The times., 1901-03-31

no affinity. and to the darky man who
hunts snakes is i'm league with the pow
crS OF darkness. Mr.. l'itmars lately cap
turpd a h0g-n0Sed snake In a cottonileld
The negroes call these serpents spread
in addCrs. and consider them tefTlplN
dangerous. although the bite is about as
bad as the pinch OF Jersey skeetef. Il
| haguOSed snake. like the pOSSum- Is an
actor and his faNorite role is plaNinS
dead As soon as the naturalist laid hold
! of the tail uf this terrible "spreadln au,
/ der" it gave one despalrlns nicheI anu
apparently yielded mp the ghost.
/ ITS traficking with Old Nick. but We
got TO bring that snake back to life; /
need him in my laboratory, remarked
! the hunter
"F7o' Gawd sake. doan' yo' do it. boss,
! pleaded the negroes who had gathered
! around. The naturalist made a few
/ passes over the snake and warned the
negroes to move back, - the birthstone
wouldn strike them. The snake seeing
/ the coast clear turned tail and ran. The
darkieS screamed and in the confusion
/ there was the scratch of sulphur match
piece OF phosphorus burned on the
ground. The "spreadin adder was aft
erward captured alive. The field darkies
! laid off early that afternoon and went to
consult a VoodOo doctor.
y rattlesnal6e is fairly easy to capture
J because he is consummatc tcly brave
! never runs from an enemy. and his warn
/ ing rattle il unmiSt3kable. Skirt the Dor
GtrS or palmetto tliCkCt any Gay anu
watch the WaVcring shadows of the ioll-
/ age on the ground. Presently these Shad-
/ owS if YOU watch sharply seem to dart
! ahead IN a straight line, with Drassy
! whrr coming from somewhere around.
) The darting line is diamOnd-baCked rat
! tier whose curiousiy marked skin is IN
/ exact imitation OF the palmetto shade:
( The diamOnd-hack Is the most deadly or
his tribe In the West the varieties of
) rattlers there found inhahit barren rocky
/ places and the tail grass OF prairies.
I JUST now the TaJtiesnake is hunted mer-
( Cilessly. for he is valuable to the medical
/ man for his toxins and to the naturalist
! because out Of the eleven varieties in the
/ United States the habits and looks or not
! more than five are well known.
| In spite Of their deadly poison. the hunt
/ ing of venomOuS snakes is not any more
1 dangerous, if as dangerous as the hunt
ing of boars OF tigers or lions IN India.
! The reason is that no snake. except the
coral snake is likely to attack without
proyocation. The danger TO students of
! snakes is all in the familiarity bred by
| close acquaintance.
| For example, less than a year ago Prof.
| Percy Selouse, of Michigan, well-known
I naturalist and cousin of the African
explorer and scientist of the same name,
was killed by the bite OF "A pet moccasin-
Prof. SelouSe was in the habit of taking
the snake to bed with him on cold nights
to keep it warm. one night he got up in
the dark to 2ut the snake back in its
box and accidentally pinched the moe
casins tail in the door. lt turned on him
and sunk its fangs into his flesh and he
died four days afterward from the bite.
Mr.. Ditmars relates that ne one time
knocked a glass jar out of his Office win
dow and broke 1.-THE same jar in which
a rattlesnake had been kept. In gather
ing up the broken pieces he cut his hand
slightly. For weeks afterward his life
was despaired Of. His hand and arm
from finger tip to shoulder is today a
mass of terrible scars.
a New York naturalist, bitten by a
coral snake in Florida last wear died
within forty-fve minutes.
An attendant at the Smithsonian In
stitution. Washington, ten years ago, in
tT. usfeTing rattlesnake from one Jar to
81. ther. was bitten on the forefinger. Al
til Ugh every known remedy was applied
h barely escaped death. For eight years
aft rward on the return Of the season the
finger sloughed OFF To the bone. Two years
az. a mysterious East Indian remedy
was brought TO him from Rangoon, In
dia. by friend. At the first soreness in
the finger he applied the Indian herbs.
ara has twice escaped the annual
plague.-The Brooklyn Eagle.