The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-09-30
THE DIAMOND RATHER.
EIorida-Moccasins and Adders.

looking man to reporter, 81 was
walking along the track of narrow
gauge railroad that runs from the st.
Johns river back into the pine woods
of Florida. In accordance with an un-
written law which draws the line at 95
degrees. the unofficial custodians of
in that region recognize
and record no temperature which rises
above that mark The temperature on
the afternoon in question was recorded
as 95 degrees in the shade. In the sun
the temperature may 60 as high as it
pleases, and on that day it went so high
that nothing but a pyrometer would an
;wer for measuring it. had just re-
ceived paper containing the account
of the Grant funeral. and was reading
it as l slowly walked beneath an UNI
brella. A person who has spent several
months in Florida becomes so accus-
toned to keeping lookout for snakes
that ne scans his path unconsciously.
So strong does this habit become that l
caught myself watching for snakes in
Broadway month after my return to
New York.
Il was we'll along in the story of the
old warriors burial, when suddenly l
found myself half way down the rail-
road embankment, and l had got there
by one Jump. just abreast of me be-
tween the iron rails was rattlesnake
in the act of coiling What it was that
had alarmed me do not know-wheth-
er caught glimpse of him before he
cuiled at all, or whether / heard his rat
tie as he coiled. struck. and missed his
mark. Probably he had been lying in
81 hi of hn w
the heat that is so pleasant to the snake
tribe was much greater than on the
burning sand even, and had been awak-
ened from his siesta by the disturbing
footballs l climbed up the embank-
ment and looked him over from a safe
distance. As he coiled and angrily
raised his head, he was venom incar-
nate. He was medium-sized specimen
of the diamond rattler. so called be-
cause of the diamond-shaped black
spots along his back. He lay coiled
ready for spring, till he was induced
to strike at stick. Then he wrlthed
on the sand as though it had been a
heated iron plate beneath him. He kept
his rattle sounding at short intervals.
The impulse seemed to start close to his
head, run the length of him like a shim-
mer of light on his glossy skin, and give
to his taiba snap something like that 0f
a whiplash. He seemed completely
charged with venom. till he was angry
with himself and at war with all the
rest of the world. His small eyes, of the
color of globule of mercury, were al
most closed. He made little effort TO
move away when he WAS again menaced
by the stick, but coilcd and flung him.
self at it as often as he was approached.
A rattlesnake can strike only about one
third of its length. Bearing this in mind,
teasing them is not dangerous. l stud
led him a while longer, and then broke
his back bv Il whack with the stick.
After humping him till he seemed to
be dead picked HIM up on the stick
and started on. A little way up the
road met darky. He gave the snake
wide berth as he passed. Then he
turned around and called: Better lool
out TO dat ar snake, boss. Dey'm pow
full dan'o till dere heads am smash
ed
..Moccasins and blow adders," con
tinued the bilious man, "are the Other
venomous snakes that are found nearly
all over Florida. In the rivers, branch
es,' lakes, and bayous moccasins ara
far from scarce. They like to crawl ou
and sun themselves on dry logs anC
tufts of grass They are considered a
poisonous as rattlesnakes, and the
chances of being struck by them art
much greater, for they are TOO sluggish
to get out of the way, and they give nj
warning rattle before they strike. Ii
the headwaters of the st. johns they
are as thick as wigglers in Il rain-watel
barrel and are not at all shy. A biz
one is between six and seven feet Ions
and four inches in diameter. They
swim with their heads only on the sur
face ofthe water, and propel themsslVe
by motion of the body similar to tha
with which snake moves on dry land
Recoveries from the effects of moccasir
bites are not rare; but in many instance
the wound intiames and gives the per
son considerable trouble about the tim,
of the anniversary of the bite for seyera
years.
Prof. Yerkes, once of Waterbury
Conn.,, is one of the ablest tellers o
snake stories in the south. One after
noon he was crossing branch of the
St. Johns on fallen log. Right ahead
of him he saw the biggest moccasin b,
had ever seen. He went back and Gu
a thick pole, and with it he dealt tn,
snake tremendous whack. He noticed
before hitting him that the snake mad,
no attempt to strike, and he thought i
queer. He dragged the moccasin home
knotted cord around his tail, hooked
the steelyards into the loop, mounted :
barrel. and hoisted the snake up till hi
head cleared the ground. While trying
to find the right notch on the steelyard
he was astounded to see moccasiI
slip tail foremost out of the origina
snakes mouth. He got down from tn,
barrel and reached for the stick. Moe
casin No. made no attempt to twis
and strike. and he was dispatched will
one whack. The professor thought b,
would weigh the snakes separately, 81
ed the barrel, hooked on the steelyards,
and lifted him up. If he was surprised
when he undertook to weigh No. l, ht
was more than surprised now, for /,
third moccasin's tail appeared from the
suspended snakes mouth, and in a jiffy
the snake, which had been doubly swal
lowed. lay wriggling on the sand. Thi
one was rather feeble, and the professor
dispatched him with hardly an effort
Then the professor laid the three snake.
in a string, heads to tails, and measured
them, and afterward he weighed them
The only thing | remember about tn,
figures is that the second snake was tiv,
inches shorter than the first. and the
third snake just three. l have Siver
only bare outline of the story. Yor
ought to hear the professor put in the
details.
"The blow adder" continued the bill
ious man, ''is found in ali sizes up to the
limit of its growth. When ! first wenl
to Florida fell in with one when wa;
walking across cleared patch one day
j happened to see him just in time t.
avoid stepping on him. He lay coiled
on the grass, and | took HIM for sleek
black snake. and bent over him to ad
mire his glossy coat. Greatly TO my
surprise he struck ut me, and gave me
close call. finished him with club
still thinking that he was black snake
though was puzzled by the bad temper
he had displayed. He was once and s
half as long as my umbrella stick. A
cracker came along and began telling
! him how the black snake had strucl
at me. Hits mighty lucky thing he
didn't hit you,' said the cracker, 'fo
he's blow adder, and them's abou
the most venomous critters in these yc
pa rts 'n-N Y Sun