Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-07-06

tOuCneQ ana our reception Ii doubtful. Our
principal duty will be stopping insurgents
escaping from the Island Of Samar
MONGOOsE AND COBRA.
How Little Rik-f-Tik Fights and Cor
quers the Deadly Reptile.
From the World Wide Magazine.
Most OF us who are exfles In India are
familiar with the faongoose-''Rik-i-Tik.''
a. Kipling has 50 aptly named him. Some
of us have owned Rik-i-Tik as a pet: some
of US are familiar with him as part Of
the stock-in-trade Of the travelling snake
charmer or juggler; and those of US whose
work lies in the districts have watched him
at play or on hunting excursions Of his own
in the freedom Of the jungle.
Yet, widely known as he II in India, It is
astonishing how few could accurately de-
scribe the way in which little Rik-i-Tik can
tackle and kill a four-foot cobra, or how
he escapes the penalty Of his seeming rash
ness.
The cobra Is a pretty sight to watch as he
lifts his expanded hood displaying its fan
tastic heraldry, ever turning to face the
enemy, and loudly exhaling warning and
defiance with every swelling breath.
And now let US proceed to the yeranda
which we have selected as the arena Of the
coming contest. The snake charmer whom
We have engaged to handle the cobra opens
one Of the little round baskets and turns
out its occupant with scant ceremony. At
first the cobra tries to wriggle off, but he
Is caught by the tail and stroked the wrong
way until he is induced to sit up and glare
round. swelling himself angrily with every
breath.
Rik-i-Tik now makes his appearance In
the ring. tied round the waist with a string
and cautiously held at a distance by a
smart in eluding the rapid rushes that Rik-
1-T1k makes now and again at his unpro-
tected calves. What fierce little cham
pion 1t Is. to be sure! His snarlfn1 yolleys
Of unreasoning rage are directed at every
thing near; his little red eyes are aIiRht
with Wfckedness, and every hair on his
body and bushy tail stands on end. At first
he takes no apparent notice of the cobra
but the cobra is fully aware of his arrival
and does his best to keep his face toward
his new enemy. Hither and thither rushes
Rik-i-Tfk as far as the end of his tether
allows, when he Is brought I'D sudden and
snarling. Now he pauses on the edge of
the empty snake basket to gaze contem-
plat1vely at his towering adversary Again
ne checks himself for a moment to give a
playful nip en- PEASANT to the enemy's tail
or to whisper derisive challenge or an In.
sulting remark into the cobra's ear deroe-
atory to his parentage and his female rela-
yves. Tor there is no doubt that Rik-i-Tik
IS past master in the art of abuse. Now
he pauses directly under the hooded terror
ana looks from side to SIDE seemingly in
different-Ha! Missed! 40
Inc me- eobras mead strikes the ground with
a tnud, and Rfk-f-Tik. having eIuded the
stroke by quick little jump, enters IN
another of his mad rushes for freedorr In
the direction of the syce's calves. Again the
DIS Dts are racing each other. and this time
etlk-l-Tlk means business
Just as the hooded DEATH launches HI.
stroke Observation-Disclosures before he has
commenced h-Rik-f-Tfk, quick al the
parry T. yd OF t master feneer. springs to meet
they roll. the cobra winding himself siren
uously around his relentless little cantor
Now they are both seemingly exbanst al
ana lie almost :notionless, but Rik-i-Til,
never relaxes his grip for an instant After
perhaps go OF 100 seconds Of this death-orin
the mongooSe springs away Again tha co
bra rears himself up to renew the contest
put not SO loftfly as before does he spread
his diminished hood He has been sora1v
wounded. but not to death. Rik~i-Tit
stands, dusty and blood-stained reea riding
his humbled adversary. At first we are
AFRAID that he has Leen struck, but a closer
examination S shows that the blood is that
or his adversary.
Even the taste of blood, however. has
not maze the mongoose any more anxious
Tor the fray, and he is still just as keen al
ever 10 nesh his vtndictive teeth on the
nearest bystander as on the snake. his
deadly enemy. At last he comes again To
the scratch This time he entirely antici-
pates the cebra's stroke as, leapinp m
wa Maru. ne secures his never-failing grip on
weakening. mad Rik-i-Tik shakes his head
saVagely to and fro, with all the strength
or MS little body-for all the world like a
terrier shaking rat. After three or four
longer raise his mangled head to fieht hut
crawls painfully and slowly away to short
~ Ole, stlnen, be cast out and buried.
so much Tor the battle. Now there are
many man questions which present themselves
Tor solution. Is the mongoose always the
victor! Not always, but usually. I have
seen five cobras killed and only one mon
goose. Even he had previously killed one
COBRA, ana was probably not quite so fresh
and quick as he would otherwise have
been He was struck OF either side of the
upper lid, having evidently once missed his
grip, and after half an hour he lay stretch
ed out beside his victim
1t Is also unfair to Dit a small nnonpooso
against large cobra The height to which
the mongoose has to spring must detract
largely from that exactitude Of grip which
Is so vitality necessary.
! nave never seen the mongoose fix his
grip anywhere except on the cobra's Jaws.
ana then almost invariably on the upper
Jaw. For this reason he will only deliver a
frontal attack-never an attack from the
rear. II Is wonderful that In taking this
grip ne should escape puncture by the CO.
bras fangs. lying as they do along the up
per Jaw. l believe myself that the grip is
always placed behind the point Of the
.ahss' SO as to render puncture from
the teeth Of the mongoose either strike of
the fangs at their roots or else enter the
poison sacs and SO let their contents es-
cape. In either way the effectiveness Of
the cobra's weapons Is destroyed. These
are not altogether theories, but are founded
upon dlssections made Of the cobra's head
after the fight. or course, a large num-
Der OF such dissections would require to be
made to prove that such were Invariably
the facts which accounted for the escape
OF the mongoose
Next comes the Interesting question Has
the mongoose any immunity? 1t Is true
curiously enough, that he does possess a
certain amount of immunity relative to
some other animals. such as rabbits, dogs
mems. etc. but such immunity is not Of
the slightest protection to him II he is BIT
ten The cobra Is the animal which pos
sesses the largest amount Of immunity from
the ef1ects Of its own poison, and yet It Is
an interesting fact that cobra may be
Killed by injecting it with poison taken
from its own glands
ABOUT half gram Of poison or more may
De obtained from a fairly grown cobra,
while hundredth part of a gram Is more
than SUFFICIENT to kin a mongoose. OF, In
deed: any but large animals. Nature Is
muntficent everywhere. Thus a very nigh
fTnmnnffv nd ~.