Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-08-22
THE SNAKES OF, TEXAS.
s'hTsNEgsF ahap,.e.
A Great Variety of Reptiles in
the Lone Star State.
Poculiarities of the Thunder snake-The
Elongated and Swift Coach whip-Rat-
uesnake Pilots and Their Com
panions, the True Rattlcrs.

iounu any Wnere on tne gl0Oe, wr1teS col
respondent Of the New York Times. To mer
ton few that have come under my ow
personal observation would be TO name nc
one-tenth Of the varieties Indigenous to thi
blessed country.
Thunder snakes are by no means CON
mon in Texas, and yet they are often en-
countered by prairie.travelers, especially be
fore and after thunderstorms. Flashes o
lightning and claps Of thunder, which ar
so terrifying to bipeds and quadrupeds
seem to have the greatest charm and de
light for these members of the ophidian fam
lily. Whenever thunderstorm comes VI
these snakes have regular picnic. The,
come crawling out of holes, from behinC
rocks and rotten STUN ps and enjoy the fur
while 1T lasts. Their nature is quarrelsome
their character fierce, and they are aggres
sive in high degree, which qualities are
remarkable In being possessed by a serpent
that is both fangless and innocuous.
The black snake is so well known TO al
North America that it is hardly worth motto
ing him from this point of the world. We
have two species in Texas; one which inhab
It's marshy places, ponds, creek bottoms and
shady spots, and 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 a
constructor and he is not poisonous. Nearly
all striking serpents have fangs, usually
loaded with poison, while the constructors
seldom If ever strike, preferring to affec-
tionately squeeze their enemies TO death.
Green grass snakes, which are perfectly
beautiful In this latitude; bead snakes like
wise, 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 the reptile
is elegantly slender, his coloring is of the
most delicate beauty, and his constructing
powers are scarcely even surpassed by
boas, anacondas or pythons. He 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
whip. The movements of the coach whip
are like chain lightning. Not endowed with
poison, yet has he tremendous power of
locomotion and terrible strength in his
long, slender coils, which he wraps about
and entangles the limbs in such a fashion,
binding them to the body, and rendering
his victim perfectly helpless. He forms his
coils into living lasso which are capable of
crushing almost any thing within the deadly
rings.
Mexican warned me upon my arrival in
this country to beware Of the coach whip as
would of rattlesnake, for friend of his,
after chasing one for some distance and see
ing 1t dart into hole, seized the reptile by
the tail and dragged it forth. Like flash
the snake threw itself upon the man, en-
veloping him in coil after coil, and would
have squeezed the life out of him had not
my informer, who chanced to be near,
caught it by the tail and unwrapped the
coils. This is very easy matter to do, for
while his constructing powers are q 80
q child catching him by the tall could easily
unwind his bands.
Only recently, while going through a
prairie-dog village few hundred yards
from this post, saw zigzag yellow streak
darting across the ground, which proved to
be seven-foot coach whip. l followed him
at the top of my speed, but he led me a
lively chase before was able to overtake
him. 1t was neck-and-neck race for a
few minutes, but at last gave him rap
with long stick held in my hand, which |
produced an instantaneous crisis He
eaped upon that stick like shot, and in |
less than a second was squeezing it with all |
MS force dropped the stick and let him |
have few minutes fun, after which / |
smashed his head with stone and skinned |
lim.
Rattlesnake pilots are sure indication
hat the true rattler is somewhere IN the |
'lcinity. They seem to desire the company
" their dangerous kinsmen, and by some
,eople pilots are often mistaken for the
rue breed. They are in reality ground
'attlesnakes, with the same diamond back
markings, are slightly poisonous, have a
hort thick, chunky body, but no sign of
attic about them. There is another snake
n Texas known as the pilot. He is also
lightly poisonous, boasts large, yellow
tripes along his body, and is covered with
'eautiful yellow zigzag lines on both sides.
AS u rule, poisonous and non poisonous
makes are eternal enemies. The most
eadly serpent we have in America is the
attlesnake. The most harmless of ophid-
ans are the bull, black and king snakes, all
whom will tackle and kill a rattler with
Vt the least hesitation. There is no more
eadly reptile in the world, not excepting
ne cobra OF Asia, the Hale of Africa, or
he Fer-de-Lanoe Of Martinique than the
,rrible, bloated rattlesnake OF the staked
lains OF Texas
A few miles north Of this point begins
lis famous desert, aud here are TO be
'und the largest, most active aud most
angerous rattlesnakes in the world Six
yet is an ordinary length and ten inches a /
oderate circumference. Recovery from ,
ieir venom is excessively rare. In Au- .
lst they become large, yellow, bloated
Iings, and il is at this time Of the year /
at the Apache Indians seek them out to [
'tain poison for their arrows. A deer's
'er, smoking hot, is torn out and land be-
re the reptile He is punched and
igered so that he strikes it again and
,ain, the morsel turning a blue black I
ON the poison, even before the snake has 4
iished striking, {
This delightful morsel is then placed high {
pole to rot and decompose in the sun, b
ter which IL is brought down and the ar 5
ws stuck into it, they being afterwani q
led in the sun 10 retain the polson--a {
'st cruel, devilish, horrible custom Il
nong the worst Indians on the continent. n
IN
Queen Pia's Mustache. N
most curious statement is being made 4,
out tho Queen Of Portugal Not only \
: Maria Pia, it is said, a clearly defined A