The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-10
NATURAL HISTORY FOR POLICE.

by Quinn, whose beat is along South
street, early last Wednesday morning.
Sergeant" said Quinn to Tighe, VINO
was behind the desk. this man is freez-
ing to death, and I thought''--
who could blame me, Sarge" the
man whimpered, when Glacialis con-
tortrix, the ice-snakes, find New York
a pleasure resort these days and lie
weltering the heat. B,o-o-." The man
blew on his fingers.
when the what finds New York a
pleasure place. asked the sergeant.
You know, Sarge, they're the snakes
that live in glaciers an -
'Doorman, call up Hudson street hes
pital-go on"
And they come south in the winter
just like the juncos-Junco hyemalis, I
mean-and the snowflakes-you know,
Sarge. the Plectrophenax nivalis''--
Lord! yes. | know; so on the SER
geant broke in.
only they don't usually get so far
south as this. They mostly live IN thc
glaciers and travel with icebergs and
don't come to such tropical climates
as this very much. ] never saw them
ashore here before, and who can blame
a fellow for freezing when 1T ain t
warm enough to make an ice snake
sweat lying still? But / wasn't frecz-
ing at all ! was just observing them
when this officer came along and
Mr.. Quinn, did you see anythins?"
Yes, sir, r
What! thatll do. Go on Mr.
what's your name?" asked Tighe.
Professor Burten Bradley" contin-
ued the prisoner This policeman re-
fused to allow me to remain and l will
at best be able to add only few scat
tering facts as to what is now known
to psychologists about the glacialles.
What do these herp-herp-oh, "el,
what is known about them things any
how"
Even with what I have to add very
little is known about the glaciallis
genus They live almost exclusively at
the bottom of glaciers where the tem-
perature is 400 degrees below zero, and
catch the fish that live in the water
always present under glacierial ice.
Their meat becomes thoroughly cooked
when exposed to a temperature at the
freezing point, and their blubber turns
with the application of the bare, un-
frozen hand. The EsqumauX capture
the young reptiles with hook and line.
They use frozen fish for bait The
youngsters scarcely ever see the water
till they are many months old. They
burrow through the ice and cause those
renarkabl holes which are observed IN
icebergs. When they find an arctic FIX
or polar bear frozen in the ice they
feed on it. They are not strong enough
to stand the squeezing st the bottom
of the glacier. They love the water
especially that caused by the friction
of the bottom of glaciers.
They are fiat snakes, suitable for ]iV-
ing in cracks of the ice and narrow
apertures. A 10-foOt snake is Eiuc
inches wide nearly his entire length,
and only three inches thick ut mis-
thickest. One 20 feet long is IS inches
wide and six inches thick. No other
creature has SO much blubner in pro
portion to It's weight. One ean NOV"
its whole length by Wrigsltng it with
a finger. 1t quivers. This blubber
does not. need to be tried out - purify
it, In this climate it runs like coal oil
and looks like good whiskey-yum,
yum
1T sometimes happens that there is a
squeeze in the glacier during a flow,
and they are driven to the top of the ice.
The holes they make are as thick as
gophers, only long and narrow. The
ice is scratched in them by the scales
on their backs. They may be seen lying
d
on the ice, but they soon get used to it
and wander overland exploring and
food hunting. Like hounds, they hunt in
pairs and the EsQuimauX say that pO-
lar bears are freed on the north pole,
but Il probably isn't so. It's merely an
EsquimauX joke.
when the Danish expedition for
Greeland introspection was SO miles in
land from Iviktut a colony Of these
Ia Drnf Ipar ri
son and I were Informed of its presence
by two Esquimaux and we went to see.
Our approach alarmed them and we
were able to shoot only two. Several
dozen made their escape. Those that
Travelled over the slippery ice curled up
like measuring worms, and with the
| spade-lille end of their tails digging into
and crumbling the ice they showed
themselves ahead like corset steel
jumps when one holds the ends together
and then let's go
rs that plain, Sarge? Glad Of it. They
| shot ahead dozen or SO yards or rods,
according to their size. When they came
to a precipice little ways beyond, they
stretched out fiat on the air and sailed
ahead. We could not see how far they
sailed, because they were blush white
in color, 50 that they We're invisible.
saw a polar bear cub walking along one
day, and he disappeared all of a sudden.
He had walked right into the mouth of
one of he big arcs. I've got his hide
yet-the bears | mean. ] killed tho
snake and bear at one shot-the greatest
shot ever recorded SO far as | know.
Nov, these snakes on South street
are remarkable because Of their unusual
playfulness. Life is a serious matter in
| the arctiCs for all creatures and only
| the birds, the seals and foxes are play