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Show Ulli or llrplll nod I Ml. rrom the New York 1'reas: That mooted question of whether a good healthy water snsko can cope succets-fully succets-fully In mortal eombat with a pickerel haa been decided by a battlo In Like I'cnneeaccwaMc. of which William Oary nnd Kenneth Ourney wero witnesses. wit-nesses. The lake waters abound In large-sired pickerel and there It no other body ot water In Maine whero the water snake are to huge. Thoy are hnrmleta, hut If forced to a fight tih tn.m iir nth can nut un a aood scrap Their bite, while nut poisonous. Is rxertmely painful and oeryone gives them n wide berth In hot days they crawl to the branches of tho low bushra on the shore of the bogt and sun themselnt In contentment Many of the reptiles will measure over ten feet nnd few of them lme ever been captured. It a person approaches them whllo they aro apparently sleeping on kSiWtk Into tho water and escape, harm Ono day this summer, while tho weather was extremely wnrm. (lary and Ourney Our-ney woro on the lake trawling for salmon sal-mon from a canoe The boat had Just pasted tho edge of the bog where the snakes have their headquarters, when there was a splash In tho water and a churning that attracted tho attention ,,r IIia man In Ilia lmnf Thav iLipVed water with the oars and floated up to tea what was tha trouble. They wero surprltod to sea a huge black coll of shining skin writhing In the water and went closer to Investigate. They found that a water sunke nearly eight teet long hnd a pickerel In his grasp The fish must have weighed In the vicinity of three pounds and a fight was ou. The anako slowly uncoiled his body, when the pickerel darted out and quickly turned, making a swift lunge for the snake. The latter, however, how-ever, grabbed tho fish by the head and held him fast. In tho courta ot throe or four minutes tho snake again uncoiled un-coiled his body, und the pickerel, with a few faint motions, cama to tho top ot tho water for air. The snako lay still, but at Ilia mil showed slgnt ot returning life ha again grabbed him by tho head. Then tho body of the fish began be-gan to disappear slowly, and at list thero was no more pickerel In sight. Tho next day Ourney and (lary were on tha shore ot tho bog for frogs to ba used for bait, when they found the dead body of a big snake. They cut the rentlle open and found about half way down the throat tho body ot tho pickerel. Tho anako In awallowlng tho fish had rested for a breath of air, when tho fish again civmo lt life and, spreading his belly fins, had choked the anako to death. However, the men declare that tha snake won the fight, but was too anxious to celebrate hit victory, and thereby lost Ms own life. |
