The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-02-22
SOME WOULD SAY YES
Question of Snakes Having Hypnotic
Power Seems an Open One.
MANY PROS AND CONS TO 1T
Here Is a Tale From Texas Which
Gives Much Support to the At
firmative. but There Are Ma
turaiists Who Say No.

been the cause OF much earnest discus
sion among local naturalists recently.
The question discussed was DO Snakes
Charm or Hypnotic Their Prey?" one
of the naturalists had the unusual but
fortunate experience at Escondido of
happening upon a large gopher snake
just as the reptile was about to over
come a trembling rabbit, and envelop
the animal in it's deadly coils. For
some time the naturalist watched the
snakes movements.
II was within 10 or IL inches of the
apparently fascinated rabbit. Silently
and almost imperceptibly the snake had
wormed its way nearer and nearer to
its victim. Its eyes glistened with an
intense brightness. Not a movement
did IL make which might alarm the tim
id rabbit. The forked tongue, which to
the eye of a human being is so repul-
sive and intended to be terrifying ap-
peared to exert an entirety different in
fiuence upon the mind of the innocent
rabbit.
This darling tongue either excited
the victims curiosity or caused the ami
NAL to so concentrate its mind on the
snake tongue as to throw that mind
into a hypnotic condition of such
strength that 1T could not break the
spell and run away from impending
death. The forked tongue darted out
of the snakes mouth almost as regu-
larly and rapidly as the needle of
sewing machine rises and falls in the
cloth. The 1.-THE body crept nearer and
nearer. The rabbit was motionless. Its
eye was fixed on the piercing eye of the
snake. Even the waving of the wind
kissed shrubs about the rabbit failed
TO break the spell, and softly and slow
ly grim death in snake form wreathed
its folds about the creature. Then was
the spell broken.
But the strong coils of the snake were
in position. Never a rabbit lived that
could break that embrace of death.
Realizing at last the terrible peril. the
terrified rabbit struggled vainly to es-
cape, and as the rings of the snake
drew closer about the frail form so
tightly that breathing became difficult
the rabbit uttered a despairing cry al
most human in it's intenseness and
sound. 1t was the rabbits last earth
ly utterance. An extra twist of the cruel
coils and poor bunny was no more.
Lungs, heart and bones were literally
crushed. The snake did not relax the
pressure for fully ten minutes. I'm
winding itself the snake dragged the
prey under an adjoining bush for dim
ner. Beginning at the rabbits head
the snake undertook the tedious task of
swallowing the animal whole.
1t seemed impossible that a snake
with a body of about the size of a
mans wrist could stow away in it's
stomach a full grown rabbit. Opening
its mouth the greedy captor forced the
membranes of its upper and lower jaws
over the rabbits head. So wide was
the mouth when opened that the snake
appeared to be all mouth, all sem
blance of a head having disappeared.
Imperceptibly almost the snake made
progress. A close watch of the disap-
81 IL EasI n
tinct movement of the body, yet il con-
tinued to disappear into the snake In
the course of a few hours the rabbit
was out of sight and the snake, too
weary and full for utterance, slept at
the scene of the banquet.
To the naturalist who watched the
capture of the rabbit II appeared as If
the snake had certainly fascinated the
animal. AS gopher is not poisonous
and has no well developed fangs, its
only means of killing prey is by con-
striction. In order to catch an animal
IL seems almost necessary for the snake
TO fascinate the victim.
other naturalists claim that snakes
do not possess the power of fascinating
either birds or animals. One man, who
has given the matter much study. re-
marked that mo error is apparently
more rooted in the human mind than
that which attributes to snakes this pc
culiar power OF fascination" BY this
power they are said to be able to par
alize their victims, that the bird or
animals are rendered utterly incapable
OF movement. and wait for the attack
of snake, or even go forward to meet
II, i'm fear and trembling. but without
any power of retaliation.
Now, any one who watches the be-
havior of small animals placed alive as
food i'm the cages I'm which snakes arr.
kept i'm captivity. in the hope of seeing
this marvellous power I'm operation, will
be previously disappointed Chickens.
rats, guinea pigs, rabbits. all move
about with an utter absence of fear of
the snakes. My belief is that il is pos
sible TO account for the popular belief
that snakes possess "A power to fascin-
ate for several reasons. An observer
may come on the scene and find a num-
Der OF birds mobbing a snake just as
they Will mob an owl or a buzzard The
dashes of the bird toward the snake
and their nuttering round IL may easily
be put down to the effect Of the snakes
while they are i'm reality merely at
tempts of the bird TO drive of the in
fruder. n mother bird whose young are
attacked Will almost certainly behave
i'm this way, and may herself fan a vic
tim, not TO the power of fascination i'm
the snake. but to the force of her ma
ternal feelings. II has been noticed that
hen placed in a snakes cage will Oft
en- go toward IL and make determin-
ed peck at the snakes tongue. A frog
has been seen 10 do the same thing.
Were this seen To occur in a wild bird
IL may easily be put down to fascina-
ton. With regard to snakes that kin
their prey by the Injection of poison IL
Is even more easy to account for the
appearance OF the power. for they bite
once and only once.
IL may be the mobbing OF the snake
by the companions OF victim that has
been seized or OF a mother whose nest
has been robbed; 1t may be simply the
effect of poison already injected before
the observer has come upon the scene.
or IL may be simple curiosity. In %
cases out OF 100 one or the other of
these causes has been at work. What.
then. OF the Tooth case. and what about
the fascination exercised on man. cases
Of which have undoubtedly been record
ed2 The explanation lies I'm the proba-
bllltE that ID is a case 90 bs-r.r.sfs..-.