The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-15
MYSTERY OF THE RATTLE.
4 SNAKE PROBLEM THAI SCIENCE
rs UNABLE TO EXPLAIN.

Theories Advanced to Account for the Rat
tlesnake's RRttle-Viewed Rs a Lure, .
Defence, n Call, n Voice and n Combinn,
tlon of All These-Imitations bv snakes
Investigation OF the rattlesnake by Ameri.
cen scientists IN recent years has resulted In
much curious. and. in Instances, valuable In
formation" said DIR. Thomas Stockton Baker
Of Johns Hopkins University. but there is one
important question still to be answered. and
that is. What is the purpose OF the snakes
rattlep The riddle has long perplcXed herpetol.
oRlsts, and probably will remain unsolyed
until the end OF time. II they continue TO search
for one solitary purpose which may be consid.
cred of such Significance IN the reptiles econ
omy as to have effected the development OF
such a specialized part.
In attempting to explain the utility TO the
snake OF the rattle. many philosophizing her
petologists have signally failed. for the simple
reason that IL seems evident the rattle. instead
OF being useful or advantageous to the snake.
In most instancesis a dangerous disadvantage.
which has caused the extinction Of the ~rattlers
In vell-inhabited sections Of our country.
However. 1t must be borne in mind that the
ratio was evolved long before man appeared
In the rattlers field. and the question of its
great disadvantage in the conflict between
man and snake could have no influence upon
Its evolution. according to the opinion held Ivy
many who have puzzled over the problem. or
course. theories are many, and one scientist
who eventually abandoned the riddle as i'm
possible.of solution comforted.himself with the
moral reflection that it was a.providential ar
ranRement to prevent injury to Innocent AMI
mails and man. But the history OF evolution
is replete with cases OF animalb which. having
acquired a special advantageous character.
found the same turned against them on the
appearance Of new enemies because it could
not be altered to meet new conditions.
9TH mystery OF tho rattle has had soma
queer effects on archaeological literature. |
remember that Prof. n. S. Shaler many years
ago announced that the tail appendage OF the
rattlesnake was not to be explained on the
doctrine OF natural selection. iuasmuch as It
could contribute in no way to the advantage
Of the animal. But some time after this posi-
tive decision he was wandering in a field.
where he mistook the rafting OF a snake for
the sound made by the locust. and at once the
idea was suggested to him that the PURPOSE OF
the noise was to decoy insect-eating birds into
the s%erpentIs range by an imitation Of the To-
Gusts buzzing. Thereupon he promptly wrote
a treatise on the rattlesnake and natural Sc
lection. In which he Incorporated the theory OF
the ~rattle's serving as a food procurer. Other
psychologists who had inclined to Shaler's
previous views made Investigations on the
lines of his new suggestion and discovered a
IlIluI vi IHe ldlJlluE bOuIu 10
that produced by several species Of grasshop-
pers. They. too. were rather favorably i'm
pressed by :the theory Of the rattle being a
decoy. but a few whose investigations also en-
braced the birds learned that they did not rely
TO any extent on their ears in searching for de-
lectable erasshoppers. Besides, it was soon
discovered that birds are not especially es-
teemed by rattlesnakes as a dietary article.
Another theory which has many support
l. i
tia is to assemble the sexes. and many obser-
vations have been put forward in support of it.
Some observers hold that the rattle is used to
frighten the victim or aggressor and p~aralyze
his combative energies. But the theory most
commonly accepted. perhaps. is that the sound
ing OF the rattle. instead OF imperilling the
snake. is virtually a means OF self-protection,
and 10 OF the same practical. defensive use as
the roar OF the menaced lion. The ability of
the rattler to defend itself does not consist in
its size. superior strength. or the power to
prolong conflict. as most ofiits enemies are far
larger and stronger. Neither does its poison
act quickly enough to assure its safety when
attacked, but the certainty of tho poison's eff
feet Is advantageous in preventing attack. and
is a warning which. enforced by the fierce rat
tie OF the tall. is liable In a majority of in
stances. to be effective. according to the calcu-
lations of the snake.
"Dr. Stejneger OF the Smithsonian Ins.itu-
ton. who has devoted much study to the poi
sonous snakes Of this country. Gays that of the
many explanations of the ~rattIs's functions
which have been advanced by American her
petologists. it seems possible TO accept them
all as partially true. The rattle having been
acquired, 1t appears to him even probable that
the snake uses tho sound for the several pur-
poses indicated. although 1t is difficult TO spec
ify which one has chiefly Influenced the evo-
luton OF the part. His idea is that the rat
tlinG is n substitute for a voice. and he holds
that it is logical to conclude that it may be put
to all the uses to which an animal may apply
Its voice.
THE rattlesnake, however. is not the only
serpent which sounds an alarm. warning or
call on its caudal appendage. Most snakes.
when excited. frightened or angered produce
q burning or rustling sound by vibrating the
end Of the tail among dry leaves or against
other objects. even their own bodies. which
frequently resembles the rattlesnake's noise.
and many o harmless snake has on this ac-
count been mistaken for a rather and hastily
despatched. This fact has often been used as
an argument in support Of the preventive the |
DRY. for II the rafting is Of advantage to the
rattlesnake In preventing attack by It's enc
miles. the theorists contend. the imitation Of
the noise must also be OF advantage to those
~serpents which can mimic. That the copper
heads and moccasins resort to rafting with
out ~rattles. as 1t were. does not operate against
this theory OF imitation, as it is held by sup
porters that II 1t 10 advantageous to the rattle
snake to have a means OF preventing waste OF
poison or unnecessary exposure to injury OF
fanGs. the Imitation would be Of equal benefit
to all members OF the pit viper family.
But this vibration OF the tail. 30 moro con- |
sentative herDetologists argue. instead Of be-
Ing an intended imitation OF the %rattler's noise.
was a universal characteristic Of the majority
of:snakes long before tho evolution OF the rat
tier from the common an oestral stock Of pit
yipers. This Is the opinion OF DIR. Stejneger.
Perhaps. after all, this common caudal threslI-
Ing may be Ascrlbed. like Herbert Spencer,s
suggestion as TO the wagging OF tho dogs tail.
to an escape OF nervous force restrained from |
other modes OF expression at the moment. As
It Is, theorize as much as ono will. we are as
much In the dark as 10 tho benefits OF the rattle
as when the subject first received attention.