A TERRIFIC COMBAT.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1245, 12 January 1883, Page 3

A TERRIFIC COMBAT.

The following account of a fight between a snake and a rat, is extracted from a Californian paper, the “ Stockton Mail,” near which city the encounter is said to have been witnessed ; and has rather less impossible air about it that most newspaper yarns, in which the “ Ophida ” plays a part:— The snake was of unusual size, and I of a different appearance from those commonly found in water. The rat was of the ordinary brown variety, and was running along the shore when the fight began. The snake was coiled upon a little point of mud just above the water, sunning itself, and probably asleep. The rat, apparently without noticing the snake, jumped directly upon the folds of the serpent’s body. The snake struck instantly, fastening its fangs between the rat's shoulders. Then began a contest that, in its small way, was truly thrilling. The rat, struggling violently, endeavored to shake itself free, while the snake as persistently endeavored to drag the head of its victim into its own mouth. This feat it was at first unable to accomplish. The rat writhed in its convulsive efforts to escape, bit the big snake severely in the neck, just at the back of the head, until the blood flowed and mixed with its own. The counterattacks became at last so savagely painful, that the snake loosened its grip, remaining, however, in half-coil. But the respite was too brief to afford the rat an opportunity to escape, for again the snake's fierce jaws descended and closed, this time around the rat's head. The heavy body of the rat swayed violently, but dragged with it the head of the snake, until the latter was completely out of coil. By this time, however, the rat’s struggle had become comparatively faint, and the snake was apparently the victor. But the next moment the snake in its turn began to struggle violently, as if to release its adversary's head, but ineffectually, and the reason was soon apparent. The rat had bitten quite through the snake's throat, and its sharp teeth could be distinctly seen in the narrow slit they made. The writhings of the snake were now intense. It lashed the ground with its tail, and raised its thick folds to almost half its length from the ground. The spectator stood hesitating, scarcely knowing whether he ought or not to interfere. The next moment, the snake, with one last convulsive effort, threw half its length into the muddy water, and the doughty twain sank together to a common death.