New-York tribune., 1920-04-04


moving to the assault.
"The jararaca prepared hs 4.
fense. He opened his mouth To ~,
full limit and threw himself on ~
body of his enemy, sinking IN III
venomous teeth and wsitea
Experience had fixed In his br,,,
the story of so many victories AZ
tanned by the slight effort Of
single thrust Of his sharp teeth. n.
recalled struggles with the jagua,
and the tamandoua and the sviA
death of large animals overcomeb,
a few drops Of poison.
1.-The little eyes Of the iarar.,,
fixed the mussurana, who sought IA
clamp in his spirals the body Of n.
venomous serpent and seemed "a
grimace in mockery. There was nj
long to wait The mussurana cauv,a
the body Of his adversary in tvs
turns OF the spiral and held him 1,
knot of iron, while he sought III.
head for the final blow. There ws,
no impatience. 1t was the work q
strength that spares itself. VIII
hurry when victory Is inevitable?
A Misplaced Faith
"The iararaca was frightened
They were false, then, those prom
Uses Of his parents, who during tho
long hours Of the siesta had nan
rated stories Of victory, who had
told him the function of his venom
who had told him the infallibility
of his poison fangs! Why did not
his adversary give up and WHY
were those spirals so uncomfortable
and SO binding? Already the solid
head Of the mussurana seemed to
race back and forth along the body
Of his enemy, the vibrating tongue
searching for the throat. and aftsl
many useless attempts at last th(
enormous mouth opened read for III,
assault. Resistance was vain. Thu
spirals of the mussurana squeezed
closer and closer the body Of tM
jararaca, whose head sought IA
escape the kiss Of death.
"The naussurana understood th
situation. He opened his mouth 10
the full extent, and rapidly, ener.
getically, certainly seized the throat
of his adversary. 1t was tho end
of the battle and the mussursna
began his repast. Slowly, little B!
little, he swallowed his adversary,
until, inert, he rested extended a
full length, enjoying his Pantagruet
istic feast"
Enemies of the Rather
This description would well fit 1,
battle Of a king snake or a baa
snake with n rattler. Both thsa
snakes, as are all the enemies Of ths
poison snakes, are constructors, aM'
one Of the great advantages theft
possess over the poison snakes q
their superior quickness. The poi
son snakes are naturally somewhal
sluggish and, contrary TO the usual
belief, do not make the first ettsek
except when they are in search q
food. At other times the ATTACH
with them is their means OF defensa
The copperhead VIII invariab5
seek safety IN flight and will or!
attack when cornered, but then h.
is quite as fierce and dangerous n
any of his brothers. The RATHER 4
quicker to fight than the copper
head and is not so likely TO run away,
but he viii often suffer considerable
annoyance and teasing before h
will fight. The cotton -nouthea
water moccasin Is the only one o.!
the pit vipers that attacks by pres
erence, and it Is this characteristic
that makes him so dreaded by thu
workers in the Southern rice field
and swamp lands.
Dr.. S. Weir Mitchell, who n,aOs
an extensive study of snakes ana
their poisons, has described tn
action Of rattlesnale in battle ans
disposed Of several myths. IN
Mitchell says:
"When the rattlesnake Is IN re
pose and unmolested it sometlme'
lies at length. sometimes coiled o.
wrapped fold on fold in the loop
formed by other snakes. So sool,
however, as cause is seen for alsr'
! the snake eXtricates itself, II among
the others, and at once throws itsei
into the coil so familiar TO any ON
who has seen serpents, whether y'N
omous or not. Sometimes on TN
edge, more often in the center q
the coil, the tail projects far enouli
to permit of its vibrating freely sha
with singular swiftness. Expsrl'