The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-07-22
SNAKES OF BOYHOOD.
SOME EXTINCT REPTlLlANS THAT
HAD MARVELLOUS ATTRIBUTES.

Hoop Snake That All Knew of, but Few
Ever saw-Pecuiiarities of Glass Snakes.
The blue racer was an ophidian cal
oulated to cause the hair of the small
boy to stand ON end like the quilts of the
fretful porcupine. Nothing could exceed
the fiendish malignity of this snake,
whose powers of locomotion were in
credibly swift and whose appetite for
boy was forever on edge And it was
only by relieving himself of all impede
menta, such as the bucket containing
his small store of berries or his fishing
tackle and can of bait, that a 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
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 off in the
bloom of his youth by blue racer, but
disasters of this kind were only avoided
by the remarkable fleetness of foot dis
played on such 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, ac-
cording to cloud of youthful witnesses
| who have testified thereto, was a snake
ranging from IL to 10 feet long, the av-
erage length being about 10 feet. Its
] aspect was threatening in the extreme,
and its eyes cleaned with baleful and
| hungry light. AS it reared its 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
movements he received his apt and dis
tinguishing name. Blue racers are as
scarce as hens teeth now.
But the most deadly, the most grew
some and the most appalling snake
known to boyhood was the fearful
hoop snake, now happily extinct.
This scourge of the forest was the bette
noire of the urchin, who was continual
ly in mortal terror of encountering it as
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
avenging Nemesis, and, like the blue
racer, was always on the lookout for
boys. The hoop snake differed uniquely
from all other ophidia. When in mo-
ton, it was the habit Of this snake to
insert the end of it's tail in its mouth,
and, bending its body into a perfect cir
Gle, it would roll silently and with in
credible swiftness through the woods
The tail terminated in a horny spike.
harder than steel, in which was conceal
ed sting of the most venomous de-
scription, and woe betide the object
that came within striking distance of
this fearful weapon. The virus in the
tail was far more toxic than the venom
of the rattlesnake or the tooth of the
copperhead and was synonymous with
instant death.
Fortunately no boy was ever stung
by one Of these snakes. His caution, his
prudence and proverbial good luck al
ways enabled him to circumvent the
Vaccinations of the enemy, but it re-
quired ceaseless vigilance on his part.
Indeed, but few boys ever saw one OF
these reptiles, although we were well
aware of their existence. But at rare
intervals some youth favored with ex-
ceptional eyesight and a vivid imagina'
ton would get glimpse of HOOP
snake rolling its way along distant
path
Another curious snake that used tC
; interest youthful students of herpetol
ogy was the glass snake. AS far al
= its habits were known, the glass snake
seemed to exist for the sole purpose o.
affording fun for the boys, who, wheI
they encountered one of them, hit i
across the back with stick, whereup
on his snakeship broke into thousanC
pieces, more or less, according to the
| mathematical proficiency of the boy
and his brittle anatomy flew in all di
rections. Yet this singular proceeding
. while it interested the youthful expert
, mentors greatly, never discommodet
the snake, or only temporarily, for al
, soon as left to itself the parts all united
! and the snake was whole as before
This invariably happened, but although
boys have watched for hours to see the
mysterious process the reptile never
"got together until they had departed
, Glass snakes are not nearly so common
! now, nor are they so brittle as the.
. used to be.
r One fact in serpent history, however
| remains the same in spite of the dicta o
= scientists, as any boy of today can tell
The tail of snake will wiggle after
is killed until the sun goes down. Their
isn't boy in the whole country bu
knows this to be rock ribbed fact il
natural history. Learned men tell u
that this notion, as they please to cal
: it, is relic of far distant time whei
: our ancestors worshiped the sun, which
at one time was depicted with serpen
attributes. Chicago Tribune.