Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-05-01
TEXAS HOOPSNAKES.
THEY HAVE HOOKS AND HOLES IN
THEIR LIPS AND LIKE FUN.

SokeS - AenOerIeeS ana Wome00GO-
pliers asd Bu,lsn.kes Create Lively situ-
ations For the Hoopers.
''The hoopsnake of Texas is as inter-
esting q reptile as you can find any
where" said q former resident Of the
Lone Star State. SIT is unlike any hoop
snake I ever saw in the east and a good
deal livelier. Under its lower Jaw there
is lip, with q hole III it, and On the
end of its tail there is hornlike hook
that curves upward Whenever the
snake takes a notion to roll. it throws
Its tail over its snout, hooks into the
lip, ard goes spinning away over the
grass as merrily as you please.
''The snake can get over the ground
pretty fast by crawling, but it seems to
take great pleasure in rolling. The I'M
der part of its body is bright red. and
you can see the snake quite a distance
when it's rolling. Some say the horn is
hollow and capable of ejecting poison,
but I don't know how true that is. Peo-
pie who are ignorant of how the Texas
hoopsnake is built are simply amazed
when they happen to see one change
from a crawl to q roll They can't make
out how it is possible for the snake to
put its ends together and roll away at
such speed unless it sticks its tail into
its mouth. You will often run across q
hoopsnake that is crawling along lei
surely, when all at once it will throw
its tail forward and go tipping off at u
speed, you imagine, that makes its head
swim. But its head is always level, no
matter how fast it rolls or how far.
1--WE seen many man and boy
amusingly taken in by hoopsnakes out
there Every newcomer desires to possess
a specimen, and they get it into their
heads that it is as easy as lying to catch
one. The tenderfoot thinks he can cap
ture a hoopsnalle by poking a pole or
stick through the circle made by its
body. He gets fooled. however, for the
cunning snake instantly unhooks its tail.
thus Kidding itself of the stick or pole,
runs along ON its belly for short dis
lance and then hooks into the lip again
and resumes its frolic with perfect free
dom. The hoopsnake has fine sense of
humor, l reckon, for it takes delight in
soaring women and tenderfeet by roll
ing right up to them and lodging away
when they scream or jump. They tell a
story out there of q man who ran the
handle of rake through a hoopsnake's
circle and unlocked it. The snake got
mad, struck at the man and hit the
trunk of mesquite bush with its horn.
It sped away then. and the man found
the print Of its horn in the bark. He ex-
amined the bush often, and he took his
oath that it died in less than 80 days.
Il once saw hoopsnake hanging to
one of the hind feet of a gopher. The
gopher kicked and squealed and pulled,
and the snake kept tapping it on the
head and back with its horn. The snake
| couldn't have swallowed the gopher,
and it tormented the little thing out Of
| pure deviltry. Its aim with tho hook
was unerIing, and it acted as if it was
tickled all over every time the gopher
squealed. The hoopsnake's fun came to
an end very suddenly the moment an
other gopher appeared The second
gopher took in the situation at q glance,
and it Immediately hoped upon the
snake and bit it in tho back Of the neck.
The snake let go of the foot mighty
quick, and all the lively writings i'm
aginable that snake performed in the
next eight or ten minutes. 1t thrashed
the grass fat in a space five feet in di-
ameter, and l never saw a creature hate
to die as that snake did. 1t finally
stretched out motionless, and l cut off
its horn, which had no hollow in it
The wounded gopher was squealiDg in
some brush, and its rescuer was trying
hard to coax it into hole, but it had
been done for by the snake, and it died
in little while.
''How it does make q toad's eyes hang
out when a hoopsnake gets after it!
The toad knows that it's goner. and il
begins to hop and peep and squeal with
terror before the snake has touched it.
The snake is in no hurry, for it knows
very we'll that the toad can't get out OF
its sight, and it takes downright com.
fort in hearing the toad wall. 1t crawls
behind the toad, and when it gets good
and ready it throws its tail forward
and gives the toad smart thump be-
tween the eyes with the point of the
horn. The toad backs up few inches,
and the snake seizes it by hind foot.
Then the toad kicks with its free hind
foot and claws the grass with its from
feet. keeping up piteous squealing al
the time The snake lets it kick an6
claw for q spell, but by and by knocks
the toad on the head till it stops kick
| ing and swallows it.
while hoopsnake was handling &
toad in that way one spring / saw {
bullsnake interfere. The bullsnake o.
Texas is q big headed reptile about
, feet long. Its body tapers all the way
I like q cone, and it has two curved teet!
: in the upper jaw and is nonpoisonous
, The hoopsnake had the toad by hint
foot, and of course the toad was max
ing all the noise it knew how to- Sud
. denly bullsnake glided out of the busl
1 and struck ut the hoopsnake's middl
: with its upper jaw. The hoopsnake in
{ stantly released the toad, faced the bull
snake and hit it on the neck with it
horn The blow didn't phase the bull
I snake particle. 1t returned the attacl