The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-10-01
The Garter or hfbbon.Snake.

I-dDOu0ulDS, uS IL uOcss III cScly OIaV
of the Union, and, indeed, Throughout
North Americas too common to nee'
description.
In the latter part of March or early il
April the male is in his best spirits ant
finest condition. If at this time you at
tempt to capture him, he will dattel
himself out so - to appear twice his us
ual size, and strike with amazing vim
and rapidity for so small an animal.
have had the blood drip from tingc
lacerated by their sharp little teeth.
Toward the end of summer the femal
brings forth alive from twenty to thirt,
young. They exactly resemble .thei
parent at birth, and are about seven ant
= half inches long. They arc covered
with thin, transparent membrane
out Of which they soon force their way
The young snakes feed on angle
worms and soft-bodied insects. As they
increase in size they adopt their adul
food--viz., frogs, toads, salamander!
and small reptiles of all kinds, young
birds and field mice, and, when obtain
able, small fishes. In captivity I have
succeeded in getting them to devour raa
beef by moving it about with fine wire
The snakes, believing it to be alive
seize and swallow it.
Now q word about this swallowing
process. Strictly speaking, :: snake
does not swallow" but crawls over its
food. Both upper and lower jaws are
freely movable and controlled by appro.
pirate muscles. Having seized its prey,
one upper jaw is moved forward, and
the teeth, which all point backward,
firmly fixed, then the jaw Of the oppo.
site aide in the same manner, then the
two lower jaws act III the Same way,
until the object is swallowed, the mus
cles of the neck meanwhile forcing the
serpent's body forward over that Of its
victim.
Snakes, it is well known, are able to
60 long time without food; not so
long, however, as is usually thought. l
think none of our common species could
exist through even single season with
out eating. The locomotive apparatus
Of serpents is very beautiful. Each ver-
zebra Except the caudal) is supplied
with pair Of freely movable ribs, the
lower extremities OF which are attached
to the broad, movable belly.scales
(scuta), each of which slightly under
lies the preceding one. Each rib is sup
piled with set Of muscles, too complex
to describe here. When the. ribs are
pulled forward, of course the scuta
move with them, their smooth surfaces
taking no hold on the ground. When,
however, the muscles act in counter
direction, their sharp edges take firm
hold. and the body is propelled for
ward.
Garter-snakes, like all ophidians,
change their skins; not once year, as
is generally supposed, but three, five, or
even more times in q season, according
to age and condition.
l have many times witnessed this pro-
cess Of undressing. BY stretching the
jaws wide open and violently working
the labials dip scales) the skin is broken
from about the lips. Then, by rubbing
the head against the ground or con-
venient object, it is forced backward to
the neck, whence it is unrolled from the
rest Of the body by the snake crawling
like an earth worm (i.e., contracting
and extending the body completely out
of its old dress, assisting the operation
by rubbing against stones and twigs. BY
blowing into the ''neck" of this empty
''slough," it may be for moment in
fated, looking like the ghost Of its for
mer owner.
What the term Of life in the Eutenie
may be is, in the nature of things, some-
what hard to determine; but, Judging
from their slow growth, I think that
thirty or forty years would be within
limits.
The principal diseases to which they
seem to be subject are q fungoid growth
Of . soft, mucous character, which
grows around and in the mouth, soon
causing the animal to waste away and
die, and . disease Of the skin and SUPER
fetal muscles, which gives the poor an
imal the appearance of being caked
with white clay. This also is sooner or
later fatal.
Nor does the ribbon snake want for
enemies. Frogs and toads will readily
devour the young. I think both moles
and shreWs prev upon them. and several
|ndividnals. O1 '''' A"'e0'
sven to . certain decree cnnable a. ie;no
famed. Indeed. have hal Sewers
which would take food from INV hand.
crawl into nv cost rockets and mn NV
arm, without showing the SLIGHTEST fear.
the species being usually. eycept the
males In the breeding season. extremelv
imid.
In conclusion, | would saw that the
wholesale killing Of every snac;es ~
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