The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-29

of rattlesnakes and copperheads in New
Jersey, on the road to West Point on the
Palisades, ard wherever 1t is rocky and
mountainous.
Il don't think you will find them on
Long Island. and l don't think you would
find any rattlesnakes on Staten Island.
1 presume there are copperheads there.
"Rattlers might go over from New Jer-
sey 10 Staten Island if the coast was diff
ferent but there is a marshy ground, with
some extent of marsh grass on the coast
of the island that is likely to prevent them
from going there.
mo, the water would not prevent them
from going. They could float over easily.
Most snakes take to the water more or
less.
up in the huckleberry country is the
place for the rattlesnake. 1t Is noun
famous and rocky. That is where people
are apt to be caught by them while picking
berries, and struck on the hands. But it
is very seldom that you hear of anything
Of the kind occurring.
mo; l believe nine out of every ten PEG,
pie recover from the effect of snake bite.
l don't know whether they would if moth
ing was done. Naturally you make an
effort to do something If you know you
have been bitten by a poisonous snake.
There is only one remedy, and that is
WHISKY TAKEN liALHIndlly, DuL a strong sue
ton will do some good. The first thing a
man would be likely to do if he were Bit
ten would be TO take out his knife and cut
out the flesh around the wound. That is
what I would do. I always have two or
three sharp knives with me when 1 am
out, though not for that purpose.
The copperhead is more dangerous than
the rattlesnake. 1t is a different kind Of
snake. 1t is a slow, quiet, more sluggish
snake, and you step on it, and are bitten
before you know it. The rattlesnake rat
ties before 1t strikes.
Neither of these snakes will attack
you, unless it might be in mating season.
They are timid, and strike because they
are afraid
1.-The rattlesnake might be called the
most deadly when IT does strike. because
it acts with more force. 1t is a longer
snake and has a better leverage. A rat
tlesnake when it is angry will throw its
poison from its fangs several feet. 1t has
been know to do that. They are making
experiments now with rattlesnakes in
| Washington His extra force sends the
poison further into the blood.
"Black adders are vicious snakes, and
they bite through. They are not pois-
onous l helped catch one once. / held
the bag while he was driven into 1t. The
man he was sent to said he was the ug-
lest snake he had ever handled.
Most snakes will bite when they are
angry. 1 don't think the little green
snake has any teeth. There is one harm
less little brown snake-I forget the name
how-that is around all summer.
II have seen numbers of garter snakes
out by the penitentlary. 1 one day saw
masses of them in great interlaced heaps,
and killed punches of them at time
THAT was a number of years ago. They
have been killed off since then. 1t is
shame, too. They are harmless and great
friends Of the farmers. They destroy
the vermin which does damage to the
crops.
"A rather bright thing a boy once said
in regard to a snake was said in the coun-
try near a brook, where he found snake
skin.
" He's gone in swimming, he said let
us run off with his clothes
His brother had an experience with
piebald rat that would be interesting 10
naturalist. 1t was a small black-and-
white continental rat that 1 had raised
and given TO him. He was very found of
1t, and always carried it with him under
his coat. next to his little gauze under
vest. These rats are absolutely tame, AMI
any ferceness they ever had has long
since been domesticated out of them.
This boy even fed the rat while it was
inside his coat, and, finding a live crab
one day, he gave 1t to the animal Strange
to say, 1t grabbed it with fierceness and
crunched it saVagely 1t shows that the
old instincts of animals come back with
live prey.
Those continental rats have always been
great pets of the Italians. / used to see
them giving little street exhibitions with
the animals trained. 1 don't see them SO
much now.
THE rats are domesticated to make
albinos of them. 1t is a theory of mine that
l have never seen anywhere that all ami
mails that have become domesticated tend
to albinoism. The colors Of animals deepen
when they go back into wild life. Even
goldhshes change their color.
by the way, did you ever notice how
seldom you see a pure white? A cream
shade Will tint even a flower that Is an
parently perfectly white
"A perfect red is also difficult to ind.
! have seen II once. I'm some cardinal flow
ers that we have IN the garden. AT one
side there are al Wild flowers. We have
had ninety-hye spikes OF the cardinal aow-
er blossom al one time. and one morning
a ray " sunlight shining through the trees
showed perfect red 10 q blossom"