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KILLED THE COBRA.
Methods of a Mongoose In Attacking
the Big Snake.
I had the good fortune to witness a
flight between a four foot cobra and
capeilo and a mongoose.
On first catching sight of the cobra,
rlkki tik (as Kudyard Kipling calls the
Indian mongoosei quietly smelled its
tail and then hung around awaiting
events with curiosity, but he had not
long to wait, for the cobra spread its
hood, hissed out its death seuteuce and
prepared to dart from its coil at its
natural and hated enemy.
Now commenced a most interesting
and deadly b.-iitle of feint and couuter
feint by the mongoose and strike and
lightning-like leeoverv by his adver
sary, who was also on the defensive,
all the time watching for the opportu
nity to get In his properly aimed late.
Time after time nkki tik squirmed
slowly up to within reach of those !er
rible fangs, belly on ground, with ev
ery gray hair of his body erect with
singer and excitement. Ins eyes glaring
from.his head, which, by the way. lie
invariably held sideways during ibis
approach and attack, out the moment
the cobra struck u: a Hash back sprang
master mongoose, aid. although often
it appeared as if impossible that lie
could have escaped i he dreaded fangs,
ne'er a scratch harmed him. ai.d there
be would be again wearing the cobra
out and pressing his advantage im h
by inch. At last, with a growl and
sharp rikki cry. the plucky little beast
flew in. avoided the strike and seized
the snake behind the head, never for a
moment getting under his mouth, hut
right at the nape of the neck and
head, which he scrunched with a loud
cracking sound despite the struggles
and twisting and turning of the cobra.
Again and again rikki returned to the
now writhing reptile and hit its head
and body until it lay dying.
Finally he ate three or four inches
of his mortal foe, but carefully avoided
eating the fangs and poison glands,
which 1 picked up by a stick and
found them broken, but with the ven
om sacks attached.
Contrary to popular belief. I am of
opinion the mongoose is not immune
from snake poison, else why should he
so particularly and carefully avoid be
ing bitten? It is only by his marvel
ous activity that he escapes the spring
and darting strike of his deadly ene
my, the cobra de capeilo. Ceylon
Times.
DESTROYED BY CHEMICALS.
Weapons Used by Assassins Against
Royal Personages.
Very few people are aware that as
soon as the trial of an assassin of
royalty is concluded the weapon with
which he accomplished his crime is
carefully destroyed so that no trace of
it remains.
The reason of this is twofold —first
of all, the possibility exists that at
some time or other the weapons used
in a royal tragedy may Lx* exhibited to
the public in some museum or show,
and. second, there is a strange super
stitious dread existing among reigning
houses that the existence of the inno
cent but unhallowed weapons by
which rulers have been dispatched to
eternity is fraught with peril to their
descendants.
The method of destroying these
weapons is a curious one. The wooden
portions, such as the stocks of pistols
or the handles of poiuards, are burned,
and the metal portions are eaten away
in a bath of nitric acid.
This has been the custom ever since
the attempted assassination of Queen
Isabella of Spain in IS.Y2 by Merius.
Prior to that date the metal work of
firearms or knives was ground or filed
away, but the blade of the dagger with
which Merius sought to execute his
dastardly crime proved to be of such
exquisite temper and hardness that it
resisted both file and grindstone.
This became known to the populace,
and the superstitious Spaniards believ
ed that Merius had invested his weap
on with magical qualities. To divest
them of this absurd belief the authori
ties had the weapon destroyed by im
mersing it in chemicals, a rule that
has been followed ever since.
High Class Suicide.
In China suicide has been a fine art
for several centuries. If a mandarin is
guilty of misconduct he is requested
to put himself out of ttie land of the
living. There is a distinction, too, in
the manner in which ttie oriental may
die. If he is of exalted rank and enti
tled to wear ttie peacock feather tie is
privileged to choke himself to death
with gold leaf. This is regarded as a
distinguished manner of ending life.
If the mandarin is only of the rank
that is entitled to wear the red button
he must be content with strangling
himself with a silken cord. Such are
the distinctions of caste.
•
Financial Information.
“So yon at last yielded to that man’s
importunities and gave him some tips
on the market?"
“Yes." answered Mr. Dustin Stax.
“What happened ?”
"Well, they turned out so badly that
I’m mighty glad 1 didn’t Invest any
money •** ’em myself.”—Washington
Star.
ODD ELECTION SIGNS.
Th Signs Ars In Washington, ths
Elections Elsewhere.
“Of course we don’t have any elec
tions of our own," said a man from
Washington, "but we have election iu
timations. If 1 may call them that,
which can’t be duplicated anywhere
else in the country.
"You see, when we Washingtonians
want to vote we’ve got to do it some
where else, and as most of us have a
lingering fondness for the franchise
we are pretty likely to hang on to a
residence somewhere outside the Dis
trict.
