The Washington times., 1901-06-30
RATTLERs BECOMING SCARCE.
hrizona's Prime Reptiles Growing
Less In Number.

| In a cSuntry where a quarter of a CEN
tury ago a rattlesnalSe was to be found
under every rock and in every hillock, the
reptile is rapidly becoming a rarity. With
| his human relative, the Apache, the rat
| tier is disappearing from Arizona, and
is now found only IN the most isolated dis
tricts.
To the advance of civilization and the
unremitting warfare of the road runner
and the king snake may be attributed
the determination of the RATHER Wher-
ever irrigation has found its way the rat
tlesnake has been driven to higher ground
and there the prospector and miner have
slain him whenever and wherever found.
The road runner. the long-legged, feather
ed warrior, the fighting cock OF the desert.
has done his part, end done it well.
Much resembling. but more lightly con-
structed than the fighting cock. the road
runner is one of the most dreaded enemies
of the rattler. In fact. so great are his
snake killing proclivities that heavy pen
alties are provided by the Territorial
statutes as a protection to him from the
gun Of the hunter. Apparently immune 10
the venom in the poison sac of the rattIer,
the road runner attacks the largest snake
with impunity. and was never known to
runner has been known TO battle with and
kin a pair of large diamond rattles, whose
total weight was five times that of his
own.
Not so common an enemy to the rattle
snake, but no less deadly is the king
snake, large species of the buH snake
family. Rarely seen in the lower coun-
tries, but often found in the northern for
ests and higher mountains. the king snake
wages constant warfare on the rattler.
and when his great 1.-the form coils
around the body of the rattlesnake. the
life of the latter is a matter of only a few
seconds.
Herbert Housland. prospector, had an
experience with RATHER, a king snake,
and a road runner few days ago which
ne will not soon forget He was with a
party in the Bradshaw Mountains, south
of Prescott, and was guarding camp for
the day. He had lain down to sleep when
he was suddenly aroused. to find a great
rattlesnake coiled upoa his breast
Il almost suffocated from fearing TO
breathe lest / should be bitten" he said.
The snake was greatly excited and in a
minute / saw the cause A KING snake
was trying to excite the rattler to combat,
and my person was the chosen battle
ground The king snake had probably
forced the fdEIltF To refuge upon iffJ
body. and following VI ais aggressive tao
tics was running in circle around the
RATHER very rapidly. He crossed my
breast from left 10 right and ny thighs
from right TO left, and within less than
a foot of the rattler's body.
The velocity OF the snake was most
wonderful. 1t seemed to be one continu-
Gus ring, and part of the time could
seemingly see three or four rings at once
/ made a slight movement with my right
foot which attracted the RATHER : atten-
tion for an instant, and that was fatal 70
him OF that one false movement or his
eyes, the king snake darted In and seized
the rattler by the throat. close up TO his
head. and began instantly to coil around
his victim
They rolled off me In their death
struggle and became one tangled mass for
ten minutes when the rattier'S sound died
away gradually. While / lay exhausted
frcm my fright a road runner darted ont
of bush, and grabbing the TWO snakes
in his beak began TO drag them away.
The weight was too great, but he killed
the king snake by blow from mis- long
bill, and ran away a i arose / threw
the two reptiles into the bushes. and
there the bird and his mate e,oured
them. "-The New York Sun.