The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-31
A FRIGHTFUL DUEL.
Rival Indian Snake Charmers in a
od-Curdling Scene.


From the Pail Mall Magazine.
On the morrow (Which was the third
day., there was a long delay; the pro-
logue was spun out and spun out. Each
of the masters was I'm a very keen anXi-
ETY. as to the snake the other had been
reserving for the great effort. At last
Souter came to the end of his patience
and bade them peremptorily play or
pay. Thereupon Anant Ram set n
small cloth on the ground very gently
and called loudly to have the first go.
The Lord of Devils" did not stand
upon the order of his going; agreed
on the instant; and his two pupils
turned up large basket in the middle
of the ring and shook out of 1t about
nine feet of that poisonous constructor,
the great hamadryad, or King Cobra.
1t is the only snake in Indian that
attacks of itself at all times. It's
ferceness and courage are only equal
Ell by the brightness of it's coloring
and the strength of its coils. 1t can
poison as mortally and strange as
surely as any snake in the world, TIL"
Egyptian cerastes attacks and bites;
the fer-de-lance of st. Lucia drops
from the tree, vicious and fatal on the
horseman. But they are not con-
strrtors. The great hamadryad
rears is green length of active, two
fold, ferocious death in unparalleled
dreadfulness.
Anant Ram threw up his arms over
his head as the double horror rushed
Kissing at him; in breath its coils
were around him, its fangs tearing
his arms. He flung himself down at
the pain, and put about by the sudden
act, the snake stopped biting a mo-
ment to tighten it's coils. Then il
reared as quickly as it could bend and
strike, bit him horribly in the neck
under the left ear. On the instant
it Jerked out its fangs with shrill
whistle and fell all slack about him;
he had bitten clean through it's back
and was tearing its body asunder with
frenzied hands. He rose bleeding
dusty, wild-eyed and CHASTITY; stag
gered to the cloth that hid his snake
and yelled: quick to the trial. All
three of you! Quick"
The Lord of the Devils" and his
pupils hustled round him; he whipped
away the cloth and barred to their eyes
q. little, crooked, gray brown stick.
They stared at it; they stared at one
another and slowly knowledge came
to them. They knew how Anant Ram
had conquered the hamadryad; that
he had won the devils to fight for him
They moved around the little stick
with outstretched, twitching hands,
their staring eyes glued to it. striv-
ing TO beat down their dread, to force
themselves to touch it. to awake it
to malignant life. Slowly their dread
mastered them; their faces grew gray
and then green; one man gave back
step; then another, one by one they
tore away their eyes from the dormant
horror; glared at one another in the
agony of utter fear: turned with one
accord and tled-fed as men flee with
the fear of death at their backs and
the devils of the lone night and the
waste on their heels. But Anant
Ram, lay, Panjab. sucking the blood
of the dead hamadryad for dear life.
while his pupils, in fevered haste, Piled
him with remedy on remedy. In the
confusion Souter secured yet more
material to make Surer his discoveries
and to render this mystery of the
east a working remedy against the
terror of the serpent Anant Ram
came out of it alive, and rich: but he
swears that in winning his great fight
he lost the secret of ages. He breads
Souter as he breads nothing else; and
to him alone will he reveal the myster-
les of his craft.