The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1900-02-16
KILLING A RATHER.
CLEVER WAY IN WHICH THE KING
SNAKE DOES THE JOB.


Lightning Swiftness and Muscle
Were More Than a Match For Ven
omous Fnngs That Couldn't Strike.
If the rattlesnake is justly called the
king Of Americas woods and rocks, yet
his crown is not held without danger,
since he is hunted diligently and SUCCESS
fully. His fangs are indeed deadly. and
he wears a fine suit of armor, but the
deer and the wild hog never fail to at
tack him, and he has an enemy Of his
own kind still more dangerous to him.
Snakes may be divided into three class
es, those which are venomous, the con-
strictors and those which are neither.
Unless the second of these are wonderful
for their size they secure little of our at
tention, and yet they are generally beau
tiful in colors, most graceful in action
and often among our best friends.
In Florida we have two constructors cs-
pecially noticeable, the black racer.
which grows to the length of l. feet and
makes n business Of warning on rats, and
the king snake, whose mission seems to
be the determination of the RATHER.
One day l was returning from a days
hunt, at peace with the world and myself,
when l heard squirrel scolding as if he
were n ward politician the night before
election. The noise he made was so loud
and insistent that | turned out of my
way to see what could be the matter. |
found the little fellow on the trunk Of
pine about ten feet from the ground,
jumping about as if in commissions. He
would flourish his tail wildly, scold in
anger, threaten an assault, run back
little way up the trunk and then return
and scold again.
l looked carefully and saw that his an
ger was directed at a rattleSnake that lay
coiled at the foot of the tree. The snake
was compressed into ball, from the
middle of which it's rattle sounded con-
tinuously. Its blazing little eyes were
fixed unchangingly upon those of the
squirrel. The buzz, buzz droned on the
summer mir with sleepy effect, but the
squirrel scolded in an ever ascending key.
But for the hint Of the squirrels eyes i
could not have located the RATHER. His
color and his variegated markings offered
but little contrast to his surroundings.
His monotone of noise was indefinite, and
to sight as well us in sound he seemed
only q blur on the background Of dark
sand on which he lay.
Was the squirrel only curious to satisfy
himself us to the character of that
strange object or was he hypnotized?
have often amused myself by exciting the
violent curiosity of the little animal, but
never did a waving or jumping object
awaken such intense and painful emotion
as the RATHER always demands. l knew
what must follow soon-that the squir-
rel's cries would grow weak: that he
would grow dizzy and finally tumble from
the tree, hang a moment by one claw
and then drop into the jaws Of the living
death that lay in wait. | had raised my
rife to save the little fellow, when the
tragedy was interrupted from another
quarter.
Swift as light q form raced on the
stage. 1t was clothed in cleaning COZ
of beautiful white and black spots. 1t
shifted and shone like u necklace of pre-
cious stones. and ] knsw the king snake
claimed n victim. The newcomer was
smaller than the rattlsr. its ground color
was a greenish gray. and the spots scin-
tillatcd in the sunlight which sifted down
upon the scene from the tangled branches
overhead. At the first rustic Of its ap-
proach the RATHER lost all interest in the
squirrel. which ran back into the tree.
The king snake held his head high and
raced round the RATHER in Il wide circle.
while the RATHER tried to stink away. The
king dartcd forward as il to attack. and
the RATHER threw himself into coil. The
king was again away and racing around
with q swiftncss the RATHER seemed una
BILE to follow with his eye. The RATHER
was cowed already. His crest was low
cred, his buzz, buzz was jerky and I'M
even, and although he presented Il very
different appearance from the self conf
dent arbitcr Of the woods which he had
seemed when | first saw him | could
think of nothing but some human bully
surprised in the net OF torturing his help
less victim and suddenly compelled to
face an adversary worthy Of his strength.
The king snake seemed to enjoy the stu
alton us cat does her cruel dallying
with mouse.
Round and round went the king snake,
and the RATHER followed the movement
till its neck was twisted. Whenever it
attempted to turn. the king would spring
forward. and it was evident that the first
failure of the RATHER in swiftness would
be the signal for muscle to cliuch with
venom. The king would race from left to
right and then reverse. and if the RATHER
failed Ia follow that would be the end Of
him. This happened. and | saw the king
in the air, but could not catch the strike
so instantaneous was it. There was a
confusion of flying pine needles in q cloud
of white dust, and | saw that two inches
Of the kings coil was about the throat of
the RATHER. Over aud over they went.
the kings head above that of his enemy
and n curve of his body acting as Il buffer
to keep up the motion which enabled him
to take another turn and still another.
And so the struggle continued till the rat
tier could not writhe freely. and he was
held rs a vine wraps n tree.
When he lay still, the snake began to
uncoil himself slowly, and at every mo-
tion of his enemy the constructors folds
contracted and crushed with killing ef-
feet Even when there was only n CULVER
OF the tail the king still gripped the
throat. 1t was plain he had a wholesome
respect for the fangs that were still terri
Bile. AS last precaution the king ap-
piled his noStrils to THOSE Of the rattler
and repeated that several times as if to
detect the faintcst breath. Satisfied at
last. it released its enemy. but still
watched. ready to resume its hold at the
slightest sign of life. There | left him,
keeping grim guard over the body of his
vanQuished foc.-Youth's Companion.