The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-06-09
TIE sERpENTs OF FLORIDA.
An Invctcraie Fi,hermcn'H rive " inter
Where They Iurk.


You may spend the whole winter nshing
and hunting in Florida, and NOT see II snak"
This is easily explained. For years the PENN.
sNla has been vast cattle range. During
spr1nC and autumn COW boys bur9 the dry
prairics and savannas to keep the grass FRESH
and green. These fires spread to scrub anu
harAmocks, and thousands Of reptiles perish
On walking over the blaCkened ground, IL !s
not uncommon to see the tail OF dead snake
protruding from mole hole, Caught by the
fire in an effort to escape, he is burned 10
death.
Of the different species Of snakes only two
are thought TO be poisonous. lhey are the
moccasin and the rutrlesnakc. Their venom
readily Yields to the whisky treatment If tax.
en- I'm time, although this measure depends
upon the location Of the bite. It's said that
n man in Alachua county died within i've
minutes after being bitten, The reptile
fangs struck him IN the neck while he was
sleeping and elected poison INTO the JugulaF
VEN MoCCaSlns are divided INTO four
classes, the cOttOn.mOuth the stumptall, a
water mOcCasin, similar TO our water pl!o',
and an upland moccasln, resembling a cop,
perhead in shape, and fully as deadly. |
gather this information from the natives ana
from five winters of personal experience.
lies. The most vlruent is the ground rattler.
1t Is between twelve and twenty inches long,
and not much larger tkan common lead
pencil 1t coils springs its tiny rattle, and
Jumps the same as its larger brother. lis
skin is q bright black in color; but the dia,
mond marks are not so clearly defined as in
the big RATHER. During the hot summer days
it lies under sand.sweeping palrAetto ians, or
creeps into gardens and sleeps IN the shade o!
the Cabbages and bananas. In clearing up
litter, n man light easily pick up one una.
wars. Lieut. Wright, of the United States
Coast Survey, tells me that he found them
very numerous in the salt water marshes be.
tween Dummitt's grove and Banana creek,
In one day he crushed two beneath his boot
heel Last summer DR.. Fox and Capt. Sans
of New Smyrna were running Wild cat On
a small palmetto island, between the East
Channel and Devils Elbow, at the entrance
of Mosquito Lagoon. They fired the ham.
mock, and as they stood in the marsh grass
awaiting the frightened game, the Doctor
said
81 hear n big rattcsnaAc; but hes long
distance off,
The Captain listened. That's a ground
rattler," he SAID Il know the sound too well.
Don't stir, for he may be mighty close TO US
The warning was Needed. After careful!
search they found the deadly little reptile
coiled at their feet, on a mat Of dead grass.
Its tail was flying like the wings OF hum.
and it was ready to strike on the
least motion. The breech Of a gun quickly
crushed its head 1t was fifteen inches long
about the size and color Of a stick of licOrce,
and had nine rattles, so small that they would
90 into a needle.case.
The genuine rattlesnakes grow to mon
strous size, ana their colors are more brilliant
than those of the Northern species. They
have been killed twelve feet long, and rs
large around as a stovepipe. Capt DeVail OF
PalatKa AYERS that he saw one, twenty ODD
years ago, with forty seven rattleS. llCredl-
bic as this may seem, Col. Pratt, of the Palat
ka Ucrald, declares that he has seen one with
tifty.two. These serpentS frequent high sandy
ridges, and occasionally Turk in gardens ana
in ploughed fields. They have even been
known to make their way into barns and
houses The beach scrub, where seldom
burned, Is alive with them. some monsters
have been killed on Auastasia Island, Oppo.
site st. Augustine. In the spring | have
counted In one day, on the beach between
Canaveral and Indian river inlet, ten freshly
shed skins.
After one rattesuakc is killed, another is
found near It. Ii the body of the dead reptile
is dragged through the house or across cat
tie pen, its mate is pretty sure TO take up the
trail and follow 1t. Through the winter
these snakes are dormant. They 1--we in holes
made by the gopher and the laHa turtle, and
are concealed in many Of the old coquina
ruins dottIng the eastern coast, As the sum
mcr approaches, they pair off, and hunt in
couples. The numborlcss trails in the scrub
ard savannas made by deer, coOns, wildcats,
and offers, are their IAvorite lurking places.
Here they lie IN ambush, and many an I'M
fortunate rabbit and opoSsum falls under
their fangs.
Nor are the low sayapnas and saltwater
marshes free from these great snakes Last
summer as Judge Common of Live Oak Hill
was crossing tho wide open prairie at the
head Of Indian river he saw plump gray
squirrel cutting queer antics on spot Of bare
sand. As the sand was fully mile from any
tree, and covered with salt water six months
in the year. the Judges curiosity was excited.
To use his own words, "the squirrel was
jumping around right smart, and appeared
as If he didn't know whGttO do with his>ell.'
Its attention was not distracted hy The judges
approach, for it continued prancing over the
sand in cOuCcntric course, rs though GRAZ
ed The Judge walked mp with inteatiOn OF
capturing IL sNttucb!N Ac was NDIllvultNi
BY an enormous rattiesnake. Ii was stretched
out In the wire grass surrounding the sand,
with its head toward the squirrel. On seeing
the Judge, il threw Itself into coil and
made a noise like that e buzz saw, lis
tail ratified with terrible earneStncSs. The
squirrel ceased his antics, and sat mp on the
sand as motionlcss as statue. Finding nei-
Their stick nor stone on the prairie, the Judge
tried TO scare the snake by threatening gCs
lures. These lnCcnsed the reptile. u reared
both crest and tail, dartcd out lis i0rked
tongue, aud jumped fully eight feet toward
the Judge. His Honor then got angry, and
threw clods of earth and grass. ~ this the
serpent lew into An unrovernable rage. Is
eyes fairly flashed fire. Apparently aware
that there was no dangerous weapon within
reach, II ran straight for the Judge, as though
il meant To close with him. II finally be
came So active that Common was glad 10 leave
In. As he walked away it resumed its posi-
lion. and the squirrel began his dance OF
death, charmed by its buzzing music. The
81. fris ut