Arizona republican., 1903-06-18
BLACKSNAKE AND RATHER.
Peculiarities Of Both as Seen Along
Pike Creek, Penn.

snakes" said a native OF thc Young
women's Town district of the Pine
Creek spread of waters. lis curious
critters. an some kind O. snakes. of
course. is curiouser than others.
Now. snakes with pizen I'm their
tooth amt half so sudden as them that
only travels on, their shape. For in
stance. the blacksnake can git up and
fight all round a rattlesnake. and soon
squeeze him sitter than a dried eel
skin, notwithstanding that the rattler's
got toothful o juice that d make
even a hippyy Ottymus think he'd been
hit by rg.. min if it was ever intro
duced into his system.
some folks say that oGe snake won't
s. Ell another one. Maybe ii won't.
bLl if | didn't see big blue racer git
away with RATHER wunst about as
slick as a gray duck could bolt a suck
er IN eat your hat, ! was over along
the creek huntin'. and heerd a rattle,
snake. of in the scrub bushes, jest
more than shakn' music outen his tail.
] kcJwed that somethin more than
common must be goin' on and went
over to see whot is mowt be. | discoV-
cred racer more than six foot long
which had just begun to take his lunch
off of a RATHER half his length.
He had the pizen pedler's head in
his mouth. and was workin' the rest OF
him down into his hold. The rattle
snake VAS switchin' his tail and wrig-
Gin like a skinned eel. / grabbed a
stick and punched the racer until he
spit the rattler out and the RATHER
turned and started to get away in the
culate 10 lose his dinner, not if he could
help it. He headed the RATHER off
every which way he'd turn. till by and
by the venomous critter stopped,
throwed himself into a coil and show
ed fight
Then there was fun! That blue
racer took on as if he was havin' more
larks than a passed. o. boys in swim
min He'd spring over that rattle
snake and stride around him in circles
and zigZag across him like fiashin' o.
lightin'. The racer'd edge up 10 within
easy distance o. the rattlesnake and
though rattler strikes about as quick
as gun goes OF. that racer'd dodge
the fang every time. some times passin'
under the rattlesnake's head. and
sometimes jumpin' clean over IT,
looked like two sparks q fire and mis-
tongue played in and out OF his mouth
like a SEWN machine shuttle passin'
to ana fro. He had struck at the racer
maybe j dozen times, the racer dom
the incest kind o ground and lofty
tumblin over him all the while. when
he raised his head for another ugly
dart, ana the racer lassoed him as
slick as a Mexican could "a slid his
rope round a wild steer. He had
throwed a loop of his timber body
round the rattler's neck. and he held
the wigglin' fang shower as if he was
in a wise. The rattlesnake's wind was
soon shet off. and it want TO use Of
his tryin' to strike. for the racer had
him SOS he couldn't turn his bead.
The rattlesnake give up his squirm-
in before long. but he KEEP right on
soundin his buttons. Then you ought
10 seen the cuteness o. that blue racer
biacksnake, He slid his coil up to the
rattler's head and pinned his mouth
tight shet. While he held the rattle
snake that way he throwed his own
Jaws open. and they could "a took in
a full-sized rabbit, and then showed
the rdttler's head in and closed down
on TO IL Then slidin' his coil down the
rattler's body he crammed the whole
business in after the head.
The Iattles never stopped rattlin' tin
they disappeared in the bIacksnAke's
nav In little more than ten min
utes' time that blue racer had pizen
enough slowed away inside of him TO
Kill a team o. tannery mules. 1t didn't
XII him, though, nor it wouldn't "a
But l hattened his head with n club
ana took him and his contents home
Young Women's Town. where live
used 10 be as good 4 place for rattlers
as any in the State. / kin remember
when you could hear EN- singin' anv
time o. day and folks didn't think
ihuch more of it than they do now o.
hearln' grasshoppers. For that mat
ter, the snakes was a blame sight bet
Ter than the grasshoppers. for they
! dldn I do no harm. But nowadays Won
can only hear a RATHER sing wunst i'm
d good while. and it kind O. makes me
lonesome when I think O. them old
times. New York Sun.