The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-08-26
RATTLESNAKE GOING
FAMOUS AMERICAN REprnr
WILL SOON HAVE PASSED.
iie L Disappearing Prom the Ari,...
frontier- some Of ths Eaemiss Of m.
"hattieE-- Prospsetors Ezperisus. !.
a Three-cornered Fight

IN country where q quarter u !
century ago a rattlesnake was ta ha
found under every rock and in ever,
hillock- the reptile is rapidly bseomise
. rarity With his human relative
the Apache. the ratileg Is disapeesfinr
from Arizona and is now found osiv
10 the most Isolated districts To 49,
advance ol civilization ana the nnra-
miiting warfare 81 the road mnnar
and the king snake may Be attributed
the exteruination OF the rather
Wherever irrigation has found ts war
the rattlesnake has been driven ~
higher ground aud there the PROSPECT.
ar aud miner have slain him whenever
and wherever found The road rap-
ner. that long legged. feathered var
rior. the fighting cock Of the desert
has done bis part and done il we'll
Much resembling but more lightly con-
sfructed than the lighting cock The
road runner is one Of the most dreaded
enemies Of the rattler In fact 90
great are his snake killing proclivities
that heavy penalties are provided by
the territorial statutes as a protection
70 him from the gun 81 the hunter
apparently Immune % the venom in
the poison sac Of the rattler. the road
runner attacks the largest snake with
impunity and was never known to lose
q fight Frequently. indeed. the road
runner has been known to battle with
and Kill a pair Of large diamond rat-
tiers. whose total weight was hye
times that Of his own. Not SO com
mon an enemy 10 the rattlesnake. but
no less deadly. is the king snake
large species OF the bull snake family.
Rarely seen I'm the lower countries. but
often found in the northern forests
and higher mountains. the king snake
wages constant warfare on the rattler
and when bis great 1.-the form coils
around the body Of the rattlesnake the
life Of the latter is a matter Of only
few seconds. Herbert Housland.
prospector had an experience with
rattler. a king snake and a road run
ner a few days ago which be will not
soon forget He was with party IN
the Bradshaw mountains. south OF
Prescott and was guarding camp for
the day He had lain down 10 sleep.
when he was suddenly aroused 70 dnd
a rranf raffIa-ral,a r-ffr4 ...-- tt
breast Il almost suhocated from
fearing to breathe lest ] should be Bit.
ten. he said The snake was greatly
excited and In a minute saw the
cause A king snake was trying 10
excite the rattler TO combat. and my
person was the chosen battle-ground
The king snake had probably forced
the rattler 70 refuge upon my body
and following mp his aggressive tactics
was running In a circle around the
rattler very rapidly He crossed my
breast from left TO right ana ny
thighs from right 10 left. and within
less than a foot Of the rattler's body.
The velocity Of the snake was most
wonderful 10 seemed % De one con-
tinuous ring. and part OF the time I
could seemingly see three OF four rings
az once. I made a slight movement
with right foot. which attracted the
rattler's attention for an instant. and
that was fatal TO him At that one
false movement Of bis eyes the king
snake darted IN and seized the rattler
oy the throat. close up to his head and
began instantly to coil around his vic
tim. They rolled on me In their death
struggle and became one tangled mass
Tor ten minutes when the fattlers
sounds died away gradually. While
lay exhausted from my fright a road
runner darted out OF a bush. and grab
Ding the two snakes 10 bis heak be-
gan 70 drag them away. The weighiwas
loo great but he killed the king snake
by a blow from his long bin and ran
lWay as I arose threw the two rep
lies into the bushes. and there the
bird and his mate devoured them.