powerful lot more'n that, fur l knows
snakes, do, but I'll help ye kill the
J copper, which mout not meet a king
until he bites some IN eff we didn't, an
then must hurry On after my oxen,
what wuz huntin when l seed that
varmint a-tryin to go to sleep with