Richmond [Va.] Dispatch.
The late Isaac White; of Farmington, Albemarle County, told me the following, which he got from Mrs. Marks. Meriwether Lewis, who first explored the Upper Missouri, the Rocky Mountains, and Oregon had started one afternoon to cross the Blue Ridge, and when near the summit was arrested by the spectacle of two snakes-a black and a rattlesnake- in the narrow road he was traveling. They were in coil, with upraised heads, darting out their tongues, and each intently gazing on the other. Suddenly the rattlesnake uncoiled and took to flight, but in an instant the black snake pursued and caught him by the neck, and quick as thought twined around him from head to tail, constricting him with a force that made the bones crack audibly. Then he lay motionless for some time, when, as if he thought his prey was dead, he began slowly to unwind. He had about half completed this process when the tail of the rattlesnake gave a slight quiver. As speedily as before the black whipped around him, gave another crushing hug, breaking bones as before, and again lay motionless, and for a longer time. Then more cautiously unwinding, he found the rattlesnake entirely dead, and began to swallow him. He had about half completed this operation when night began to come, and Mr. Lewis went on his way, not wishing to be belated in the mountains. Upon his return both snakes had disappeared.
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