Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-08-04
THE KING SNAKE.
DOES HARM TO NO ONE. BUT KILLS
POISON REPTILES.

Rattlers and COpperheads Are the Prey
He Loves to Tackle-He Eats a 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 Oh
the soft spring grass under weeping
willow and watched the blue, cloud
specked sky. ] had almost fallen asleep
when was aroused by voice inquir.
ing. "Kotehed emmy fish, mister?''
Looking up, saw typical noun.
taineer and assured him / had not.
II 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, spe.
cially the rattlers an coppers, an that
minds me, eff I wuz yerseIf, II move
little further from that ere copper.
He amt zactly perty to look at, an ef
20 wuz to rile i'm with yer boot he
mout git vicious.
Long before that speech had ended
had turned somesault backward, which
caused the mountaineer a great deal Of
genuine pleasure to behold. l was about
to exterminate the big, sluggish reptile
with a stick that had seized when my
companion asked me to wait 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 dc
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, king air tho
boss snake Nv the woods He don't dc
no harm to nuthin, 'ceptin snakes, an
he don't poster them as hain't pizen.
But he do love copper an rattler,
which is the wurst snakes Nv these dig
gins, an he's death on EN-.
''T'other day wuz gwine long old
road, an all Nv sudden heerd singin
as though camp meetin had just tuck
in. Iknowed it wuz rattler, an lookin
round saw him on knoll, an a pow
erful big un he wuz. He wuz quilted up
like a eorkscrew, an his rattles wuz
a-makin the air jingle. But at first
couldn't 'scover the cause, an knowed
rattler never got ready fur business
fur nothin. Presently / seed the grass
a-swayin an a-bendin, an then the rat
tier, he gets neryius an skeered, an un-
quillin hisself he made break to run.
But it wuz too late, fur on came the
king like hurricane, an putin hisself
just ahead the rattler showed him his
jig wuz up Seein he couldn't 'scape,
the rattler quilted ag'in an showed
fight. The king. he commenced to run
round his inimy in a wide circle the
rattler watchin, lickin out his tongue
an maxim his rattle sing like banjer
Closer an closer the king drawed his
circle as he dashed round until he
wuzn't more'n three feet from the mi
my.
Then the rattler, thinkin he saw
the last show to save his bacon, made a
powerful spiteful lunge at the king,
an thar is whar he slipped up, fur the
king he lodged, an quicker'n n gunpow-
der wuz on to the rattler. Thar wuzn t
nothin but ball Nv snakes in sight fur
few minutes as they fought an tus-
sled over the grass, but arter little
could see the red an black striped king
wound round the big rattler just like
grapevine on tree.
Then I seed tho king hold i'm by
the back Nv the neck, an / could hear
him crushin the rattler as he frightened
on him. 1t wuz all over in half an 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 be wuz
breathin. Yo see, other snakes know
the king an sometimes possum on him
by pretendin to be dead.
But the rattler wuz shore huff gone,
an when the king wuz satisfied NV this
he crawled in old stump hole an
presently came out with mouse's tail
stickin out his mouf. But he soon
swallowed the mouse, an, wipin his nose
on the grass, went of sarchin for more
trouble. A king alters eats rat or
toad after fight to make him strong
fur the next un.
An now, mister, / could tell ye a
powerful lot more'n that, fur / knows
snakes, / do, but I'll help ye kill the
copper, which mout not meet a king
until he bites some un eff we didn't, an
then must hurry on after my oxen,
what wuz huntin when I seed that
varmint a-tryin to go to sleep with
yerself. "-Philadelphia Times.
c1eanIiness