The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-28
THE MORNING NEWS: FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER % 1894

deeply that it cannot be Withdraw, and
the snake perishes. The tree sn1vels up
To mere sapiing aud dies also.
This story has survived. in moe OF less
modified forms, ever SIT, G. - lntelll-
gent person Of to-day swallows be story
whole, as our ancestors seem TO htye done.
But there are many believers . the eX-
lstence Of a snake, the end Of Nose tail
Is not flesh and blood. Ou. slhrp horn
with which the snake strikes ticiously
when attacked instead Of iryingto bite
Gen. +. p. Alexander If GeCfgia first
became interested in the mater some
years ago, BY finding in road IN one OF
the south Carolina sea isAnds Che body
of a snake which some persol had re-
Gently killed. In color it ugge ted red
Scotch plaid. It was, a he recollects,
about fourteen inches Ing and three
quarters of an inch in diameter.
The last inch or so OF IS tail was ap-
parently solid horn, but Mt sharp enough
70 be used as a weapon. 5uppOslng that
the distinctive feature of he horn would
enable any naturalist to ientify it easily
no exact notes or measurements were
taken, nor was the body, ne skin, or the
horn preserved. But pneral deScrip-
ton of IL was sent to the smithsonian In
stitution with request fr its scientific
name.
The institution scientists replied that
they could not identify t,lnd they asked
for a live specimen. or one in alcohol.
This Gen. Alexander las never been
able, as yet, to procure. }ut the inquiry
which he has made has bpught out sew
eral intelligent and ere ible witnesses,
who have seen and handle snakes with
horn tails, at various pOins in the south,
from the Carolinas to Lexas. Some of
the snakes are said to exceed three feet
in length, and one was said to have
struck repeatedly with is tail at dog.
II is said, however, to be both rare
snake and very timid on.
Meanwhile a search of e natural his
tories shows that no snke of ordinary
habits has ever been described, either in
this country or abroad, win horny ter
mination to its tail, except, of course,
the rattlesnake, with it horny rattle
There are few with horn, protuberances
or shouts about the head, ut all tails, ex-
cept the rattlesnake's, areiesh and blood
TO the very tip.
But there is a family snakes called
'scolecophidae," or worm snakes. which
are burrowers in the sol living under
rocks and logs and feeding on worms and
the larvae of insects. Som of the species
of this family have horny tips to their
tails, apparently to give a purchase in
their burrOwing. They ray be readily
distinguished from all othe snakes by the
ventral scales, or those urler the be lly
In all ordinary snakes thes ventral scales
are large and run clear acoss from side
to side and the snake get his purchase
in crawling and striking byerectiug them
slightly
The worm snakes have lone of these
scales, but back and belly alike are COW
cred with small smooth Gales Then,
TOO, the worm snakes are generally very
small and have imperfec eyes, small
mouths ana most mo enslV di positions.
Gen. Alexander believes tat the snake
which he saw was most pr badly one of
this family, though he did not note the
distinguishing marks at tn time, as he
did not then know their vaue But the
size and habits of horn tail reported by
the other observers are YER difficult to
reconcile with those OF the solecophidae
ana he has invited all who q interested
in snakes and who may aVtopportunity
to get hold of any snake wit. a horny tip
TO its tail to take special nee of all its
characteristics.
Even large worm snak, will be of
great interest, and any snakewith a horn
tail and with large ventral scales like
those of ordinary snakes Will be a new
variety TO our naturalists, and to the
Smithsonian institution, Which would
doubtless pay all expenses. Then we
shall know whether the terrible horn
snake of tradition is really z sake at all,
or only a harmless. oveTgrovn, scaly
worm with hard, blunt end t, his tail
to brace him in his burrowing.