, 1901-06-11

al luIl VI hlhhbl' olllh'o 10 " Nhph
that calls for adroitneSs mingled with
a high quality of perseverance.
Night is the very best time for
catching snakes. for it is hen that the
serpent tribes uncOil themselves and
glide kissing about the swamp in per
feet freedom. Obviously this sort Of
thing is not without danger. and after
one trial of it the snake hunter usually
prefers daylight. In the moonlight a
haze floats above the swamp and 1t lies
like a silvery sea. Within it. the pines
are ghosts whose long boards sweep
the pools, d~iamond-baCk r~attlers rear
their ugly heads, racers. moccasins.
and strange, pink water snakes glide
noiselessly, and alligators keep up
their loud. unCanny believing. The
air is heavy with the musky odor of
serpents.
In daylight the snake hunter is
mounted on a mule usually and clad
in an armor of heavy brown duck,
high top boots. and stout flexible
| gloves. His weapons are a bamboo
stick with a running moose of fine cop
per wire at the end, and a second cane
furnished with a wire net. He always
carries a revolver. too, ii he is wise.
Across the mules neck is balanced a
| short cane stick. and from each end of
the stick bangles a gOOd-sized cotton
bag. These bags are for the snakes.
The mule sagaciOusly picks his way
through the swamp along deer paths
which wind in and ont. where a single
misstep would tumble him and his
rider into a pool swarmjug with alliga-
tors and water snakes.
How Snakes Are Ragged.
A snake stalker, Of course. attempts
to take only the NOR" valuable and
TRANCE specimens Of sPrpentS. When
ne catches the CLEAN Of the right sort
Of a coat through tn" rlshcs. or spies
a fine moccasin dangling from a limb
over his head, he halls and goes Into
action with his copper-wir" moose and
bamboo stick. II he can h" slips the
moose over his snakeship'S head and
draws it taut. Then he gets the pulling,
thrashing, splitting rentil" 't"lXt thumb
and fore-finger around tn" neck and
drops him into the cotton bag. He
gives the bag a quick wLirI 50 that
h fang that darts forth instantly Is
embedded in a thick fold Of cloth. In
variably in a crisis the hunter throws
away copper wire and seiz"S a snake
with his hands, grasping him well to-
ward the head, so that h" cannot twist
around and thrust his faLgs INTO his
hands.
A rattlesnake is fairly easy 10 cap
ture because he is consummat"iy brave,
never runs from an enemy. and his
warning rattle is unmistakable. skirt
the borders of a palmetto thlckct any
day and watch the wavering shadows
or the foliage on the ground. Present.
ly these shadows if you watch sharply
seem to dart ahead in a straight line.
with a brassy whirr coming from some
where around. The darting line Is a
diamond-backed RATHER whose curious
ly marked skin Is in exact imitation
or the palmetto shade. The diamond
back Is the most deadly Of his tribe.
In the west the varieties OF rattIeTs
there found inhabit barren rocky
places and the tall grasses Of the prai-
ries. Just now the rattlesnak" is
hunted mercilessly, for he is valuable
to the medical man for his toXinrs n
to the naturalist because out OF the
eleven varieties In the United States
the habits and looks Of not more tina
five are well known.
In spite Of their deadly poison, the
hunting Of venomous snakes is not any
more dangerous than the hunting OF
bears or tigers or lions in India. The