Morning journal and courier., 1886-04-26
JOINT SNAK ES.
A Marylander Makes Some InterestIns 2 Statements About These Intelligen | Reptiles

l A Marylander Makes Some InterestIns g | Statements About These Intelligen | Reptiles.
 EFrom the Chicago Inter-Ocean.F have been familiar with the s:joint," or, as we cal it here, the ''hook-and eye," snake since was 8 boy. It is snake of brown ish yellow color, and grows to be about three feet long, but at any stage of its growth it can be unjointed or unlocked. It is fasten- ed together by hook and eye arrangement, exactly like those used on ladies' dresses. On one occasion, while out taking walk I saw joint snake crawling slowly along the top of an old stone wall Taking my cane I gave it a smart jerk about the middle of the body, and it immediately unlocked into sixteen pieces, each about two inches long, Taking the head part and putting it in my hat for safe keeping, I gathered up the joints, and, laying them along in a row in just tLe reverse order in which they came apart, with all the eyes in contact, and also the hooks, I took the head part out of my hat and laid it along side Of the middle of the TOW of joints. It immediately began to move along the line, and without moments hesitation backed up to the first joint, when a little snap was heard and the first joint was hooked on. It repeated the process, and in the course of
 
 a complete snake.
 Again catching it I took out the ninth joint and also the fourteenth, and then let the snake go. He gave one or two wrieeles but finding there was something wrong com menced examining his joints from his head down, and when he came to the ninth took 1t out and laid 1t on one side, then crawling along the rest of h1s joints until he came to where the fourteenth ought to be, but where had put the ninth, took that out and hook ed it into the eighth, and then put the four teenth back in it's place, all of which done in an incredibly small space of time Again I separated him, mixing the joints up promiscuously and hooking them together, having some difficulty in hooking the tail joint on to the head part, as the hook and eye did not gee very we'll Letting the snake loose, in 11515 seconds he was again properly jointed, and 1 let him go
 another time caught female snake just as she was laying her eggs, and thinking I would investigate the laying process I caught her, and unlocking her proceeded to examine the joints separately. She was very long snake, having eighteen joints besides the head section, making nineteen in all. found when got to the tenth joint it was full of eggs, the eleventh had none, twelfth full, and so on every other one had eggs until the six teenth was reached, when it only had one egg and the rest were too small to hold an egg. l let her hook herself up and then
 
 ends-she was in a great hurry-the joints were in their proper places, she reached around and unlocked the tenth joint, shook tho eggs out into hole she had made in the soft earth, and, putting that joint in it's place, she took the twelfth, and, emptying that in the hole, proceeded in this way until every egg was 'laid." While she was busy getting out the last of the eggs I quietly took out the tenth joint again, and, it being full of eggs, put 1t back again in it's proper place After she had emptied all her eggs in the hole, she gave herself "a few shakes to see if everything was all right and snug, and, crawl ing along little way, discovered that the tenth joint was full of eggs. She then un- hooked it, and after emptying the eggs in the hole she held the joint in her mouth until she covered up the eggs with her tail, and then putting back the joint in it's place she swiftly moved off, and left me meditating over the instinct of animal creation
 Once l caught two joint snakes, one lar ger than the other, and taking out one joint from the largest snake, turned him loose. He at once hooked himself together and started of, but soon found that something was wrong, stopped and seemed to be counting his joints. In little while he made up his mind that he was short one joint, and, seeing the other snake lying near in the grass, made rush for him, and coilipg himself around the mid dle of his body, he soon unlocked section. and then unlocking himself just where had ooAoA ouO Jolht pToceeu6O to put In the joint he had robbed his companion of. It did not fit very well, being too small, and while he was trying to make it work easy I gave his joint to the other, smaller snake, who at once hooked it in the place of his missing joint. By this time the big snake happened to crawl along by the side of the other, and he at once saw that he had one joint bigger than the rest. Going up close and examin- ing it carefully, he proceeded to take it out, and, after having removed the little snakes joint, put his own back in it's proper place. Then he took the little snakes joint and laid it down close to the other snake, and by various winning ways, coaxed him to hook it on, which he having done they both moved off
 I might go on and give you dozens of oth- CT instances of the intelligence of this inter- esting snake, but will content myself with one which happened last 4th of July. I had been cutting wheat with binder, and, the ground being wet in one part of the field,