“We especially like to do it because
it makes us feel as if we bad some
sort of weapon to flourish before the
observing eyes of the politicians who
may have something to say about our
hold on our jobs, and when the time
comes to go home to vote we visibly
swell wi:h importance.
“Natnrail.v a national election is the
one tinu cinches us ail at once, and it
is then that tin* intimations I spoke of
do most nbor.ml. The papers are full
of advertisements of loans for election
expenses. Department He; ns can be
accommodated with sums covering
their railway fare, n, w cb tiles for
the trip and a substantial margin over
and above necessary items. The inter
est is a bit high, but a clerk who is
pining to go back home to splurge a
hit is willing to mortgage his re
sources for the pleasure.
"These offers of loans fill columns
of the daily papers. Alongside of them
are other advertisements, all turning
on the one theme, the election. ‘Buy
yourself anew suit to go home and
vote in!’ The grammar is a hit off.
hut the prices are asserted to be all
right.
"In the shop windows there are doz
ens of election placards: 'Just the hat
to wear when you go home to vote.’
‘Specials in suit cases for the election,’
‘Take a souvenir hatpin to your best
girl when you go home to vote.’
‘Swell suit for the election, only Si a
week.’ and in a shoe store window,
‘Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are
marching—home lo vote; wear ’s
shoes and you won’t get sore feet!’
“The railways offer special rates to
voters, and so it goes. You won’t find
anything like it in any other town.”—
New York Sun.
EASILY MANAGED.
The Clever Scheme Evolved by the
Clock Winder.
The contract for keeping the church
and town hall clocks in order was giv
en to anew man. Unfortunately from
the start he experienced a difficulty in
getting the clocks to strike at the same
time. At last the district council re
quested an interview with the watch
maker.
"You are not so successful with the
clocks as your predecessor.” be was
told. “It is very misleading'to have
one clock striking three or four min
utes after the other. Before you took
them in band we could hardly tell the
two were striking. Surely you are as
competent?”
“Every workman lias his own meth
ods, gentlemen.” replied the watch
maker. “and mine ain't the same as
ll.’s wore.”
“I'm decidedly of the opinion that it
would be for the general good if they
were." remarked one of the councilors.
“Very well. sir. in future they shall
he." came the reply. "I happened to
write to him last week about the trou
ble I had with the clocks, and—hut
perhaps," tie added as he produced a
letter and handed it to the chairman,
"you'd like to see what he said.”
"Dear sir.” ran tlie letter—“about
them clocks. When you get to know
what a cantankerous lot of busy bodies
the council consists of you'll do the
same its I did for fifteen years-forget
to wind up the striker of the town hall
clock, and the blooming jackasses
won’t be able to tell that both clocks
ain't striking together!"-London Tit-
Bits.
Curious Laws In India.
Some of tlte old laws ot Nepal, In
dia. were curious. Killing cows ranked
with murder as a capital offense, for
instance. Every girl si t birtli was
married with great ceremony to a
betel fruit, which was tlien east into a
sacred stream. As the fate of the
fruit was uncertain, the girl was sup
posed never to become a widow, i'o
obtain divorce from a husband a wife
had only to place a betel nut under his
pillow and depart. In Nepal tlte day is
considered to liegin when it is light
enough to count the tiles on the roof
or distinguish the hairs on a man’s
hand against the sky.
Ancient Sacrifices.
• Many Roman and Creek epicures
were very fond of dog flesh. Before
Christianity was established
the Dimes on every ninth year ninety
nine dogs were sacrificed. 1 11 Sweden
each ninth day liinety-uiue dogs were
destroyed. But later on dogs were not
thought good enough, and every ninth
year ninety-nine human beings were
immolated, the sous of the reigning
tyrant among the rest, in order that
the life of the monarch might be pro
longed.
Free= —=—=Free
——Absolutely Free= —
AT
Smith hC&Y&Yo&Ye Cos.
TO THE PERSON PLACING THE
Keen K inter Puzzle
TOGETHER IN THE SHORTEST TIME ON
Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 20-21
Will receive, absolutely free, one of the handsome
prizes, which consist of a
$7.50 Keen Kutter Tool Set $5.00 Keen Kutter Safety Razor (Gold
5.00 Keen Kutter Silver Knives and Plated)
Forks 6.50 Keen Kutter Scissors Set
It doesn’t matter how long it takes you, just so vou put it together
in the shortest time. Two are sure to win. You may be the one.
After TUESDAY, and continuing through FRIDAY, the one plac
ing the puzzle together in one hour, or less time, will receive a prize.
It has been put together in 26 minutes. Don’t torget the time and
place.
™ E DECEMBER 20-24 PLACE
Smith AC&Y&mYe Cos.
WINDER, : : : GEORGIA.
Tfir f VDir WEDNESDAY
I Oil LI ML December 22
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