The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-10-17
SNAKES.

-
Many Erroneous Ideas Entertained Con-
corning nnem-no .o'sonous ana psa-
ses ger Comparatively re" :" N"'""er
More IMAM once, IN Inc history OF
wars, two valiant armies have marched
together, looked each other in the face,
and then ran away each scared ont If
;ts ,v;ts hv ,ho w. s,ah, 90 ,ha o,har
Tvs WIS y 'no N.Y. s'sne - 'ne o'no''
In tne history Oh men ana SNAKES inc
same thing has frequently happened.
The man runs in one direction and the
snake in the other, and IT is hard to tell
which Is the more frightened.
We are apt to look upon snakes as
terrible monsters, but they seem to look
upon men and boys as equally terrible,
and the most poisonous serpent will fly
If 1t has fair chance, and only fights
when it finds itself cornered
There are many wrong ideas enter
tanned about these gliding reptiles, and
it may not be amss to stick q pin in
some OF these false notions and let out
what truth is in them. The general
idea seems to be that all snakes are hor-
ridly ugly and deadly poisonous mon
sters, fiercely bent on destroying the
race of man, and armed with a forked
sting which they constantly thrust out
from their dreadful jaws in search of
victims.
The fact of the matter Is that many
snakes are very handsome, Icing bril-
liant in color and graceful in form,
while their flexible. gliding motion is
perhaps the most attractive Of all move
ments in the animal kingdom As for
the forked sting, il is only the tongue
OF the serpent, and is as soft and harm
less in its touch rs piece of velvet.
The poisonous organs are pair of
long teeth or fangs, often sharper than
a needle These are either hollow, or
they have sort of canal down the
inner side. The poison is liquid which
lies in gland at the base of the fang
| The moment the teeth enter the flesh OF
victim certain muscles press on the
| gland, the poison is forced out. and
runs down the hollow of the tooth and
into the wound.
| As for the forked tongue, which
plays in and out with such rapidly, IL
seems to DC the feeling organ of the
serpent. 1t is used as we use our
fingers--to lind out more about things
| bfldb tdT NC lOtu ny tilt tltS.
The great majority of snakes are as
harmless as a mouse. In all North
| America there are only three or four
poisonous kinds of SNAKES. These are
| the rattlesnake, the moccasin and the
comprehend, which are very dangerous,
and little snake found in some of the
Southern States, called the harlequin,
which is only slightly poisonous. All
these snakes, except the harlequin. are
marked by deep pit on each side of
| the head, between the eye and the nos
tril. What the pit is for no one knows,
but if any of my readers meets snake
with these holes in the sides OF its head,
he had better have business in the other
| direction if he does not want to get
into trouble.
Most of our common snakes are as
| harmless as doves. The black, the
whip and the milk snake, tho water
and garter snake, the hog nosed snake,
| and the big and ugly pine snake of
| New Jersey, with many other common
species. NAV be handled as safely as
one would handle a flexible strip Of In
| dia rubber. There is no reason why
man. boy or girl should show the same
senseless fear of snakes as is shown by
monkeys. These animals, as is well
known. are dreadfully afraid OF snakes.
and can not be made to come near even
a dead one. but will stand off at a safe
distance. chattering and fiyinp in wild
fright II the slightest motion is seen.
The human race is like the monkey
race in this. They seem born with a
natural dread of snakes.
The rattlesnake is born with a small