The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-05
REPTILES or TIE DESERT.
THEr THFIPE ON THE BURNING
SJND CNDER 1HE COPPER sK -
Horned Rntticrs nnd Tiger Rattiers-An
Idihie Lizard Horned Tonds that Have
Heen seen 10 spit Blood trotn Their Eyes.

prouhply no class of animals 81 characteristics
OF the desert rs the reptiles. True. there ara
numbers OF birds and mammals found all over
the arid wastes W sand, bui these either mi.
CRATE or spend most NJ their time underground.
ns Is the case with most Of the smaller man.
mails. The birds choose the sheltered cnhnns
where. perhaps, a few drops of water viii oos.
ont from between the rocks, or even ventura
out into the great sun. baked plains, seeking the
shelter of the bushes and stuntcd trees which
here and there manage to cLr out an existence.
The smaller mammcls are almost nil noctur.
nal In their habits and only venture out after
n~igltfall when the earth HIGGINS to cool n littls.
md. with the exception of, pcrhaps, n few GOV.
otes or the little desert fox, one may travel for
hundreds OF miles through the deserts without
seeing n singl" animal except tie reptiles and
insects. liut they are there, and lots of them.
too. The burning sands and the copper skies
seem to have no terrors for them. They ars
everywhere. At nearly every step one seems
to awaken n fresh lizard from his rest under a
bush or beside II stone, and AVA he goes, sour
rying along ov or the sand, perhaps his long tail
dragging in the snnd. but moro frequently e,e-
waited high in the ait. lr fact. this uplifted
tail often looks like n little gray :wig moving
rapidly along the ground. bu always retaining
its upright position. And tn csc lizards can
run, too. In n twinkling they are gone, and
then II Is only the %practscd eye that can SEQ
them, for when they lie NJ rest tl,cir dull gray,
color makes It almost impossible to see them.
But these are not ali: often from the side %
:he road. disturbed by the passing traveller, .
horned rattlesnake or sidewinder will move
sluggishly away, but ever keeping up an In
cessant rattle. Again. big. sluggish lizards are
found, nearly always n dull gray above, but
beneath or around the head iridescent in tho
most gorgeous colors. And. too. the big tiger
rattlcr of the desert cn0Ong- though n trifl0
more sluggish than the sidcwinder. seems ever
ready to call his attention to his bright cclors
by sounding the terrible rattle which strikes
fear to the heart OF any an imal no matter how
large or how small. The tiger RATHER is found
in the desert regions of America, and Is COM
paratively rare, being found onl" in the cations
of the barren ranges which traverse the desert
In all directions.
remember seeing nineteen in q single canon
of the Argus range Of mountains in lnyo county.
One | found on IA ledge OF rock directly behind
the fire which we had built for cooking supper.
The tiger RATHER. however, though very dam
length. cannot compare in viCiOusncss with the
little sidewinder or horned rattlesnnke. The
live. and may often he found lying quietly
beside some desert bush, waiting for its prey.
in moving along the ground, instead OF pur.
suing a straight course 1t has besides the for
1t is much less sluggish than the other rat
tiers. perhaps on account Of its small size. as
it seldom exceeds a foot and a half in length:
Il is lighter colored than the other %rattlers. and
give it The name horned RATHER. it seems to
be he .lost dr"ndcd of all snakes by the des-
ert traveller. probably on account OF its being
so hard TO see owing TO it: small size and quick
tile which the desert prospector really breads.
One Of the most plentiful of the lizhrds
lizard. 1t is about eight inches long and OF a
light ashen cole on the back. hut down each
side runs a row of black spots. extending out
on the tnil. receives its rama from tho
two, sulphur blue patches, one, on each side
of the abdomen. md the little blue spot on the
giving out beautiful iridescent metallic colors.
The, peculiarly, Of this specie, Is that when
runs to the nearest bush of any size. or even
a tree; and, climbing u' int" the hranGhes.
little lizards may be found in the yucca trees.
probably. waiting for some Of the insects
blossoms. This species Is very much like the
bluc-spotted lizard which is found on the
Probably the most characteristic of the liz
ards OF the lower desert reTions Of naiitornia
Is tins Fnf s iEas,se' IS found %r t nSarly c ss!ya "e'f IN
the lower parts of the desert. and never fails
to attract the attention of the traveller by its
strange habit of carrying It's tail curved up
over is back: In fact, the tail is The largest
this little gray lizard are 50 quick as 70 make
shoots of along The sand. with its tail high
in air. it looks al most ash n stick. standing
OH end, were scurrying away.
There lie. living in the mountainous parts Of
the Moiaye de.ert: a very strange lizard.
s M%in whtch IS FoN nearly as as'v Wide 81 as ', ones hand
and of n uniform dark slate color. or even
S SI%i6 ef, Shi nea ,ns ' an,fo ls iTo' WSlte w't At Wits q dis:
lance this species looks like a ella monster,
and many peoIlei , %Hnaoa tn hn ID with the lSti
think II is due to this mistake that many peo:
pie believe the ella monster an inhabitanit Of
Fnl - pt Il"t fl.aNn to M Ill ~ lnntt
account Of the monster being found in our
state. Prof; Baird states in his Pacific Rail.
and Mollhausen. that II has been found along
the Moiave River hut this must be e mistake;
frightened 1t seldom keeps to the, ground, but
the chuck wnlla; ms the black lizard above
tireIy vegetarian in its habits, and consequent
ly edible. Several specimens which were ex-
amined contained in their stomachs speGtmens
the gray desert tree. dalea fremontii. The In
dIans eat q great many OF them. and /. for one.
look at. If one has not had fresh meat for three
or four months a nice fat CHUCK walla is quite
white and tastes much like frogs legs.
There Is a very pretty and withni a very
Moiave desert which has been named by scicn-
fists dipSosaurus dorsalis, on account of it's
near resemblance to the ancient saurians,
years age. Until the last few years y was not
R hnpT" than fnas lover tnss s' c%Iifor MAR" but iivG recent rnt's ssr
have proved that it inhabits the des-
ert region A. far north as the Panamint Noun
scaled neck and heavy legs, which support q
rather clumsy body, and a long, tapcrinR tail.
The body is beautifully notified while the en-
tire length OF the tail is covered with trans
verse bars, The under %surfare OF the body Is
whitish, while hlOtChes and lines Of red on the
and sides. with the white spots on tho
sides, make II a very pretty lizard. The tail Is
longer than the head and body together. tho
total length over al, measuring nearly fifteen
inches in an adult male.
There are AT lcnst three species " horned
tOads living in California. one on each side Of
the Sierra. hut the one that i found on tho
west and which is so well known to every boy
in California hns hccu found So near the east
crn borders of the Sierra foothills a. 10 be al
most included ms one of IT," reptiles inhabitinR
the desert. The third species Fever gets into
the Sierra. In general appearance the desert
species Is very similar 10 TIE on" t9rnd in tho
inland valleys, hut il Of "a lishtcr color. and the
arrangement of the scales f. sCmcwhnt differ:
rnt. The color may vary, however, from II dull
white to u vivid brick red,