Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1906-08-31

gehce to render effective aid. The
cobra glided on, and at intervals
lifted his head into the air, expand
ing his hoce, and turning his fiat,
evil head 70 one side and The other.
as If daring any one to bar his way.
| suddenly became aware that
somebody was moving across the
street straight toward the reptile.
Then | recognized the young Ameri-
ca girl whom had seen in the fore
noon. l stopped in establishment. I
saw the girl wave one hand warn
ingly toward her mother-who stood
speflbound on the sidewalk-and
then hurry on toward the serpent.
Could she be mad? Or was she
ignorant Of the reptiles presence
and path No, her gaze was direct
ed straight before her; and now 1
saw that she held some object in her
hand. The next moment she raised
the object to her mouth, and | hear |
the soft music of the harmonica.
At once l comprehended the mean
ing of the girls conduct She had
read about the power of music over
serpents, and had seen Arab show
men exercise it's influence. She was
now bent, in her self-reliant. daring
way, and in her pity for the helpless.
crippled woman. upon trying to di-
vert the excited, threatening reptile
from his path
l could not repress a cry of alarm
as l saw what she was attempting;
but l was too far away to interfere.
l could only look on, holding my
breath in anxiety. l saw her go up
to within ,wenty feet of the cobra's
path, then drop to one knee, and
there remain, playing and waiting,
as steadily as if she had done the
thing hundred times before.
The cobra raised his head and
stopped; he spread his hood wide.
He swayed his head back and forth
two or three times then he moved
slowly up out; OF the depression or
gutter in which he had been gliding,
and advanced toward the girl.
knew that professional snake
charmers often. draw these deadly
creatures from some lurking-p1ace in
a house, but they always have
saucer of milk ready, interposed be-
tween themselves and the serpent;
and the creature, in it's fondness for
milk, is led to eat, and then is cap
tured or killed.
But there was no object here in
terposed between the reptile and the
girl. What would happen when he
reached her, gliding so slowly row,
and yet with nervously darting head
and Pickering, forked tongue, dared
not think
I did not believe that her strength
would quite hold her up in her inn
pulsive purpose; therefore 1 was not
surprised, although l was horror
stricken, when saw her shrink back
as the fierce creature drew near.
Certainly she trembled, she tottered;
and the cobra was not FIVE feet ;way
from herl
At that moment / heard faint
scream from the terrified mother,
who seemed-like so many people in
Helwan-to be an invalid, as she
dropped in a heap on the sidewalk;
and I groaned in helpless sympathy.
Then came new and unexpected
episode in the drama The Egyptian
Snowman who had the mongoos was
{ zing at the extreme. end of the
white wall; and the mongoos-being
new fully rested-was walking, Sc
dately back and forth at the end of
his tether, with that appearance of
calm self-possession and conscious
power which these strange animals
show.
The mongoos is not "a native of
Egypt, but ofcIndia You see few
of them, however; in the possession
of the fellaheen 1t is possible that
this one had never seen a cobra, pos
sible also that the cobra had never
seen a mongoos; but between the
two species is fixed mortal an
tipathy. And the superiority is in
favor of the mongoos. which does
not move, ordinarily. with much
speed, but on occasion, like the rat
tlesnake, can spring with astonish-
Ing rapidity.
The mongoos was pacing slowly
back and forth, It the full length OF