Mohave County miner., 1907-06-01
RattIer and kingsnake in Battle.

One of the fiercest and most san- guinary battles to the death between a large rattlesnake and kingsnake ever witnessed, took place in the edge of the great palm forest, south of Yucca, Arizona, few days ago. R. P. Wheel CT, superintendent of the Big Sandy mining company, and two companions were driving from Signal to Casten- ada's We'll and found the snakes in fierce combat in the road. For more than an hour they watched the tide of battle with unusual interest. The snakes fought warily, seeking advant- age, but like a flash the kingsnake gripped the rattler close to the head and was folding itself coil after coil around the body of its antagonist. Near the middle of the rattler the kingsnake had formed running knot of its body like figure 8 and in its creepy folds soon was crushing out the others life. With desperate effort the rattler freed its head from the grip of the kingsnake and like flash of light was sinking its deadly fangs into the others body. Time after time the rattler's head quivered and fash ed as it struck its poison flecked fangs against the sides of the writhing king 1,ct thnu haaanon foS- tened in its body, requiring an effort of the onlookers to loosen the hold. During all this time the snakes were writhing and beating up the sands of the road into such dust cloud that their movements could scarce be fol- lowed. Soon it developed that it was but matter of a little time until the kingsnake crushed out the life of the rattler, as he again had him in his deadly folds and again gripped him close to the head. The hour being late in the afternoon Mr. Wheeler and companions placed the snakes, still locked in their deadly coils, into a box and took them to Castenada's We'll, where they were dumped out and the fight continued. Within an hour the rat;ler was crushed into an inert mass. The kingsnake realizing that his foe was dead proceeded to investigate, and smelled his old enemy over carefully from head to tail. One of the men had removed the rattles from the rat tier toward the last of the battle and the stump was still bleeding. As the kingsnake came to the bleeding stump his body writhed and. swelled and his head raised and swayed from side to side and then descended onto the luckless tail with an angry swish. Then without further ceremony he proceeded to swallow his late enemy in the most approved canabalistic man. ner. In a short time he had onehalf of the rattler inside of him and then coiled his body around the remaining portion, and by drawing up the folds forced all but the head of the rattler into himself. The rattler's head was too large to freely enter the king snakes mouth, but not to be deprived of vestage of his old foe, the snake moved over to nearby rock and pres sing the head against the rock in a short time had pressed it past the dis. tended fragments of the mouth. The hard fought battle had been won and the victor having disposed of the spoil
 sluggishly and wearily dragged its battered and bleeding frame into 8 nearby bush, there to digest the dinner it had so hardly won. Four hours ha6 been consumed in the battle and de. glutition of the vanquished rattler.
 The supreme court of the United th l.x