Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-06-30
Miseellaneulls 8taains.
A CIRCUS MANS TALE.
Peeky the Monsoose and a Fer de-
Lance.

with one Of the Wombwell road
shows, and took the place in the
snakehouse because Jock Pennington,
the man who taught me how to ham
die lions, was employed there as one
Of the head keepers.
Snakes weren't exactly Jocks line,
but he took the berth to earn a great
big salary, and even If he didn't like
his charges from the twenty-eight-
foot rock python to the ugly-horned
viper of Egypt, the money was COM
ing his way, and that's what we're all
in this world for, you know, to make
the dollars.
Among the snakes were three
splendid specimens of the fer-de-
lance or yellow viper Of Martinique,
Indian kind and thought by some to
be even more deadly than the cobra
de capello of India. Two of the
snakes were kept in the same apart
ment, but the third, the largest of the
lot, had a place to himself, a big
glass house about 20 feet by IL, that
had once been occupied by two Amer
lean rattlesnakes. The rattlers had
died and the yellow boy fell heir to
their comfortable home.
II want to tell you this, although
you might not believe it: Those dan
dies Of Vienna are sports and are al
ways keen for some sport out Of the
ordinary or that affords a chance to
offer and take wagers. Several of
them, students at the military acaG-
emy, young fellows of noble family
and great influence, were regular WIS.,
itors to the snakehouse, and they ap-
peared to take great interest in the
big fer-de-lance. They'd stand by the
den gazing intently through the glass
at the snake and carry on an anima-
ted conversation in their native Ian
guage, which of course could not un-
in the visitors that Jock, who had a
scant knowledge Of the lingo, told me
one afternoon that the toffs were de-
batting as to what chance Peeky, the
mongoose in the animal house, would
have with the reptile.
"A few days after this Jock came
to me with establishment written on
his face; he'd received an order from
the royal board Of directors to put the
serpent and the ichneumon together
for the benefit of science the next
morning at 10 o'clock.
I'm the morning the reptile house
was kept clear Of visitors, but along
about $50 the directors, eight or ten
of them, came with the lads from the
military school.
Jock took Peeky from the keeper
and opening a slide in the fer-de-
lance's den cast the little animal into
the compartment. The snake on the
instant showed great excitement. He
glided around rapidly in a short cir
Gle, and suddenly threw himself into
coil in 6. corner Of the cage. His
head was reared on long arched
neck, and his horned tail, which
shows it's relationship to the rattle
snake brood, protruded from the rear
Of the folds. Altogether he was an
ugly and very formidable sight.
"Peeky, upon being put into the
den, stood motionless, with his gray
ish coat bristling, his forepaws close
together his head lowered almost to
the paved floor, and his tail dropping.
The enemies were separated by the
length of the compartment, but we all
knew the power Of the fer-de-lance in
casting and expected to see the battle
open at any moment. And our expec-
tations were realized.
1.-THE snakes folds frightened, his
neck extended, his head was drawn
down almost to the top coil, and then
like an arrow from the bow he cast
That seven feet Of snake shot through
space like a yellow streak, and the
throw was a marvellous one, and di-
rected with a nice precision. The
snake dropped in circle, with jaws
wide open, ready to strike, within an
inch Of where the mongoose had been,
but Peeky was out Of danger the in
stant the cast was made, and almost
ed like the ichneumon was running
away, but as it afterward developed,
he was showing rare generalship and
playing waiting game.
The snake, somewhat shaken from
it's terrific exertion in making nearly
an eighteen-foot spring, quivered
from the tip of his nose to the point Of
his horny tail, but he recovered and
coiled again. He remained in the
coil for a full five minutes, his head
raised on the lengthening and short
ening neck, watching with beady eyes
his crafty enemy, who was on the
other side of the compartment, stand"
ing as he had first stood.
The fer-de-lance concluded to try
again, and in an undulating ribbon Of
black and yellow his scaly body a
second time flew through the air. The
first chapter was repeated Peeky
was on the other side of the den be-
fore the serpent had landed, and then
the snake in wild fury turned, and
glided toward the mongoose The ich-
neumon, seeing his foeman pursue
new tactics, developed another plan
himself, and instead of running away
he slowly crept forward to meet the
snake, his long, 1.-the body almost
touching the floor. The snake stop
ped still with it's length extending in
a curved line on the pavement, but
raised it's head menacingly.
The mongoose advanced right up
to the snake and paused, too, and the
two enemies looked steadily into each
others eyes. Talk about snakes
charming animals-why, 1t looked
just as though Peeky was charming
that fer-de-lance, for from the time
that Peeky caught the reptiles eye
the creature seemed powerless.
1.-The two remained like figures
carved Of stone for over a minute, and
then the mongoose quickly thrust for
ward his head and brought his nose