The news., 1886-04-27
RATTLESNAKES AND THEIR
PECULIARITIHS.

truth written about the rattlesnake,
and by the public at large he is as lit
tie understood or appreciated as are
those larger and more fanciful ophiol-
ogical curiosities said to be sometimes
discovered by convivial gentlemen
in their boots. He is simply known
to be bold and bad reptile, with
musical tip to his tail; is popularity
supposed to warn thrice before strik-
ing once; and, according to paragraphs
widely disseminated by the daily press
infests remote ravines and caves IN
miraculous numbers, and is there
slaughtered by the natives partly for
fun and partly for his oil, which is
said by old women and other eminent
medical authorities to possess curative
virtues in an invaluable degree. 1t is
likewise asserted that the rattle is
sort of calendar by which the snake
reckons up his age, he promptly ad-
ding one button each New Years day
that finds him alive. In reality he
grows two or three rattles year, if he
wishes them. Also, it is claimed that
the only refuge from rattlesnakes
bite is violent state of intoxication.
This receipt is clearly of homeopathic
origin, for the venom of the real snake
which did the biting must evidently
be supposed to be counteracted by
that Of imaginary serpents which the
demijohn will assist the bitten gentle
man to discover. Whiskey, however,
is an excellent remedy, taken before
or after the bite.
In truth, the rattlesnake is quiet
and unobstructive, minding his own
business. and merely asking to be let
alone. In the early summer he thaws
himself BY liberal exposure to the sun,
and soon shakes off the torpor of his
long sleep and proceeds 10 fatten up.
Later in the season he seeks The shade,
and is not averse, on hot days, to lying
at full length in water of pleasant tenn
perature, especially in pools abounding
with frogs, where he may combine
bathing with luncheon. His rule of
diet is simply to eat all he can get, his
fayorite edibles being birds, frogs and
field mice, which he steals upon and
crches with great dexteritv.
Birds which nest in trees are safe
from his ravages, unless curiosity or
accident brings them within his reach,
| but those which nest in low bushes or
on the ground fill him with dinner
and satisfaction. If the parent bird is
alert and discovers him, the rattle
snake compensates himself by cheer
fully devouring the eggs or the brood.
Generally the mother that is or is to
be resents what she justly considers
to be impertient intrusion, and once
within striking distance is added to
the bill of fare All birds hate the
rattlesnake, but nearly all will fool
ishly undertake to fight him, and this
is the foundation of the absurd theory
that the rattesnake "charms' his
prey. A snake has no more power to
charm a bird than rabbit has to play
the fiddle. have several times been
a witness of encounters between
snakes and birds, and each time have
been convinced that the bird was
endeayoring to frighten the snake
from her nest, or to punish him for his
larceny.
We all know that birds are not COW
ards. 1 haye often seen two or three
small finches attack a hawk or an
eagle, and make his life burden to
him, even going so far as to light upon
his back and make him bald eagle,
whether that was his species or not.
An English sparrow will cheerfully
undertake to thrash bird four times
his weight, and even the mild man
nered dove will fight the intruder who
enters her cote, be he cat or man. A
birds confidence of flight makes her
rash in regard to snakes. She sees a
rattlesnake near her nest, and at first
takes wing; but on observing the
lethargic quality of her opponent. pro-
ceeds to sit on convenient twig and
scold. Meantime the snake has laziIy
invaded the nest Having exhausted
all the profanity she knows, and en-
boldened by the snakes sluggishness,
the bird comes nearer, wings out.
stretched and quiyering, feathers ruff
fed, and beak open-all symptoms ol
anger, not fear. The snake slowly
gathers for spring, and remains per-
fectly still. Each moment of his In
action serves to make the bird more
aggressive and tempts her nearer. Al
last the deadly line is reached, there
is a alightening-li Strengthening of the
hideous folds, and the poor little mis-
guided warrior feels the stab of those
dreadful needles whose touch is death
If she had as much horse sense a.
pluck in her pretty pate, she woulC
have taken the matter philosophically
: and gone off and laid more eggs, anC
laid them in high tree, instead q
staying for row. But ladies are thu
same the world over, whether in feath