210 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
king snake, not above four feet long, pursue a rattlesnake of equal length, 
which it soon caught, and a death struggle ensued. The poisonous reptile 
appeared to be well aware of the power possessed by its antagonist, and tried 
hard to escape, but when overtaken offered the best defence it was capable of 
giving. The king snake was extremely wary and moved from one side of his 
foe to another with wonderful celerity until an opportune moment, when it 
struck the rattler on the neck and there holding fast to his advantage, on the 
next instant entwined itself about his enemy’s body, a hold that was not relin¬ 
quished until the venomous reptile was squeezed to death. 
The king snake never, I believe, exceeds five feet in length, and its 
food is rats, mice, frogs, and birds. Some maintain that it swallows the 
snakes which it kills, but this asser¬ 
tion is lacking of proof. On the con¬ 
trary, in two instances which fell un¬ 
der my observation, when a king snake 
killed its adversary, one of which is 
described above, no attempt was made 
to swallow the carcase. 
The Chicken Snake ( Coluber 
quadrivittatus) , as before stated, re¬ 
sembles the king snake, except that it 
is somewhat thicker of body. The 
coloring of each is a dark olive with 
four longitudinal bands of brown 
sprinkled with white. It is a frequent 
visitor to houses and corn cribs, and 
in the latter place creates great havoc 
among mice and rats. It is charged 
with being a chicken thief, but cer¬ 
tainly does not devour anything larger 
than chicks, and though familiar with 
the reptile for many years, I know 
of no instance where it has molested 
even these. 
The Corn Snake ( Coluber gut- 
tatus) is not a rare reptile in the 
Western States, though seldom seen 
on account of its nocturnal habits. 
It is usually about four feet long and most beautifully colored, the body 
being of a light brown, while along the spine is a row of oblong red spots 
having yellow edges. The belly is of a pearly white. 
The House Snake ( Ophibalus triangulus ), though not nearly as large as 
the corn snake, bears a striking resemblance to it in color, the markings being 
very similar though somewhat brighter. I have never seen a specimen that 
measured above two feet, though some naturalists give its length as four feet, 
of which I am doubtful. It prefers the dwelling places of man, and seems 
anxious to establish amicable relations with housewives over whose crocks of 
milk it exercises a zealous care, skimming off the cream whenever opportunity 
offers. At least this habit is charged to it though I have never seen any proof 
A SNAKE EATING BRAZILIAN. 
