The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-30
SNAKE APPETITES.
THEY HAVE THEIR WILKINS AND
THEIR FANCIEs.


| some Are CannfbaIs-Others often
Starve Themselves to Death in
Captivity-They Must Have Water.
C. W. O'Reilly in the Courier-JournaI.
In a cage near where 1 am sitting Is a
large black snake, nearly six feet in length,
and as tame as a. kitten. The moment /
open the glass slide in the cage he will
come out, glide up on my arm, over my
shoulders by my neck, and thence up on
the gas-branch. He often takes frogs from
my fingers as he lies coiled around my
neck. and when the frog is finished will
dart at the least finger that moves, think
ing it another frog. Fancy a hungry BIZ
cyclist rushing up to a lunch counter.
cOllaring and devouring a sandwich.
just as he is finishing it, and while his
eyes are still bullying with swallowing,
he espies the match safe. and thinking
it another, seizes that also and hastens
to devour it. Snakes frequently act Just
so. When my large black snake is in
the frame of mind. frequently give him
! some Jumps of raw beef, which he greed
lily swallows most unnatural thing for
a snake. Often when the frog which I
give him is swallowed. and he looks around
for another, he imagines the first thing
that moves to be a frog, and instantly
makes for it open-jawed. Suppose-at this
time his tail gives a wriggle-"Aha, there's
another" thinks he, and instantly has it
secure, and proceeds with the swallowing
at once. 1 have seen him thus struggling
most valianty with himself for a min
ute and half. before he found out his
mistakes. Though snakes sometimes
swallow a few inches of their own tails.
| and give them up again. still must con-
TESS that 1 never saw one take himself in
right up to the head, which a traveller once
saw in the west
Why that black snake is so tame and
so gentle, I'm sure he knows you" say
my visitors. See how intelligent he
looks? Who would think snakes so in
telligent? Doesn't he know you, though %
oh, yes l reply, 'he certainly knows
me, and he knows you too, he knows every
one of my visitors. But the great trouble
is he doesn't know me from any one else
All humanity is to him as one man; see
how broad-minded he is. He has simply
lost his fear of men by constantly seeing
ing. The truth is that he doesn't distin-
guish Individuality And all snakes are
Just as he is, no matter what the late
William Romanes and other writer's on
animal intelligence may have written or
will write, to the contrary, even if sup
ported by the testimony of sentimental
women in Cheyenne Walk. IT'S a sharp
| edged rock of hard fact in snake nature.
which neither fine writing nor learned
theory can ever change"
Freshly caught snakes often refuse to
| feed, and continue fasting for weeks or
months. Close by my right hand at this
moment there is a South American ana
conda,. in large cage, provided with an
ample tank for him to lie in-for he is a
water boa. From the very day he was
caught, now about year ago, he has re-
| fused to touch food, although every dainty
| has been procured to tempt him. includ-
ing FISH and reptile, bird and quadruped
Most probably he will die half a year
hence. starved to death through his own
| obstinacy.
The Geological Society of PHILADELPHIA
| recently sent me two ground rattle
snakes, with the information that they
ate nothing but small mice 1 supplied
| them with such dear, dainty mice. of
| various sizes, some of them so tender
| that the sight of them would make a Chi
| naman water at the mouth but to my
| great surprise the little rattlers refused
1 to have anything to do with them Well
thinks l, III try frogs" and Immediately
one of them developed a Gallo taste.
| and gorged himself with frogs to reple-
| ton. The other starved himself to death
and is now in alcohol, while his brother,
| with the dreadful example before his
eyes on the table, grows fatter and fatter
on frogs.
When snakes, which are well cared for,
| become used to captivity, they often show
| frY1v
| times very curious tastes. l have a num-
| Der of hog-nosed snakes-"adders," as
! they are so often improperly called
/ which under ordinary circumstances, will
| die of starvation rather than eat any
thing but toads. Some days ago l pro-
cured some toads and gave them the first
meal they had had since last October.
! One of them, a very large one, which 1
! have had for nearly three years, had just
| finished his toadS, and started to look for
! another. l took a good-sized frog instead
| and held to him by the legs. hardly ex-
pecting he would notice it; though 1 had
| heard in Philadelphia they eat frogs.
What was my surprise to see him seize
and swallow it so quickly that it was yet
alive and croaked in his stomach a short
time afterward.
It is not to be wondered at that a
! snake win sometimes do a queer thing
/ without ever intending it; for higher ami
| mails also will do so. Some time since,
| I don't exactly remember how long, but
it was before my mustache had started
to bud got into a dispute with my
brother about a rosy apple. During the
scufle he blackened my eye. When my
mother afterward chided him he said
with an air of conjunction, Mamma.
twas beautiful apple, but l didn't m
| tend to blacken his eye" Yesterday IN
| a gartersnake cage such an occurrence
| ended most tragically. There were two
| occupants, one larger than the other.
! Before going out l gave them some fishes.
| When l returned there were no fishes
and but one garter snake. The one
which was larger had swallowed the
| smaller. They had had a dispute; both