The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-17

63010o0 6C11DOl0IA
Myths Of Pun. Adders, King Snakes. Ola
nond Snakes and Fishing Snakes
Pump Snake Story.
II ID inexcusable and strange that in thll
enlightened age 20 many of our great news
papers publish az facts in special dispatches
such silly and impossible snake stories
which. indeed, are often truly detrimental
and injurious to timid and nervous people
Who live in the given localities, writes cor
respondent Of the Country Gentleman.
Only . few weeks ago one Of our most 70
liable morning papers published ''speoial''
from Norristown stating that venomoua
pu1f-adder had made its den under the
house Of Mrs. johnson. II came forth
only in the night, and uttered dismal criea
Of Distress" Tho dispatch says Mrs J. va
bitten in the foot by the puff oder, and she
was subsequently found wandering about
in her night robe in delirious and dassd
condition.
Nobody saw OF identified the monster y
and II is doubtful whether there are i've
persons in the whole Of the state who could
have identified puff adder, even after
careful examination. Yet they know it was
. pu6-adder-a serpent found only in the
interior Of South Africa-a living specimen
of which has never been exhibited in this
country! No reliable authority admits that
snakes utter 'fcries of Distress" or other
sound, save hiss, blow or rattle. We
have only two poisonous snakes in Penn
sylvania-the well-known coppeEhsad and
rattlesnake-so the Especial dispatch" was
base falsehood, founded, perhaps, on .
wild tom cat and too much beer.
Another paper published special BY
telegraph" from Allsntown, announcing the
killing, after desperate fight, Of q venom
the very largest snake ever known to have
been killed in our state measured only seven
and half feet-a harmless pilot black
snake. Dr.. Holbrook, who hunted for rep
tiled from Maine to Florida, to obtain ma
terial for his work on hsrpetology. and who
says the largest snake native Of the United
States he ever saw was pine snake killed
in North Carolina, which measured nine
feet.
certain writer says he killed diamond
rattlesnake OF the south measuring twelve
have seen some very large specimens, the
larger portions of whose bodies were nearly
as thick a. an ordinary stove pipe, yet they
scarcely measured seven feet. The largest
snake mentioned in Baird and Girard's Ser
pents Of North America is the western
coach-whip snake. sixty-nine and hall
inches, or less than six feet.
A New York monthly journal has recently
published story Of certain snake said to
be found in the upper waters of the Mis-
souri, river. "This snake is provided with
long and slender tail which it uses for
catching fish. But tho most surprising
feature is that the ingenious reptile often
bats this hook on the end Of its tail BY
s ;asscs se =: e1..sh9 Y O. other
style. and then lies motionless upon float
ing loR with the end of his tail slowly Vi
bratinR beneath tho waters surface, till
passing dsh seize! the bait, and BY sudden
witch ". a.. ct the snakes TAIL the fish is whip
The writer ends this interesting story
with these remarks: but the great prob
lem Of the fishing snake, 80 positively de-
scribed by Dakota investigations, il the un-
mistakable design and adoption Of the fork
sole purpose Of catching fish and Of holding |
bait for that object. Evolution, which, ac-
cording to Darwin, only acts by inhnitesi- I
mally slow stages Of developement, each |
variation, however slight, being of use to |
IT. possessor. can never explain the ingen-
stages, which could have been of no posi- |
BILE value to the snake till sufficiently |
evolved to hold Ash." -
The writer neglected to mention what |
"toothsome pie" for the pickerel and other |
Ro1S s .h :hs; the a. fishing snake
n.y." The pickerel would get fat grass
hopper and tender snake It one bitAf And