The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-12-28
GOOD AND BAD SNAKES.
LARGE VARIETY OF REPTILES IN
TEXAS
How the King Snake Kills the Horrid
Aoccasin and the Rather - The
Lightning Coach Whip.
From The Ne,o YORK Times.


FORT DAVIS, TEX, Dec. S.-Texas DOS
sesses perhaps as great variety of the
serpent family as can be found anywhere
on the globe. To mention the few that
have come uuder my own personal observa-
ton would be to name not one-tenth of the
varieties indigenous to this blessed country.
| have met and conquered few specimens.
among which can b. included the follow
ing:
Blow or puff adder, otherwise called ''hog
nose" thunder snake, rattlesnakes of three
kinds. namely, CTotdius dddmanteus Tor
diamond back, Crotolus horridus, and
Crotoius duTissus; king snake: mountain
and lowland black snakes; three kinds of
moccssins-copperhea cottonmouth and
water or black nnoccasins; chicken snake
coach whip, prairie runner, tlue racer.
green-grass snake. raitlesnake pilot, Ia kind
Of ground rattlesnake which is no RATHER at
all, seeing that he has no rattles): head
snake, glass snake this creature has eve
Ids milk, corn, garter ana many others
To begin with the puff or blow adder. this
title Is misnomer, as the true puffer or
blower is a native of South Africa, and is
not found on this continent at all. A cor
rect designation is "hog nose,n SO called
from the odd formation OF the muzzle.
which is turned up at the tip for all the
world like the snout of hog. Still. ma
tives OF Texas call him puff or blow adder,
and this incorrect designation will no doubt
cling to harmless reptile for all time to
come. Although absolutely without power
TO. harm any one, for he is neither poisonous
nor constructor, yet the ''hog noss' puts
on more airs than rattlesnake, whom he
initiates in his actions, coils and manner of
striking, and makes more noise than goose
hl.C NJ l.
just like venomons serpent and yet has
he not the least faint of poison in his whole
length:
His high flourish of airs and defiant atti-
tude are entirely without excuse, for even
when he strikes at anything it is a mere hit,
as he never opens his jaws, aud not even
the slightest scratch is the result His
cousin, however, the real blow adder, after
whom he is erroneously called, is one of the
most deadly reptiles in existence. His ace
OF. clubs head is fearful object to behold.
and his thick, Shiny body is decidedly indi-
cative of venom.
Hog noses" are quite plentiful in this
part of Texas. After all the talk about
serpents Kissing, this fellow is really the
only specimen of the ophidian family l
have ever heard utter sourd No, there
is another case within my own experience
wherein it may be possible that snake did
utter q sound.
In the summer of 1890 | was scouting
through the bad lands of Southeastern Mon
tans, very near the Dakota border line
An Indian guide was with me, Sioux, the
others of our party being scattered to the
right and left chasing buffalo, which were
quite thick in the country then The water
lay in pools on the prairie. and all these
pools, without exception. were more or less
tainted with alkali salts. While riding
near one OF these stagnant spots, out of
which sprang q rank growth of coarse
grass, heard a peculiar cultural sound
like that uttered by turkeycock, which
at once attributed to frog. My Indian
companion heard the same noise and
FASTENED to the spot, beside which he halted.
Again the cultural sound proceeded from
the place, and this time my aboriginal
friend started back in alarm ard made
haste to move himself and cayuse little
further from the place.
Whats the matter with your | ex-
claimed. "Are you afraid Of frogr'
Whereupon the buck informed me that
the noise was made by snake and not a
frog. | was unable to secure this specimen,
as he kept closely hid in the marsh, and /
have never been able to determine since to
what tribe of heel biters he belonged.
Lewis aud Clarke. in the record of their
journey across the continent three-quarters
of century ago, mentioned the fact of en-
noises.
Thunder snakes are by no means common
in Texas, and yet they are often encoun-
tered by prairie travellers, especially before
and after thunderstorms Flashes of light
ming and claps of thunder, which are SO ter
rifying TO bipeds and quadrupeds, seem to
have the greatest charm and delight for
these members of the ophidian family.
Whenever thunders torm comes up these
Snakag kava n raOu f1pnip Thou onpoa
crawling out of holes, from behind rocks
and rotten stumps, and enjoy the fun while
it lasts. Their nature is quarresome, their
character fierce. and they are aggressive in
higa degree, which qualities are remark
able in being possessed by a serpent that is
both fangless and innocuous. Their marx
ings are beautiful in the extreme. Alter
nate bands of black, white and yenpw cover
the 1.-THE body.
The black snake Is so well known to all
North America that it is hardly worth
noticing him from this point Of the world
We have two species in Texas-one which
inhabIts marshy places, ponds, creek bot
toms and shady spots, aud another that
lives in the mountains among the rocks and
in the woods where dead dry leaves are
plentiful and young birds numerous. He is
not constructor and he is not poisonous.
Nearly all striking serpents have fangs.
usually loaded with poison, while the CON
strictors seldom If ever strike, preferring to
affectionately squeeze their enemies to
death. Green grass snakes (which are per-
fectly beautiful in this latitude), bead
snakes likewise, milk, corn, garter and
runners are entirely too common to discuss.
Coach whips are remarkable in this coun-
try for their tremendous length and their
surprising speed. The form of this reptile
Is elegantly slender, his coloring is of the
most delicate beauty, and his constructing
powers a: scarcely even surp ,s,ed by boas,
anacondas, or pythons. lie is cream or
clay colored, very much like the hard-baked
prairie over which he glides, is very long in
proportion to his diameter, and his scales
are arranged in such a manner that they
closely resemble the plated leather Of a
whip. The movements of the coach whip
are like chain lightning. Not endowed with
poison, yet he has tremendous power of
locomotion and terrible strength in his
long, slender coils, which he wraps about
and entangles the limbs in such fashion,
binding them to the body and rendering bis
victim perfectly helpless He forms his
coils into living lasso, which are capable
OF crushing almost anything within the
deadly rings.
Mexican warned me on up my arrival
in this country to beware Of tbs coach whip
as | would OF rattlesnake, for friend of
his, after chasing one for some distance and
seeing it dart into hole, seized the reptile
by the tail and dragged it forth. Like a
flash The snake threw itself on the man. en-
veloping him In coil alter coil, and would
l.. 4 e. ~.