The Red Cloud chief., 1888-07-06
SERPENTS.
An Experts Account of the Reptiles Of
the United States.

In this country there arc four different
species Of rattlescake. the ground. or black
rattlesnake. the Florida species, the mount.
am serpent and taat of the Staked Plains,
says STEPHEN j. wilcox III the St. Louis
Port Dispatch. The rIttlesnake found east
OF the Mississippi and the wooded district
Just west OF that river, is essentially the
same rs the Florida speclcs, although some
tunes cIasSed - = separate variety. OF all
those the stated Plans rlttleSnake is the
largest. most active and most dangerous.
Six feet Is not an unusual length, while
seven foot makes have on several occasions
been Killed. These serpents measure some
times ten inches round the body. and re-
coverles from their VcnoIa are very rare.
The FiorIia ratt!esnaae comes next in size,
while the short stumpy ground snake.
Scarcc.y eTcr more t.Iau three feet long,
IS the Least vcnouous.
But three other venOmous serpcnts are
found IL this country. the copperhead. the
noccasln. !Gnt aid water. and a small and
very rare SHAKE found IN ArizoGa, which is
considered the most deadly Of all This
Stake lies N the dust. and strikes like q
flash of Lightning at any thing that ap-
p-oacheS. \ peculiar fact about this snake
IS that it is nearly completely blind, and has
the keeaest hearing of ANY snake known.
These reptiles are Yer: rare. and but half .
dozen specimens are found in any OF our
museums.
Among the articu;ates ONE Of the
spiders. nearly all of the scorpions, n q
few species of c~cntIpedes are poisonous, but
the virulencc of their venom has been i'm
menscly exaggerated. and has become q
superstition. The tarautula is regarded by
nan IS more venoInouS than the rattle
snake, but in all my investigations ] never
discovered more than two instances where
men haze been bitten by these great
spiders, and in neither ease were the con-
sequences serious. The sting OF \ scorpion
is not much worse than that Of a wasp, and
an active bedbug is more dan erous thai a
centlpede al least than any found north Of
the Mexican line.
The effect Of q snakes poison is entirely
exerted on the corpuscles Of the blood. I
ave experimental on various animals, and
have found that the result of venom is 10
cause a dis~integratior OF the corpuscles, re-
ducing the blood to a thick. homogeneous
mass. Hogs are regarded as impervious to
venom. but this is by nc means the case.
Hogs certainly kill and eat rattlesnakes. but
il these reptiles once drive their fangs deep
enough to reach the blood. . pig will die as
soon as any other animal. The secret Of
their immunity lies in the fact that they ad-
vance upon the snake with their fat cheeks
presented. The snake drives its fangs into
the mass of fat presented, the blood is not
reached and the hog strips the snake
throQh its teeth before it can strike an
other blow. But when the hog is thIn the
fat can not serve as q shield and death en-
sues. Whether or not IN animal RECEIVERS
from a snake bite depends largely upon its
strength, As in q short time the blood will
resume its corpuscular condition, and no
danger easues. It is simply as u stimulant
that whisky has been found effective, as it
in no way directly counteracts the effect Of
the DoisOn.