The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-03-14

adapting himself to circumstances, and IL ba Il.
hungry. is so because nothing digestible ia at
hand to bs killed and swallowed.
Mr.. Bergh objects 10 snakes being fed with
living animals 50 when the rattlesnaks's
monthly meal comes, as it did on Thursday
last' ne Is never an invited guest An hour
was CHOSEN when there were no strangers in the
Aquarium and the dinner was served. Mans.
ger Butler acted as Superintendent, at a re-
spectful distance. DR.. Donner PLAYED head
waiter and had two table assistants. A large.
TAT rat was put in the cage of q rattlesnake
about three feet long. The rat manifested a
cheertol indifference to the situation, that was
no doubt based on the happy delusion that its
companion was simply harmless big worm.
lt trotted unconcernedly over the outlying Sec
tons OF snake, peered down among the coils for
sometnlng TO eat, and stared with innocent sur
Prise ana curiosity at the upraised loudly rat
tiing tai. Its nonchalancs actually seemed TO
astonish the snake, and caused him to hesitate
about opening hostil:ties against such a cool
ceustoner Inss situation was maintained for
i've minutes. ALI that time the rattlesnake's
warning notes were sounding, and it lay coiled
with its neck curved ready to strike and jta
eyes fairly blazing with malignant ferocity. At
length 1t struck at the rat-and missed The rat
seemed to think nothing more of the Occurrence
'han that the worm wanted to change its nosi.
ton and was somewhat in a hurry about it
There was no apparent alarm, but opIy an
access OF curiosity in the mind of a frisky
rodent about the quiveriDg, whizzing tall,
walked deliberately up to 1t and smelled
it. AS he did so the snake struck again,
and that time caught his victims left
bind leg A horrible thing CTotaEals HorridIs
was ID that moment of pouncing upon his VIC
tim The flat, broad head was opened into an
enormous mouth; in the widely distended Jaws
the large, hooked, venomous fAngs were
erected; the eyes glowed with fury. Quicker
than sight could follow the motion, the deadly
blow was inflicted. One instant the snake was
notionless. the next it's fangs were fastened In
he leg of the struggling, squeakiug aud now
thoroughly alarmed rat, and the next it had
returned to its former attitude, still threaten
ing but simply following, with watchful eyes.
the movements of its victim, without essayin9
any further attack The frighte ued rat lost in.
SANITY the use of the leg that had been struck.
% its other three legs 1t first sprang about as
Vt in wild terror, then dragged itself around the
cage more and more slowly; at length it
crawled among the coils Of the snake and there
expired. Thirteen minutes elgpsed from the
time it was bitten until 1t was dead.
Almost Immediately the snake proceeded to
the SWALLOWING process. There was no pressing
of the body. The snake simply seized the rats
head 10 his mouth, and commenced operations.
dis upper jaw is built In two sections, right
and left, and he can move them separately.
oach"aIu or forward. Hooking the teeth of
one section into the rats hide, he would slide
the other section a little forward and take a
fresh bold with its teeth. Then the first that
made fast would let go, come to the front and
rig new purchase, In that way, by alternate
advances of the right and left sections of his
upper jaw, he slowly pushed his diuner DOWN.
But it took him twenty minutes to do it,
Several other rats were fed TO the rattle-
snake, with little variation or incident, ex-
cept that their individual characteristics were
varously displayed, None was aos sciable as
the first, and none was as plucky as the
seventh, which, upon receiving the fatal bite,
sprsng at the snake TO make fight. The poison
was too active in the courageous little fellows
veins, however. Even as be reached the rep
tiles neck his limbs stiffened, his Jaws became
set, and he rolled over on his back, weakly
kicking and gasping for some minutes, and then
died.. The quickest death was that of the
fourth rat which was bitten In the head, fell
Immediately, and was seemingly dead in less
than minute.
DIR. Dorner, who knows almost as much
about snakes as If he had made them, explains
that as soon as a rattlesnake has eaten in cap
tivity. the quantity and activity of its poison
Increases, quickly causing the interval between
the bite and its fatal result upon small animals
ct least. to become very short indeed. But il
fed too often the reptiles venom loses its ac-
tivity, so that sometimes several bites are in
sufficient to kill.