ENCOUNTER WITH A RATTLE SNAKE

Hot Lakes Chronicle, Volume 2, Issue 127, 26 June 1895, Page 3

ENCOUNTER WITH A RATTLE SNAKE

"In company with a half-breed, who combiued the vocations of woodman and hunter," says a writer in the Statesman of India signing himself "RM." "I stumbled suddenly on a large species of the Crotalusmutus plowly winding its way among the leafy debris of the forest. "For Rome time it was difficult to discern the scaly folds of the snake through the brown mass of decaying foliage; but, having reached a clear spot, the reptile coiled round a low stump and prepared for action. About a yard of tho body next the head was contrasted into numerous sharp curves not unlike a coikscrew, while the yellow eyes gleamed with a baleful light. There was a little fascination about these orbs, and no mistaking the malignant intentions of their owner.

"A stick brought within reach of that mortal coil was struck with almost the rapidity of lightning, no matter how swiftly withdrawn. This was effected by the instantaneous straightening of the short curves into which this portion of the body had been contracted Even the wily mongoose would have needed all his agility to avoid the deadly stroke if once within range. The reach was about a yard, and the assault wati delivered horizontally son 9 6io from the ground directly towards the assailant. " The hunter, who had hithorto kept at a respectful distance, as he I alleged the Bnako could spring was eventually persuaded to approach sufficiently near enough to strike it with a ten-foot pole. At the first blow tho heavv coils relaxed from the itump, and the creature appeared dead or stunned. "The wiiter at once grasped the neck about 2in from the head, and raised the reptile partly from the ground to examine it. As though galvanised into Jife by tho touch, the crotalus seemed at onco to recover its energies, and swiftly made a couple of turns round tho thigh and right arm of its would be captor. The constricting power exercised was such that the hand grasping the neck soon began to lose power, and the writer realised the awkward predicament into which his temerity had led him Little could ba done with the free left hand, while the 'scaly terror' began slowly to withdraw its head from the relaxing grasp of the right. "For some seconds tho trembling woodman appeared deaf to entreaty, and could not be persuaded to apply a noose of liana to the snake's neck. The largest serpents become paralysed when properly noosed, and are dragged along the grouud as helpless as a log. Just as the snako's head seemed about to loose through the numbed fingers, the half bred screwed up his courage sufficiently to apply the liana, vs directed, with the result that the brute at once relaxed its coils, and was dragged to a stream, hung up, and skinned. It measured Bft sin and was about as thick in the largest part of tho body as the calf of a man's leg. "The fangs, which were carefully extracted, measured liin in length, and were hollow to within a Bhort distance of the point where, on the inner side, lay the orifice through which the poison was ejected by tbe action ef the base of the fang on the small bag in which it was secreted. On squeezing the bag a small quantity of poison—a yellowish fluid—passed down the hollow in the tooth, and gathered in a tiny drop of concentrated death. "The stomach contained two woodrats about the size of guinea pigs one partially digested, the other re-, cently swallowed."