Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1897-08-21
SNAKES OF BOYHOOD.
SOME EXTINCT REPTiU$Ns THAT
HAD MARVELLOUS ATTRIBUTES.

The Terrible Blue Racer and the ThOu-
sands OF Victims He Didn't Get-rhs
Hoop snake That All Knew of. but Few
Ever sAw-Psculiarities OF Glass Snakes
The blue racer was an ophidian cal
culated % cause the hair Of the small
boy to stand on end like the quilts OF the
freeful poroupine. Nothingcould exceed
the nendish malignity Of this snake,
whose powers Of looomotion were in
rredibly swift and whose appetite for
boy was forever ON edge. And it was
only by relieving himself of all impedi-
menta. such as the bucket containing
his small store Of berries or his fishing
tackle and oan Of bait that boy was
able to avoid capture. 1t was the cur
rent belief that when the blue racer
came up with his prey he swiftly in
folded the unluoky wight In his deadly
coils, crushed the life out of him and
then devoured him at his leisure. So far
as history goes and the mortuary records
show no boy was ever cut of in the /
bloom of bis youth by blue racer, but
disasters Of this kind were only avoided /
by the remarkable deetness Of foot dis |
played on suon occasions.
His terror gave him supernatural
! strength and added wings to his feet,
and the blue racer was inCOntinently
left In the shade. The blue racer, 40
cording to a cloud Of youthful witnesses
who have testified thereto was a snake
ranging from ii to 10 feet long, the av-
erage length being about 10 feet Its
! aspect was threatening in the extreme,
: and its eyes cleaned with q baleful and
hungry light. AS 1t reared it's ugly head
four or five feet above the surface In
. search Of the trembling youngsters his
underside was seen to be Of bright blue
. color, and from this fact and his swift
e movements he received his apt and dis
5. tinguishing name. Blue racers are as
lr scarce as hens teeth now.
n But the most deadly, the most grew
some and the most appalling snake
known to boyhood was the fearful
hoop snake, now happily extinct.
1t This soourge of the forest was the bette
ty noire Of the urohin, who was continual
W " in mortal terror Of encountering it as
1s he wandered through the pleasant woods
or angled in the waters of his favorite
: stream. The hoop snake roamed the
darksome shades Of the forest like an
&C avenging Nemesis, and, like the blue
h- racer, was always on the lookout foI
or boys. The hoop snake differed uniquely
ad from all other ophidia. When in mo-
er ton. 1t was the habit Of this snake tc
insert the end of its tail in its mouth,
-, and, bending its body into perfect cir
Gle, it would roll silently and with in
no credible swiftness through the woods
Vi The tail terminated in horny spike
harder than steel, In which was conceal
Dr. ed a sting Of the most venomous de
al scription, and woe betide the objec
in that came within striking distance o
:; this fearful weapon. The virus In thu
tail was far more toxic than the venom
"e of the rattlesnake or the tooth Of tn
Gu copperhead and was synonymous wit
me instant DEATH
ice Fortunately no boy was ever Stun
by one Of these snakes. His caution, hi
=. prudence and proverbial good luck al
=. ways enabled him to circumvent th
u Vaccinations of the enemy, but it rt
Guired ceaseless vigilance ON his par
Jet, Indeed, but few boys ever saw one {
ub- these reptiles, although we were we
CHI aware Of their existence. But at raj
intervals some youth favored with e1
ceptional eyesight and vivid imaginl
ton would get glimpse Of hoe
snake rolling its way along a distaI
path.
Another curious snake that used
interest youthful students of herpeto
ogy was the glass snake. As far
ews its habits were known, the glass snail
ling seemed to exist for the sole purpose
nan affording fun for the boys, who. wins
VIZ they encountered one of them, hit
across the back with a stick, wherein
~ on his snakeship broke into n thousaI
pieces, more or less, according to t.
and mathematical proficiency of the DO
the and his brittle anatomy flew in all {
rections. Yet this singular proceedin
to while it interested the youthful expel
Kill mentors greatly, never discommod
Dout the snake, or only temporarily, for
ting soon as left to itself the parts all unit
AOA and the snake was whole as befol
This invariably happened, but althou
boys have watched for hours to see e
mysterious process the reptile new
"got together" until they had departS
49, Glass snakes ere not nearly SO comm
80 now, nor are they so brittle as th
OF a used to be.
bed One fact in serpent history, howev
ugh remains the same in spite of the dicta
scientists, as any boy of today can te
and The tail Of a snake will wiggle after
"a TO Is killed until the sun goes down. TIL
N an isn't a boy in the whole country
ouU knows this to be rock ribbed fact
Gu natural history. Learned men tell
nm that this notion, as they please to c
hack It, is a relic of far distant time WI
flied our ancestors worshiped the sun, VIII
sigh- at one time was depicted with SCRIP
attributes. -Ohicago Tribune.
Edncata Your BonveIs with Caacaretl