The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-10-23


nor did he discover the escape which ne
had had till he had already thrown MIN
on the pile he had ready 10 carry away.
His dog vas not so lucky, for, as 1t at
tackled the snake, il received . bite from
which death ensued in about ten minutes
etNow, as We have said, the vipers are
generally marked with gray and orowhisn
black and yellow; yet this 10 not univer-
sally so. There are exceptions worth not
ing, occurring chiefly among the East IN
dian islands, where heat and moisture
combined give vegetation an unusuai
greenness and vigor. Here il is remarSa-
bic that many deadly vipers live, not on
the ground among the withered leaves, IS
their kindred DO generally, but aloft IN the
branches; and these. as We would naau-
rally expect, are colored accordingly. The
deadly trimeresurus of Java is entirely OF
q metallic green, while some Of his near
relations, which also frequent the trees,
are ornamented with variations OF green
and yellow or green and purple.
Thus among the rich foliage we have
seen the tree snakes green others We nave
noticed gray striped iongitudinally ike
s;reaners of half-dried grass; the vipers
that live on the forest floor are colored
like it, while those that live aInongs: the
leafy green branches take On similar tlnts.
So we see that each is coiored by the light
he lives In. Surrounding nature photo
probably never know how many cycles OF
ages IL has taken TO perfect the work.
Let US go now into still deeper shade
into the darkness of the rocky cavern IN
the forest, where the mantiing vines over
its door make perpetual night, or let US
look into the spacious chambers beneath
the roots of the huge trees, where, IN
gloomy solitude, the great boa constructor
makes his home. You can hardly see him
there. for he is mass Of dark brown, very
unlike the bright snakes of the sunshine.
different, too, from the venomous vlpers
that lie upon the sere leaves outside, IN
that he is darker still as becomes his
abode; and notice. too, how he is traced
with curious chainlike markings, perhaps
from the dull reflection OF the tangling
roots that drape his darksome bed chamber.
Yet take him out in the light, take him
to where some opening IN the forest roof
may let the beams OF sunlight down to
play upon his scales, and instantly over
all this dull BROWNIES he becomes robed
in misty veil of beauty glowing with
every hue of the rainbow. As he moves
the greenish blue changes to coppery
purple, then to red and violet, and again
to blue and green. until he seems like q
living rainbow lying amongst the forest
leaves. With every bend OF his body the
wondrous colors change and vanish and
reappear glmmering over the scales cloth
ing him with lridescent light.
Only those who have seen the boa con-
strictor In the sun can realize this almost
unearthly beauty. Take him again into
the shade of the forest and al the play of
transient loneliness is over, leaving him
again only dull brown, varied with
lighter marks and patches. not unlike the
great entangled chains Of gnarled roots
and twisting vines. whose lichens and
MOSES smudge them with pale and dark
Eas,ft 80
make out which is boa and which is vine
or root.
The puff adder Of South Africa, from the
forest grown kloofs of Kat-berg, where
rank leaf tangles or far-reaching caverns
beneath overhanging rocks afford him a
domain Astounding in abruptness of dark
ness and light, bears upon his back tho
impress of BOTH for his ground color is a
rich velvet black, yet pencils OF the sum
beam have touched him too, leaving their
photographs in q succession of half
moons OF golden yellow all the way
down his back from head to tail. The
striking contrast between the depth of his
black and the rich brightness of his
yellow, is q subject of admiration for all
who see the mountain puff adder. And
still his brother of the plains by the sea,
or perhaps his offspring who has
wandered there, is as different from him
as are the places of abode. In the
mountains, lights are bright and shadows
deep, but on the lowlands, where half
starved plant life makes shade imperfect,
the lines of light and darkness are not so
sharply divided. Hence the lowland puff
J adder is dull in color; his black has a
washed-out look and his yellow is dirty,
although the specific pattern has not
changed in the slightest. In the same
country, but high up on the mountains,
where trees fail TO grow, and only gray
rocks iut out from barren slopes, lives the
cerastes or horned adder.
So he, too, takes his color from his
dwelling place. His beauty is gray, like
the iichen-grown stones.
The comparative dullness or vividness
OF snakes appearance is also largely de-
pendent on the changing of the skin.
Before shedding the old coat, which is
done many times year, the colors are
muddy and indistinct and in the boa the
'ridescence disappears, But when. leav-
ny the cast-oh slough behind him, he
walks out in his new dress, then every
aeauty is at its best. In death the rides
cence disappears and the coicrs fade, nor
IS there any known method of restoring
the lost LONELINESS or preventing its dissipa-
ton.
In regard TO the pattern in which the
UNITS are arranged, nature seems to have
two distinct tendencies. namely, 10 the
longitudinal and TO the transverse. In
the former there are stripes or pots in
lines from head to tail, while in the latter
the snake IS what We may call ringed.
Even in those which appear uniform or
irregularly spotted this tendency TO either
arrangement may be detected when the
snakes are young or by holding UP the
skin to the light.
Now. It IS q fact worth noting that as
snakes are poisonous and non-poisonous
so the pattern generally follows this divis-
ion. and IS TRAVERSE or longitudinal ac-
cordingly. There are two classes OF deadly
snakes, the elapidR, which include cora!
snakes and conras. and the vipers. 10
which belong ali the other deadly snakes
of the world such as ratflesnakes pufi
adders, moccasins and copperhends.
There are also two great classes OF non
venomouS snakes. the family OF the boas
and that OF the ordinary harmless snakes
Il ~ curious 20 note how the vIDers ap
prOach the bOas and the eianide the com.
mon harmless snakes. as Il they had
sprung from two distinct sources OF life
origin.
A consideration Of the accompanvinc
I table of relative characteristics will be in.
structlve as showing this. IL is true there
/ are some species which seem To diverge
/ from these Characters IN certain points
but still this division i entirely in accord
! with the typical classes named, and !.
/ founded not on any theory, bat in hard
! facts as they exist III the bosom q. nature
/ herself. Nature does not permit OF arb.
/ traTy divisions, but still she ALWAYS work.
/ in 3 certain regular method and il j. on
/ @ knowledge OF the reguiaritics urst. ant
/ OF the exceptions and their reasons after
wards that We can hest attain 20 a trut
/ knowledge OF her do'oss around Us.
u. Il. O'RElLLY.
Classes, and each of these may he again sub