The San Francisco call., 1913-08-25
THRILLING COMBAT
BETWEEN SNAKES
Florida Man Is Held Spell
bound by Battle in the :
Everglades

fail to the lot OF many TO witness, nor
do any seek the excitement, Of a
snake fight. r. F. Bettis is civil en-
gineer located here and his work takes
him4 into the Virgin wilderness. dense
hammocks. where the sun penetrates
only al high noon, which land when
cleared furnishes the earliest vegeta-
bles from the south TO those of wide
and deep purses.
Although Mr. Belts has spent some
10 years in following his profession, he
has had but few experiences with snakes
because, contrary to popular belief
there are not many snakes in Florida
Recently he was cutting saw palmetto
when a rattler. coiied and ready to
strike, disputed his right TO disturb his
eminent domain. To hesitate or to re-
treat was 10 court death, and without
| false move he let his machete descend,
cutting the shake in five pieces as the
blade went through the coil of the ser
pent
THAT was the nearest | ever came TO
being the principal character OF a.
funeral said Mr.. Bettis, but a couple
of years ago l had a scare which set
me back in growth about ten years
was surveying a low hammock when
felt something glide over my shoes and
between my legs. ] jumped back, COM
pletely frightened, ( must admit, and
took position on a cypress stump.
where / tried to locate the enenly-N /
am slightly deaf but I distin guished
! the spit of snake, and q nlusty odor
came to my nostrils. Soon II noticed
the small undergrowth swaying, and
thought from the movement that was
in a nest of snakes and they were bent
on attacking me. Snakes seemed 10 be
all around me.
Occasionally | got glimpse of a
writhins body gliding swiftly about me
then again I saw two snakes at the
same time. Looking about there were
| indications that there were hundreds
of snakes surrounding the stump. I
stood my ground for fully half hour,
! the sweat pouring out of every pore
cold. clammy sweat. | had no pro-
lection against the snakes except q
good pair of boots
After a while things began to quiet
down and the snakes seemed to have
moved on TO other haunts. / got off
my perch and, picking up stout stick,
started my work. l had gone but 40
feet square. and there were, two i'm
mense snakes chasing each other
about One was.a rattler about seven
feet long and king snake eight feet
long These two snakes had been the
cause of all my alarm. They were en-
| gagged in q battle unto death, and had
1 had of meeting them.
II wanted to get away from the sight
of the contest, but could not. My mind
told me to beat a retreat but my legs
would not respond to the thought. 1t
was very much like bicycle rider who
sees a rut in the road and knows that
he must steer clear of 1t, but the mus
cles OF his arm will not act in unison
with the thought, and he goes into the
rut. / knew | was in danger. The
snakes were moving this way and that
way, lodging, cutting all manner of
angles; the king chasing the rattler,
and then the rattler chasing the king.
1t was impossible for the eye to follow
their quick movements. They passed
how / shuddered. But I was glued to
the spot, fascinated by the battle royal
before me. For 90 minutes the snakes
spared for an opening--the rattler
striking yiciously, the king trying to
get a hold of the rattlers neck. The
air was nasty With odor; the backs of
the snakes glistened as il smeared
with Gil, while their eyes glistened
venom
Finally the king rounded up the rat
tier. The circle became smaller and
smaller, and the rattler took his last
stand in the center OF the~clearing
coiled, and was ready for business. The
king began sparring for an opening. 1t
would glide back 10 feet with eyes fixed
on those of the rattier. which swayed
its head from side to side to ward off
any solar plexus blow The king would
lie motionless for a few seconds and
then dart forward like shot. The rat
tier would strike viciously in the direc-
tion of the king, which would check it's
forward motion just outside the danger
zone.
THE rattler rcposed in it's coil-the e
king Strengthened out to its full length
neither snake relaxed it's glare for a
second. One minute, two minutes. three
the suspense was telling on me.
wanted to shout, or swab down the
snakes. or fan them, or do something
ridiculous. -Four minutes-it seemed
four years-five minutes-tfc kings
stare disconnected the rattler.
That eight feet OF inanimate reptile
sprung into life like a large spring re-
lieved of its tension. With a power in
describa BILE it bowed in the middle, shot
into the air, and. with wide distended
mouth landed on the RATHER This was
all I could see for two minutes. When
the wriggiing, writhing mass could be
distinguished l saw that the king had q
grip on the rattler just behind its jaws.
1t was snake strength against snake
strength. s At times both snakes were
poised straight into the air, with but q
few inches of their tails on the ground.
Then again they would be twisted
into ball and rolled over and over,
and when the rattier shook off his op-
ponent they would lie distended full
length on the ground. Never for q
second did the snakes cease their
struggles
This cling hold fight continued for
j. minutes, when the king snake, with
a quick movement wound it's body time
after time around the body of the rat
tier, and kept the rattler's body dis
tended.
You could see the kings body culver
and tighten. the glistening sides creep
ing over itself. The rattlers bones were
hard to crack. It ceased to struggle and
laid its head to one side in agony or
faintness. The king did not relax its
Fhold, but as an extra precaufion tight
ened its coils. Both snakes were lying
straight out on the ground-the king s
body wrapped four times about that of
the RATHER The rattler madefutile at
tempts to renew its attack. At every
attempt the king would put the screws
on him. The king was wary old
! fighter. He knew the snake was not
/ dead until its tail stopped wriggling
after the sun went down. For five
minutes both snakes laid as If dead.
/ Then the rattler raised its tall and
shook its warning rattlers. 1t was its
| last rattle. The king made a super
human effort and literally crushed the
RATHER into pulp. The king slung off
/ the RATHER, moved off within FIVE feet,
! laid With its eyes fixed on the rattler
and seemed to breathe a sigh OF relief.