The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-30
TREE-BORING SNAKES.
Tales Suppressed Because Park
Commissioners Are Not Natural
lists.
From the New York Sun

lists.
From the New York Sun.
The policeman at the One Hundredth
street entrance of Central park was in
an unusually talkative mood one night
last week. considering the number Of
wheelmen that wanted to scorch who were
passing in and out of the park The
meditatiye way in which he curled the
left side Of his auburn mustache belok-
ened the pressure Of unusual and interest
ing information against the lips just be-
low. Even the bend of his head showed
an uneasy desire to tell somebody some
thing, so it happened that an acqualnt-
ance drew up alongside and said eau
tiously:
ITS a fine evening this-those that
arn't hiking are walking, eh?'
We'll l guess yes. All! There he goes.
See 'im-quick!"
A man riding very erect, with gray
whiskers, gray hair and a tawny suit went
past at a good pace and It was at him
that the policeman pointed.
"That man called my attention, just be-
fore the trees began to bud. to some GU
rious holes in certain of the trees up on
that hill yonder. He Is a-wen, a man
who thinks that we policemen are not
strict enough here in the park, and do not
keep the small boy properly subdued Said
he to me:
why cant you make those young
sters stop running the trees here IN try
us " set sup Aloul tnGUlf see THESE
borings here-they've been at work right
under your nose
1T did really look bad, because there
were holes a quarter of an inch or moro
in diameter and three inches deep in sew
eral Of the trees, from which the sap was
running fairly fast. / touched my finger
to the drops and tasted the sap, hndine
II signify sWeeush, and ] hardly blamed
the boys who liked the sap though of
course 1t would never do to allow them 10
continue to tap the trees If we could help
a tor HeHNa N.HN a.a
the utmost care, but 1t was several davs
before / learned anything OF value.
But patience tells when one is exercis-
ing his detective talent and SO II Was
with me- Early one morning. when the
wind was unusually strong, / happened Ia
be walking up on the hill near the multi
lated trees. when my attention was at
traeted TO a branch, as ! took It to be
projecting from the side Of a tree This
branch was of so extraordinary form
that stopped to examine It from a dis
tance-it is always better, you know
to take in the surroundings when stu
dying natural history. AS l looked a
strong gust OF wind came along and the
branch waved little, and then, aston
lshing as IL may seem, took the form Of
a corkscrew and began TO Whirl 50 randi
" that II was like an electric fan for visi-
bilty. When the wind died away a hit
the branch assumed it's former irreRularIv
crooked shape and there hung, qufverins
a little. / cautiously approached some
what nearer, and then made the dlscov-
cry that it was a snake, and at the butt
of the tree were scattered the borings
from a hole in the tree trunk, in which
the snakes tail was out OF sight. / had
solved the mystery Of the holes in the
trees You see, when the wind was very
strong. the snake, by assuming the cork
screw position, was acted upon in such
a manner by the wind as to set It
Whirling. Further, each Of this kind OF
tree-boring snakes has a horn-like sub
stance on the end Of its tail which
serves as a drill and bores into the bark
and wood.
81 understand that there are other va
rieties Of snakes of this family having
hornlke endings to their tails among
which is the hoop snake, which rolls down
hill and at the proper moment straight
ems out and shoots through the air Ike
a spear and so kills its prey. / have read
Of two black-tailed deer that were pierced
by one Of these living projectiles, but do
not place the natural history work in
which 1t appeared just now"
did you ever tell the man who called
your attention TO the holes how they were
bored?' asked the acquaintance.
mo" the policeman said, Il did not
I feared lest he communicate the circum-
stances to the professors at the Museum
OF Natural History, and they, in turn,
would have told the public Of it, The
men at headquarters are not naturalists
and policemen who see snakes, more es-
pec,ally remarkable ones, do do not find
favor in their eyes"
No man over thouob4 a vyovyoa N vvoe