The New York herald., 1922-05-28


wv and bulldog, conflicts between domesticated
animals are usually Of short duration. End
ing as they the contestants taking
refuge in fighl the no casualties to speak of
and often the vanqushed is unmarked the victor
when it speeds away from its stronger adversary.
But when wild creatures of the plains Jungle meet
settle argument the contest generally never is
decided until of the participants is hors de
bat and possibly devoured by the victor
This great division of natural history has fur
nished many such combats some of them between
natural enemies, while others staged by wild ami
mails that seldom have occasion to meet each other
on the field of battle. Theodore Roosevelts descrip
ton of the battle between non-poisonous massurama
snake and the deadly ferdeance which he witnessed
while on his memorable exploration of the unknown
ungles of the Amazon in 1918. furnishes ample proof
of the desperate contests take place whenever
natural enemies meet In mis- book, Through the
Brazilian Wilderness" Roosevelt vvidy describes this
struggle for mastery in the following words
1T was the fer-delance that began the fight IL
showed no fear whatever of it's oe but its irritable
temper was aroused by the proximity and actions Oh
the other and like fash it drew back its head ana
struck burying it's angs in the forward part OF the
massuramas body Immediately the latter struck In
that it was difficult to just what had happened:
There was tremendous writhing and struggle on the
mart of the fer-delance; and then, leaning over the
knot into which the two serpents were twisted saw
that the massurama had seized the ferdeance by the
lower Jaw putting its head completely into the
WIDE gaping mouth of the poisonous snake. The long
fangs we're just above the massurama's head, and 1t
appeared that they once again driven into the
massurama, but without the slightest effect.
Meanwhile the massurama chewing hard and
gradually shifted it's grip little by little until 1t got the
top of the head of ferdelance in its mouth, the
lower law of the ferdelance being spread out to
side. The venomous snake was helpless in vain 1t
wrthed and struggled. But nothing availed it. Once
or twice the massurama took turn around the mid
die of the body of its opponent but it did not seem to
press hard and apparently used its coils chiefly in
order to get better grip to crush the head Of
its antagonist to hold the latter in place This
crushing done by it's teeth and the repeated bites
were made with such effort that the muscles stood out
on the massurama's neck"
Col. Roosevelt later continues the story by telling
how the harmless massurama, which is blackish
pent something like king snake of the South
ern States proceeded dispose of its conquered ad
versary. He says:
when satisfied that the fer-de-lance dead the
massurama began to try to get the head in its mouth
After period of continued effort the head finally was
taken completely inside and swallowed After this the
massurama proceeded deliberately but with unbroken
speed to devour its opponent by the simple process of
crawling outside It, the body and tall of the ferde
lance wrhng and struggling until the last Not only
was the massurama totally indifferent to presence
but it was totally Indifferent to being handled while
the meal was going on. Several times I placed the
combatants in a convenient position to just
what was taking place, and the and certainty
with which the terrible poisonous snake mas
tered gave the heartiest respect and liking for the
easy going good natured and exceedingly efficient
serpent which had been holding"
Rudyard Kipling has immortalized the little In
dian mongoose, that tiny, creature that takes
perfect delight in conquerng the exceedingly
Gus cobra-de-capeo, the most terrible snake of all
Oriental countries Everybody is familiar with the
manner in which this nimble animal, with lightning
like grasps the cobra in the neck right at
the base o. the skull and sinks its sharp teeth straight
the spinal cord of the serpent. Motion pictures
have taken of these combas and rapid is the
action of the in getting its hold that
the lens OF the taxed to the utmost to catch
its 1.-THE form without burring the flm Another still
smaller animal the lerot destroys venomous snakes
by engaging them in combat but of its size
vents IL from being efficient the mongoose. The
latter-Rikkitkki-tavvi," Kpling calls it in one
of his stories-can always be depended upon to come
OF victorious in every encounter with cobra, and