Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 May 1883 — NATURAL HISTORY. [ARTICLE]

NATURAL HISTORY.

One hundred and forty-seven makes were killed one day near Salesville, Montana. The Union Springs (N. Y.) Herald tells of a hen that laid two eggs on Sunday and three the next day. The canvas-back duck is domesticating itself in the inland lakes of lowa, and becoming quite plenty. A living tortoise is on exhibition $t Natchez which has not eaten anything to speak of for thirteen months. A pelican was killed near Batesville. Miss., which measured eight feet eight inches from tip to tip of wing. A Nobth Carolina trout dragged a boy under water. The man who saw the catastrophe shows the rescued boy and water in evidence. In a fight between a rat and a rattlesnake at Portland, Ora, the rat was victorious The snake was in a weak condition from want of food As a careless New Haven horse was going up to the watering-trough he stepped on a setter-dog’s tail as that animal was enjoying a snooze. The dog jumped up with a howl and sprang into the basin, just as the thirsty horse stuck his heated nostrils into the water, and floundered about so that the equine could not drink. The dog stopped three times, just long enough to let him try to drink, but each time shut him off by floundering about The horse gave it up in disgust, and the dog hopped out, seemingly satisfied with his revenge. Paul du Chaillu could hardly rake up a better panther story than the following from the Palatka (Fla.) Herald: “On Sunday last three colored men were out deer hunting near White’s log camp back of RollstOn. One of them was at his stand. The dogs were heard coming in that direction. Boon therfi was a terrible commotion In the bushes. the sound coming toward him. The darky, thinking it was a deer, stepped so as to get a fair shot, when suddenly a tremendous panther confronted him. Hearing a noise behind he looked round and, to hie surprise and horror, saw another in a tree, which he fired at ana killed just as it was in the act of springing upon him. The other immediately escaped, much, as the darky says, to his delight The one he killed measured seven feet, and the negro estimates the male to be twice as large.” Rome Sentinel: Henry Fish, of Lee Center, who has lately come from Lone Rock, Wia. says: “Andrew Harter, of Lone Rook, went out on a rocky part of his farm one day last spring, and, while looking around, saw the head of a rattlesnake protruding from a crevice in the rock. Taking in the general surroundings, he concluded that it must be a regular den of rattlesnakes, so he built a pen about ten feet square and three feet nigh about the place and awaited results. The pen was watched, and with a wire snare something like a fish snare seventy-nine snakes, varying in length from 18 Inches to 4% feet, were, during the summer, landed in a barrel placed inside the inclosure. Four of the largest were placed in the barrel on Decoration Day, and in November they were still alive. As they had been placed in the barrel as soon as they left their winter quarters, they had lived a whole year without anything to eat As the snakes bad not thawed out this spring when Mr. Fish left, it was not known whether they were still alive or not"